September Issue
Sydney | Free
T h u n da m e n ta l s A band in love with love UK comedian David Baddiel takes us to some dark places
Why Troye Sivan is the face of a new generation of Australian pop
Inhale deeply: where are we at with weed these days?
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Credits Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen Group Senior Editor/National Arts Editor Maxim Boon Editors Daniel Cribb, Neil Griffiths
Bring back…
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Assistant Editor/Social Media Co-Ordinator Jessica Dale
’ve never been one for watching gigs on a screen at home. It’s hard to get into ‘gig’ mode with the distractions of home around you. Mid-guitar solo you may suddenly get the strange urge to do dishes or your could find yourself in the fridge looking for snacks instead of soaking up an encore. Gig home-viewing just lacks the atmosphere of being ‘in the moment’. However, I am a sucker for a great one-song live performance on TV. It’s hard not to miss the glory days of Australian music TV from Countdown through to Recovery. At the moment we have to be happy with a few scraps thrown at us on breakfast TV or US late night talk shows (if you’ve never seen Lizzo’s triumphant Good As Hell post-Trump-electionwin performance on Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal you need to Google the shit out of that now). It’s kinda cool therefore that there has been some movement on the live-music-on-TV front in Australia of late. MTV seems to be pulling itself out of its scripted-reality mire with the return of Unplugged and Total Request Live (this time without Kyle Sandilands). There are also mumblings of new performance-based music shows on free-to-air TV. Plus, there is the possibility that Saturday Night, the Rove McManus show that Ten piloted in August, might get given a weekly slot in 2019. It seems to be a national hobby to rag on Rove (and let’s face it he has served up some shit TV in his time but haven’t we all…) but his Saturday Night pilot wasn’t all that bad. He surrounded himself with a great team of comedy talent that included Judith Lucy, Mel Buttle and Alex Lee. The show also allowed for a stand-up spot and a musical guest — not a bad way to get some local talent back on our screens. Even if Rove’s guest selections are not to your tastes, if it succeeds it may pave the way to some more shows being picked up that do cater to your tastes. Or not. But let’s not give up hope yet. If the bookers for these shows want some guidance please take note of the local talent we feature in this month’s issue. We chat with the likes of Thundamentals, Troye Sivan, DREAMS, The Goon Sax, Tkay Maidza, Ball Park Music and San Cisco. And, we also can’t recommend highly enough the latest release from Cash Savage (SPOILER ALERT: it’s our Album Of The Month). We don’t just supply music though, this month we take a look at creepy internet myths, the explosion of craftivism and we look into the current crop of films memorialising late artists. Hopefully that’s enough to tide you over until your next hit of live music on TV.
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Win 2 days recording time at Chapel Lane Studio in Adelaide With any Neumann purchase during our 90 Years in 90 Days Promotion you can win two days with an engineer at Chapel Lane studio in Adelaide along with flights and accommodation.
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Our contributors
This month
Leanne de Souza
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Editor’s Letter This month’s best binge watching Shit We Did: Apple Pie McFlurry Guest editorial: Executive Director of the Association of Artist Managers Leanne de Souza
Tkay Maidza
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Magical things are happening to Tkay Maidza
21
Weed Should Australia legalise recreational cannabis?
22
How to keep track of BIGSOUND
26
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
49
Album reviews
50
54
The best arts of the month
55
Film & TV reviews
32
an
Heidi Slim
Craftivism
Pic:
Craftivism is where craft and activism meet
40
Memorial movies
The best upcoming foreign language films
e an
Heidi Slim Pic:
Troye Sivan pushes himself to not start with sad songs
The Goon Sax, DREAMS
42 44
co-founder of the Rock and Roll Writers Festival. Leanne works and lives on the lands of the Jagera and Turrubul peoples and pays her respect to Elders past, present and future.
Donald Finlayson Donald Finlayson is a young man who enjoys
boys, playing the gee-tar (not to be confused
56
Evita
58
David Baddiel
59
Your Town 62 64
VB Hard Yards Howzat!
65
Your gigs
66
This month’s local highlights
68
The end
70
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with the guitar) and riding horseback across the beach.
Liz Giuffre
Body Positivity Troye Sivan
for the Museum of Brisbane, she is also the
net. His interests include: Karaoke with the
Best Foreign Films
36 38
(AAM) and the the Curatorial Advisor (Music)
music and saying stupid things on the inter-
e
The Big Picture: David Goldblatt
ment and events. A long-standing champion
The Arts
30 34
Chinese phones
46 48
ody
Creepy urban internet legends
years’ experience working in artist manageand advocate for Queensland and women in
Slash Ft Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, Wolf Alice
Cust
Ball Park Music & San Cisco
eran of the Australian music industry with 25
Director of the Association of Artist Managers
28
Christine & The Queens
45
contemporary music. Currently the Executive
24
Thundamentals
Leanne de Souza is a highly-respected vet-
T h e s ta r t
Liz Giuffre has been writing for The Music since it was Drum Media, joining way back in 2006. When not proudly writing for The Music, she talks and writes music and arts at UTS and sings songs with her baby daughter.
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Her Cherness After her quick visit to headline this year’s Sydney Mardi Gras, certified culture icon Cher is back this month for her first tour of the country in over a decade. The ten-show run kicks off in Newcastle this 26 Sep.
Catman (ski-babop-badop-bop) The Cat Empire kick off a huge headline Australian tour 6 Sep that will continue throughout the rest of the year ’til mid-December. Dance the night away to ska? Jazz? Whatever you want to call it, it’s a damn good time. The Cat Empire Noname
Cher
Lakyn
And LO, it was good Back for the third year, Listen Out Festival is heading round the country from 22 Sep for four dance-filled days and nights. With a line-up featuring A$AP Rocky, Skrillex, Brockhampton and Noname, expect non-stop bangers and good times for all.
Lakyn like that Australian-based New-Zealander Lakyn Heperi is starting his first headline tour this September. Known for his acoustic performances on The Voice, Lakyn’s been quietly releasing his own music ever since, the latest being chilled out pop single Sweet Days.
Sword and the stoned Austin-based stoner rock band The Sword are making their way to Australia from 5 Sep. Inspired by iconic metallers Black Sabbath and contemporary doom pedlars Sleep, they’re supporting their latest album, Used Future.
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Stream dreams
Better Pred than dead
This month’s best binge watching
Ever since that sonofabitch Dillon stopped pushing pencils to head into the jungle with Mr Universe back in ‘87, humanity has never been free of the Predators. The newest one The Predator is all hopped up alien GMOs and ready to rumble from 13 Sep.
Kidding
Caiti Baker
Actor Jim Carrey and director Michel Gondry reunite for the first time since Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind with a new series about a kids TV presenter called Jeff, aka Mr Pickles. Despite his multimillion-dollar empire and iconic status, Jeff’s family life is falling apart. Carrey’s reputation for eccentricity and Gondry’s childlike wonder at the world will no doubt combine for an interest-
Bake it or leave it Bluesy pop artist Caiti Baker is taking her show on the road this 20 Sep, starting in WA and heading round the country. Following support slots for Guy Sebastian and a collab with AB Original’s Briggs last year, Baker is clearly heading in the right direction.
ing watch.
Streams from 10 Sep on Stan
Maniac
Maniac is a new dark comedy from Cary Fukunaga (director of True Detective) starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill. Based on a Norwegian show of the same name, Maniac follows two unrelated people who are drawn into a mysterious pharmaceutical trial that claims to cure any and all troubles of the mind. The doctor claims the treatment should only last three days and have no side effects, but we all know how that goes. Streams from 21 Sep on Netflix
BoJack Horseman, Season 5
App of the month: Space Nation Navigator
Anti-hero and star of the ‘90s sitcom Horsin’ Around, BoJack Horseman is back for a fifth season of celebrity escapades and devastat-
Want to be an astronaut? Course you do. Space Nation Navigator was developed in collaboration with NASA. It has games, quizzes, missions and challenges to hone your mind and body for interstellar travel .so you can reach for the stars from your couch.
ing animated emotion. Last season saw a real low point for BoJack (voiced by Will Arnett), and the promise of redemption. All we’ve seen for season five is one mysterious image and a brief teaser trailer, but the hype is nonetheless real for this hilarious and depressing show.
Streams from 14 Sep on Netflix
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Podcast of the month: Do Go On Do Go On is pegged as a fact-based comedy podcast hosted by Melbourne comedians Matt Stewart, Jess Perkins and Dave Warneke. The idea is to learn a thing or two while you giggle, but we tune in to hear Perkins laugh her arse off and Stewart call Sir David Attenborough a cunt.
Wooden’t it be nice Indie-pop artist Woodes is on a roll - from her highly-praised Golden Hour EP earlier this year, to her killer Splendour set in July, she’s going from strength to strength. Next on the cards is her Change My Mind tour, starting 7 Sep in Sydney and heading around the country. Woodes
Tesseract
4Djent Prog-metal outfit and giants of djent Tesseract are gracing our shores this 11 Sep in support of their fourth album, Sonder. It’s been three years since their last appearance at Soundwave (RIP), so this should be huge.
On the road again If you’ve ever wanted to know the weirdest stuff Australian roadies have seen, now’s your chance. Stuart Coupe has interviewed and collated the best stories from backstage and is releasing them in a book titled Roadies - The Secret History Of Rock ‘n’ Roll, released on 25 Sep.
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Kite height Melbourne indie-folk band The Paper Kites have been real busy overseas, with their song Bloom being certified Gold in the US and a new album on the horizon. On The Corner Where You Live is an atmospheric, noir-ish record featuring saxophone and rain noises, out 21 Sep.
Jen Cloher
ImaJen that
Sh*t we did With Sam Wall
Jen Cloher’s had a huge year since the highly praised 2017 release of her self-titled album. She’s hitting the road for a run of intimate solo performances from 20 Sep before heading off again for an overseas tour.
Apple Pie McFlurry Hot damn! A new McFlurry flavour. UberEats and Macca’s have noticed that people who get a McFlurry delivered to their door will often throw a McApple Pie in the order. Instead of making the obvious leap of logic that when people don’t have an audience sometimes they like to double dessert, they’ve
Tech N9ne
decided that the homebody demographic are jamming the latter in the former and hoeing into the lot, M&Ms and Oreo chunks be damned. Whether that’s true or not, the Apple Pie McFlurry is now a reality.
The verdict The regret is almost instant. Less than halfway through it feels like I’ve been given a coat of primer on the inside and my stomach is twitching like a dog having a bad dream. That’s pretty much a standard McFlurry reaction though, definitely not enough to stop me scarfing the rest down. The Apple Pie itself is moist but strangely dry all at once. The cinna-
Hectech The Paper Kites
mon aftertaste is something I can get behind, but it feels like a blessing when the pie runs dry and I can enjoy my sundae in peace. The
Kansas-born rapper Aaron Yates, aka Tech N9ne, is heading down under for an Australian tour starting 12 Sep. Best known for his quick rapping style and wild live shows, he’s bringing his “partner in rhyme”, long-time collaborator and label-mate, Krizz Kaliko.
sensation of finding an unexpected chunk still lurking in a knuckle-thick clot of caramel towards the bottom is definitive proof that the six basic human tastes are in fact sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami and horror. Finishing, I feel quietly, indefinably sad. I would say empty, but the sudden need to scuttle to the head tells me I‘m only just about to learn meaning of the word.
Deep in vogue
Second opinon “All of the flavours were good. You got the vanilla, the caramel, the cinnamon, the
Love him or hate him, US TV creator Ryan Murphy knows how to stun. Having hit paydirt with the twee Glee, he then somehow turned destined-to-be-oneseason-wonder American Horror Story into a long-running cult franchise. Starting on Foxtel in September is his latest series Pose - set in the queer underground ‘80s world of vogue dance-offs. Did we mention James Van Der Beek pops up?
stewed apple; all exceptional flavours. However, when it comes to texture, not so great. That being said, I did eat it all and I definitely do feel sick.” - Felicity, Designer “It’s great! Just remove the apple… and the pie.” - Ben, Designer “From the start, I was hopeful about the sundae. Ultimately though, however tasty it was, I had a whole lot of regrets about 15 minutes after eating it. So delicious yet so remorseful.” Pose
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- Jess, Assistant Editor
Diversifying festival line-ups: ‘This is the new normal. Start yesterday.’ Music festivals are a major hub in Australia’s a cultural landscape. Leanne de Souza looks at the importance of giving everyone a chance to participate.
M
usic festival experiences have shaped who I am, and I know I am not alone. Festivals inform our social lives, provide a cultural education and opportunities for artists and allow the music industry to earn a quid occasionally. Festival performances in front of thousands of people are game-changing for an artist. Artist managers and booking agents know that a festival spot can consolidate years of expensive, self-financed touring. Being booked by a Woodford Folk Festival, Splendour In The Grass, Bluesfest or Laneway Festival at the right time can mean bigger venues on subsequent tours. Festivals are pathways and important cogs of the music ecosystem. In future years, an artist can return to a festival with higher billing, higher guaranteed fees and provide muscle for all important ticket sales. A long-term win-win. The social, cultural and economic benefits of diversity in music festival programs far outweigh ALL resistance, excuses and cop-outs to make change. In his book Australia Reimagined, Hugh Mackay asks, “Who’s afraid of diversity?” Scrolling through @lineupswithoutmales on Instagram, it appears that too often it is the programmers of music festivals. Aside from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (who certainly did not choose colonisation), generations of new Australians continue to live and settle here. I understand ‘diversity’ as the entire glorious spectrum of genders, sexualities, cultural backgrounds and those less able than others physically and mentally. An array of people worthy of celebration, participation and representation. Resisting diversity and clinging to the status quo of the past is no longer an option. If anything, those that do run a risk that will no longer outweigh the benefits. The culture industries are reflecting an overdue correction to society’s colonial and patriarchal power structures, norms and values. Perhaps we are at a zeitgeist moment and the music industry — like it was with the ‘great – Hugh Mackay digital disruption’ — are at the forefront of inevitable social change. Attending, and for an artist, performing at, a music festival is engaging in the social life of the country. Whether it is buying a ticket or offering a performance fee, I believe it is incumbent upon festival directors to provide an experience that is safe, respectful, inclusive and diverse in both transactions. A responsibility of their very citizenship and right to play in the sandpit. A safe festival experience must be a non-negotiable. Important work for social change in this area is being undertaken by many: the education and resources provided by the feminist collective LISTEN; the leadership of Helen Marcou and the Victorian Sexual Assault Task Force; the independent research being undertaken by Dr Bianca Fileborn at UNSW and the formation of Your Choice; an industry-supported campaign to reduce incidents of violence, discrimination and sexual assault at music events. Research has shown that festival attendance creates a sense of community by bringing groups of people together with a common purpose and emerging with a connection (Gibson & Connell, 2003). An expansive attitude toward social inclusion and diversity in festival programming will catch the impending tsunami of social change. Artists’, the music industry’s and audiences’ expectations and attitudes are evolving. A homogenous, dominant experience will no longer work. Neither will what Grayson Perry calls the “Default Man” — white, middle-aged men that look like traditional power. Without men embodying meaningful change, they cannot capitalise on the soft power that gender equity and cultural diversity commands. It is the cultural impact of diverse festival programming I am most passionate about. Australian voices, songs and stories are important. In a cultural landscape increasingly dominated by global playlists and the ongoing resistance of commercial radio to play new Australian artists, music festivals provide space for audiences to be exposed to our culture and songs.
Traditions of First Nations peoples recognise the importance of maintaining culture. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples encode knowledge, traditions and culture within language, art, song and dance. Songs are powerful knowledge systems. Songs can (re)tell history, express emotions and perspectives that are different to what we have known or heard before. If festivals exclude songs created by women, people of colour and those from diverse backgrounds the knowledges within those songs are not exposed to audiences, effectively silenced. Exposure to different perspectives and stories other than the dominant culture builds tolerance and understanding — as anyone in the audience for AB Original’s set at Splendour In The Grass 2017 would attest. Money from ticket sales, sponsorship and government funding is unequivocally the measure of a music festival’s success. However, without economically resilient artists, ALL other music businesses, which depend upon their cultural production, are not sustainable. Accepting guaranteed performance fees for music festivals contributes to an artist’s viability. Those who get the opportunities gain, or retain, the resources. If the majority of a line-up is white, male artists, that is where the economic power is redistributed. When artists of colour and/or women are from overseas (a positive step toward cultural diversity) be mindful that the economic power of festivals is not being redistributed to help sustain the Australian music sector. Line-up reveals are the first ‘bump’ a festival receives in ticket sales and audience interest. Festival marketing and PR can no longer solely control their message through advertising and mainstream media. There is an imperative to cultivate audience participation from the outset and socially networked audiences are powerful and are also the ticket buyers that sustain a festival. The first line-up not only announces the artists but also broadcasts the festival’s own brand – Dr. M Yunupingu and values — their truth. Author Rohit Bhargava presented at SXSW 2018 the trend of “Truthing”. He said, “As a consequence of eroding trust in media and institutions, people are engaging in a personal quest for truth-based direct observation and face-to-face interaction.” The truth sells. Announce a line-up incongruent with common human values of diversity, inclusion, respect and safety you will be criticised and held to account by a networked, demanding audience. The time is over to stop being defensive and hiding behind excuses. The time IS now for ALL the power brokers who program, book, pitch and negotiate Australian artists performances. Start the process, commit to action and get serious about including a ‘diversity rider’ in your artist contracts. Prioritise the creation of line-ups that will have far-reaching social and cultural impact while delivering those all-important ticket sales. This is the new normal. Start yesterday.
“Making money can be one thing. Building bridges can be the other one.”
“Attitudes evolve in response to new experiences.”
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References
Australia Reimagined : Towards a More Compassionate and Less Anxious Society — Hugh Mackay (2018) Non Obvious : How to Predict Trends and Win the Future — Rohit Bhargava (2018) Sound Tracks : Popular Music, Identity and Place — John Connell and Chris Gibson (2002) The Descent of Man — Grayson Perry (2016) www.listenlistenlisten.org www.your-choice.net.au Positive Psychology and Music: The Power of Engagement at Music Festivals
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Guest Editorial
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September
Brendan Tuckerman of Thundamentals talks to Cyclone about the therapeutic nature of the writing process, love songs, being yourself and detaching from the need to impress to other people. Cover and feature pic by Luke Eblen
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
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n 2018 Sydney hip hoppers Thundamentals are celebrating their 10th anniversary. But, instead of indulging any nostalgia, dual MCs Brendan “Tuka” Tuckerman and Jesse “Jeswon” Ferris plus DJ Morgs (Morgan Jones) are looking ahead with a fifth album, I Love Songs. Most surprising? It’s a concept album about love. Thundamentals’ defacto leader, Tuckerman, is running early for a 9.30am interview — rare in the entertainment world. “I actually write some of my music first thing in the morning, so I’m always up,” he says seraphically down the line. Like Hermitude, Thundamentals hail from the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. In fact, Tuckerman cites Hermitude and A Tribe Called Quest as touchstones. Notably, Thundamentals supported the fabled Tribe in Sydney back in 2010. “It’s just crazy — I can’t believe that happened,” Tuckerman rhapsodises. “I didn’t realise Phife [Dawg] was so small; I didn’t realise Q-Tip was so tall. Holy shit.” Thundamentals premiered with an eponymous EP in 2008. They’d issue a trinity of albums on the now-defunct Obese Records before signing to Universal Music and introducing their own imprint, High Depth. Last year Thundamentals presented Everyone We Know, reaching #2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. (The single Sally, featuring Hermitude singer Mataya, was voted #8 in triple j’s Hottest 100 poll.) Nonetheless, in December beatmaker Kevin “Poncho” Kerr quit for a solo career (and to pursue an unexpected interest in cryptocurrency). Meanwhile, Thundamentals have continuously gigged, recently hitting regional hubs with their Decade Of The Thundakat Tour. Typically, Thundamentals would take a year off to do individual projects. In 2015, Tuckerman dropped the successful Life Death Time Eternal, sonically referencing Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Drake and Flume. He even performed at New York’s CMJ Music Marathon. But, a decade in, Thundamentals seem to be driven by a creative urgency — and so they progressed with I Love Songs. “Personally, I just don’t stop writing,” Tuckerman states. “It’s kind of like therapy — it seriously is therapy to me. If I don’t do it, I start feeling super-guilty and weird and anxious.” He shared his new songs with Thundamentals’ other members — the autobiographical trajectory similar to LDTE. “I basically had just fallen in love and I was writing love song after love song after love song. They didn’t mind a couple of the ideas I was putting down. We just decided to do another Thundas
record straight away, rather than me do another solo record and they do collaborations or whatever they wanted to do. So it was a really organic decision that we made; just to put it together.” Thundamentals completed I Love Songs with local producer Carl Dimataga (lately credited as a composer on Khalid’s American Teen) and guest vocalists Eves Karydas and Adrian Eagle. “I’m really happy with how it came together. It’s been the least stressful songwriting process we’ve ever had — everything just kind of fell where it fell. Normally, the energy is quite anxious sometimes. This one was really relaxed and organic-feeling.” Led by the hooky I Miss You, I Love Songs is far from a conventional Australian hip hop album, with inflections of R&B, electronica and Caribbean music. Yet, in exploring emotions, the album concept also defies the genre’s hypermasculinity. Says Tuckerman, “What underpinned the entire project was this sense of vulnerability and not being so associated with the masculine or the feminine and just being yourself.” Indeed, Thundamentals recognised the significance of that sentiment in 2012 when they covered Matt Corby’s soulful Brother for triple j’s Like A Version. “We noticed that, [by] putting your vulnerabilities forward to people, not only does it make you seem more like a real person, but it actually showcases a lot of powerful elements of your personality — because, once you’ve got your cards on the table, per se, you’ve got nothing to lose; you’ve got nothing to hide. So showing your vulnerabilities is almost a way of showing how powerful you really are. People that are speaking their genuine truths about things, rather than hiding them, I feel is a way forward. I guess we did that in our songwriting for I Love Songs as well — just not being so attached to wanting to impress people with all our whims, but more going on the genuine story of how complex and fucked-up love can be.” Tuckerman’s favourite track is the epic World’s Gone Mad, which extols living in the moment amid uncertainty. Curiously, Tuckerman today vacillates on whether Thundamentals should even be tagged ‘hip hop’. “I’d prefer to be seen as a band than a hip hop group, ‘cause I think we are kind of spreading out into a songwriting place.” Following Kanye West, a fresh wave of rapper/singers are repositioning themselves as “recording artists”. Ironically, this observation then prompts Tuckerman to defend Thundamentals’ hip hop “DNA”. “I feel like I Love Songs is still as hip hop as
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it’s ever been ‘cause, if you think about it, we’re doing something original in hip hop — which is more ‘hip hop’ than recreating what’s already been made,” he posits. “Originality is as important as just writing another trap song or writing another boom-bap song.” And, of course, Thundamentals have studied the music’s history. “There’s a lotta kids that are coming up that really don’t understand where hip hop actually came from, [in] representing minority groups and giving people an alternative perspective of mass culture,” Tuckerman rues. “A lot of people don’t know who Nas is, right? It’s just crazy.” These days Tuckerman enjoys vibing to avant-soulsters such as James Blake and Sampha (Thundamentals have previously reinterpreted Frank Ocean’s Ivy). But he still digs rock. “I really fuck with Gang Of Youths — like, I really love them,” Tuckerman enthuses. Mind, he avoids listening to
“I basically had just fallen in love and I was writing love song after love song after love song.” music while cutting records — to again ensure originality. “If someone says something really catchy, I’m scared that it’ll land in one of my songs in a couple of months. So I steer away.” Ultimately, Tuckerman maintains that the greatest influence on I Love Songs was his girlfriend. “I couldn’t help but ‘muse’ her, I guess.” Generally, Thundamentals tune into their own community, over ‘trends’, for inspiration.
Inevitably, Thundamentals will experience pushback to their deviating from Oz boom-bap — mirroring a generational divide in US hip hop between fans of traditional and cloud rap. “I think old dudes having a problem with new music is a bad fucking look,” Tuckerman declares. “There’s so much music out there — listen to the music you like and stay positive.” He sighs, “So, yeah, I just don’t like whinging people.” However, the MC, “a middle-class white guy,” freely acknowledges those concerns raised by J Cole about the “whitewashing” of hip hop culture after what befell jazz. In March, Tuckerman circulated a Tuka single: the aerial Naked Heart. It was a one-off, he confirms. “I’ve got so much stuff that I’m gonna show with the solo work but, at
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the moment, the band is just killing it. I’m loving the guys so much that we’re gonna keep going... But I’ll definitely be back. I’ve got a really weird project that I wanna drop sometime next year. There’ll definitely be another solo record sometime next year, too. So it’s all there... It’s like, Thundamentals, we’re ten years deep and we’re just going for it.”
I Love Songs (High Depth/Island/Universal) is out this month. Thundamentals tour from 10 Nov.
High time or pie in the sky: should Australia legalise recreational cannabis?
Greens leader Richard Di Natale wants the whacky tobbacy to be the right side of the law, but how likely is it that Australia may join the likes of Catalonia, Uruguay and nine lucky states in the US to make recreational cannabis use legal? Maxim Boon investigates. Illustration by Felicity Case-Mejia.
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he year is 1936. America. The Great Depression, the end of Prohibition and the decline of the temperance movement has seen a moral rot spread through the country’s squalid metropolises. And it’s a scourge that good, God-fearing, middle-class suburbanites are petrified of. Because this creeping threat has breached the city limits and is now blighting the bright futures of America’s impressionable youth. It’s green, mean, and will give you the munchies. It’s the wacky tobaccy, the devil’s weed, the jazz cigarette. Or as it became known in the mid-’30s, the reefer madness. This alarmist nickname eventually became the title of a propaganda film, intended as a cautionary tale for anyone who might partake in what we’d refer to today as cannabis. Or at least that’s the title that has endured. Originally called Tell Your Children, this shock-them-straight melodrama was almost immediately appropriated (and renamed) for the exploitation film circuit of the late ‘30s and ‘40s. By the ‘70s, it was being screened by advocates of the cannabis reform movement. Drawn to the film’s hysterical depictions of clean-cut youths transformed into murdering, unhinged, sex offenders, all thanks to a few tokes on that sweet, seductive Mary Jane, it made for an easy piece of ready-made satire. And half a century on, it’s still easy to see why the moralistic apoplexy of Reefer Madness, and its sensationalised depictions of cannabis use, so quickly became the butt of a joke. But while our collective nose for historical humour may have evolved, cannabis legislation has lagged behind. So why, if our moral paradigm has shifted so far has our legal stance remained static? It’s a question that’s being asked by Greens leader Richard Di Natalie, who in
April called for recreational cannabis use to be legalised in Australia. Currently, some uses of cannabis for medicinal purposes are legal in Australia, and in several states and territories — namely SA, ACT and NT — possession of a small amount for personal use has also been downgraded to a non-criminal offense, although it remains technically illegal. Di Natalie has proposed a policy under which a government agency would licence, monitor and regulate the commercial production and sale of cannabis, in much the same way as with alcohol and tobacco. It also calls for the institution of improved safeguards, including appropriate age limits and major restrictions on branding, marketing and packaging. Di Natalie has also proposed that tax revenues from cannabis sales be used to improve the prevention and treatment sector, which may also prove beneficial in tackling alcohol and other substance abuse. However, despite these pros, opponents have still cited several cons to the proposed legislation. Concerns over an increased use of cannabis are closely tied to arguments suggesting this will lead to an increase in crime, car accidents, and
“The suggestion that cannabis use either increases dangerous or antisocial behaviour or leads to the use of more dangerous substances — the so-called “gateway” hypothesis — has been debunked.” other incidents that constitute a risk to the public health. The legalisation of a banned substance should be held to rigorous scrutiny, but the suggestion that cannabis use either increases dangerous or anti-social behaviour or leads to the use of more dangerous substances — the so-called “gateway” hypothesis — has been challenged and debunked by certain studies. There is, however, well-documented evidence that cannabis use is both personally harmful and habit-forming. Studies have shown that up to 10% of adults who regularly use cannabis become dependent, and that habitual use doubles the risk of psychotic symptoms, including severe personality disorders like schizophrenia. Unsurprisingly, studies have
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also shown that driving under the influence and using while pregnant are both bad ideas. Another major hurdle for reform advocates is built into the Government’s official drug strategy, which is strictly based on a principle of supply reduction, which by extension equates to harm minimalisation. This does seem to reveal a problematic double standard, particularly in the definition of “harm.” Receiving a criminal record for possessing a quantity of cannabis for personal use can have a drastically harmful impact on a person’s ability to find employment or apply for overseas visas. This could be mitigated by decriminalisation, which would allow for the offence to be handled via fines, cautioning or rehabilitation orders without resulting in a criminal record, but this would continue to pose a burden on the justice system. The assertion that cannabis should remain illegal on the basis that it is harmful is also called into question by the inconsistency reflected in current laws. Many demonstrably harmful activities are legal, from extreme sports like skydiving and bungee jumping, to everyday occurrences like driving a car or grabbing a pint at the pub. This, combined with evidence that shows cannabis has a very low instance of overdosing, has led some campaigners to say the banning of recreational cannabis constitutes an infringement of civil liberties. This might sound like drawing a long bow, but as was shown during America’s Prohibition era, when the production and sale of alcohol was criminalised, criminal activity goes hand in glove with the restrictive legislation, whereas regulation, taxation and controlled production are all proven and effective measures for reducing public risk. But do Australians even want legal cannabis to become a reality? A recent poll suggests it’s not a big priority for many. Just 30% of polled Australians thought cannabis should be legal, with the most likely supporters among teenagers aged 14 — 17, who under the proposed legislation would still be too young to legally purchase or use cannabis. Another poll — the National Drug Strategy Household Survey — found that only a quarter of respondents felt cannabis should be legalised, and just 15% approved of regular use by adults for non-medical reasons. A quick straw poll among The Music’s staff found a similar divide. While 100% of the office thought the legalisation of recreational cannabis would be a good thing, only a third believed it would lead to them using cannabis for recreational purpose. So in the timeless words of psychobilly trio The Reverend Horton Heat, ‘”Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em!” Just don’t expect to be doing it beyond the reach of the long arm of the law anytime soon.
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Making Chris-tory French pop artist and performer Chris (formally Christine from Christine & The Queens) is exceptional in many ways. She spoke to Liz Giuffre about her latest tunes and transformation.
a good comparison to be made between Jackson and Chris’ bold attack. A recent cover spot on The New York Times, featuring her Girlfriend film clip, also confirmed her impact with the medium, noting not only a strong visual style, but also a striking attack on genre and gender. Releasing music previously as Christine and The Queens, now the artist prefers simply Chris as her stage personae. The change of name (another honing in of a character separate to her birth name) is a deliberate statement and plays with the audience and identity. “With Christine, the first iteration of my stage character, there were already questionings about gender, very much so. There’s a song on the first album [where] I’m singing about having a penis for like four minutes. And it was fun because people didn’t ask me how I wanted to be gendered then…But now with ‘Chris’ and my shorter hair, people are immediately assuming that I want to be gendered masculine. So it’s interesting to me because the visible is so much more of a language than what you’re saying, and of course I’m being really candid because I’m in the pop territory and I should know better, but it’s interesting that I’m just discovering now [that how I look is more impactful than what I say],” she laughs. The different rules for men and women are explored on Chris’ new self-titled album in many ways, and it’s a play she put in deliberately. “Chris is very much a strong woman, and the femininity in that record is not really classic. It’s really side by side with macho culture, with wet hair, an open shirt, and actually, if you think about the macho culture and macho way of exposing your body is really feminine also. So by doing that I’m going back full circle to my own body way more. And this is why it’s so interesting to me, I’m just staging the hypocrisy of the social construction of gender norms, I’m kind of showing the theatrics, it’s working on me as a woman.” Chris could easily give a lecture on identity politics and leave it there, but instead, her approach is to stay firmly in a self-proclaimed ‘pop’ world. It’s an even more interesting juxtaposition given pop is the genre where style and substance are often seen as mortal enemies. “Yeah, I think in pop territory there is a possibility to over-perform gender to the point where it becomes absurd. When I think about Madonna, I think about the conic breasts, that were almost phallic, they were so pointy
and big they were almost phallic, so it was like, ‘Oh, ok. You just made breasts phallic!’” she says. “And there is a certain empowerment that comes out of this because to me, the pop star is always exploring, and hopefully it’s not just freedom that should be just in that entertainment category, it should be available elsewhere. I think if you can be the start of a conversation on a table somewhere, then it’s great.”
Chris (Because/Caroline) is out this month.
“I’m just staging the hypocrisy of the social construction of gender norms. I’m kind of showing the theatrics.”
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F
ollowing on from the catchy-as-hell single Tilted and debut record Chaleur Humaine (released in France in 2014 and here in 2016 as Christine and The Queens), new record Chris already brings crackers Doesn’t Matter (or Voleur de Soleil) and Girlfriend (or Damn, Dis-Moi). Whether you’re listening in English or French, the appeal of each track is hard to deny — tracks produced with freshness and colour and supported by bold stylised film clips. “I have no preference actually,” she says of the process of making music in both French and English. “French is my native language so I like the musicality of it, and English, I do love the powerfulness and the ‘pop-bouncy-ness’ of it, so it’s hard to choose.” An important part of Chris’ appeal is her performance style — bold but understated, and with a charisma that we seldom see these days. “Every time I’m writing an album, every song comes infused with a video, and so each song comes with that theatricality for me. I can’t separate a song from the performance and sometimes the performance helps me finish the song or work on the production. I’d say that the music is at the core of my work but the performance aspect of it takes the lead really quickly after that,” she explains. “I can easily get obsessed about what I want to do on the stage and on the TV. And it’s really hard to do good TV actually, because it’s difficult as a format. I’m always trying to bring some warmth and presence and even some awkwardness even, to just move away from having it be too glossy and dull. I think that TV can be a bit like anaesthesia; you can just be dull to it, so if you can create a silence or an accident or sense of hesitation on TV, then it’s also really cool.” At the moment those musical performances are drawing attention as much as Chris’ sounds — with spots on international big name talk and performance shows like Later... With Jools Holland, The Tonight Show and The Graham Norton Show. When asked about preparing and staging such pieces, she gets into the medium, but also its former king. “I always think of the television moment as a theatrical moment. I’m sorry, I’m going to talk about him, I’ve been refraining for an hour,” she says with self-deprecating fandom but also reverence. “When you think about a Michael Jackson performance there is a sense of resonance between the video clip and the [television] performance. And also, when I prepare for television I think some people don’t know me at all, so I have three minutes to try and introduce them to what I’m about and what the song is about.” For those of us captivated by Chris on screen as well as in the speakers, there’s
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Ball Park Music
San Cisco
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
Ruby Fields, Jennifer Boyce of Ball Park Music, Scarlett Stevens of San Cisco
On patting animals and late nightsnacks With Ball Park Music and San Cisco about to team up for a mammoth national co-headline run, we grabbed San Cisco’s Scarlett Stevens and Ball Park Music’s Jennifer Boyce to quiz each other about any burning questions they had for their future tour mates.
Ball Park Music and San Cisco tour from 7 Sep.
Jennfier Boyce asks questions of Scarlett Stevens
Scarlett Stevens asks questions of Jennifer Boyce
Do you have a pre-show ritual? Scarlett Stevens: I tend to get really nervous so I usually sip herbal teas and warm up by stretching my arms and legs. Then right before we go on stage we have a big country singalong where we do acoustic country covers of our own songs.
When and how did you start playing bass? Jennifer Boyce: I was always keys player and had very briefly noodled on bass a few years before I met the fellas, because my little sister got a bass for Christmas! When she let it fall by the wayside, I thought I’d give it a crack but didn’t really know what to do with it. When I walked into my first rehearsal with Ball Park in 2008, they played me All I Want Is You. I asked them who would play bass, and said that if they found me a bass I’d give it a go.
What is your post-show routine? Do you like to stay out or go straight to sleep? I always find when I come off stage that it’s impossible to go straight to sleep. I think the adrenaline after playing takes a while to wear off and you have to go do something, whether it’s going back to someone’s hotel room and chatting ‘til the early hours or debriefing about the show. Or we’ll go find a late night snack somewhere. What is your favourite ever San Cisco show (so far!)? I love playing the Bowery Ballroom in New York. Something about that venue and the city is really special to me and it feels surreal getting to play there to lots of people! What was it like welcoming a new band member? Did it feel natural or did it take some time to get used to a new line-up? Welcoming our Jen to the band has definitely been a natural process and it’s been a lot of fun. Jen has been a close friend of ours for the last four years, we’ve toured with a couple of her bands and she had filled in for Nick when he shot himself in the foot in 2015 right before our album dropped and we were heading overseas to go to South By South West and play our first show in Mexico. It was amazing how quick she picked up the songs. I think Jen and I already had that chemistry of a rhythm section because we’d played together in our friends’ bands GUM and Ghetto Crystals. What’s your favourite shade of red? ‘Bordeaux’.
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What female musicians do you look up to? My idol is Carole King. I truly respect her songwriting and her strength to follow her dreams of being a professional writer in a male dominated industry. Musically and stylistically I really love Margaret Glaspy. How many cats do you have and how do you cope with being away from them when you go on tour? I have two cats, Dave and Rapunzel. They are pretty used to us being away, and we have people come in to feed them if we’re both on tour. I sometimes miss them. But I also try to find plenty of animals to pat on tour! What were the last five songs you listened to? Sara Watkins – Be There, Jade Bird – Uh Huh, Little Red – Slow Motion, Phantastic Ferniture – Fuckin ‘N’ Rollin, Lady Antebellum – Need You Now. Ruby Fields and I keep saying you’re like our wise older sister. What advice would you have for young women starting out in the music industry? Be yourself. Stand your ground and don’t let anyone else tell you who to be or how to act. Follow your heart and your head. Play as much as you can! Find like-minded people to work with and proceed to kick butt.
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Are you afraid of the dark?
veryone remembers scary stories shared on sleepovers or on the playground at school, and when the internet hit the ‘90s, that tradition transferred online. Mostly starting in forums and weird parts of the internet, so-called ‘creepypastas’ are spooky stories that are shared and built upon until they become urban legends in their own right. Some of the most popular ones have gone on to inspire movies, video games, TV shows, and at least one infamous real-life crime.
There are some scary stories that resonate so much so that they’re shared and shared until they take on a life of their own. Rebecca Nosiara investigates the sometimes mysterious, sometimes hilarious origins of the urban internet legends known as ‘creepypastas’.
Slenderman Forums like Something Awful were the place to be in the 2000s if you were into weird shit and wanted to find other people like you. Here the legend of Slenderman was born of the imaginations of photoshop aficionados and amateur horror writers, in a thread where people edited photos of children to look like they had a tall, shadowy man in the background. Classic Friday night activity. People latched on and started writing their own ‘Slenderman experiences’ adding to the legend, including German folklore-style tales from the 16th century, a video game, and now a movie. The whole thing became so popular that in 2014, two twelve-yearold girls lured another out into a wooded park in Milwaukee, USA, and stabbed her 19 times. They claimed they wanted to become Slenderman “proxies” in order to see him and live with him in his mansion in the woods, as you do.
The Expressionless The Expressionless is a story based on a single photograph of two nurses holding down an extremely creepy-looking mannequin. The black-and-white photo was taken in 1968 by a ‘Lord Snowdon’ and was titled, ‘Student nurses with a waxwork patient’, but should have been called, ‘Most cursed image of all time’, due to how I should never have seen it and probably will die in seven days. The story itself was anonymously posted to the internet sometime around 2012. In it, a woman walks into the Cedar Senai hospital covered in blood, with a face expressionless as a wax doll that, unsurprisingly, makes everyone who sees it highly uncomfortable. She then proceeds to pull a mangled kitten out of her mouth, bares huge, pointed teeth and proclaims, ‘I... am... God...’ Which is totally fine and will not at all prevent me from sleeping ever again.
The Rake The Rake originated on the most infamous of internet forums, the hive of scum and villainy that is 4chan’s /b/. For those who don’t know, 4chan is an online message board where people are basically the worst, and /b/ is the ‘random post’ section. In late 2005, an anonymous user asked people to create a new scary monster. Originally described as having three eyes, no noticeable mouth and pale skin, this was then elaborated into a short story, in which a couple wake up to what looks like a naked, hairless man at the end of their bed that moves on all fours like a mutated dog. Great! I guess it’s time to start
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running to bed again and leaping on before anything can grab my ankles. Because I totally stopped doing that as an adult.
Candle Cove Sometime in 2009, web cartoonist Kris Straub wrote a short story that looked like forum posts between people who remembered watching a weird kid’s show in the ‘70s called ‘Candle Cove’. As they reminisce on how effed up it actually was - including stuff like puppets pirates, a skeleton called The Skin-Taker, and an episode where the puppets all just scream for half an hour they finally discover the show never existed. They’d been separately watching it in TV static. Cool. Cool, cool, cool. A great, albeit short, story on its own, Candle Cove was adapted as the first season of horror anthology show Channel Zero in 2016, where it was given a longer plot surrounding one of the characters mentioned in the original story. This is one of my favourites because the forum posts are written super realistically, and it’s such a good premise - half-memories of old kid’s shows that were really disturbing is actually super relatable. Or is that just me?
Zalgo Zalgo is less a single story than a weird catchphrase, inserted into comics to make them seem apocalyptic and ominous. In 2004, a Something Awful user posted an edited Archie comic to one of the forums, in which he replaced the dialogue with stuff like, “Zalgo is upon us, Arch,” and, “These are the end times. We’ve got to be prepared. Zalgo!” It’s associated with scrambled text, pictures of people bleeding from their eyes, and some kind of unimaginable god who will bring the end of the world. If HP Lovecraft had been alive in the 2000s, we can only assume he’d be doing stuff like this, although the DeviantArt images under the Zalgo hashtag are extremely emo-looking.
Russian Sleep Experiment This story emerged back in 2009, when blogging reigned supreme and everyone had a LiveJournal or WordPress. An experiment was performed on five Russian inmates in the ‘40s, who were told that they’d be gassed with a stimulant, and if they could remain awake for 30 days they’d be given their freedom. From there the story devolves into screaming, faeces smearing, and eerie silences, like any great horror story should. This premise seems kind of cheesy in the beginning, but after imagining the maddened prisoners begging for more drugs, pulling their organs out of their still-living bodies and cannibalising their own limbs, I’ll give it props - pretty horrifying. After it was posted on a bodybuilding forum (lol), the story got popular and people started sharing a black-and-white image along with it - something like Gollum but with bigger teeth and black holes for eyes. Turns out it’s a Halloween decoration you can get at wholesalehalloweencostumes.com, which is decidedly less spooky.
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September
ƌȽƷưژǠȄژȵƷǒǠȏȄƌǹژw°ÞژƌȄưژɋǚƷژ -ƌȽɋ ژȏƌȽɋًژwȏưژ¥ȏưȽژȏǑǑƷȵژƌژ ƨƷȽȲȏǵƷًژȲȏȵɋƌƨǹƷژƌȄưژǑɓǹǹɲژ ƩȏǹǹƌȲȽǠƨǹƷژƌƩƩȏȂȂȏưƌɋǠȏȄژۯژ ȏǑ˟ƩƷژȽȏǹɓɋǠȏȄًژǠưƷƌǹژǑȏȵژǑƷȽɋǠɫƌǹȽًژ ȽȲȏȵɋǠȄǒژƷɫƷȄɋȽًژƩȏȄȽɋȵɓƩɋǠȏȄژ ȽǠɋƷȽًژȂǠȄǠȄǒژƨƌȽƷȽًژưǠȽƌȽɋƷȵژȵƷǹǠƷǑژ ژۯȂȏȵƷِژ ¥ƌǠȵǠȄǒژɋǚƷژƩȏȄɫƷȄǠƷȄƩƷژȏǑژ ȽɋƌɲǠȄǒژƩǹȏȽƷژɋȏژɋǚƷژƌƩɋǠȏȄًژɬǠɋǚژ Ƚɋ ɋǚƷژƩȏȂǑȏȵɋȽژȏǑژɲȏɓȵژȏɬȄژǚȏȂƷژ ǠȄƩǹɓưǠȄǒٕגאژɫژۯژȽȏǹƌȵژƷǹƷƩɋȵǠƩǠɋɲًژ ƌǠȵٮƩȏȄưǠɋǠȏȄǠȄǒًژȽƷƩɓȵǠɋɲًژƨɓȄǵȽژ ژۯưȏɓƨǹƷژƨƷưȽژۯژȂȏȵƷِژ
Ni hao, is it me you’re looking for? Psst, want to know a secret? Some of the best new smartphones coming onto the Australian market are being produced by China’s booming phone industry.
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n just a few short years, several major disruptors to the dominant stranglehold of Apple and Samsung have emerged from China, with comparable functionality, high-end finishing and quality software. And yet, many Aussies are totally unaware of this exciting electronics offering. We take a look at some of the brands you should be considering before making your next smartphone purchase.
Oppo
Huawei
ZTE
Topping China’s smartphone market for the first time mid-2016, Oppo are riding a wave of popularity in China not dissimilar to Apple in Western markets. First launching Down Under in 2014, they managed to shift just 3000 units in their first year of operations. But slowly and surely they’ve been hooking more and more Australian fans, with sales now in the hundreds of thousands of units annually.
Possibly the least mysterious Chinese brand on the market, Huawei have been selling its phone Down Under since 2012. After offering affordable, low-frills handsets it has now set its sights on the luxury market with new models that boast all the sleek design and cutting edge tech that high-end consumers demand. It’s a company that has designs on world domination; at the 2017 Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas it projected being the world’s number two phone producer by 2019.
Any economist will tell you, competition produces innovation, and this is certainly true of another of the major rivals to Oppo and Huawei, ZTE cut its teeth with cheap and cheerful handsets in a partnership with Telstra. But $200 and $300 burners does not a luxury brand make. While it may still lag behind its competitors, when it comes to the number of features on offer, its devices offer quirky alternatives that will resonate with consumers who want a point of difference.
Top product:
Top product:
Top product:
Oppo Find X
Huawei P20 Pro
Features:
Features:
• “FullView” 6.1 inch OLED display
• Edge-to-edge, uninterrupted
• “Natural Tone” setting that adapts
panoramic screen
to ambient lighting for “paper-
• Facial-recognition security
like” viewing
• 25MP AI-enhanced 3D Camera
Features:
• Two 5.2-inch TFT LCD displays • 20MP rear camera • Price: $725
• World’s first Leica Triple Camera,
• Price: $1140
including 40MP main lens and telephoto lens
What’s great about it: With the phone’s camera stored in a retractable bay at the top of the handset, the screen is seamless across the whole device’s face, beating even iPhone X. AI features anticipates preferences like selfie settings, photo lighting and app use.
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ZTE Axon M
• Price: $1070
What’s great about it: Few new handsets get rave reviews as unanimously as the P20 Pro. In addition to its triplecamera – described as a “game changer” – the unique gradated colour designs give this phone a funky edge on the usual plastic and metallic finishes most commonly on offer.
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What’s great about it: With a unique hinged double screen, the combined screen space is a whopping 10.4 inches. The screens can be used in tandem or in “tent mode” allowing you to display the same movie or image on both screens simultaneously, making it easier for you to share your screen time with a buddy.
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September
David Goldblatt, Waitress, Bezuidenhout Park, 1973. Image courtesy Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg and Cape Town © The David Goldblatt Legacy Trust.
David Goldblatt: Photographs 1948 – 2018 Ahead of the largest retrospective of photos by the celebrated South African photographer ever staged, we speak to the Chief Curator of the MCA, Rachel Kent, about this sprawling visual chronicle of courage, resilience and injustice during apartheid.
David Goldblatt, Eyesight testing at the Vosloosrus Eye Clinic of the Boksburg Lions Club, 1980. Image courtesy Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg and Cape Town © The David Goldblatt Legacy Trust.
Despite capturing the lives of people living under an incredibly oppressive regime of racial discrimination, Goldblatt’s images are surprisingly lyrical and gentle. That’s absolutely right. One of the interesting things about David is that balance between the political and the everyday. The images are often very quiet, but then they say so much. You can read an awful lot into the images and I always think they’re actually very political images, in their own, gentle way. And David himself used to talk about this quite a lot actually. He talked about the fact that he never, for example, joined a photo agency, because he always wanted to retain his independence. And he said that he realised very early on that his approach, his personality, was not well suited to the front line. He certainly tried it early on but he realised actually, no, he wasn’t suited to confronting violence headon. What really interested him was to take a step back and look at the wider political and social context that gives rise these issues. He’s really looking at the fundamental questions of who we are. What is it within humanity that produces these catastrophic governments and their policy of profound racism?
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They’re images that are almost disarmingly subversive, in the way they dodge the typically loud, polemic, often very anarchic impression of protest art. Why do you think there is this contradiction to his work, in their quiet tonality vs their political subtext? He explored the wider context in history that gives rise to these events. That’s where his strengths lay and his ability to speak, and in a way I think that’s incredibly important. Perhaps almost more important than him being at the front lines, on the barricade, because it’s really talking about the history that gives rise to the events. And so it creates so much wider understanding. I think the other thing that’s interesting about the work, is it’s incredibly particular to the history, politics, suffering, and so on, in relation to South Africa, that actually it’s a global narrative. There are resonances that one can read elsewhere and I think in a country, for example, like Australia with the colonial history, with an incredibly vexed, violent history of racism, institutionalised racism and so forth, there are parallels. And there are conversations to be had. David talked about the history of apartheid very specifically to South Africa but they’re global issues. Don’t forget Australia had a White Australia policy until 1973 and look what’s happening in Australian politics right now.
David Goldblatt, Fifteen-year old Lawrence Matjee after his assault and detention by the Security Police, Khotso House, de Villiers Street, 1985. Image courtesy Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg and Cape Town © The David Goldblatt Legacy Trust.
What do you think the artists today can learn today from the approach of David Goldblatt in terms of the way he documented and confronted a desperate political situation but with a kind of humanity and touching lyricism that could actually still be heard above the din? First of all, I think there’s room for both approaches. And I think photographers today can certainly learn from an approach like David’s because it steps back and looks at that wider context. And in a sense, what it does is create an entry point for the other practices that are on the front lines, that are more direct in their observations of daily events, activities, confrontation and so on. This is giving the wider picture and the framework for those images as well so I would say they’re in conversation. They’re in a very direct dialogue. And interestingly, although David always maintained his independence and didn’t join a photo agency, he was nonetheless very closely aligned with other quite radical photographers.
Goldblatt sadly passed away just a few months ago, which must make this particular showing extremely poignant for you. How has this altered the way that you are delivering this show which is now not only a showcase but also a memorial? It was unbelievably sad when David passed. I’d been madly hoping that he would be able to hold out and see this exhibition in person, which I know he would’ve desperately wanted. Wild horses were not going to stop him getting here when he was in better health. Then he did go into quite a serious decline in those last few months. I saw him in April. I was last in Johannesburg with him in April and we were driving around Soweto, doing all sorts of things. He was in a period of good health then. I was able to finalise quite a lot with the idea in my mind if that, I needed to set the exhibition up in his absence, if he were not well, then I could do that. But I certainly didn’t expect that he would have passed that suddenly. So it is, I guess in terms of the exhibition, a wonderful memorial and tribute to David. It is also his largest exhibition physically. It’s a culmination of seventy years of work. The earliest photographs in the exhibition are from his teens, his late teens. So I hope it’s a fitting tribute to an artist and a person who was truly extraordinary.
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David Goldblatt: Photographs 1948 — 2018 is at the MCA from 19 Oct.
Anne Marie Peard talks to author and craftivist Sayraphim Lothian about the movement that’s thrilling the world with kindness. Photos by Sayraphim Lothian.
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here’s something colourful on a bench in a shopping centre. Leave it, it’s not yours. Should I tell security? May as well have a look. It’s a colourful cupcake made of felt. Tied to its fluffy cherry-on-top is a label that says, “For you, stranger”. Melbourne craftivist Sayraphim Lothian’s For You, Stranger project started ten years ago and continues to inspire a secret army of stealthy craftivists who make gifts for strangers. Her first book Guerrilla Kindness & Other Acts Of Creative Resistance has just been released. Craft resistance isn’t new. Suffragettes stitched slogans into their clothes. In Chile during the Pinochet dictatorship, women made traditional fabric pictures that showed their country’s horror — often stitching these arpilleras from the clothes of missing people. The pictures survived because they were dismissed as “craft”. The term “craftivist” — craft + activist — was coined in 2003 by Betsy Greer from the USA, who describes crafting as “personalised activism” for social and political causes. One of Greer’s popular projects is YASVB. If you ever find a cross-stitched message saying, “You are so very beautiful,” or “strong”, “fabulous”, or “excellent”, it’s been put there by a craftivist who knows it will be found by a person who needs to hear it. Greer is a fan of Lothian’s and in her introduction to Guerrilla Kindness says: “We live in a world where we hear and see hundreds of messages per day that tell us we are not good enough, thin enough or pretty enough; messages that tell us we need to fix ourselves, and that we can’t possibly be perfect the way we are right now. In any society where these messages persist, kindness, whether to ourselves or others, is an act of resistance and subversion.” It’s easy to be angry these days. Even recently, Australia’s federal government proved itself to be run by selfish boys. Meanwhile, asylum seekers live in hell, homeless people sleep on our wealthy streets, domestic violence increases... and if I continue, the list will be longer than any rainbow scarf I could knit. We need to resist and subvert the negative and unfair messages that surround us, and craftivists can help us re-think how we protest, raise awareness and express dissent. Resistance doesn’t need to be angry. Anger doesn’t need to be mean. “Guerrilla kindness” combines political guerrilla and protest art — like paste-ups, re-working advertisements and yarnbombing — with the idea of random acts of kindness for kindness’ sake. “Kindness and joy themselves can be radical acts ... An act of guerrilla kindness is subversive; it’s a tiny moment between two strangers; it’s one person stepping up to change someone else’s day, anonymously, sneakily, joyfully,” explains Lothian. Her book is filled with stories and projects like the worldwide (Secret) Toy Society, where homemade toys are left in places like hospitals. There are easy-to-follow instructions for anonymous gifts like knitted hearts and messages in felt bottles. Or try a #MeToo yarnbomb, ‘Riots Not Diets’ stencil or ‘Sisters Not Cisters’ re-purposed doily.
Riots Not Diets stencil for Body Positive Movement
I first encountered Lothian’s craftivism in a participatory craft project called A Moment In Yarn. She asked me to tell her a happy memory and as we talked about the day I got my cat called Flue, she crocheted a granny square. It’s white for Flue’s fur, and black for how it was always on my clothes, as well as the colours of her collar and eyes. It instantly became precious to me and sits on top of her ashes. This project also led me to discover that I love making things with yarn. Earlier in 2017, I knitted my first #pussyhat in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of women in the USA protesting their newly elected President. Later that year, Australians faced the cowardly #MarriageEquality survey and hatred and shame tried to ooze into our lives. I couldn’t stop hatred, fear and ignorance, but I could sit on my couch and make rainbows. So, I learned to crochet and started making #QueerGrannySquares for friends. And strangers. I bought scrap yarn from op shops — let’s give our money to organisations who help others — and kept making. I’ve seen them become bunting, doilies, bookmarks, coasters, pocket squares and mouse pads. They’ve appeared in theatre shows and been sewn into a giant diversity blanket. Some aren’t rainbows, but all are about rejecting shame and accepting love. And I loved making them. Melbourne singer and activist and Mama Alto wrote about her square in a Facebook post about “the power of making things and of making communities”. She said, “Creation is the antidote to hatred.” Craftivism is about making connections and communities far more than making things. Lothian adds that these “acts of generosity function like secret messages and whispered words of encouragement and solidarity”. A small act of kindness may not change the world, but it can create a moment of happiness. And that moment will inspire another act of kindness, which will inspire another one. And the reach can be far greater than we expect. Lothian tells me how “the most surprising thing is the reaction I get on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc. People react to the items just as warmly as if they’d found it on the street. That was so awesome to understand that the ripples of loveliness can spread online and that it’s not just beneficial to the single person who finds it.” So, find those hashtags about the issues you’re passionate about and explore ones like #craftivism, #craftivist, #creativeactivism, #creativeresistance and #creativeresistancebook. Or bake vegan protest cookies, cut a feminist potato stamp, patch your clothes with #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe embroidered patches and join the craftivists who are “making the world a better place, one handmade object at a time”. Every time you make something, Lothian asks you to remember that, “Random acts of kindness are a rebellion against the expected and entrenched nastiness, and joy and confidence in yourself is radical act.” Be a rebel. Be radical. Feel joy and be kind.
Knitted Rainbow Heart
Tiger made for The (Secret) Toy Society
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QUEENSCLIFF, VICTORIA
19-TWENTY ALANA WILKINSON ALI BARTER ALICE SKYE AL PARKINSON AMISTAT BEN OTTEWELL (UK) THE BLACK SORROWS WITH VIKA & LINDA BOMBINO (NER) CARLA GENEVE CHARM OF FINCHES CHINA BOWLS (UK) THE COLLINGWOOD CASANOVAS THE COOL CALM COURTNEY BARNETT DAN SULTAN DONAVON FRANKENREITER (USA) ELLA TRINIDAD FRASER A GORMAN GRIZZLEE TRAIN GURRUMUL’S DJARIMIRRI LIVE HARRY JAKAMARRA (SMALL HALLS) THE HERD HORNS OF LEROY JEN CLOHER JESSE REDWING KASEY CHAMBERS THE LITTLE STEVIES MADDY JANE MADISON VIOLET (CAN) (SMALL HALLS) MIKE LOVE (USA) MONTGOMERY CHURCH OH PEP! OSAKA MONAURAIL (JPN) SARAH BLASKO THE SENEGAMBIAN JAZZ BAND SKINNYFISH SOUND SYSTEM STU LARSEN & NATSUKI KURAI TEENY TINY STEVIES THANDO THIS WAY NORTH TIM SNIDER (USA) TRIPOD THE TURNER BROWN BAND (USA) THE TWOKS VINCE PEACH WANDERERS THE WHITLAMS
23-25 NOVEMBER 2018
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September
A life in film Speaking to director duo Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui about their fashion icon biopic, McQueen, and Thomas M Wright about his Adam Cullen documentary, Acute Misfortune, Anthony Carew takes a look at how we bring late artists to life in film.
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hen Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui began making McQueen, a documentary about the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen, they had a bunch of other docs in mind. “Having worked on Listen To Me Marlon, Peter knew what it was like to make a film that’s essentially bringing someone back to life,” offers Bonhote. “We [loved] Pina, the Pina Bausch movie from Wim Wenders, [where] there’s no celebrity interviews, just commentary from close collaborators; where it’s all about the dancing and the creativity. Senna was a big one. It doesn’t matter if you’re not a petrolhead, if you don’t care about Formula One at all. It’s almost like a Western. And, obviously, Amy, the Amy Winehouse documentary, was incredible, such an intimate portrait that at the end you felt like you knew her.” For those scanning for portraits of fallen artists, streaming-service menus are now littered with endless docs and biopics. Often they chronicle self-destructive figures; genius, in both narrative and archetype, oft entangled with darker impulses. Winehouse is a great example of a favoured subject: the musician who died young. Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin; of course films have been made about them. Control turned the tragic demise of Ian Curtis into steely art. Bohemian Rhapsody will soon bring Freddie Mercury to screen. Jazz icons from Charlie Parker (Clint Eastwood’s Bird) to Miles Davis (Don Cheadle’s Miles Ahead) have seen their drug-addled lives depicted on celluloid. In the past year, we’ve seen two docs about Whitney Houston (Whitney: Can I
depiction of the musician; as if out to shake the cliches of the music biopic, so entrenched with the success of Oscar bait duo Ray and Walk The Line that they begat the piss-take Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. The acclaimed new Australian film Acute Misfortune is another portrait of a selfdestructive artist that engages with greater notions of storytelling. It’s adapted from Erik Jensen’s biography of artist Adam Cullen, in which Jensen’s life becomes entwined with his subject, an oft-violent painter who drank himself to death. When director
Be Me and Whitney), something recalling 2014’s duelling Yves Saint Laurent biopics (Yves Saint Laurent and Saint Laurent), or 2009’s two Chanel period-pieces (Coco Before Chanel and Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky). Fans of French cinema have also just watched Gauguin sleeping his syphilitic way around Tahiti (in Gauguin) and Rodin lay pipe in between glowering sculpting (in Rodin); far better are the prior films made about Rodin’s lover, Camille Claudel (Camille Claudel and Camille Claudel 1915), whose story speaks, sadly, to the crazy-artist myth.
“One of the reasons we wanted to explore this cultural phenomenon was to have a conversation with the culture.” Thomas M Wright read an excerpt from the book, his first reaction was, “Why would anybody bother to write a book about this fuckin’ asshole?”, but soon he found himself intrigued by Cullen as an artistic figure. “The persona has been captured, revealed, explored, and exploited by this author,” Wright says. Knowing that “there would be no reason to make a traditional biopic” of Cullen, Wright instead questions the problematic nature of the Great Male Artist and toxic masculinity. “One of the reasons we wanted to explore this cultural phenomenon was to have a conversation with the culture. At the end of the day, Adam Cullen was an artist
Even outsider-artists are being brought to screen, be they depicted in a biopic (Maudie, Seraphine) or documentary (In The Realms Of The Unreal: The Mystery Of Henry Darger). Ethan Hawke’s third directorial effort, Blaze, arrives as a prime self-destructivemusician story. It tells of cult country songwriter Blaze Foley, who was shot and killed in 1989, at just 39. Hawke has a history in this cinematic sub-genre: he recently played Chet Baker in Born To Be Blue, and appears as an interviewee in Eugene Jarecki’s The King, which uses the iconic figure of Elvis Presley to examine American society. Though based on a memoir by Foley’s wife, Sybil Rosen, Blaze is an interpretive,
Acute Misfortune
that, everyone knew, had swastikas tattooed on his arms, yet Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull owned his paintings.” Echoing the book’s evocation of the writer’s relationship to their subject, Acute Misfortune also sits close to Cullen: filled with his real paintings, lead actor Daniel Henshall wearing Cullen’s clothes. And the writer’s real-life downward spiral gave the film a sense of drama. “There’s all sorts of self-destruction that all of us engage with on a daily basis,” Wright says. Self-destruction leads us back to McQueen, where Bonhote and Ettedgui chronicled an “extreme artist” whose dark work served a therapeutic outlet, but who still died, by his own hand, at just 40. “It’s almost a film about madness,” Bonhote says; McQueen’s essential moral being “the more successful you are, the more demons you have”. Neither the filmmakers nor the interview-subjects wanted McQueen to shy away from the unflattering elements of its subject. “We wanted to make a film about the man, not the fashion designer,” Bonhote offers. “Through the shows, which [McQueen] always said were so autobiographical, you could magnify other elements of his life: his darkest secrets, the abuse he suffered when he was younger, his mental health issues. His interest in darker aspects in life echoes with a lot of other creative people.”
McQueen is in cinemas from 6 Sep
McQueen
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In bloom Second album syndrome is a very real thing bands and artists face, especially after the huge success of a debut LP. Troye Sivan tells Neil Griffiths how he not only managed, but delivered the biggest pop album of 2018. Photo by Jules Faure.
“I
had never consciously written happy music before and then I was just really happy in my life and I was like, ‘What does that sound like?’” Sivan recalls. “Nine out of ten times when we’re writing, we’ll start with chords whether it’s on piano or a synth or something like that. And I think that inherently, sort of, makes me want to write something slow and makes me want to write something, maybe just kind of heartfelt or whatever. And so this time I kind of pushed myself. I was like, ‘What if we start with a kick drum instead?’ Or ‘What if we start with...?’ just to push myself a little bit and try and find out what a song that I write that’s not sad sounds like. I wouldn’t have gotten half of the songs on the album if it wasn’t for switching up that process, I don’t think.” While he hit the mainstream already backed by a huge following from his YouTube days, it’s fair to say 23-year-old Sivan’s rise globally was swift. The SouthAfrican-born-Perth-raised artist’s 2015 EP Wild peaked at #1 in Australia and just three months later, he released his debut album, Blue Neighbourhood, which smashed charts around the world and featured hit track, Youth, as well as the previously-released, Wild. Coming into his second record, Bloom, Sivan made a point to not rush the process. “I came into the process really not wanting to rush anything and kind of wanting to take my time and do what felt right,” he said.
“I think I was just really inspired because then the album just came together surprisingly quickly. Songs just started to really fall into place.” In January this year, Bloom’s first single was released — My My My! — which again proved to be a hit for both critics and fans. “I started off the process with my core crew that I wrote my first album with and so it was super comfortable. I felt a lot more confident and comfortable, so we were just trying stuff and having a really good time. The second part of the process was going to work with, like, Max Martin’s crew [Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, NSYNC]. “So that was half in LA and half in Sweden. At that point, I felt we had built enough of a sound with my core crew to then take it to them and be like, ‘Ok, what does the popiest end of that world sound like and how do we find that?’ It was the best.” As well as the already-released track with fellow pop sensation Ariana Grande, Dance To This, Sivan worked with Sydney artist, Gordi (who no doubt will get some extra eyes on her following Bloom’s release) for Postcard. However, some will be surprised to know that despite the Australian connection, it was one fateful flight from the US back home where Sivan first heard Gordi’s music. “I was on a Qantas flight and I fell asleep with the headphones on and it was like, Qantas radio or whatever, and I remember waking up from my sleep being like, ‘Whose
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voice is in my ears right now?’ I didn’t have internet so I was, like, trying to figure out what she was saying and write down lyrics so that I could Google it once I landed. That was probably a good year and a half ago, maybe two years ago... she was in LA and we were gonna write together, basically. I thought maybe we were just writing for me or maybe just writing for her, I didn’t really know what was going on. “I asked her if she would sing background vocals and the bridge on this song and it’s, like, one of my favourite moments on the entire album. I feel like as soon as she starts to sing it, it’s like the air gets sucked out of the room. She’s just got the most beautiful voice and is such a good writer. I’m a big, big fan.” Sivan will embark on a massive tour of the US just weeks after Bloom drops. There is probably no better way to prepare than by performing in front of over 60,000 people with Taylor Swift, which is exactly what he did in May at LA’s Rose Bowl. Shortly after his cameo at Swift’s concert, Sivan confirmed that his guest spot was planned last minute and only came about after he sent a text to Swift asking for tickets to the show that night. “I’m like, ‘Hey can I get some free tickets?’ And she’s like, ‘Well, yeah, if you come on stage and perform with me,’” he recently told Zane Lowe. “I thought I was going to be fine and I actually wasn’t in the beginning,” Sivan admits.
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“I popped up out of the stage like Destiny’s Child style and I loved that. When I looked straight forward, I was like, ‘Ok, the venue’s not that tall, so I can do this.’ The difference was that I looked to the side and it just didn’t end. The crowd just didn’t finish. And then I looked to the other side and there was double on the other side. “Everyone had on these colourful wrist bands, so you could see every single person and then I started feeling kind of queasy for a second. I looked at the floor to try and ground myself and the floor of her stage is, like, LED screens so it’s, like, moving and changing. As a last resort I was like, ‘You know what, I’m gonna look at her face because seeing another person close up in a huge crowd will also probably ground me.’ And then I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s Taylor Swift!’ So it didn’t help at all. But I managed to calm myself down. Once we started to strut down the stage I felt much better.” Sivan confirms that Australian shows are in the pipeline for his Bloom tour but he’s already focused on what comes next. It could be an album, or it could not. “[A third album] is a little bit in my brain but... I’m also tempted to do whatever I want and maybe do an EP or maybe do some more acting. I’ve also thought about going to uni maybe for a little bit.”
Bloom (EMI) is out now.
“And then I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s Taylor Swift!’”
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Turning DREAMS into reality
Silver pillow dreams Brisbane trio The Goon Sax return with their second album and as Louis Forster and Riley Jones explain to Chris Familton, the desire to document their thoughts and experiences through an open musical relationship remains the driving ethos of the band.
Bryget Chrisfield checks in with Daniel Johns (Dr Dreams) and Luke Steele (Miracle) to uncover musical connections that overlap like a complex Venn Diagram to make DREAMS come true.
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hey were still teenagers negotiating the twin worlds of school life and being in a band when they released their debut album Up To Anything and now, facing the challenge of adulthood and the new responsibilities that come with it, The Goon Sax have found some different angles from which to write about familiar themes on its follow up We’re Not Talking. “I think growing up was definitely a big theme,” says singer/guitarist Forster. “We were writing more about love than we’d written about before. On the first record, we were writing about that from an outside perspective, as a foreign concept. This time it was closer in that sense,” he reveals. “It was also about finishing school and worrying about what we were doing every day, which we hadn’t had to do for 18 years.” The group recorded the album down in Melbourne at Super Melody World and though they have mixed feelings about the experience, both Jones and Forster agree that it yielded positive results. “The recording process was really different because we worked with producers who had an idea of what we should sound like and we had a different idea, so the album is like both sides pulling and fighting for some middle ground which definitely makes it interesting,” reflects Jones. Forster agrees, adding, “we started writing as soon as we finished recording the first album, from 2015. It’s coming from the same place as the first record. I think there’s tension in every aspect of the record. It feels like it has so much tension and energy, that feels like it’s on the verge of falling apart or exploding which is a good thing. It didn’t seem like a good thing at the time but maybe it is now,” he says, with the benefit of hindsight. One feature of the album is the increased democratisation of the musical relationship between the three of them. Alongside James Harrison, all members contribute lead vocals to the new album. “We definitely sing the songs that we write and then the others chime in. We recently made a rule that anyone can chime in whenever they like and so far that has worked well,” explains Jones. That willingness to try new things on We’re Not Talking extended to the use of new instrumentation such as strings, piano and more across its 30 minute playing time. “We wanted to experiment with drum machines a bit and have some horns and things,” says Forster. “We all wanted to sing more on each other’s songs. There are more group vocals and we were all having more influence on each others songs, both with the singing and the ideas we were putting forward. There are bits of Riley and James on all my songs and vice versa which wasn’t maybe there before that. It wasn’t necessarily a conscious thing but we did it at the time and it felt good.” One common element that the newer songs share with the first album is the streak of melancholy and self-doubt that permeates their music. Is that a representative of their personalities or just the mood and tone of how their creativity is naturally expressed? “I think to some degree it is part of our personalities but we definitely wrote about things that were difficult and that bummed us out at the time and writing about them made us feel good again. Sad music is made for a reason and maybe it’s to repurpose something you’ve gone through,” ponders Forster. “It’s important for us to make music that feels necessary, not just for the sake of it. You need to feel like you have to do it. I like the absurdity of putting sad lyrics to happier sounding music, it just makes me laugh.” Jones has a similar take that also reflects the way she enjoys listening to music. “I like it when you can be nostalgic about those kinds of feelings and remember through the music how strongly you felt about something.”
The Dissociatives/Paul Mac Daniel Johns: “I met [Paul Mac] at an ARIAs afterparty and I’d just heard the Itch-E & Scratch-E record. I think I was about maybe 17 or something, you know, really full of enthusiasm. I was like, ‘Wow, Paul Mac! I love Itch-E & Scratch-E,’ and we got talking. He was living in the Blue Mountains... I had quite bad agoraphobia and wouldn’t leave the house and I said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t leave,’ so Paul just got in his car and kind of came and kidnapped me [laughs]. So we went to the Blue Mountains and then we did I Can’t Believe It’s Not Rock and then from there we stayed in touch. Paul played on a lot of Diorama... and obviously played a lot on Young Modern, and then subsequently toured the Young Modern record with Silverchair. And prior to that we’d done The Dissociatives, as well.”
Grandmaster Flash Luke Steele: “We struck up a friendship straight away. [Grandmaster Flash] did a couple of remixes
for
[DREAMS]...
He’s
quite old-school so he doesn’t really email much; he’ll just call outta
We’re Not Talking (Chapter/Inertia) is out this month.
the blue and go, ‘I’m thinking this, whaddaya think about that?’”
Lindsey Buckingham Luke Steele: “When [Empire Of The Sun] worked with Lindsey Buckingham it was quite organic. I spoke to him on email and he said he’s in LA and he’ll come down to our studio. And he just sort of sat on the couch and we just jammed for seven hours and, you know, made a song outta that.”
Beyonce Luke Steele: “I had this session with Jeff Bhasker, who’s a big LA producer, and we did that song [Rather Die Young]. He was working with Beyonce at the time and he said, ‘She’s been saying she needs one more track, let me send it to her,’ and then he got back saying, ‘She wants it’.” Pic: Ryan Topez
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Tkay takeover
Kimbra/Van Dyke Parks Daniel Johns: “I think Kimbra had known [Van Dyke Parks] through the work that I did with him on Diorama, and I did
With a new album and a big tour on the way, Tkay Maidza chats to Cyclone about the art of flexin’, production inspirations and the influence of Duckwrth.
a few songs for Kimbra’s record [The Golden Echo], and Kimbra wanted Van Dyke to do an arrangement for our song. So we knew each other through that project — the three of us — and then Van Dyke wanted us to be the vocalists for this [2013 Adelaide Festival] performance.”
Scott Horscroft Luke Steele: “The first session [DREAMS] ever did was at Big Jesus Burger, which was a famous Sydney studio... For many years it was Scott Horscroft’s studio — he’s actually my A&R guy now – but, yeah! That was a big hub for everyone from The Presets to Dan to me to every band in Australia, pretty much.” Daniel Johns: “[Luke and I had] probably done about two or three different albums that we didn’t release until we got to the DREAMS record [No One Defeats Us] and Scott was involved quite heavily in all of the early stuff... The three of us spent a lot of time together, through our 20s especially.”
Wade Keighran (The Scare, Wolf & Cub) Daniel Johns: “Wade Keighran, the bass player, engineered the session that No One Defeats Us came from.”
The Presets Luke Steele: “We’ve been mates with The Presets for many years. Julian [Hamilton] actually was the string arranger on the last Sleepy Jackson record.” Daniel Johns: “The Presets thing came about when we were auditioning keyboardists for [Silverchair’s] Diora-
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ma album and we needed
akudzwa “Tkay” Maidza is back. And the rapper, singer and pop icon is flexing her creative skills, and sass, with a new EP, Last Year Was Weird Vol. 1 — her first solo music since 2016’s bumper album TKAY. At 21, Maidza has achieved much, gaining global exposure. Even before her debut, she guested on Troye Sivan’s US #5 mini-album Wild. She was nominated for BET’s ‘Best New International Act’ award. Last year, Maidza’s song Glorious was synced for Girls. Plus she’s performed extensively, notably hitting 2017’s Governors Ball in New York. “It’s been definitely life-changing, of course,” the outgoing Maidza says of her success. “It’s more eye-opening. I think I’ve had a lot of great things happen and then I’ve had a lot of things that I didn’t expect... And just a lot of experiences. At the end of the day, you’re just like, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of things that can happen.’” Born in Zimbabwe, Maidza arrived in Australia at five. Her parents’ scientific expertise (Maidza’s father is a metallurgist and mother an industrial chemist) was in-demand amid the mining surge. Settling in Adelaide, Maidza threw herself into sport — and, by way of youth programs, music. She briefly attended uni to study architecture. Developing an individualistic mode of electronic hip hop, Maidza aired the “bratty”
someone who was next-level good so they could pull off the Van Dyke Parks arrangements live... Instantly I was just like, ‘Julian’s the guy’... On the early Presets stuff I did some co-writing and was jamming with them a lot in the studio... ‘cause me and Julian were kinda going back and forth on tour. And then Kim [Moyes] became the drummer in The Dissociatives and Julian went on tour with The Dissociatives.”
Empire Of The Sun Luke Steele: “It has a really strong name in a lot of circles and cultures around the world, and I think over the last ten years we’ve travelled so many places that it’s become quite a universal name, so it definitely helped a lot in making connections with people.”
Jay Z Luke Steele: “When I collaborated with Jay Z, they called and they just said, ‘We’ve got 24 hours,’ and then I did my part and sent it and then he called me and said, ‘This is dope, we’re done’.”
No One Defeats Us (EMI) is out this month
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Brontosaurus — eventually striking a deal with Universal Music. Following 2014’s buzz EP Switch Tape, she dropped TKAY — with prestigious input from Run The Jewels’ Killer Mike. However, after this accelerated rise, Maidza took time out to reassess her career. Young artists are often inundated with others’ opinions — and Maidza was no different. “I just felt like my project didn’t completely feel like mine anymore,” she shares. “I wasn’t centred. So I just had to refocus and be like, ‘What’s the whole point of my existence?’... I felt like I had to mentally go back to the start and be like, ‘Okay, who am I? What do I want?’ kind of thing. ” Indeed, Australia’s queen of hip hop needed space. Maidza claimed a laover year, ostensibly to concentrate on fitness. In fact, she composed material independently. The lead single from Last Year Was Weird Vol. 1 — which Maidza hints is the beginning of a trilogy — is the trap banger Flexin’. It catches Maidza at her most assertive yet still radiates charm. “That one was, I felt like, the old me, but also mixing in the new me.” She is joined on Flexin’ by emerging Cali rapper Duckwrth, who matches her fire wordplay. They tracked Flexin’ during his Australian tour in May. The EP emphasises both Maidza’s range and creative ambition — opening with the reggae bop Big Things (featuring Dad on bass!). “I feel like now I’m just more attracted to music that sounds, I guess, timeless. I wanna have real drums or an element of something that sounds like it could exist at any time...So I just tried to learn more about what makes really good records and I’ve tried to implement it into my music to make myself better.” Next, Maidza will present a fresh show on headlining and festival dates. “We want to make it a lot bigger. I think, ‘cause I’m such a visual person, we’re gonna add a lot of new stuff... I definitely wanna bring a lot more to the shows visually and add a lot more people in the band and all of that stuff. I’m excited.”
Last Year Was Weird Vol. 1 (Dew Process/ Universal) is out now. Tkay Maidza tours from 7 Sep. Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
BIGSOUND Buzz Acts Here are the acts we’re expecting HUGE things from.
#TheMusicAtBIGSOUND Couldn’t make it to this year’s BIGSOUND? Fear not, our southern state friends, here’s how you can keep up with all the news, reviews and interviews from this year’s conference and festival.
VOIID We took a vote around the office and VOIID are a unanimous must-see at BIGSOUND 2018. This four-piece garage band promise to melt faces and make boyfriends cry and we are damn curious to see what happens during their set.
Extra, extra
Pod on
Read all about it — BIGSOUND news, that is — with regular stories on conferences, showcases and more on theMusic.com.au
Park the true crime for a sec because we’re back for another huge year of podcasting live from BIGSOUND, where The Music Podcast will be once again interviewing all the buzziest acts and the industry’s most influential. Available wherever you grab your podcasts.
A Swayze & The Ghosts If you haven’t already caught Tassie’s A Swayze & The Ghosts at the likes of Falls Festival, MONA Faux Mo and A Festival Called Panama, on one of many support slots or their own headline tour, now is the time. They’ve honed one hell of a show.
Review mirror
Keep it social
Our intrepid team of reviewers and photog-
Save yourself from a killer case of #FOMO by
raphers will be on the ground in Fortitude
following along on our social media channels
Valley every night to bring you daily reviews
(Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and by using
on which bands you need to watch over the
#TheMusicAtBIGSOUND.
next 12 months.
Thando Listen to NUMB, Thando’s track with Remi, and then give us a good reason why you wouldn’t be attending her BIGSOUND show-
Clipped
Wrapped up
If you’re more the visual type, you can also
In a rush but still want to keep up with what’s
keep an eye on our Facebook, Youtube and
happening? Make sure you’re signed up for
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our daily newsletter, Your Daily SPA, to get
updates throughout the week.
everything straight to your inbox. Head to theMusic.com.au to sign up.
case. We’re pretty sure that there are none when it comes to this powerhouse so we’ll see you there.
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Publicist extraordinaire turned personal coach, Viv Fantin tells Cyclone how you can achieve that elusive work/life balance and her top tips for self-care.
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Fantin explains. “I’m a personal coach working specifically with people in the creative industries. I help clients set meaningful, and realistic, goals and help them discover their strengths. I also help identify fears and unhelpful behaviours like selfdoubt, perfectionism and its evil twin, procrastination. As a coach, for me the most important goal is to help the client close the gap between where they are and where they want to be.” But there is a key qualifier. “You can’t judge people,” Fantin emphasises. The creative coach is a new — and niche — phenomenon. “I think I may be the only coach out there — so far — specialising in the music industry,” Fantin suggests. That said, her exclusively, women and a combination of music artists and the people who work behind the scenes with music artists:
the music industry, as artists become ever more DIY
label managers, publishers, managers and publicists. Interest-
— and competitive. Viv Fantin is an accredited per-
ingly, the age demographic is mixed. Some are middle-aged
sonal coach, uniquely assisting those employed in the creative
people who are tired of the way they work and want to find
industries — from composers and performers to executives —
new ways to achieve greater happiness in the workplace. Then
to handle pressure and achieve that life balance. And, at this
I have much younger clients; 20-something music biz workers
year’s BIGSOUND, she’ll be leading the workshop Tune Out
who are proactively trying to achieve a sense of work/life bal-
Your Inner Critic.
ance and create strong boundaries around when work ends
ness. She commands legendary status as an entertainment
Here are the acts we’re expecting HUGE things from.
clientele is surprisingly wide. “My clients are mostly, but not
ental wellbeing, or self-care, is finally a hot topic in
Fantin knows all about the demands of the music busi-
BIGSOUND Buzz Acts
Pic: Savannah van der Niet
Put me in, coach
and home life begins.” Conveniently, Fantin liaises with users both over Skype and in person (she visits Sydney bimonthly).
publicist in Sydney and beyond. “I’ve been around the Austra-
As for the most common dilemmas confronted by espe-
lian music industry forever!” Fantin acknowledges. Indeed, she
cially music-makers? “Boundaries, or [the] lack of them, is
went from gigging in-house at Festival Records to being the
a recurring theme,” Fantin reveals. “There’s a real issue with
national publicity director of Big Day Out (“in the glory years,
being unable to disconnect properly from work. People feel
from 1993 to 2006”) to plugging other iconic music festivals.
they have to be constantly available and are afraid of the con-
Even today, she still works with APRA (Australasian Perform-
sequences if they choose to switch off for the evening. Perfec-
They caught our attention with their match-
ing Right Association).
tionism is another big one. It can totally paralyse people and
ing outfits and kept it with their damn catchy
kill creativity.”
tracks. Nice Biscuit will surely gain yours too
However, Fantin has gradually made the transition from PR to media trainer to personal coach — launching Next Act
Fantin admits that social media exacerbates anxiety — art-
Coaching in her adopted Byron Bay home in 2015. “I shifted
ists compelled to not only engage with fans, but also to closely
directions because I was basically burnt-out from years of say-
follow their peers. “I think social media has created a real issue
ing, ‘Yes,’ to everything; not giving myself enough downtime
with musicians falling into the comparison trap,” she observes.
or having strategies to manage stress,” she shares. “I’d always
“Our ability to curate social media can make everything look
been interested in the ‘helping’ professions, so coaching felt
glossy and easy.”
right to me.” Fantin sees herself as a “recovering perfectionist”.
As a veteran, Fantin welcomes the fact that the music
“A lot of the issues that are presented to me are ones that I
world is now recognising the significance of psychological
have personally experienced.”
welfare. “I feel there are a lot of positive changes happening, in
A coach’s primary role is to listen, analyse and guide cli-
that people are far more aware of the mental health challeng-
ents. “There are plenty of different types of coaches: business
es faced by people working in the music industry,” she says.
and executive coaches, career coaches, fitness coaches, etc,”
“[But] I think some organisations could do more to encourage
Nice Biscuit
with their floaty harmonies and bouncy riffs.
their staff to disconnect when they leave their place of work. All of that needs to be role-modelled from the very top.”
Personal Coach Viv Fantin’s Three Self-Care Tips For Musicians 1.
Re-think your relationship with stress.
Often our perception of stress is greater than the thing that’s stressing us. Ask yourself these questions: “Is what I’m stressing over within my control? Do I have the ability to influence the
CLEWS They say they were raised on the “anthemic ballads of the ‘90s”, and from what we’ve heard from CLEWS that sounds about right. This Sydney sibling act are definitely worth your time.
outcome?” If not, then try and let it go. Also ask yourself, “Will any of it really matter in a week, in a month, or in a year?” 2.
Don’t say “yes” when you really mean “no”.
Constantly saying “yes” to the needs of others can often mean no time left to attend to your own. Your personal goals and self-care get put on the back burner and then resentment starts to kick in. 3.
Challenge that perfectionist thinking.
Perfectionism is subjective. What evidence do you have that something is either perfect or not? Let’s face it, it takes energy and time to be ‘perfect’. Do an audit on how much time it’s taking you to be perfect or do perfect work. Are you re-writing, re-checking
Kwame
[and] re-recording to the point where other aspects of your life are being impacted? Ask yourself, “What’s the
Western Sydney’s Kwame has already played
worst thing that can happen if you do work that’s less
Splendour In The Grass, earnt well over two
than perfect?” Make good-enough great.
million plays on Spotify and supported acts like Migos, Bliss N Eso and Peking Duk. We’re sure his fanbase will be growing as rapidly as
Viv Fantin speaks at BIGSOUND 5 Sep.
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his streaming numbers after this BIGSOUND.
Alice on the road to wonderland In-between tours and documentaries, Ellie Roswell of Wolf Alice speaks to Anthony Carew about the perils and pleasures of digital fame.
I
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
n 2016, English rock quartet Wolf Alice took part in something far from your regular rockumentary. On The Road followed the band on a British tour, but inserted a pair of fictional characters into their world; charting a flower romance between two members of the band’s road crew. The film was the work of Michael Winterbottom, who worked with real concert footage (and real sex) with 9 Songs, and made the classic rock flick 24 Hour Party People. For the band at the centre of the production, the film was a strange case of novel and business as usual. “It was a case of ‘just carry on as you are’, and so we did,” says Ellie Rowsell, Wolf Alice’s singer/guitarist. “You don’t want to start thinking ‘how am I going to be portrayed?’ Or worrying that it felt like too much. I just made sure the cameras and the mics weren’t on when I didn’t want them to be. I watched the film and really, I’m not even in it that much. I just kept out of the way a lot. You don’t have to let the presence of the camera crew convince you that you
have to give everything of you. It’s okay if the camera just sees one side of us.” Weighing up how much to give is something Rowsell thinks about often, especially in regards to social media, where she often speaks out on social issues. “If I feel strongly about something — for example, politics — I don’t have to put that in my lyrics,” she says. “I can share my views outside of the music. People want a lot more from you, they want to know everything about you, fandom feels quite extreme these days. [But] I feel like I have to be really sure in what I’m saying, and make sure it can’t be perceived in any other way. It’s a really intimidating prospect.” The intimidation comes because of the online tendency to make mountains out of molehills, but also ever-lurking trolls and the social media currency of abuse. “I do feel a sense of vulnerability,” Rowsell offers. “Everyone grows up making mistakes, and if everyone’s watching you all the time, then your mistakes are going to be there for people to scrutinise. I think, often, people who have any celebrity status are scrutinised infinitely more so than the normal person, which is quite scary. But then also, I have the privilege to have a platform to share my ideas and opinions, and that’s also a very powerful and exciting thing.” While Rowsell found press in 2017, for railing against the Tories and backing Labor candidate Jeremy Corbyn in the UK election, she’s glad that the year was defined by the release of Wolf Alice’s second LP, Visions Of A Life. (Their 2018 is defined, thus far, by their tour of Australia for Laneway, where Rowsell befriended Moses Sumney and hung with the boys from Shame, and the
Slashin’ the conspiracies As Slash Ft Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators crank their rock’n’roll machine into gear again, Brendan Crabb talks to singer Myles Kennedy about being a workaholic.
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ather than recuperate from and celebrate the mega-grossing, worldconquering Guns N’ Roses reunion jaunt, axeman Slash has instead reconvened his solo rock band, Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators for another go-around. New record Living The Dream is his third fulllength featuring the Conspirators, which includes Alter Bridge vocalist Kennedy, Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass/vocals) and Frank Sidoris (guitar/vocals). Kennedy says there had been the discussion of doing another Slash record “for quite a while, but it was really just a matter of finding that window of time”. However, the point remains that most musicians who have enjoyed the luxury of such a lucrative tour surely wouldn’t feel compelled to
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band spent downtime at beaches.) Rowsell felt far different, making her second album than she had when writing Wolf Alice’s debut, 2015’s My Love Is Cool. “If I had an idea but was too embarrassed to suggest it, on the first album, I’d just sit there and would keep my mouth shut. On the second album, I was more like, ‘What have I got to lose? I might as well try,’” she says. The goal was “to be bolder and braver in [their] experimenting”, something the band’s growing confidence allowed them to do. After feeling “a sense of freedom” on their early singles and EPs, Rowsell was worried that they’d lost it as their stature had grown.
engage in other projects quite so soon. Is that testament to Slash’s work ethic? “Yeah, I think that highlights [how] he lives to play. I don’t think that I’ve met too many people in all the years that I’ve been doing this who have the amount, the need to perform and create that he does. I think that it’s definitely inspiring, and to me, it highlights that this is a person who’s truly following their bliss, and has found...he knows what he was put on this planet to do, and I don’t think he takes that lightly.” “So I think that’s a testament to Slash’s, not just work ethic, but just his love for music... I think we both recognise that we’re both workaholics, we just love playing music. I think that’s part of why that works.” Rock’s perennial nice guy is speaking from his home in Spokane, Washington, taking a break from playing guitar to tackle press duties. Although his prowess on that instrument has been a key element of The Conspirators’ sonic palette on both Living The Dream and predecessor World On Fire, Kennedy concentrated on lead vocal and lyrical duties. “It doesn’t necessarily have a common theme that runs throughout, but some of the songs are from personal experiences,” he says of the new Slash material. “We have a song called The One You Loved Is Gone, which a lot of people think is about lost romance with a human, but it’s actually about a dog that I had about 20 years ago,” he laughs.
The uncertain world With a new album out and an Aussie tour on the way, Ruban Nielson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra chats politics, paranoia and scheduling with our very own Rod Whitfield.
“What I’ve learnt most is not letting go of those things that you felt at the start, to not try and normalise your work too much,” she offers. “Although, maybe the fact that we did normalise our work, helped us get to where we are today. I guess it’s a catch-22. But now, we don’t have to do that. We have a host of loyal fans, which can allow you to take risks. The bigger you are, the less you have to normalise your work.”
he translation of an artist’s recorded works into the live
T
The balance and the contrast between the downtime of
setting can be fascinating, the two mediums being
writing the new record and the unrelenting nature of being on
naturally so drastically different. Some bands follow the
tour once the record comes out is also what gets him through
album close to note-for-note, some bands take it to new and
life as a travelling musician. “As the band starts to do a bit bet-
different places, and all points in between. Formerly Kiwi, now
ter, the gaps in between the records start to get a bit longer,”
US based alt-psychedelic outfit Unknown Mortal Orchestra
he reveals. “In between records and tours I try to make sure
prefer the multi-directional approach, as Aussie audiences will
that I’m home 24/7 for longer stretches at a time.
discover when the band tours here for the first time in three years this coming September. “I’ve heard people say that the records can be quite introthe band in Germany. “When I’m writing, I’m often by myself, writing about sad things and stuff, but the live show is much more a celebration. Listening to the records you might think the live show is somewhat of a sombre affair, but it’s not, it’s quite the opposite.” “We take a lot of liberties with the songs too, like we out. The shows are never the same, they’re all at least slightly different every night. People come and see us and it’s not that uncommon to have fans of the band come to see us ten times and every show they’ve seen has been different.” The band’s new record, Sex & Food, was released in midApril, and several tracks from it will be featured in the band’s live set come September. Its creation was inspired, at least in part, by the dark and uncertain political climate the world,
That said, Living The Dream’s storytelling doesn’t delve into the deeply personal depths of Kennedy’s recent solo effort, Year Of The Tiger — a soul-baring exercise exploring a family tragedy from his childhood. Namely, his father’s death. “It’s definitely so different from what I did on the solo record... It wasn’t like this cathartic process that I went through with Year Of The Tiger. But it definitely was a welcome change because it gave me the opportunity to step away from something that was so heavy in that respect and tell some different kinds of stories. ” As Slash, Kennedy and company prepare to hit the road, the set-lists are sure to incorporate liberal amounts of material from the guitar legend’s assorted ventures, including Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver. “It’s interesting because that was one of the big challenges when I first took this on,” Kennedy remarks. “What I would try to do is, to a degree get inside the song, understand what the song is about...It became a matter of me trying to fill in the blanks myself, and make sure that as I was singing it that I was connecting to something that I could emote. That’s part of the challenge sometimes with things like that.”
especially America, finds itself in right now, although the title and content of the album are more of a reaction to that rather than a reflection. “My thinking behind it as I wrote the record was that the world was getting really complicated and really dark,” he recalls. “Politics was getting really serious, and there was a lot of really serious things starting to happen, violence, and I live in America and just on a day to day basis I started noticing people starting to look at each other sideways, and we just seem to be living in a very paranoid era. I just knew that this was going to influence the record, I couldn’t really escape that. “But at the same time I didn’t want politics to take over the record. I think I called it Sex & Food because I really wanted to explain what I thought life was about, and to stop the record from becoming too serious. There’s enough seriousness in the world as it is.” Now that the album is out, the band will be on tour for much of 2018, Australia being just a small part of that. Neilson has his own special way of dealing with the sometimes daunting thought of being on the road for such extended periods of time. “I’ve kind of been living life like that for a number of years now, I don’t actually look at the list of dates,” he admits. “I try not to think about it. I’m fortunate enough to have management and booking people who run the machine and I just kind of go. “My mindset is that tonight I know I’m playing Dusseldorf and tomorrow night I’m playing Paris and I try not to think too much about what happens after that. I try to stay in
Living The Dream (Snakepit/Sony) is out this month.
in the long term.”
verted,” explains main man Ruban Neilson, from on tour with
extend them, change them or improvise and stretch things
Wolf Alice tour from 23 Sep.
“Because I’ve got kids, it makes it hard, but I kinda just hope I can find that balance and it all comes out in the wash
the now, and maybe the tomorrow, I don’t look at the dates because it seems endless, it might stress me out,” he laughs.
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Unknown Mortal Orchestra tour from 12 Sep.
Album Reviews
On her fourth album, Cash Savage does two things. She takes an unflinching look at Australian society, and she gives an intimate and evocative insight into love and desire. She does it all with her characteristic swagger and assertive tone, superbly backed by her cohorts, The Last Drinks. Better Than That is a devastating track, honing in on the events of last year and the impact of the marriage equality debate in this country. As she sings “Secretly I’d hoped you were better than that” the band deliver a bittersweet, melancholic sound that feels like the calm after a storm. Similar subject matter is addressed in the insistent pulse of Human, I Am — with its frayed-nerve, post-punk sound that blossoms into glorious intermittent choruses — and on the title track where she sings, with the emotional drama of latter-day Nick Cave, about the male-dominated world she works in. Collapse imagines a society where socio-political structures have fallen and the world is chaos, undone by its own failings. The Last Drinks back her to the hilt with an ominous industrial junkyard blues stomp that perfectly amplifies the song’s apocalyptic leanings. Single Pack Animals is a magnificent example of Savage’s ability to build and maintain tension in her more rockleaning songs. Its cosmiche pulse patiently builds like a slow-moving tsunami, with sonic flares and sparks heading off in all directions like downed psychedelic powerlines. “I keep thinking ahead, to when I don’t have to lose my head”, sings Savage, one of many instances across the album where she contemplates the future of the world and whether humans will resolve their multitude of failings.
Cash Savage & The Last Drinks Good Citizens Mistletone/Inertia
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Elsewhere Savage dials back the intensity and paints a tender picture of the highs and lows of love and devotion. The melancholic longing on Sunday has the feel of Dirty Three in its staggered rhythm and Kat Mears’ aching violin. February and Found You explore similar territory, the latter taking a big, melodically swinging approach with chiming guitars and an agitated dancefloor rhythm section. For all the stage prowling, piercing stares and stirring sound of Savage’s live performances, Good Citizens possesses a resolute sentimentality about it. She’s speaking out with conviction about societal inequalities and how they manifest and are dealt with in the public realm, yet the aforementioned flip side of how to navigate the miniature minefields of personal relationships is what hits the hardest. As she sings “I’ve never been so down, I never needed anyone, now all I ever want is you” on February, she captures the essence of love and common experience. Good Citizens is a bold and astute album that thrives on its balance and range. It pulls on heartstrings as effectively as it raises questions and it thrillingly blends musicality with Savage’s emotional and intellectual commentary. Chris Familton
Christine & the Queens
John Butler Trio
Dead Letter Circus
Because Music/Caroline
Jarrah Records/MGM
BMG
Lilac Everything; A Project By Emma Louise
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Liberation
If Heloise Letissier’s debut Chaleur Humaine danced with subtlety, inviting curious people into her sexually fluid world where simply being called ‘bi’ or even ‘pansexual’ seems painfully limiting, Chris is intentionally more muscular, more intense, but no less diminished by lazy labelling. Musically, it’s like a chilled synthpop spritzer that effervesces from her remarkable debut. Vocally, Letissier remains assuredly feminine, but the sensuality has roughened with the metamorphosis of Christine to Chris — expressing a confidence and unapologetic sexual bravado usually reserved by redblooded male performers.
After four years of radio silence, John Butler Trio are back with an edgier new album. Lyrically, the album is about love and family, but also self-discovery as Butler realises we all grow and sometimes things change. Butler’s vocals are amazing throughout the album, getting especially get dreamy in Tell Me Why. Brown Eyed Bird starts off very serious before the infectious folk beat jumps in at the chorus, making you want to dance. The only negative thing about Home is that there is no standout track that will leave fans wanting more. But it is a very humble, mature and refreshing album that any John Butler Trio fan will surely love.
Early impressions their fourth album were that Dead Letter Circus hadn’t really extended themselves in a songwriting and playing sense like they have previoulsy. Multiple further listens certainly revealed more layers and viewed in isolation, this is an excellent Aussie progressive/ alternative rock release, chock-full of adrenaline-fuelled, fist-pumping moments, strong musicianship and a masterful command of musical dynamics. As part of this band’s illustrious canon of work, it is unlikely to be looked upon as either a true shining light or a low point (they’re probably incapable of the latter anyway).
Mac McNaughton
Aneta Grulichova
Rod Whitfield
Chris
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Home
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Emma Louise
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Musicians constantly experiment with new sounds and styles, but it’s rare for one to divert so much that you think you’ve bought the wrong album. The change in pitch on Lilac Everything is so extreme that Louise is unrecognisable from her past works; with a far more androgynous vocal style. But Louise still has those fruitful and haunting songwriting skills and once you get over the initial confusion of such a drastic change, you’re in for one emotionally immersive ride. Her poignant, universally-felt tales; make it a brave and gripping release. Keira Leonard
For more album reviews, go to www.theMusic.com.au
Skegss
My Own Mess Ratbag/Warner
Pale Waves
Tia Gostelow
Dirty Hit/Sony
Lovely Records
Thick Skin
My Mind Makes Noises
DREAMS
No One Defeats Us EMI
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Stoners and slackers rejoice! The boys from Byron Bay are back, and this time they’ve brought a debut album with them. Lyrically they’re best compared to Cheshire Cat era blink-182, with their everydude type songs carrying a healthy dose of juvenile humour to help the growing pains go down. There’s not a whole lot of originality to be found on this album, but whatever. Skegss have developed a sense of melody that’s far beyond what most in the genre are capable of churning out, and when it comes to this kind of stripped-down indie-rock, that’s really all that matters.
Manchester’s Pale Waves have turned in a truly insipid record that, while liberally peppered with shimmery guitar-driven yacht rock-lit touches, lacks any sort of conceptual framework beyond “make it shiny”. My Mind Makes Noises (Jesus, that title) is rote and weak, reluctant to really lean into, well, anything. Lead vocalist Heather Baron-Gracie sounds bored, and while her voice is technically proficient, it sounds utterly anonymous. You don’t believe (or remember) anything she sings about and that drags down the rest of the relatively slick (yet strangely flat) production.
It sounds like someone may have crossed Tia Gostelow in the past, and we certainly wouldn’t wanna be them as she releases her debut album with 11 beautifully articulated, moody bops. It’s a dreamy collection of broody, indie anthems that will resonate with the modern millennial gal as Gostelow sings tales of romanticised photos, killing time, velvet dresses and Saturday nights. The teenager’s voice has almost a healing element to it, soothing but enthralling. Thick Skin proves that Gostelow has got one hell of a career coming her way.
The first shock delivered by this viscerally visual duo is the laziest album artwork this side of a punk record sporting a dirty square of toilet roll, Luke Steele this time ‘round peacocking as ‘Miracle’ and Daniel Johns adopting a ‘Dr Dreams’ persona. But there doesn’t seem to be a lot of depth behind the masquerading. The hefty electronica is no great diversion from either’s recent output and the first half tries to wow with phat, bass-y beats and chanted sloganistic choruses. DREAMS are ambitious and loud, but these two kindred daydreamers have never sounded more on their own planet.
Donald Finlayson
Matt MacMaster
Keira Leonard
Mac McNaughton
The Goon Sax
The Living End
Thundamentals
Richard In Your Mind
BMG
Island/Universal
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The Living End always had a knack for telling hearty tales with attitude and, with 20-something years under their belt, they’ve still got it. Wunderbar provides us with 11 anthemic bangers that are certainly going to have you on your feet, chanting the words right back - It wouldn’t be a Living End album if you couldn’t imagine belting it out alongside them, and they give you just that. Wunderbar comes together with a collection of diverse tracks that all align nicely, while still staying consistently true to the band’s roots. It’s uplifting punk-rock.
I Love Songs represents growth for the Thundamental MCs. Jeswon shows what melodies he’s been keeping cooped up on True Love; coupling technical ‘ratatat’ delivery with more flair than we’re used to. Tuka, too, ventures further, leaning in to a few of the different styles he’s capable of delivering as a singer. The result is hypnotic. Catch Me If You Can is gentle and approachable; it’s nice guy music. With the backdrops Morgs has painted for them, Jeswon and Tuka show here that they’ve shed the simplistic conception we’ve had about them for over a decade. This is mature and majestic. This is striking. These are songs to love.
The latest Richard In Your Mind album is a lesson in enduring qualities. Sure, they never let go of the ‘60s psychedelic era, but there’s no denying its quality and refinement within a genre that gets reinvented every few years. This is the sixth release and although not a “best of”, it is all the best bits of albums past, pasted together to produce an atmospheric and immersive record. Like all albums before, there is not a shred of selfconsciousness or urge to follow any type of formula or trend, which speaks volumes given they’ve outlasted lots of other Sydney bands. At ten tracks long, it is over before it begins, but it’s another fine, fine effort.
James d’Apice
Adam Wilding
We’re Not Talking Chapter Music
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At its strongest, We’re Not Talking still reaches the same impossibly catchy, jangle-pop heights they impressed with on their debut, but across its 30 minutes, some minor risktaking doesn’t quite pay off. When the album works it’s a thrilling dash through young love and self-doubt. Opener Make Time 4 Love is brisk, fun and infectious. In contrast, other songs such as Now You Pretend are only partly formed interludes. The many highlights on We’re Not Talking suggest that The Goon Sax are still evolving and successfully exploring the art and craft of confessional, catchy and quirky songwriting. Chris Familton
I Love Songs
Wunderbar
Keira Leonard
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Super Love Brain Rice Is Nice
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September
Sydney Contemporary One of the nation’s biggest gallery art fairs, Sydney Contemporary, is once again transforming Redfern’s Carriageworks into a bonanza for modern art lovers. In addition to the exhibiting gallerists, who will be showcasing work from more than 300 international artists, there will also be a program of must-see companion exhibitions. These include live performances, panel discussions, and installations, including the extraordinary hyper-real sculptures of Australian artist Patricia Piccinini (pictured), hot on the heels of her mammoth blockbusting solo show at the Queensland Gallery Of Modern Art.
From 13 Sep at Carriageworks
The best of The Arts in September
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Adam Hills He’s charmed the world in recent years, with his witty repartee and irreverent take on the zeitgeist. And now he’s back on home turf, for one night only, to remind us why he’s one of the most in-demand Aussie comics of the now. 3 Sep at Enmore Theatre
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DollyWould What would Dolly do? Wonder no more, as the UK’s Sh!t Theatre delivers an anarchic ode to the queen of country. Whether you’re a Dolly Parton diehard or a 9 To 5 noob, this giant-haired, twang-voiced, big-busted show has something for everyone.
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From 1 Sep at Old 505 Theatre
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A Midnight Visit Immersive theatre has a massive following elsewhere in the world, and now Aussies can find out what all the fuss is about as a massive-scale, gothic horror thriller arrives in Sydney. Expect white knuckles, sweaty palms, and rave reviews. From 3 Oct at King Street, Newtown
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If you’re hungry for the fringe binge, it’s feeding time. The most resourceful, experimental and dynamic artists in the country will be bringing their latest innovations to venues across the city, featuring theatre, dance, performance art and everything in between.
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Sydney Fringe Festival
From 1 Sep
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Sydney Underground Film Festival Forget Cannes – if you want a truly transgressive trip to the cinema, this is the fest for you. These indie rule-breakers feature a surprising number of Hollywood heavyweights, including Bill Murray, Ethan Hawke and Nicholas Cage.
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From 13 Sep at Factory Theatre 6.
The Merchant Of Venice After thrilling audiences in Melbourne, the Pop-Up Globe – a recreation of the theatre founded by William Shakespeare – is now wowing theatregoers in Sydney with an authentically produced staging of the Bard’s notorious “problem play”. From 7 Sep at Entertainment Quarter
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Film & TV The Deuce, Season 2
HHHH Airs from 11 Sep on Foxtel’s Showcase
Reviewed by Guy Davis
T
he soulful urgency of Curtis Mayfield is out and the cool viciousness of Elvis Costello is in as the opening credits roll on season two of The Deuce, the David Simon/George Pelecanos drama about the grimy heyday of American vice’s ground zero - New York’s 42nd Street (aka the Deuce) in the ‘70s. Costello’s cruel-edged tune This Year’s Girl is era-appropriate and almost too thematically apt (“Never knowing it’s a real attraction/All these promises of satisfaction”), and it hints at a darker direction for the upcoming season. Yes, even darker than the first, which wasn’t exactly a cheerful depiction of commodified desire. However, based on the first few episodes available for preview before the show returns on Tuesday 11 Sep, life for the denizens of the Deuce actually seems...hopeful? Especially for Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Candy, first seen striding down 42nd in a creamy-white ensemble that’s a nice nod to Saturday Night Fever - she’s left her life as a
sex worker behind and reinvented herself as a pioneering porn filmmaker intent on adding a little art to her smut (“The most boring part of this whole thing is the fucking,” she declares during an editing session). Gyllenhaal, so good in season one, maintains her pace here - there’s steel and sensitivity in her performance, but also a haunted quality like she’s trying to outrun a past that never lets up its pursuit. For someone playing two characters (twins Vincent and Frankie), James Franco delivers solid, thoughtful work as reliable Vincent continues to walk the straight and narrow in a shady milieu, while freewheeling Frankie is a creature of pure appetite . Simon and Pelecanos surround these two with a vivid array of characters making the best of desperate circumstances and nascent opportunities and possibilities. The Deuce is a nostalgia piece, true, but in its presentation of a world where people are just plain tired and longing for solutions, it can’t help but feel incredibly current and relevant.
The Miseducation Of Cameron Post
HHH In cinemas from 6 Sep
Reviewed by Anthony Carew
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onversion therapy can be played for tragedy (Boy Erased) or comedy (But I’m A Cheerleader). Desiree Akhavan’s film lands somewhere in the middle; a coming-of-age in the face of religious naysayery tale. It’s set in 1993, a time whose more-conservative climate proves fecund for ‘conversion’ camps, places where religious families hope for a ‘cure’ to queerness; the power of prayer and All-American can-do Christianity out to beat back the ‘Gay Agenda’ and set wayward youths on the straight-andnarrow. The drama looks at this milieu with a sense of bemusement, only occasionally giving rise to righteous anger; as in the moment of defiance where Chloe Grace Moretz charges the enterprise with “programming people to hate themselves”. She plays the titular character: a teenager caught, in the opening act, in flagrante with a gal-pal, getting fresh in a car outside the homecoming dance. She’s bustled off to God’s Promise, a remote camp populated by all manner of
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outsiders; these characters, and the codpsychologising “reasons” for their queerness, introduced via a comic montage in which blame is placed on parents, sports, music, and other forms of ‘gender confusion’ that’ve turned these kids ‘fruity’. There, she finds not punishment, atonement or shame, but a sense of self-belief, moral certitude, and rebellion. When the camp-counsellors - ‘cool’, guitar-strumming John Gallagher Jr and frosty, forbidding Jennifer Ehle - demand “honesty”, the hypocrisy of the whole charade lingers tellingly. Moretz finds friends in the form of Sasha Lane and Forrest Goodluck, outsiders amongst the outsiders; their shared bonding the classic staple of on-screen depictions of adolescent self-discovery. In such, The Miseducation Of Cameron Post plays as crowdpleaser, its depiction of on-screen acceptance mirroring the greater cultural acceptance of this lessconservative time. Its final shot is a moment of glorious liberation: our trio free, on the wide-open road to a better future.
Good in anyone’s language After a few months full of mega northern hemisphere summer blockbusters, it’s time for a change of pace in the film world as Anthony Carew takes a look at some of the best foreign language films coming out in the near future.
T Climax
he cinema calendar, at this point in movie-biz history, can essentially be divided in half. Once the final Oscar statue is handed out, we move into blockbuster season, the American summer bringing with it endless franchise instalments. But, once we hit September, and the Toronto Film Festival, the prestige-picture season is upon us; Oscar campaigning lasting six solid months. For Australian viewers, this means there’s a rise in cinematic quality as the weather gets warmer, especially with regards to foreign language films. Here are three standouts to look out for in imminent months, three of the best movies of 2018.
Climax
Cold War. Pic: Lukasz Bak
Gaspar Noe is one of cinema’s great provocateurs; a ridiculous maximalist whose orgies of sex, drugs and violence are some of this century’s most memorable turn-it-up-to11 movies. They’re not always ‘good’, and watching them is usually deeply unpleasant. The promo poster for his fifth film, Climax, plays on that history, amusingly offering: ‘You Despised I Stand Alone, You Hated Irreversible, You Loathed Enter The Void, You Cursed Love, Now Try Climax’. Trying Climax is — as is Noe’s way — not for the fainthearted; the film resembling a 95-minute nightmare. It begins as a fun dance-troupe movie. First, we meet the multi-cultural cast via to-camera interviews played back on an old TV, with stacks of cult-movie VHS tapes stacked up beside. Then, we see them dancing wild, the film playing like a musical for a long stretch, as they cut the floor at a wrap party in a remote old hall. The musical cues come from an in-film DJ, serving up a host of ‘90s house bangers; none more bangin’ than What To Do, a 1995 slab of acid thunk from Noe collaborateur Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk. Its jackhammer beats are used as the cut rhythms for a midmovie credits sequence every bit as amazing as the classic/ infamous credit-reel from Enter The Void. Like Enter The Void, Climax is a ‘this-is-your-brain-ondrugs’ movie, this mid-film credit-break flipping the flick from nice Side A to nightmarish Side B. It turns out the soiree’s celebratory sangria has been spiked, with a dose of bad acid. So, things turn into a horror show of — indeed — sex, drugs, and violence; with the paranoia and disorientation of the characters captured by the merciless mise-en-scene. The end result resembles a nauseating carnival ride that straps you in, flips you upside-down (literally), and drags you to cinematic hell.
Cold War
Another film with music at its centre, Cold War couldn’t be a different cinema experience, however. It’s an absolute joy, blessed with a bittersweet, winsome air that’s pure catnip for cinephiles, romantics, and all intersections thereof. Following up Ida, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film in 2015, Pawel Pawlikowski again sets his story in postwar Poland, and shoots it in sumptuous black-and-white. Joanna Kulig (also seen in Ida) plays a young singer recruited, by Tomasz Kot, to join a newly-formed repertory folk-dancing troupe; the early scenes, of mass tryCustody
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outs of village peasants, filled with amazing folk songs. At first, their performances are to be an expression of Polish nationalism, but soon they’re yet another tool of communist authoritarianism, performing in front of giant backdrops of Lenin and Stalin, touring through the Eastern Bloc. Kulig and Kot, throughout, stage a covert affair; full of delirious passion and the giddy thrill of rebellion. That inspires a plan to defect when they’re performing in Berlin, where the imminent Wall has yet to be built. He goes through with it, she doesn’t. Thus, we’re served the oldest trick in the tragic-romantic book: lovers divided by forces beyond their control. The film pirouettes through the years, taking in a grand sweep of romantic and European history; the episodic story playing out in those moments in which our fated couple’s lives intersect. What’s amazing is that Pawlikowski captures all this in 84 minutes, its drama set at a tempo as brisk as its song and dance numbers. Pawlikowski won Best Director for his work at Cannes, and Cold War was one of the big crowd-pleasing hits at the Melbourne International Film Festival. It opens in the regular release theatres on the biggest date in local cinemas: Boxing Day.
Custody
Without hyperbole, Custody is one of the greatest first features ever made. Debutante director Xavier Legrand shows an astonishing sense of command in his film, a work of vivid cinematic artistry. It’s a magnificently photographed, meticulously mounted portrait of two parents — and their two luckless children — engaged in a bitter custody battle. It opens with a court hearing, with the audience being forced to adjudicate the circumstance based on the scant facts presented to us. There’s two sides to this story — he said, she said — and no black-and-white answers. Across 93 minutes, Legrand slowly, surely turns the screws; dark family drama turning into a thriller so taut that it feels suffocating. It’s bracing, brilliant, exhilarating filmmaking. And exacting, too: Legrand using framing to capture power dynamics, to ‘wall in’ characters, to keep the audience at a distance then drag them into its deadly emotional minefield. When we sit with Thomas Gloria, the young son caught in the parental crossfire, the direction conveys — and makes palpable — the fear he feels towards his angry, defiant, increasingly-desperate dad, Denis Menochet. There’s an astonishing sequence that plays out in effective ‘silence’, anxiety and terror communicated through gesture, as a rowdy birthday party rages on, music banging; most revellers therein unaware of the drama, and danger, playing out around them. It comes with a live band rendition of Proud Mary — cover band cheese turned profound study in depicting conflicting, complex emotional layers. Custody won the Silver Lion upon its premiere at Venice, somehow finishing second to Guillermo del Toro’s fishfucking twee-fest The Shape Of Water. Where that film is an inveterate crowdpleaser, Custody is a far more difficult picture to take in. But it feels a lot like the year’s best film, a genuine modern masterwork.
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Don’t cry for Argentina Arena Aussie pop icon Tina Arena is taking on one of the biggest female roles in musical theatre, the lead in Evita. She tells Maxim Boon how she’s making the character of Eva Peron entirely her own.
Pic: Jim lee
“I think with this role, it’s going to be a real challenge to just leave her at work and not bring her home.”
W
hen it comes to political drama, Australia boasts more than its fair share. As August rolled to a close, yet another leadership spill saw a sitting PM turfed out and a new head honcho take-up the highest office in the land. But in the days before Scott Morrison emerged victorious from the party room melee, pickings for who might lead the nation seemed to be worryingly slim. If only the whips had known that outspoken pop megastar and Australia’s sweetheart, Tina Arena, is ready, willing and able to give the Prime Minister’s job a red hot go. “I’d definitely give it a crack. Probably wouldn’t survive very long though. I’d probably be blasted,” she shares of her hypothetical foray into politics, in typically unfiltered fashion. “But you see, people in my profession [in entertainment] have always been the gatekeepers for the morals and values and social justice we want to see in the world, you know. And let’s face it, being a politician can be an incredibly thankless job, and it really disappoints me that in 2018, we’re still struggling to find a sense of equilibrium between the government and the media, and I think that includes performers and people in pop culture too. There has always inherently been a struggle between both domains, and it would be so lovely to be able to move forward a little and be more on the same page. I’d really like to see that.” It’s apt that Arena should find herself in a political frame of mind. She will soon headline a massive Australian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s blockbusting 1978 musical Evita, playing former First Lady of Argentina, Eva Peron. In some ways, it’s an uncanny piece of cast-
ing, as Arena’s own ascension — from Young Talent Time ingenue to international pop icon, with more than 10 million album sales to prove it — shares more than a passing resemblance to Peron’s own rise; a girl from a dirt-poor village in the Pampas region who became a political powerhouse and feminist trailblazer. Where the similarities end, however, have proven to be the aspects of Eva Peron’s life most creatively provocative for Arena. As the wife of Argentine President Juan Peron — an army general whose political tactics and support of Argentina’s working poor made him a demagogue in the eyes of the nation’s bourgeoisie — Eva’s own political aspirations were similarly divisive amongst the Argentinian people. Much like her husband, her reputation existed in a state of liminal flux, to some a beacon of social mobility and a populist reform, to others a power-hungry hypocrite, propped up by corruption and intimidation. For Arena, exploring the many facets of such an inspiring yet flawed, morally complex figure has been a useful journey of discovery, revealing how best to develop her own characterisation. “What jumped off the page for me, first and foremost, was how she was either adulated or completely loathed. I thought, ‘Isn’t that interesting that there can be two ends of the spectrum, so different,’” she shares. “The next thing that jumped out at me was, I thought, ‘Oh my God, isn’t it incredible how that level of envy destroys people.’ Those who are feeling that resentment and those that are in the positions of being envied, both horrible things to experience, really. But, when you start learning more about her, how she was and where she
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came from, it made complete sense that she was going to be heard.” Arena admits that she shares a deep affinity for Eva Peron, who was a figure of tragedy as well as infamy, losing her life to cervical cancer at the age of 33. It’s a bond Arena is approaching with caution. “I find her very easy to understand. But I also see the danger in falling into buying the bullshit, which is something that I think you’ve got to be very careful of as an actor, especially when you play iconic roles like her, you know. People always talk about the commitment that’s required and how you can be really caught up in a character. And that can be really amazing, to be so immersed in a role, but it can also be pretty debilitating. I think with this role, it’s going to be a real challenge to just leave her at work and not bring her home.” This latest Australian touring production is a remount of Hal Prince’s original Tony Award-winning staging, premiered at London’s Prince Edward Theatre in 1978. Resurrecting its first incarnation offers Australian audiences a chance to reflect on the show’s illustrious history of past performances. The most well-known iteration of Evita is very likely the 1996 film version, starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. But before Madge implored to cinemagoers, “Don’t cry for me Argentina,” several of the most revered leading ladies of Broadway and the West End — bona fide legends like Elaine Paige, Patti Lupone and Elena Roger — had also delivered definitive accounts on stage. Despite the nail-biting “no pressure” potential of assuming a role with such an intimidating heritage, Arena remains
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unphased. Instead of fretting over comparisons, she’s fully focused on making her own mark on her own terms. “I have to come to something completely fresh. I’m not able to work under any other guise, it’s how I’ve always worked,” she explains. “And it’s no different with Evita. I’ve never seen the show. I haven’t watched the film. I haven’t watched Madonna’s performance. I know nothing about it. But you know what, when I did Roxie Hart in Chicago in London, I’d never seen Chicago. I didn’t know anything about the show. I’d never seen the show until I started rehearsing it and was on stage playing the role of Roxie Hart. But then I knew it was all my own interpretation, and no one else’s. That’s the only way I know how to do this job.” Arena’s unique perspective on Evita promises to channel her own brand of “star quality” in a performance that plays to the pop diva’s considerable strengths, including her mega-watt confidence. “I think, I see it as a role for somebody who’s spirited. I’m not quite sure whether that’s a role that just anybody can play. Now I say that very naively, but that’s just, that’s really what I think,” she says. “I think that if you’re introverted, I think it probably would be difficult to play her. I think you need to have a bit of bite and you know, I’ve got a bit of bite.”
Evita plays from 13 Sep at Sydney Opera House.
Dear mum and dad For British comedy legend David Baddiel, the grieving process has morphed itself into an internationally acclaimed standup show. Joe Dolan spoke to the comic about the power of an honest legacy and his late mother’s tendency to over-share.
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hough he’s a legend of the ‘90s UK standup scene, it may come as a surprise to some that David Baddiel has only travelled to our shores once before. “It was in 2003 or thereabouts,” the comic reminisces. “I was doing a corporate gig for Foster’s, and it was basically 200 British people who had won a prize to go over to Australia. It was literally the drunkest audience I have ever seen in my life. I think I did two jokes and the rest was crowd control. I think I ended up just going around each table just talking to people because I couldn’t do the gig. So I’m hoping this’ll be better than that.” Baddiel’s second Aussie outing comes in the form of the critically acclaimed My Family: Not The Sitcom. A standup/ monologue hybrid, the comedian documents his upbringing and family life, often in graphic detail. “I wrote it just after my mum died in 2014, and I heard someone describe it as a sort of ‘twisted love letter’ to my parents,” he says of the show. “It’s like the opposite of a funeral, you know? At a funeral, people just say that someone was wonderful, but in this, I pick apart in microscopic detail the life — well, actually the sex life, mainly — of my mum. She had a very exotic sex life, in her own way, and she was very proud of that fact and would tell people about it very often.” Along with the passing of his mother, My Family: Not The Sitcom also details Baddiel’s ever-changing relationship with his father, as the elder Baddiel succumbs to the symptoms of dementia. Speaking about how his mum and dad influenced the show, Baddiel says, “I think the energy of the show is in not speaking about either of my parents as if they aren’t real people. The job of the show is to describe them in a very real and extreme way, but a very truthful way. So then, what seems to happen at the end of it is that it seems to come over as a great tribute to them and a great act of love. “I should say, I get a lot of reviews and stuff talking about how moving the show is, and how honest and how brutal and all that stuff... 96% of it is funny. It is a comedy show I swear! Because it’s got these other elements to it I think people fixate on that a bit,” he laughs. My Family: Not The Sitcom is somewhat of a new endeavour for the seasoned performer. While it has all the classic elements of a comedy show, Baddiel also uses real photographs and videos of family members throughout the performance. “After my mum died, my brother was initially very uncertain about me doing this show,” he says. “But when he finally came to see it he said it felt like she was in the room, and in a way she was because through the stories and the visuals you see the real her in a way.” Baddiel continues, “When I was at her funeral everyone told me she was wonderful. I talk about this in the show, but I realised that everyone was talking about her like they didn’t know her. I thought, ‘Oh, here we go. You’re getting erased a second
time here and thrown out of existence because people have started to idealise you.’ I didn’t want that for her, I couldn’t bear it. It was hard enough that she’d died; now the real person was being lost in this fairy tale idea of who they were. So the show in a way was inspired by the desire to hold on to the real person, and there’s no question that works because people have started coming up to me after shows saying, ‘Your mother sounded so amazing. I wish I could have met her,’ and things like that.” Though this new show breaks new creative ground for the veteran comic, Baddiel says My Family: Not The Sitcom is the closest he’s ever been to his ultimate goal as a standup. “I’ve always been trying to get closer and closer to revealing my truest self on stage, and this show is the most extreme example of that so far,” he states. “I was always very keen on eradicating any sort of persona, but it’s very difficult to do that because no matter what sort of comedian you are, some persona tends to creep out onstage.” Baddiel adds, “If you can talk about yourself negatively, but in a way that is very honest, then that becomes a positive. If you admit all sorts of flaws about yourself, but in a way that feels very honest and touches all the other flawed beings in the audience, then that’s a way of engaging people and making them feel they can like you... I’m really interested in truth, basically, and the whole reason I’m a standup is because I have this urge to confess and tell the truth all the time. It’s a kind of Catholic urge, even though I’m Jewish.”
David Baddiel tours from 13 Sep.
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“I’ve always been trying to get closer and closer to revealing my truest self on stage, and this show is the most extreme example of that so far.”
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
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imbi the girl Things are continuing in an upward direction for imbi the girl. They have recently released a new single Swell, won the triple j unearthed NIDA competition and will be on their way to BIGSOUND for a showcase. Following that up later this month, they will also have a spot on the national Listen Out festival alongside A$AP Rocky, Skrillex and more. Make sure you check out their fusion of poetry, hip hop and soul very soon.
The skin you’re in Despite literally everybody having one, the way we perceive and treat our bodies is pretty complicated. They come in many shapes and sizes as there are people, with just as many opinions about which is ‘ideal’. Here’s a few ways to try and ignore that and just dig your rig.
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Hard to stomach
he words healthy and ideal often don’t quite connect when we think about our weight. Somewhere in the gap between the two, countless fad diets have emerged some funny, others strange, and many straight up dangerous. Bodies are a lot like snowflakes, in that no two are exactly alike and it doesn’t take much to do them irreparable damage. Maintaining physical health requires personalised planning and stable, positive behaviours. It can’t be done overnight, and in the hunt for the Holy Grail that might grant the ‘perfect’ body, people have been sold some seriously poisoned cups.
KE10/feeding tube diet
The immortality diet
The KE10 diet is a “low-calorie, protein and fat-rich solution” pumped 24 hours a day through a hose that runs via your nasal passage and oesophagus directly into your feed sack. So that none of that interferes with your day to day, the pump and solution fit in a convenient shoulder bag provided by KE10, making this diet both a reverse colostomy bag and the world’s most uncomfortable Dune cosplay. If you don’t choke on the tube, and your stomach bacteria doesn’t sneak past the obstruction and go to work on your throat, you could drop nearly 10kgs in 10 days - a timeline that means you’re mostly losing fluids and muscle mass.
Fasting is interesting business. Depending on who’s talking, skipping breakfast every now and then does everything from reducing inflammation to preventing cancer. In Luigi Cornaro’s opinion, it was pretty much the fountain of youth. The Venetian nobleman was born in the 1460s. A celebrated carouser, by 35 Cornaro suffered constant feverishness, gout and gastrointestinal distress and was told he’d die before 40. He changed his ways lived to a hearty (and likely exaggerated) 102, which he attributed to moderation, mindfulness, and his modest daily intake of 350g of food and 414ml of wine - now commonly dubbed ‘the immortality diet’.
Lemonade diet/ Master Cleanse If we have this right, start by weaning yourself of solids with smoothies and such. Then you’re going to want to get off that rookie trash and onto straight water and fresh OJ, exclusively. After that four to five-day process, your temple is ready for cleansing. Squeeze half a lemon in 1.5 cups of water. Add 40 grams of maple syrup and 0.2 of cayenne pepper. Wash that down six times a day with the odd quart of warm salt water and a laxative tea for between ten and 40 days, if you’re feeling biblical.
Swamp diet Did you know that you weigh more at the poles than the equator? The greater centrifugal force cancels some of Earth’s gravity, meaning you’re about 0.5% heavier on trips to the tips than you are hanging out in Bogota. On the other hand, there is absolutely no reason to believe that living in a swamp will tip the scales one way or the other. Back in 1727, Thomas Short firmly disagreed in his book, The Causes And Effects Of Corpulence. After noticing folk who settled down in swamps tended to be heavier than those who didn’t, Short declared that humidity caused increased weight gain, no doubt loudly and within earshot. His proposed diet? Move.
Tapeworm diet
Sleeping Beauty diet
Cotton ball diet
Please don’t eat tapeworms. Don’t even google them, they’re seriously unpleasant. The idea behind here is pretty straightforward; they steal your meals from the inside - swallow a pill with your new live-in friend in it and never skip dessert again. Yes, this can cause weight loss. It can also cause anaemia and malnutrition. Tapeworms can migrate too, so instead of sinking their little hooked heads into your digestive tract somewhere they might end up in your brain, eyes or just wherever. Best of all they can grow up to 20 metres long, with the largest worm ever found in a human allegedly measuring 30. At that point you’re just a walking skin suit.
The Sleeping Beauty diet got notice last year when it apparently gained favour in ‘pro-anorexia’ forums, but legend has it that it’s been around since at least the ‘70s, when Elvis once used it to try and counteract all the peanut butter, bacon and banana sandwiches. The SB method involves eating a handful of sedatives like Xanax or Valium and sleeping for 18 to 20 hours a day to avoid eating. This is not a good idea. Even if you’re willing to look past an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, the high chance of addiction, and the devastating effect on mental health, research actually suggests oversleeping can be linked to an increase in weight.
Before we get into the cotton ball diet, let’s talk bezoars. These solid clumps of indigestible matter form in your digestive tract, usually in the small intestine, where they plug you up like a thick wad of hair in a sink trap. The cotton ball diet involves dipping four or five of its namesake in juice for dinner in an attempt to fool your body into thinking it’s been fed. Those fluffy white clouds are actually bleached polyester fibres most of the time, something that’s noticeably absent from the food pyramid, and apart from their toxicity and the huge risk of malnutrition, they will absolutely bezoar your backdoor.
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Super foods for super moods Moringa
Maqui berries
hen us folks here at The Music hear the term
A native tree to North India, parts of the moringa oleifera have
Health nuts on the internet seem to think that maqui ber-
“super food”, we usually think of that awful ‘80s
been used in traditional African and Indian recipes and medi-
ries are some kind of miracle fruit sent from heaven to raise
cartoon, Bananaman. But to more sensible indi-
cines for thousands of years now. Its crushed up leaves have
the dead, heal the ill and correct certain male performance
viduals, Superfoods are an effective way of adding some much
been scientifically proven to lower both high blood pressure
issues. We don’t know about any of that, but they certainly are
needed nutrients and vitamins to your potentially shocking
and cholesterol levels. Why is this a good thing? Well appar-
good for you in all the obvious ways and then some. The small,
everyday diet. Your body is an engine, so start treating it right
ently those two things aren’t too good for you, or so the health
dark Chilean berry is high in antioxidants and anti-inflamma-
with the super fuel it deserves. And when in doubt, just think:
industry claims. Chewing on leaves usually isn’t an attractive
tory nutrients, meaning they’re excellent for giving your skin a
“What would Joe Rogan eat?”
look but thankfully moringa supplements are also readily
naturally healthy glow. Sorry to all the pregnant women of the
available in a variety of powder or capsule forms.
world, now we all may experience the wonders of the glow!
Cassava
Hemp seeds
Lucuma
The strange shrub known as cassava looks like it was made by
To all of our teenage readers: next time you come home smell-
While lucuma may sound like something you’d hear in a hospi-
a Hawaiian-shirt-wearing mad scientist in a lab located inside
ing like something green and gruesome, tell Mum you’ve been
tal waiting room (“We’re sorry, sir, you have stage five lucuma”),
a volcano. With the outer appearance of a sweet potato and
munching back on nutritious hemp seeds with your health-
the tropical Peruvian fruit is actually one of the sweetest new
the inner colour of coconut flesh, cassava is easily the strang-
conscious squad. If your parent or guardian has dreadlocks
Superfoods around. Known to the locals of Peru and health-
est super food on this list. A local favourite in many develop-
then chances are you just may get away with it! But all tree-
store Indiana Jones’ as “The Gold of the Incas”, lucuma is said
ing countries, cassava root can be ground up and used in a
smokin’ jokes aside, hemp seeds are an excellent way to stock
to taste like a syrupy combination of both sweet potato and
variety of cooking situations. In the west, it’s become popular
up on both healthy fats and protein. They’re also stuffed full of
avocado. Diabetics recommend it as an alternative to com-
among those with dietary restrictions due to the fact that it’s
powerful vitamins like potassium, calcium, iron and zinc, mak-
mercial food sweeteners thanks to its low-glycemic index and
grain-free, nut-free and also gluten-free. But be warned, when
ing them ideal for vegans or people who’re trying to get HUGE
mango-ish colour.
consumed in large, raw amounts, cassava can be poten-
in a more ethical way.
W
tially harmful. Definitely not a super food for late-night binging then.
Naked ambitions
Y
ou know when you go to a change room at a public pool and the older set just walk around with their junk out like they were back in the Garden of Eden? Like a “naked innocent boy roaming the countryside” as Cosmo Kramer once put it. Well according to the growing trend of body positivity, it’s that kind of nuts-out confidence that we should all be aspiring to. So with that in mind, here are the best places in town to embrace your birthday suit without copping a lawsuit.
“Am I supposed to draw the penis?”
Body surfing
Full-frontal with friends
You don’t have to be some kind of trenchcoat-wearing public exhibitionist to enjoy the idea of taking your clothes off in front of strangers. In fact, thanks to the perverted wonders of the art world, you could even get paid for it! The naked human body is an endless source of inspiration and training for painters, drawers and sculptors everywhere. So drop the robe and head on down to the Museum of Contemporary Art for their monthly life drawing classes, which often involve a different artistic theme. Donating your body to art is a hell of a lot safer than donating your body to science anyway.
Even if you’re like most of us here at The Music and your arse looks like the moon on a clear summer’s night, it doesn’t mean you should be missing out on the timeless art of nude swimming. Originally invented by the Scottish as a means of bathing without having to pay for indoor plumbing, skinny dipping isn’t just something for horny teenagers to do or for REM to write songs about, it’s for everyone! Visit Lady Jane Beach in Watsons Bay or Cobblers Beach in Mosman, two spots in the Sydney area that are renowned for their nudist presence.
Bathhouses have gotten a bad rap in polite society mostly thanks to the limited imaginations of porno directors. But in real life, traditional bathhouses are a wonderful, strictly non-sexual place to simply unwind and let the heated water jets do their thing. Bring some friends along to Arisoo Day Spa in Chatswood, get naked and enjoy each other’s au naturel company to take your friendship to the next level without being weird about it. Nothing says, “I respect you as a close friend,” quite like casual nudity.
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Tired Lion. Pic: Bianca Holderness
the list, you may need more time! And yes, yes, yes totally yes. Albums are still important. Things really start taking off after you release your first album. After all it is just the beginning.
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
PT: You worked with Luke from Violent Soho to make Dumb Days. How do you decide who to work with? What makes a great producer? SH: Our label put Luke forward as a option as a producer, we were all big Soho fans and thought it’d be rad to work with someone who had a similar vision. What makes a good producer? Here are a few things: The ability to work harmoniously among the whole band, someone with a strong attention to detail and long attention span when it comes to music and wizard abilities that tap into the bands mind and pull out the best parts – parts you never thought existed.
Paper Thin. Pic: Kane Hibberd
You can get it playing a gig The VB Hard Yards Tour is affording three hard working, up and coming bands the chance to play with some big name headliners. After a shortlist was chosen, the public decided the winning acts that deserved to head out on the road. Here, we get the NSW winner, Paper Thin, to ask some advice of an act that’s already done the hard yards in the headliner for the Sydney leg of the tour, Tired Lion’s Sophie Hopes. Paper Thin: Y’all are signed to Dew Process, which seems like a really great record label. How did you find the label that was right for you? What did you look for? Sophie Hopes: It all happened pretty organically for us. We started gaining interest after our first single from our second EP started receiving quite a bit of radio play. We met with a few different labels, talked, drank beers, talked some more…. The bands gut feeling collectively was to sign with DP. We felt that they understood our vision as a band pretty well from the get go and they were incredibly easy to talk to! If you guys don’t feel like you’re getting along at the first meeting that’s usually a pretty clear indicator that it’s not going to work. I highly suggest to take your time, don’t rush. It’s a very long commitment so you really want to be sure it is right for the band. I would also suggest asking as many questions as possible as well as looking into their current roster. Make sure they don’t have too many bands
that are similar to you as finding a point of difference may become difficult. Most importantly listen to your gut feeling or that tiny voice in your head that says- yeah I feel good about this. Just make sure everyone in the band is on the same page before making the decision. PT: We’ve put out two EPs, and now we are working on our debut album. How did you make the leap to LPs? Are albums still important in the streaming age? SH: We always knew we wanted to write an album, it was a pipe dream for so long. Our first two EPs felt like a sort of defining process. It was the spot we were in before we knew exactly what we were as a band. If that makes sense. I really feel it is such an important process to go through and these EPs definitely helped pave the way to an LP. I think you really know you’re ready for the next phase when you can comfortably list a bunch of songs you are super excited to record. If you’re only digging the ‘singles’ on
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PT: We have to travel pretty light for interstate shows. How does Tired Lion make the most out of their gear on the road? How do you decide what gets used in the studio, and what makes it out on tour? SH: We don’t do it as often any more, but occasionally we would reach out to bands and ask if we could borrow backline. The musicians allowance on Virgin flights with your APRA number also makes a load of difference too. With gear, I think we have all developed our preferences over time in terms of gear – we’ve played a lot of shitty gear and also the polar opposite with really good gear. It’s about finding an amp that you know will be reliable/easy enough to source at festivals from bands/ backline. Don’t go overboard with gear big enough for a stadium – especially if you are playing venues on the smaller size. Combos are great for saving space in the tour van.
PT: Do you have any tips for getting our music out to wider audiences? We’ve put it on all your usual streaming services, and have physical copies at every show. What else could we be doing to get in as many ears as possible? SH: I highly suggest you get your EPs/CDs serviced around Australia or if you have the cash, I would suggest hiring a publicist who can help out. PT: Tired Lion have done so much over the past few years – how do you find a work/life balance that works? SH: It’s a constant balancing act. I am probably the wrong person to give advice on this matter as I found music always had a way of consuming my time. I think the best advice is to write out a schedule and try and lock in as many things in advance so you have plenty of time to plan ahead.
PT: When we travel interstate, we’re often on the first flight back to Newcastle to make it home in time for work. Any advice on how to survive a red eye flight? SH: Drink heap of water, make jokes with your bandmates and listen to Elliot Smith to get you through..
PT: Tired Lion play a ton of festivals, which seem like a whole lot of fun. How do you get considered for festivals? It seems a bit more complicated than just sending an email. SH: We are very lucky here and have booking agents that assist us here. If you are doing your bookings independently as we were for a few years starting out, my suggestion is to make your emails as personal as you can. No one likes reading a “Dear Sir/Madam, we are a band that…” copy and paste situation.
PT: Gender diversity on line-ups is an issue that’s really come to the forefront over the past few years. What can we do on a local level to foster a more inclusive music scene? SH: Locally in Perth we have created a database of FEM + LGBQT bands that has revolutionised the way promoters can book shows, perhaps every state should create one of these.
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PT: Do you have any good penny pinching tips for being on tour? SH: When you can make your own food!!! This saves you so much moolah. 7/11 have these $2 toasties that have got us through on a few dinners when we have been low on funds. Try not to spend too much of that hot cash at the bar, drink your shandies at your accommodation instead. Ask friends from other states if the band can crash on their floor. (You must make friends in other states for this to work – haha)
The VB Hard Yards tour runs from 3 Oct.
Howzat! Local music by Jeff Jenkins
Hall monitors ARIA Hall of Fame Predictions
A
round this time of year, Howzat! starts his usual rant: “The ARIA Hall of Fame...why isn’t Stephen Cummings in there? And more record producers. And songwriters. And maybe video directors?” But this year, instead of just foisting my opinions on readers, I turned to some industry people whose views I respect, asking them to nominate three artists that should be inducted, as well as getting their thoughts on what should be changed. “Not sure I’ll be of much help,” journalist and author Barry Divola said. “I tended to ignore them as a joke even back when I was at Who. And looking at that list of Hall of Famers just reaffirms that belief. It just seems totally random, doesn’t it?” The list includes 77 acts that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since it started 30 years ago, including 35 bands and 38 solo artists. Just 11 of the 77 are female artists — nine solo artists and two bands fronted by women (The Seekers and Divinyls). Manager and publicist Chrissie Vincent says it’s time ARIA redressed the gender imbalance. Chrissie chose five women, “because I really couldn’t narrow it down to three”: Adalita and Magic Dirt, Suze DeMarchi and Baby Animals, Vika and Linda Bull, and Deborah Conway for Do-Re-Mi and her solo career. “Each one of these extremely talented ladies has managed to establish and sustain a healthy career in an industry dominated by men, and should be celebrated for paving the way for all the young ladies who are inspired to get up on stage, strap on a guitar and belt out a tune — giving it all they have.” Three First Nations acts have been inducted (Jimmy Little, Kev Carmody and Yothu Yindi), and 12 artists represent genres that aren’t rock or pop. TV and radio presenter Jane Gazzo is calling on ARIA to induct its first female Indigenous act — Tiddas. “In the ‘90s, Tiddas broke new ground by becoming one of the first female Indigenous folk acts to break into mainstream music,” explains Jane, who is also chair of the Australian Music Vault’s advisory board. “They played pubs on line-ups that were completely off-genre, experienced racism and sexism, yet produced three beautiful studio albums and blazed a trail.” ARIA’s criteria stipulate the Hall of Fame is “reserved exclusively for the creators of recorded music — the writers, the recording artists, and in some cases, the producers”. But they inducted a TV show, Countdown, alongside Ian “Molly” Meldrum, in 2014. “I think broadening the ‘entry’ criteria would be a good idea,” says Neil Rogers, who has hosted Triple R’s The Australian Mood for more than three decades. “For example, allowing producers, roadies and other key people who have contributed to the music industry would be good.” Jane also believes ARIA “should do away with tradition and honour the grafters, trailblazers and the people behind the scenes. We seem to honour the obvious — nothing wrong with that, but it becomes a little samey each year.”
Milestones and memories 2018
Renee Geyer turns 65 (11 Sep). 5 years ago
The Hunters tribute album, Crucible, Stephen Cummings
Jane says ARIA should immediately honour record producer Mark Opitz, who produced seminal albums for The Angels, Cold Chisel, INXS and Divinyls. “Is there an Australian sound? If Opitz’s records are anything to go by, then yes, there is.” Jane also nominates a video director — Russell Mulcahy, who made clips for Dragon and The Saints before moving overseas, where he became the world’s leading video director, making ground-breaking clips for Duran Duran and countless other stars. But Paul Cashmere, of noise11.com, makes a fair point: ARIA is the Australian Recording Industry Association, “so it should be limited to recording artists and producers... Molly counts as a producer and should be there, Countdown is a TV show and shouldn’t”. Paul nominates John Schumann, Tommy Emmanuel and Diesel, “but we are getting a backlog with The Living End, Silverchair and Powderfinger now all qualifying”. To address this, Paul says ARIA should induct multiple acts each year. “Maybe not to the degree of the mid-2000s when they were doing seven a year, but we can easily accommodate three a year.” Howzat! believes Mondo Rock should be in the Hall of Fame, which would make Ross Wilson our first triple Hall of Famer (he was inducted solo in 1989 and with Daddy Cool in 2006). But should ARIA prioritise artists who are yet to feature? Neil Rogers argues that Ed Kuepper should be inducted for his solo work, on top of The Saints’ induction in 2001. Neil also nominates The Sports, Kevin Borich, Diesel, Kasey Chambers and Deborah Conway. Despite his indifference to the Hall of Fame, Barry Divola believes there’s one glaring omission. “I notice The Triffids made it in 2008, so I’m surprised The Go-Betweens haven’t had a guernsey yet, especially after Grant’s death, the recent doco and the big tribute nights. I mean, Brisbane even named a bridge after them, but no ARIA Hall of Fame?” As for Stephen Cummings, Howzat! has a high-profile supporter — Michael Gudinski. When he announced that Stephen had signed to the Bloodlines label, Gudinski said: “It’s high time that ARIA recognised Stephen’s remarkable body of work and inducted Stephen Cummings and The Sports into the ARIA Hall of Fame.” Hear, hear.
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is released.
Keith Urban’s Fuse enters the US albums chart at number one. 30 years ago
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds release their fifth studio album, Tender Prey, featuring The Mercy Seat. 60 years ago
Slim Dusty’s A Pub With No Beer becomes the first homegrown chart-topper.
The Gibb family and Red Symons arrive in Australia.
Hot book
Craig Horne — Daddy Who?
As Stephen MacLean wrote in Go-Set, in the first Daddy Cool review, “Daddy Cool is the wildest, happiest group you’ve ever seen, knocking out the freakiest rock songs you’ve ever heard.” The first Australian band to sell 100,000 albums, they deserve a great book, and Craig Horne, a writer and musician, has delivered with this deeply personal tome.
For the latest live reviews go to themusic.com.au
Courtney
Barnett @ Sydney Opera
““It was still as immediate and visceral as any of her live sets, a garage-y spin on album tracks that became almost manic as, led by her guitar, she careened around the stage or fell backwards from the drum riser.”
House. Pics by Angela Padovan.
Courtney Barnett provided a setlist of “polite reverence” as she performed
— Hannah Story
at the grand Concert Hall.
Flights Facilities @ Enmore Theatre. Pic by Milly Mead.
It was non-stop music and special guests galore (including vocalists Owl Eyes and Ric Rufio) as Flight Facilities played the first of a three night stand
“The music never stopped, with the boys performing masterful transitions between tracks, their groove silhouetted against a backdrop of a dazzling light display.” — Jessica Higgins
at the Enmore Theatre.
“ The group have gained a reputation of creating a joyous party atmosphere and tonight was no different.” — Mick Radojkovic
Phantastic
Katy Perry @
Ferniture @
Qudos Bank
Oxford Art Fac-
Arena. Pic by
tory. Pic by
Josh Groom.
Peter Dovgan.
“Katy Perry’s show is a spectacle that could rival any pop star of that calibre.” — Cate Summers
Phantastic Ferniture wound up their
Giant illuminated glass stars, oversized golden dice,
album launch tour
giant inflatable lips – Katy Perry certainly delivered an
with a fun home-
arena spectacle in Sydney.
town gig.
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Reviews
PRESENTED BY ELEFANT TRAKS, WME AND THE MUSIC
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SUNDAY AT THE VALVE
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SAT 8TH 8PM
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UNIFY A HIP HOP SHOWCASE SHOW
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CADENCE FRIDAYS LAUNCH
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PUNK VACATION VI
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FEAT MUSIC BY KORN/SLIPKNOT/ DEFTONES/LINKIN PARK/ TOOL/SYSTEM OF A DOWN AND MANY MORE
“BUSH TURKEYS” PRESENT ROCKIN’ SATURDAY
WITH MANY SPECIAL GUESTS “TO LOS ANGELES” AND MANY MORE
MAZUKAMBA CHILEAN NATIONAL DAY AFTERPARTY
WITH DJS TAZ AND MANY MORE
TUE 18TH “SAVAGE” (USA) 8PM WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
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September
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EXHIBIT HIP HOP PARTY
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BOOZE AND GLORY” (UK)
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SPACEBAR: TAFE ELECTONIC MUSIC FACULTY SHOWCASE
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FEAT 30 PRODUCERS
BASEMENT ““EL BASTARDO” PRESENTS
THU 27TH PUNK SHOW 8PM WITH “LEGAL ALIENS”, “DURRY” AND GUESTS BASEMENT PACE PRESENTS
FRI 28TH NIGHT OF TECHNO 8PM WITH QU- ZEN, ANDREW WOWK,
OVEREXPIRED AND MANY MORE
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ELEMENTS OF TECH AND BASS FREE DNB PARTY
WITH RITUAL, THIERRY D, VERTICAL TRANSPORT, OZZO, POLAR, HOSTED BY TUKKA D AND D-TECH MC
HDO
FRI 28TH WITH KAMIKAZE, FIRELITE, 10PM ANDEREX, TWISTED MELODIEZ,
PARANOIZ, MESHKA, STRUCTUREZ, RADARZ, SC@R, SHTAVE
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PUNK-A-PALOOZA 2018
SAT 29TH FEAT: “RADIO REJECTS”, “RUKUS”, 6PM “ALL HOPE REMAINS”, “SKETCH
METHOD”, “AUTOMATIC HEROES”, “SKINPIN”, “APPREHENSION AVENUE”, “UTI”, “HACK THE MAINFRAME” AND MORE
“ARRAY”
THU 20TH WITH “VINYL PRESS”, 8PM “H.FANNINGS & THE SEAGULLS”
LEVEL ONE
SAT 29TH 10PM BASEMENT
SUN 30TH 5PM
MAZUKAMBA LATIN MONTHLY WITH CHICI-C, TAZ AND MAY MORE
“HOPE TOWN” IN INDIE SUNDAY
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SAT 22ND FEAT SHOWCASE OF LOCAL 10PM ARTISTS
BASEMENT GRINDHEAD RECORDS PRESENTS
“TOUCHNOISY” IN THE NIGHT OF ELECTRONIC ART,
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BASEMENT “THE SWAY” PRESENTS THU 13TH RETURN TO VALVE BAR 8PM WITH “HARVEY JONES” AND
SANCTUARY EST 1989, SYDNEY’S PREMIER ALTERNATIVE CLUB NIGHT
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SATURDAY 8 DECEMBER THE FACTORY THEATRE
“FLOW COMMOTION”
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LEVEL ONE DEEPSPACE EVENTS PRESENTS
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This month’s highlights
Modern rose
Ivona Rose
Independent singer-songwriter and multiinstrumentalist Ivona Rose is bringing her rich, dreamy vocals and folk-driven keys to Django Bar this 13 Sep to release her debut album, So Modern. Supporting is Andrew Barnum with his own new release.
RACKETT
What a hoot
Surrey Hills Festival is back on 23 Sep with market stalls, crafty activities and a stacked line-up. Whether it’s making pop art and eating scones or catching Joy Ride, RACKETT, King Tide and more there’s bound to be something for everyone.
Angus & Julia Stone
The hills have crafts
Annual festival Yours & Owls will be hitting up Wollongong again on 29 & 30 Sep. Featuring indie faves Angus and Julia Stone and electro acts Peking Duk and Alison Wonderland, it’s sure to strike the perfect party/ chill ratio.
Net gains Animal collective
The inaugural Ricochet Ball event is set to pivot Sydney’s creative types into scoring for charity this 28 Sep at Robyn Webster Sports Centre. Headed by KLP and Anna Fitzgerald, the mixed netball comp will be heaps of fun for a good cause. Mammal
Alt-rock band Mammal are on a comeback tour with their first music since breaking up in 2009. Following a video for track, Community, they’re playing shows all ‘round the country, including Manning Bar in Sydney on 7 Sep.
Whether you fancy yourself as a fair maiden, a shining knight or the drunken town crier, there’s something for everyone at this year’s St Ives Medieval Faire. Head down on 22 & 23 Sep to party like its 1399.
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St Ives Medieval Faire
KLP & Anna Fitzgerald
Faire game
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Your town
IVONA ROSE SO MODERN ALBUM LAUNCH THURSDAY SEPT 13th 7 - 10 PM DJANGO BAR @ CAMELOT
SPECIAL GUEST
ANDREW BARNUM LITTLE PHOENIX
TIX: STICKYTICKETS.COM.AU INFO: MEDIA@FOGHORN RECORDS.NET
The Music
â&#x20AC;¢
September
the best and the worst of the month’s zeitgeist
The lashes Front
Back
We’re #1
HB’yo, what’s up?
BESTSOUND
Dutton
Abbott
Morrison
Get ready for a not-so-
Can you feel that? New TV is
It’s the most won-der-ful
What
a
mess.
humble brag... We’re only
coming, including a brand
tiiiiime of the yearrrrrrr... No,
gloating because we’re
new, very last ever, definitely
not Christmas - BIGSOUND!
proud and also ridicu-
murder-filled season of
We’re stoked that four glori-
lously competitive, but The
Game Of Thrones. HBO has
ous days of conferences and
Music’s Melbourne team
dropped the first look at the
showcases are upon us. If for
took home Corner Hotel’s
show’s final run, as well as
some reason you’re reading
Industry Trivia trophy last
peeks at Big Little Lies, True
this magazine backwards,
week. We know, we’re sick
Detective and more. The
get all the hot goss yonder.
of us too...
wait might actually kill us.
The final thought
Words by Maxim Boon
Another new Prime Minister? Well none of us saw that coming!
H
ey everyone, remember democracy? Yeah, nah, me neither. Seems common folk like you or I needn’t worry our pretty little heads over dreary shit like, oh I don’t know, who’s going to run the country. Voting’s clearly for suckers, and why bother when you can just sit on the sidelines and enjoy the show, as the pollies go full Game Of Thrones on each other, soar-
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ing past that pesky ballot box like a zombie dragon over a giant wall. It’s a well-known and oh so well-worn fact that Australia changes its PM like most countries change their proverbial underwear, but as Canberra apparently shoots a shot for shot remake of the Wizard’s Chess scene from Harry Potter, it kind of begs the question, is anyone actually running the show at the moment? Is our girt-by-sea fate currently in the hands of interns, tea ladies and whoever mows the massive lawn on top of Parliment House? And just which dystopian nightmare will we end up living in: Handmaid’s Tale, Mad Max or The Purge? Seriously, none of those paradigms seems particularly far-fetched at this point. And that bears dwelling on. I’d like to think I’m just overreacting, but it’s difficult not to feel the tiniest bit of existential horror at the kind of political bumper cars that’s presently playing out before our very eyes. At the time of writing this piece, there was still no clear conquerer striding their way to the PM’s office, and I dread to think who/what might be the head of our Government by the time these words hit the street. Because as entertaining as it is — and let’s face it, we’re all fucking rivetted — these clownish politicians, with their root-vegetable features (*cough* Dutton *cough*), spouting batshit nonsense with a rubberface and a doofy hat (I’m looking at you, Bob Katter), are not just harmless figures of
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fun. Bumbling down the corridors of power, their ranting, raving, racist, homophobic, anti-immigrant, monocultural sentiments are dangerously close to the mechanisms of legislation. And thus the values that they extoll, and the laws that enshrine them, can and will have very real, and very damaging repercussions for actual people. Our fellow human beings. And the most maddeningly frustrating thing of all is that the electorate’s voice — a collective force that should be the most powerful influence on the political status quo — is being shut out, on the wrong side of the party room door. Short of donning a “The End Is Nigh” sandwich board and taking to the streets, it can feel alarmingly innert just spectating as this power grab plays out. But just when Australia’s politics looked like they might be the drunkest dude at this week’s political party, that damn scandal factory, the good ol’ US of A, rolled up its sleeves, leaned over and said, “Hold my beer bro.” I’m referring, of course, to the pearlclutching revelations pouring forth from Trump’s asstranged lawyer and former hypeboy Michael Cohen, and the multiple guilty verdicts heaped upon Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort. It’s palace intrigue almost delicious enough to distract from the dumpster fire that is the Aussie Parliament. Looks like we can’t even get being a country-sized hot mess right.
DENIM BY BRIXTON
The Music
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September