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2 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
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“A SATURDAY NIGHT FOR ME IS LIKE EVERYONE’S OUT OF THE HOUSE AND I’LL GET A NICE WHISKY AND START LEARNING MORE.”
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INSIDE NEWS
The Tea Party Comeback Kid Rise The Madden Brothers Stereosonic King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard The Decline
THIS WEEK Guardians Of The Galaxy
SOME WISE WORDS FROM LOCAL BEATMAKER SAM PERRY [P17]
feature “WE TOURED IT A BIT TOO LONG AND WE ALL GOT A LITTLE SICK OF IT. THAT’S WHY WE HAD THAT BREAK.”
SPOON GIVE US THE LOWDOWN ON THEIR COMEBACK RECORD [P15]
sleepmakeswaves Bonjah
FEATURES 360 Keira Knightley & John Carney Rise Hilltop Hoods Spoon The Bombay Royale AC Slater Sam Perry
ALBUM Hilltop Hoods Dot Hacker FKA Twigs Porter Robinson John Garcia
“AN INTELLIGENT RECORD IS ON OFFER FOR THOSE WILLING TO SET ASIDE THEIR EXPECTATIONS OF ANOTHER AUSSIE HIP HOP PAINTBY-NUMBERS RECORD.”
HILLTOPS HOODS HAVE ANOTHER WINNER ON THEIR HANDS [P18]
review “WITH A THREE-STRONG BACKING VOCAL TROUPE, A WHOLE LOT OF VIVACITY AND A STRAWBERRY-BLONDE HALO AROUND NELSON’S DOME, THE BAND CUT STRAIGHT TO THE CHASE.”
TIMOTHY NELSON & THE INFIDELS TAKE ON A SOLD OUT HOME CROWD [P20]
Tom Petty
LIVE Kate Miller-Heidke Timothy Nelson & The Infidels Dan Sultan The Lammas Tide Villian
THE GUIDE Emperors Eat/Drink Q&As Gig Guide
4 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
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FEATURING MEMBERS OF BLONDIE, THE CARS, THE ROMANTICS AND THE CHESTERFIELD KINGS, THE EMPTY HEARTS DEBUT SELFTITLED ALBUM INFUSES CLASSIC PUNK, POP AND ROCK TO PERFECTION. WE’RE GOT THREE COPIES TO GIV EAWAY. HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU/WIN FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN
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THIS WEEK THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 6 AUG - 12 AUG 2014
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ART DEPT
Blues-rock quartet Bonjah will venture from their adoptive homeland of Melbourne this month to celebrate the success of their latest album, Beautiful Wild. . The band will hit up six states over 20 dates with a string of shows set for WA. Head to Northshore Tavern on Thursday, the Indi Bar on Friday, Amplifier on Saturday or the Dunsborough Tavern on Sunday. Tickets available from Moshtix.com.au.
This Thursday, Marvel takes its unstoppable superhero franchise into space with the release of Guardians Of The Galaxy. After unwittingly stealing a mysterious orb with universe-destroying capabilities, a bounty hunter is forced into an alliance with a band of extraterrestrial misfits. Comes with Chris Pratt of Parks & Recreation fame as the unlikely hero, a talking raccoon, cheesy ‘70s music and a healthy dose of sarcasm.
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Post-rock powerhouse sleepmakeswaves will tour nationally this month to coincide with the release of their second studio album, Love Of Cartography. The release – which was crowdfunded through a $30,000 Pozible pre-sale campaign - follows up on three massive years of touring across Australia, the US, UK and Europe in support of their debut album ... And So We Destroyed Everything. Sleepmakeswaves will be supported by fellow Sydneysiders Breaking Orbit at Amplifier Bar this Friday, with doors opening at 8pm.
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national news news@themusic.com.au SKRILLEX
BRIGGS
MICROPHONE SCENES
Remi, Briggs, Mantra, Grey Ghost, Dylan Joel and Flagrant are heading out on tour to celebrate the launch of Rise, a photography book by Michelle Grace Hunder chronicling the local hip hop scene. Catch this all-star bill and get your hands on a piece of Aussie musical history when the Rise tour hits The Espy, Melbourne, 21 Aug; Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, 22 Aug; New Globe Theatre, Brisbane, 23 Aug; Karova Lounge, Ballarat, 28 Aug; and Rosemount Hotel, Perth, 29 Aug. Proudly presented by The Music.
BRINGING THE BEAT BACK
Australia’s largest dance festival Stereosonic has unveiled their first list of artists for 2014 and it’s perhaps the biggest EDM bill to ever hit this country. The likes of Calvin Harris, Tiesto, Diplo, Skrillex, Alesso, Steve Aoki, Disclosure (DJ set), Duke Dumont, Will Sparks, RL Grimes, Peking Duk, Nervo, Showtek, Dash Berlin, Carl Cox, Porter Robinson, Laidback Luke, Booka Shade, The Ashton Shuffle and tons more will alternate performances in capital cities across two days, 29 & 30 Nov, Sydney Showgrounds and Claremont Showgrounds, Perth, and 6 & 7 Dec, Melbourne Showgrounds and Brisbane Showgrounds. For the full first announcement, videos, ticket information and more, head to theMusic.com.au.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Hard-partying Canadian five-piece Comeback Kid are back with their fifth studio full-length Die Knowing, and will head out on a national tour with Californians Rotting Out and Sydney’s Relentless. Catch the bands 16 Oct, Amplifier Bar, Perth (Rotting Out not performing); 18 Oct, The Central Club, Melbourne; 23 Oct (all ages) & 24 Oct (18+), Bald Faced Stag, Sydney; and 25 Oct, The Brightside, Brisbane, with plenty more dates on The Guide at theMusic.com.au.
AMP IT UP
Remi, Chet Faker and Ball Park Music are amongst the first artists added to the long list of candidates for the prestigious $30,000 Coopers AMP Australian album award, which was taken out last year by Big Scary for their stunning second LP Not Art. DZ Deathrays, Teeth & Tongue, Straight Arrows, Total Control, Blank Realm, East Brunswick All Girls Choir and HTRK round out 2014’s first list of acts, with more to be confirmed soon.
CREATURES OF BEYOND Get your King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard on when the band return home after a triumphant first run around North America, the expansive psych outfit playing national dates including 22 Aug, Goodgod Small Club, Sydney; 5 Sep, Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane; 17 Sep, The Workers Club, Melbourne; and 26 Sep, The Bakery, Perth. For full tour dates head to theMusic.com.au, with The Murlocs supporting everywhere except WA (apologies as always guys).
HIGH IMPACT FUN
WA punk pals The Decline are back on the road for their national Man Gets Hit By Football tour, and will be demanding a goodspirited pitting session when they support The Bennies at The Lab, 13 Sep and The Time Machine, Nambour, 14 Sep, before headlining Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, 17 Sep; Valve @ Agincourt, Sydney, 18 Sep; Reverence Hotel, Melbourne, 20 Sep; and Amplifier Bar, Perth, 27 Sep, where they’ll be recording for a live album. All dates presented by The Music app.
“WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T GO FULL JADEN SMITH.” MARK SHANNON [@MKSHFT] AGREES: SHROOMS AT COMIC-CON – BAD CHOICE.
BLUEJUICE
LAST CHANCE TO PARTY
Get set to sweat when lovable pop larrikins Bluejuice hit the road for a final time, the band announcing their imminent break-up after 13 years together. Jake, Stav and the lads play Capitol, Perth, 26 Sep; The Hi-Fi, Brisbane, 2 Oct; Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, 3 Oct; The Hi-Fi, Melbourne, 10 Oct (18+) & 11 Oct (under-18 matinee); ANU Bar, Canberra, 18 Oct; Metro Theatre, Sydney, 24 Oct (all ages), plus loads more dates. Head to theMusic.com.au for full details, with the national tour proudly presented by The Music.
THE TEA PARTY
MYSTERIOUS BREW
Veteran Canadian rock outfit The Tea Party celebrate their first record in a decade, The Ocean At The End, when they bring the alchemy with stalwart ARIA winners The Superjesus at Crown Perth, 9 Oct; Palais Theatre, Melbourne, 12 Oct; Enmore Theatre, Sydney, 15 Oct; ANU Bar, Canberra, 17 Oct; Towradgi Beach Hotel, Wollongong, 18 Oct; Panthers, Newcastle, 20 Oct; Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, 21 Oct; and The Tivoli, Brisbane, 23 Oct. THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 7
local news wa.news@themusic.com.au &ME
LAST SERVING
Grace Barbé Afro-Kreol are doing their last WA show before embarking on a massive Australian national tour which will include 34 shows over two months to promote her new album Welele! Catch Barbe and Co. and they’re amazing Afro sounds before the rest of the country falls in love with them, at Mojo’s on 15 Aug.
DOG DAY AFTERNOON
Featuring all the colour-referencing, suit-wearing, ear-gouging magic of the original, Circle In The Sand’s production of Reservoir Dogs is something to behold. Based on Quentin Tarantino’s breakthrough “heist gone wrong” film, the production holds true to the dirty, tense atmosphere of the original, featuring a range of talented actors. Catch it at Packenham Arts Space in Freo on 27 Aug.
ADAM &ME
Tagged By Pulse Radio ss one of the most respected labels in the house and techno scene, Keinemusik is a Berlin-based label operating “in the spirit of refining house and techno off the beaten track”. Adam Port and &Me are two artists doing exactly that to the much-worn but much-loved Berlin style. They bring their unique tweeks to the East End Bar on 12 Sep.
FEELIN’ THIRSTY?
It’s been 10 years now since Thirsty Merc busted out onto the scene with their catchy pop hooks, and luckily they remembered early enough to put together the Acoustic Anniversary Album, a collection of Merc classics re-jigged as intimate acoustic numbers. Hear the Merc celebrate ten years and throw out acoustic tunes at Friends Restaurant, 12 Nov; Swings Taphouse & Tavern, Margaret River, 13 Nov; New Centurion Hotel, Midland, 14 Nov; Charles Hotel, 15 Nov; and Ravenswood Hotel, 16 Nov.
STREETWISE SPECTACULAR
From the favelas of Brazil comes the explosive dance energy of Brazouka . Featuring some of Brazil’s finest freestyle dancers, this lambazouk crew, led by the legendary Braz Dos Santos, combine sensuality with bounce, cheek and just a hint of danger in a must-see performance that will electrify your senses. Catch them at Regal Theatre, 23 – 26 Oct.
ANU TAKE ON IT
Christine Anu will be taking the stage for encore performances of Rewind – The Aretha Franklin Songbook, Anu’s tribute to the queen of soul. See Franklin’s most memorable classics come to life through Anu’s sassy and engaging performance when the show comes The Ellington Jazz Club, 17 & 18 Aug.
NOODLE TIME
If you’re excited about 2015 Fringe World already, then good for you for getting on it early! Adding to that excitement is the news that one of the cooler venues at the last fringe World, Noodle Palace, will indeed be opening its doors once again in 2015. Run by JumpClimb and the indomitable Thomas Ford, you can apply to take part in the noodly action at http://bit.ly/noodlepalace2015. 8 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
WE LIKE FUNNY SHORTS Australia’s Funniest Shorts is putting out a final calling for submissions of comedy short films and filmed sketch entries to be screened at this year’s Rottofest, held on Rottnest Island from 19 to 21 Sep. Cash prizes are to be won, entries close 15 Aug and info can be found at rottofest.co.au/shorts.
HEROES AND VILLAIN
October’s a bit far off, but that’s no reason to not book things in now. Case in point: Villain, who swung from their uni studies to belt out a few sets at last years Big Splash comp, have taken the time to put together their first release, The Other Side. The EP captures all the Brit rock-infused indie charm you might’ve seen at Big Splash, and they’re ready to get back in the game when they launch it at Flyrite on 16 Oct.
LIL JON
MAYHEM REIGNS
Directed by Eddie Martin (Lionel) and from the makers of award-winning documentaries Senna and Exit Through the Gift Shop, All This Mayhem is the story of brothers Tas and Ben Pappas, who were set to take the world of professional skateboarding for their own before their own demons got there first. The film, which is already picking up critical plaudits left and right, screens at Luna Leederville, 7-14 Aug.
MAKE IT SO
A 54-hour, collaborative challenge for entrepreneurs will feature as the final event of the recently announced Enterprise Week, a week dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs with new and original ideas. Supported by Google for Entrepreneurs and hosted at Joondalup’s co-working space sixty27 on8-10 Aug, the weekend will centre on pitching, workshopping and transforming ideas into realities. Check out sixty27’s Facebook for details.
TURN DOWN FOR JON
What? Yeah! OK! Excuse our excitement, but the news of Lil Jon bringing his DJ set to venues around the country has us gettin’ low with the best of them. After rising to prominence a decade ago as the face of the crunk movement, Lil Jon has become synonymous with the more crazy aspects of the genre. Get your grills in and grab your chalice for when he heads to Metro City on 26 Oct.
local news wa.news@themusic.com.au UZ
CAM AVERY
UZ AND THEM
Emerging at the high point of the trap craze, the mysterious UZ – known only for his black hat and gold mask – has made the genre his own, with his raucous sets and deadly remixes pushing him to the front of the trap pack. His sounds are minimal, yet powerful, with a menacing intensity, maturity, and restraint. He heads to Villa on 22 Aug, supported by Killafoe, Casuel, Pimp Scrub and Command Q.
ADOPTED SONS
At least, that’s what it’s beginning to feel like, with Good Charlotte lynchpins The Madden Brothers practically everywhere right now. If you hadn’t guessed by the name, the boys are standing on their own two (four?) feet these days, and it seems to be working for them with latest single We Are Done already certified platinum. Fans can catch them at Crown Theatre on 7 Nov. Tickets via Ticketek.
ENTER THE AVERY
FOREVER VANDA & YOUNG
GETTING SECULAR
Harry Vanda and George Young are celebrated as two of the greatest Australian songwriters at all time, so the clout behind the Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition is pretty big. The 2014 round of the comp is now open, with the winner picking up a cool cash prize of $50,000. If you wouldn’t mind that, head to apraamcos.com.au for more details.
The gravel-voiced, aesthetically-pleasing leadman of The Growl and one part of the party time that is Pond, Cameron Avery, is embarking on a four-stop national tour this September to ply his solo wares. After years of international jetsetting, songwriting and just generally being a top muso bloke, he heads to Mojos on 13 Sep. Lock up your daughters and prepare to swoon. Tickets though Oztix.
The School Of Life was launched in London in 2008 as a platform for “cultural mavericks and thought leaders” around the world to give their views on the values we should live by (or the vices we should be wary of ) in today’s complex world. The Secular Sermons program is one part of that, and human rights lawyer Julian burnside QC will deliver one on 14 Sep at Winthrop Hall. John Butler will perform three solo ‘hymns’ on the night also.
AIM HIGH
Aimed at music managers in the early to mid stages of their careers, Higher Ground is a bespoke workshop program open to all WA-based music managers who want to take their careers to the next level. The WAMfronted program offers unparalleled access to top level management advice and networking opportunities with some of Australia’s most experienced managers and industry. The series begins in August; get your expressions of interest in to WAM by 5pm on 15 Aug.
THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 9
music
THAT’S A RAP 360, aka Matthew Colwell, has dealt with health problems, role model aspirations and beef with peers on the way to finding Utopia, he tells Cyclone.
M
elbourne’s 360 (aka Matthew Colwell) crashed and burned after 2011’s doubleplatinum Falling & Flying. In 2014, promoting a heroic follow-up, Utopia, he’s finally at ease with his status as Australia’s biggest MC. The stylish Jared Leto look-alike is tall (6’4”) and buff, his skin covered in intricate tattoos, a tiny treble clef on one cheek. However, the thing you initially notice is his fixed gaze, those eyes luminously blue. Yet nothing is as it seems with 360. The MC has keratoconus, a degenerative eye disorder which, he’s joked blackly, could render him “the first Ray Charles of rap”. Indeed, Colwell has had his struggles – with health, dependency issues, fame and haters – but today he’s sanguine. “Everything’s going really good at the moment – [I’m] just keeping busy,” Colwell says, comfy in EMI’s Melbourne office. “I’ve just moved into a new house as well. I moved in there with [bestie] Pez and another housemate, so we’re just [doing] music all day, every day kinda thing – Pez raps and the other guy
transplant in one eye. Unable to play sport, music empowered him. Colwell emerged as a formidable battle rapper. From the get-go, he harnessed social media, spearheading the ‘rapper tag’ phenom. Colwell debuted with 2008’s traditionalist hip hop What You See Is What You Get on Soulmate Records. Keen to then experiment, the MC, now on EMI, teamed with producer Styalz Fuego, aka Kaelyn Behr, who’d transplanted to Melbourne from Byron Bay. Behr, who once had a track picked up by US rapper Chamillionaire, masterminded X & Hell’s proto-urbanEDM Million Dollar Sex Party. Falling & Flying broke out of the Aussie hip hop mould, deviating into electro, dubstep and alt-rock –
His beloved fans were intense. “It was really hard for me to adapt at first to going down the street and just being mobbed by people for photos,” he admits. “My mind was so fragile because I was always partying and always going on benders and stuff... So I’d get massive anxiety and panic attacks and shit like that – and then after a while [I came to] realise there’s other ways to deal with it, other than alcohol and drugs.” He apparently “detoxed” at his manager Rae Harvey’s house. Colwell indicated that Utopia would be “dark” but, in fact, it has light and shade. In some respects the MC, back with Behr, has rediscovered hip hop, albeit an epic embodiment of it, but Utopia still mines rock and electronica (Price Of Fame with Gossling is drum’n’bass). Colwell, determined to privilege his rhymes, studied the game (he rates Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky). “One thing that was such a massive goal for me for this album was to really prove myself as a rapper again, because I’d come from a background of rap and I understand the artform and all that. One of the things that got to me about the criticism from the last album was people saying I’m not a rapper, I’m just a pop singer. That resonated and drove me to really up my game as a rapper and prove myself – like, yeah, I can make songs that do get on the radio and I can get a lot of mainstream success, but, at the forefront of it all, I’m still a rapper. I just wanna be regarded as one of the best.” Colwell isn’t Example… MCs write in different ways. Jay Z constructs verses mentally – as did The Notorious BIG. “I’ve done it where I haven’t written anything, like Jay Z and that – I’ve done
“I WANNA BE SOMEONE WHO’S A POSITIVE ROLE MODEL.”
who lives there is a singer-songwriter. So it’s quite a good house to live in. Now they’re on a health kick, so they’re making a lot of real healthy foods and stuff like that.” Colwell began the year auspiciously with a slot on Eminem’s Australasian Rapture Tour. Alas, he never met Slim Shady, but did gain an insight into the realities of his world. “He was really reclusive. He’d rock up in a police escort every single show – virtually just get out of his car onto the stage and then get off the stage into his car and go. It’s understandable at his level of fame… He has fans who are actually crazy. I’ve had a bunch of them follow me on Instagram – some were really abusive, some were nice – but, even just looking at their fan pages, these kids worship him to another level. They’re exactly like Stan! They had the same tattoos, everything. They just look identical to him. It’s crazy.” Post-Splendour In The Grass, Colwell is embarking on his own Rapture-mode tour. Colwell was reared in the mundane outer Melbourne suburb of Ringwood, where hip hop signified streetwise excitement. “When I was growing up, I looked up to the tough gangsta dudes and shit, so I was trying to emulate that. But that’s not who I was. I was never a street kid. I’ve been raised really well by two great parents and, me trying to fight and be a negative person and all that, it just wasn’t who I was… I was living a more fake wannabe kinda thing when I was younger.” Colwell had been focused on basketball – but, his eyesight deteriorating, he was diagnosed with keratoconus, necessitating a cornea 10 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
but, lyrically, it remained raw and candid. The album was significantly delayed when Colwell, celebrating his birthday with Bliss N Eso, suffered a shocking go-karting accident. Nonetheless, it was a crossover triumph, spawning several hits – notably, Boys Like You (featuring the pop-folkie Gossling) reached #3, was certified quadrupleplatinum, and placed eighth in triple j’s Hottest 100. Colwell received ten ARIA nominations, winning ‘Breakthrough Artist’. (Behr took ‘Producer of the Year’.) Offstage, however, all was not well. Colwell found celebrity stressful – and this, on top of his health worries, meant his life became increasingly tumultuous.
it all in my head before,” Colwell explains. “It’s actually quite fun to do it like that. I wrote Live It Up all in my head like that. But, most of the time, I’ll write all the stuff on my phone. I’ll get an instrumental and I’ll just start freestyling over it – like rant, gibberish, not even speaking words – so I can get a flow and understand how I wanna sound over it. Then the content just starts coming.” This latently conscious MC challenges hip hop’s pernicious homophobia on Man On The Moon. Colwell questioned his own use of ‘faggot’ as a diss in battles following an off-the-record discussion with News Ltd journalist Cameron Adams. “I’d never thought about it and I just was blasé to it all, a bit ignorant – like the rest of the world,” Colwell confesses. “I didn’t realise the weight that that word holds and how offensive it was – and also how powerful my words are to kids and how my influence on them is quite big. From then, I wanted to start being positive... At the end of the day, I wanna be someone who’s a positive role model, not a bad role model.” On Utopia, Colwell is joined by a new – and unexpected – cohort in former Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns. The MC, who knows Johns’ brother Heath through his publishing company, broached the idea of a collaboration. Heath warned Colwell that Johns, his stance on rap culture a bit Jack White, would probably decline. But the Straight Lines singer surprised them. “It was something about my songwriting that he really, really enjoys.” Their introductory collab was
SIXTY DEGREES OF SEPARATION
(ironically) Utopia’s lead single, Impossible – industrialised dubstep. Colwell valued Johns as a confidante, too, the rocker himself familiar with the pressures of fame. Perhaps the true indicator of Colwell’s stature in Australia is his unprecedented ‘beef ’ with Sydney rebel Kerser, instigated at a 2011 mega-battle. Colwell now plays down feud talk. “It’s just been an entertainment and a battle thing… There’s been no actual bad blood between either of us, ever. When we’ve seen each other, there’s never been any problems or anything like that. There’s a level of respect between us – even though we’re going at each other on songs or stuff, it’s just healthy competition.” Colwell bumped into Kerser at Big Day Out, uploading a photo of them together on Instagram that continues to get “crazy ‘likes’”. Colwell is ambitious – and, while genuinely altruistic, doesn’t conceal his entrepreneurial streak. Cracking the US market is “a massive aim”, but he’ll first give Europe a shot. Iggy Azalea has demonstrated that an Australian MC can conquer America – not that Colwell considers her to be representative, as she’s “making American hip hop”. That’s no diss, either. “Personally, I’ve got no problem with it. I feel a sense of pride – even though it’s not the kinda music
that I’d make, I think people should be proud of her, really, because she’s an Australian and she’s had crazy success. I think it opens the doors, in a sense that it’s not totally foreign to have an Australian rapper now. If people hear of an Australian rapper, they’ll think of Iggy Azalea – but now at least they’ve got it cemented in their head that there are rappers from Australia. So I don’t know if it’s gonna open many doors for Aussie hip hop people, but just that small thing I think will help… When someone has the right music that’s gonna connect overseas, it will help.”
WHAT: Utopia (Forthwrite/EMI) WHEN & WHERE: 19 Sep, Metro City; 20 Sep, Astor Theatre
Eminem “handpicked” supports for his festivalstyle Rapture extravaganza. Matt “360” Colwell has done the same for his headlining Utopia tour, his biggest yet – and first in two years. Colwell, who performed at 2013’s Lollapalooza in Chicago, has an American MC opening for him: the enigmatic Hopsin, who lately unveiled that cult hip hop soliloquy Ill Mind Of Hopsin 7. Colwell also booked Brit battle rapper Lunar C, a Utopia album guest. “I really wanna help get his music out here – I think he’s a really good rapper,” Colwell enthuses. “The track we did together [Sixavelli] is hilarious, so doing it live will be really good.” African-Australian MC Miracle cameos on Utopia’s Eddie Jones. Colwell’s studio ally Styalz Fuego worked on Miracle’s debut, Mainland, and introduced the MCs. Now he joins 360’s roadshow. “It’s gonna be good for him and hopefully get his name out there a lot more.” Colwell has even recruited his housemate, and Forthwrite Records partner, Pez, who raps on Live It Up. Colwell himself will be accompanied by folk-pop singer Gossling, who quirks up his latest single, Price Of Fame, everywhere but Perth. “I just rock with a DJ, but we’ve got crazy production going on – like, we’ve got some insane stuff happening with fire...” There’s been debate about Colwell’s introduction of VIP concert deals, the lavish Utopia package misrepresented as a ‘$1000 selfie’. “People just look at it as though like, ‘Oh, who does he think he is, tall poppy…’ But people around the world are doing this stuff.” He’s offering more than Shady. “Eminem had all different things like the Lose Yourself ticket, but they were just so you could stand in different parts of the arena, that didn’t include anything else – and they were charging, like, crazy amounts of money!” 360 cover shoot location: Rita’s Cafeteria Abbotsford, Victoria.
THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 11
film
SINGIN’ THROUGH IT Director John Carney and actress Keira Knightley chat to Liz Galinovic about Begin Again, a musical rom com without the clichéd romantic ending.
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ith two sets of headphones plugged into an iPod splitter, Greta (Keira Knightley) and Dan (Mark Ruffalo) roam the streets, headphones in ears. Sitting on a set of steps, surveying the ordinary, Ruffalo’s dishevelled, middle-aged character, who up until meeting Knightley’s prim, idealistic one, had been in the midst of a life-crisis, highlights something important about music – its transformative power. “It seems to elevate the banal into these majestic moments,” muses John Carney, writer and director of Begin Again, an alternative kind of rom com about an English girl at a crossroads and an American man in a mire of misery. Hope comes from the music they make together, recording an album around New York. “Ever since I had a walkman, or any sort of portable music,” Carney continues, “suddenly, you start looking at something that you took for granted for so long,
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY AS GRETTA & JAMES CORDEN AS STEVE IN BEGIN AGAIN
cast including Catherine Keener, CeeLo Green, Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def ) and Maroon 5 frontman, Adam Levine. And, through Dan’s failing A&R career and Greta’s reluctance to compromise anything for fame and fortune, the film pokes a few sticks at the nature of the music industry as well. When asked whether she believes in music’s influential power, Knightley looks sheepish. Smiling as though she’s
were mostly written by New Radicals’ Gregg Alexander. The singing was an aspect of the role she found challenging given she rarely sings anywhere but in the shower, something she has in common with her character, who is reluctant to perform music for anyone other than the cat. What Knightley found surprisingly difficult was being able to play and sing at the same time. Her husband, Klaxons’ James Righton, gave her guitar lessons – “I nearly killed him,” she states. “He won’t be giving me guitar lessons again.” That Greta’s outcome didn’t lie in the arms of a man is something Knightley enjoyed about playing the character. Roles like this, she claims, are “virtually not out there unless it’s romance where the [couple] end up together, or [the woman] ends up dead, or neurotic.” That’s not to say there isn’t any romance – it’s just delivered in a Lost In Translation style. And given Carney’s views on the difference between real life and the clichéd romance, that’s not surprising – “Do you think we’re all going to die peacefully looking into each other’s eyes? One’s going to die in the other’s arms if you’re lucky, probably screaming.” While Knightley’s views may not be as comically bleak, that she and Carney somewhat agree is evident when she narrows her eyes incredulously and says,
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY AS GRETTA & MARK RUFFALO AS DAN IN BEGIN AGAIN
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY AS GRETTA IN BEGIN AGAIN
“ONE’S GOING TO DIE IN THE OTHER’S ARMS IF YOU’RE LUCKY, PROBABLY SCREAMING.”
“So, with Once, I wanted to make a musical, but I didn’t want anybody to know it was a musical. And it was hilarious, it worked.”
afraid someone might hit her, she admits she’s “not into music at all”, going on to explain that she doesn’t seem to hear it, to be able to “click into it” when it’s playing around her. “I am an absolute fake. I really never listen to it... I’m married to a musician, all of my best friends are obsessed by it, I mean the whole fucking family is filled with it and I’m the only one who can’t actually hear it.”
If Once could be described as an indie-folk song, Begin Again is a well manufactured pop track with an all-star
The songs Knightley sings in the film
and that chord change just makes it achingly sad... [Or] something that’s sad can become happy.” This is Carney’s second foray into what’s been heralded as the modern musical. His first, the popular indie film Once (2007), starring his former Frames band mate, Glenn Hansard, also focused on two lost souls and the redemptive power of music. “I think that I have definitively put a lot of thought into the notion of the stealth musical. Like, how do you quietly get into the room and then make love to everybody once you’re in there, with music? How do you get kids who are saying ‘I aint going to go and see no people singing to each other, that’s totally lame’?
12 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
“What do you mean “happy ending”? I think it does have a happy ending. For her and for him.” Begin Again is not a love story or a musical in the conventional sense; it’s a story about resilience, hope and the sense of optimism that can come from hearing the right chord. “Like,” Carney pauses. “You’re walking down the street thinking, ‘I don’t know whether to take that job’, and you hear the right song or a lyric that speaks to you and you go, ‘Fuck, I’m gonna take it!’... Music is somebody communicating with you... If I sang to you I could tell you more of what I’m thinking than all this dialogue. Sometimes you need a break from the dialogue.” WHAT: Begin Again In cinemas 7 Aug
THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 13
book
CAPTURING A LEGACY doubt! He understands how important photographs are – not only in representing him as an artist, but for the future as well – like that’s the legacy that you leave.”
pioneering and emerging – yet some were more comfortable in front of the lens than others. “You’ve got seasoned campaigners like Bliss N Eso. I had about a 20-minute window with those guys and they’re professionals – they just bring it. Within 20 minutes, you’ve got 50 shots that are usable. Whereas some guys might be newer or just haven’t been in front of the camera – it takes a little bit more to draw that out of them. But I’ve a very relaxed style when I shoot. My style is literally to just hang out and have a chat, walk around – it’s very unstructured.” Snapping Remi, with producers Sensible J and Dutch, was social. “Remi’s one of my closest friends. he’s almost a muse – we shoot so often.” 360 was enjoyable, too. “He’s very easy to work with – a very down-to-earth guy, super lovely.” Allday, with his romantic flowing locks, provided a fun contrast. “We call it the ‘Nirvana shot’ – it’s very rock star!”
Hunder turned to Pozible when nearly halfway through the ambitious RISE project. “I realised it was gonna cost about 20 grand. I’m like, ‘Okay, as a creative person, we don’t have just $20,000 lying
RISE debunks negative connotations of ‘skip hop’ with its diversity. And significantly, it celebrates Australia’s oft-neglected femcees – including Queenslander Chelsea Jane, winner of 2013’s Hilltop Hoods Initiative. “I did make a very conscious effort to try to seek out as many as possible – and it was difficult. There are not a huge number who are active. I think the reason is it’s kinda a catch22 – because there’s not a lot active, then there’s no one for other women to look up to, to say, ‘That’s
Photographer Michelle Grace Hunder talks to Cyclone about trying to consciously seek out femcees and what it was like getting Oz hip hop’s big names in front of her lens in her new book RISE.
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elbourne photographer Michelle Grace Hunder has documented Australia’s surging hip hop culture in RISE, the first book of its kind, presenting 360, Hilltop Hoods, Bliss N Eso and many more in different settings. Hip hop is inherently DIY and Hunder, too, lives by that creed. An event manager “in a previous life”, ‘MGH’ only lately became a professional photographer – and is self-taught. It all happened “randomly”, Hunder says. “My husband bought me a camera about four years ago – and it spiralled out of control from there. I always liked taking photos at parties, but it gave me the opportunity to take it a little bit more seriously and I just started going out and shooting. People were responding to my work really quickly. I’ve got a lot of friends who are photographers and they were like, ‘You’re actually really good at this – you should maybe have a look at it and pursue it.’”
MICHELLE GRACE HUNDER
JAYTEE WITH THE LAST KINECTION. PIC: MICHELLE GRACE HUNDER
REMI, SENSIBLE J & DUTCH. PIC: MICHELLE GRACE HUNDER
“THERE’S NO ONE FOR OTHER WOMEN TO LOOK UP TO, TO SAY, ‘THAT’S WHAT I WANNA BE…’” Hunder began listening to hip hop as a precocious tween in her Shepparton hometown. A member of the local women’s basketball team, she met male players “imported” from the US who introduced her to rap via gangsta icons Snoop Dogg and 2Pac. “It just completely blew my mind!” Later, Hunder gigged as a photographer in Melbourne’s fashion world, but determined that it was overcrowded. Meanwhile, she was prompted to investigate homegrown hip hop by her old Shepparton mate, and Indigenous MC, Briggs. Fascinated, she recognised the potential to spotlight our urban scene, taking live and portrait shots – and soon secured industry clients. “I wanted to find a niche for myself – I wanted to find a way that I could express myself and make a name for myself.” Hunder has since travelled to the US, capturing the likes of Pharoahe Monch. “He’s my favourite artist to work with of all time, without a 14 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
around,’” she laughs. The site allowed her to engage with the wider hip hop community – and gauge interest. The support she received from artists was especially encouraging. “In the first hour we’d raised a $1000.” Nonetheless, petitioning was a big commitment. “It becomes a full-time job when you’re doing a Pozible campaign.” RISE depicts Aussie hip hoppers both
what I wanna be…’ It’s one of those scenes where it’s male-dominated, but my experience with it has been incredibly friendly. I’ve never had an issue with being a woman around the hip hop scene in Australia at all. I’ve always been judged purely for my work so, from that aspect, it’s been incredibly positive.” Melbourne rapper Mistress Of Ceremony will join this month’s national RISE launch tour, alongside the likes of Remi and Briggs, with Nate Flagrant lending Hunder his business acumen to put it together. Punters can purchase RISE and have copies signed. And Hunder will photograph her performers. “I’m excited about being on tour finally, because it’s my dream!” WHAT: RISE book launch tour WHEN & WHERE: 29 Aug, Rosemount Hotel
STAR GAZER Hilltop Hoods’ Suffa aka Matt Lambert talks about being well versed in handshakes and using boxing as a metaphor for rhyming as he runs us through their seventh studio album, Walking Under Stars. The Art Of The Handshake It’s a bit different for us. It was inspired by a lyric from a group called Notes To Self, and their track All Of The Above, and they’ve got a lyric in there, “20-second handshake”, and it just made me think back to being a kid and all the ridiculous handshakes we had. I liked the idea of doing a song so earnest about something so stupid as a handshake! Don’t get me wrong, it’s like super interesting – I had to spend a day researching handshakes!
I learnt in Switzerland, you should shake the ladies’ hand first when you enter a room. In India, you shouldn’t have a tight grip; it’s considered offensive. We got a voiceover guy, we wanted to give it sort of a theatrical feel, so we reached out to this guy from Vancouver, Dave Pettitt, and funnily enough he’d been to our last Vancouver show, so he was like, “Man, I’ll do it for a real good price and I’ll flip it in 24 hours,” and we were like, “Shit, Dave Pettitt, you big-voiced, badass motherfucker!” Through The Dark
PIC: COLE BENNETTS
Through The Dark is Pressure’s solo track. It’s hard for me to comment on it because it’s such
a personal track. His son, when he was nine years old, was diagnosed with leukaemia, and that track’s just, you know, his conversation with his son. I think it’s the best thing he’s ever written, personally. Originally he laid that hook as a placeholder to get someone else to sing, and everyone around him, especially me, was like, “Nah, man, that’s your hook, that’s your story, that’s your kid; you do it,” so he took himself out of his comfort zone to do that. The result is a really beautiful track. It just punches your heart straight in its face. I was really proud of him for the way he dealt with the whole situation with his son and I was really proud of him for what he created with this song. And his son’s in remission now, which is amazing.
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Rumble, Young Man, Rumble (ft Dan Sultan) This track is a track about using boxing as a metaphor for rhyming. There’s a lot of analogies within that track – rhyming for the sport of it, but using boxing as a device to tell the story sort of thing. We’ve got Dan Sultan on the hook. I had a hook written for it and it was completely out of my register... [laughs] Getting [Sultan] in made that track come to life – it was amazing to watch him sing. He’s just such a gifted dude and we love him as a person as well. I’m A Ghost I’m A Ghost is a track about eventually hanging up the mic. It’s by no means announcing a subtle retirement – it’s hypothetical, which of course one day will be a reality. The right place for that was at the end of the album. Read the full track-by-track on theMusic.com.au. WHAT: Walking Under Stars (Golden Era Records/Universal)
SOUL REVIVAL
music
After a four-year break from recording, Spoon are revitalised and back with a vengeance. Frontman Britt Daniels tells Steve Bell about bringing the band (and a fave old character) back from the dead.
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hen Austin-bred indie rockers Spoon’s seventh album Transference went gangbusters at the start of 2010 – debuting at number four on the Billboard 200 album chart – you’d be excused for imaging that this would usher in an era of industry for the already hard-working outfit. What actually transpired, however, was that it pre-empted a mini-hiatus for the band. Frontman Britt Daniels started new project Divine Fits who released an album, A Thing Called Divine Fits (2012), and toured globally, while the other members also took a break to recharge their batteries, eventually hooking up again earlier this year to start work on their eighth studio effort, They Want My Soul. “I was very excited to play with Divine Fits, and I’m finding myself just as excited to work with my old band now,” Daniels enthuses. “We were a bit burnt out – just at the end of the Transference touring. I loved making the record and I loved how the record came out and it started out great – we were playing the biggest shows we’ve ever played, we filled out Radio City Music Hall in New York which I never, ever thought would have happened – but then we toured it a bit too long and we all got a little sick of it. That’s why we had that break, plus I’d wanted to be in a band with Dan [Boeckner –
Wolf Parade] for a long time, so the combination of those things just seemed to make sense.” Did the band know in advance what they were seeking from the new album? “Generally I wanted to make a record that would sound good coming out of a car stereo and that you could sing along to,” Daniels continues. “We always react against the record we made before, and the record before Transference was Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga [2007] which had all kinds of crazy R&B-tinged songs and very much singalong songs, then for some reason we felt like self-producing
and making a weird record next, and now I kinda feel like singing again, you know?” Interestingly, the title track to They Want My Soul (which according to Daniels is about “religious pretenders or holy rollers or soul suckers”) contains the line, “Jonathan Fisk, still he wants my soul,” referencing the titular character from Jonathan Fisk off 2002’s Kill The Moonlight. “It’s a lost art,” the singer smiles. “We’ve done that before – not a lot – when I’ve mentioned past lyrics in a new song, I just think it’s a cool thing to do. John Lennon would do that kind of thing, among others, and I just think it’s cool. There’s a song Lines In The Suit [from 2001’s Girls Can Tell] which mentions Mountain To Sound [from 1997 EP Soft Effects], and we’ve done it a couple of other times. That character exists, and it just seems like he fit in with this song about people who are soul suckers, so I thought it would be fun to bring him back.” WHAT: They Want My Soul (Spunk) THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 15
music
NEW WORLD ORDER Drama, romance, danger – expect it all with The Bombay Royale. ‘Mysterious Lady’ Parvyn Kaur Singh speaks to Benny Doyle about Bollywood and making a kick-arse character her own.
“I
t’s a bit James Bond film – there are the characters that stay the same, but they are all on a different adventure and [in] a different story. And I do think this one is a lot more complex than You Me Bullets Love; it’s got a lot more imagery with it.” That’s the opinion of ‘The Mysterious Lady’, discussing The Bombay Royale’s latest merger of musical brilliance and cinematic imagery in the form of sophomore release The Island Of Dr Electrico. Calling in out of character, Parvyn Kaur Singh says the Melbourne ten-piece were
committed to exploring the extremes of their Indian-leaning fusion sound, leaving behind the self-professed “party time” of their 2012 record You Me Bullets Love for more sonic intricacies and plotline intrigue. The ‘60s Bollywood feel that was prevalent on their debut once again comes through. “There are so many awesome Bollywood film clips where they are just wearing the most ridiculous things, and when I say ridiculous I mean it in a really good way. We definitely use that as inspiration,” Singh remarks. “[Bollywood’s] so fantastic in a sense that it’s all about [possibility],
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and to dream and the vivid colours and music and vibrancy of it – you get lost in the fantasy world. So it’s really good escapism, and in India that’s what it has been used for forever; forgetting about however stressful or not so hunky dory your own life is, and getting lost in that love story and dreaming the impossible can happen.” Many additional threads are also woven within The Bombay Royale’s cloth, from spaghetti western to strains of funk and surf. A newfound focus on space within the music, meanwhile, has allowed vocalists Singh and Shourov Bhattacharya (The Tiger) to make the melodies more rich and complex. “It’s really important that we share something with our audience and give the listener their own moments to reflect within the music as well, so they have their own experience,” she adds. The world-renowned act are soon to be donning their costumes domestically, bringing to life the twists and turns of their music. Expect stories to play out on stage, but done more subtly than theatre as “it’s still about the music”. However, the more Singh lives inside the identity of The Mysterious Lady, the more she has found an excuse to become who she really is and express the freedom of her character in everyday life. “I feel like we’re becoming more intertwined and connected,” she says of her stage front, “and now it’s just me that’s there. That feeling of a powerful, strong and courageous woman who is also sexy and holds herself with grace and poise, but can kick butt whenever she wants; that’s what I want to be in real life!” WHAT: The Island Of Dr Electrico (HopeStreet) WHEN & WHERE: 8 & 9 Sep, Astor Theatre
MAKING NIGHT MOVES US DJ/producer AC Slater is spearheading his own night bass genre for the cool kids, he tells Cyclone.
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C Slater, aka Aaron Clevenger, might be an inherently underground bass house DJ/producer, but he rediscovered his groove transplanting from Brooklyn to that EDM epicentre of Los Angeles. “I moved maybe three years ago out here,” Clevenger says, ahead of his return to Australia. “I think it was really starting to take off here, but I just needed a change – you know when you kinda get into a rut or whatever… I wanted a little inspiration, just switching up a little bit.” He resides downtown, “which is real different than you picture LA – like [a] less palm trees kinda vibe” – in a community of creatives and industry types. “I thought I would be here for a year or something – and next thing I know it’s three years later!”
a groove to it, housier, more like UK garage kinda groove, but it’s also got high energy and it’s just hype,” Clevenger enthuses. “I don’t think it’s crazy enough for EDM [crowds] and I think it’s a little too crazy for real house heads. In America there’s not really a scene for that – so that’s what I’m trying to do with Night Bass.”
Clevenger (AC Slater’ is the name of the high school jock in the sitcom Saved By The Bell) grew up skateboarding in West Virginia, digging hip hop and rock. The aspiring turntablist caught The Chemical Brothers at a “rave”, and, gripped, entered the world of electronica. Settling in New York, Clevenger, by then into fidget, joined Drop The Lime’s Trouble & Bass crew. Today he has his own label, Party Like Us.
Somehow Clevenger, who first blew up with 2008’s Jack Got Jacked, has made time to produce, his Back To The Floor EP launching Skrillex’s Nest. “I’ve been working on a lot of music – I’m just trying to figure out where to put it,” he says. “I’ve got literally 10 or 12 songs that are 90 per cent done.” Some are collabs. Clevenger
Clevenger recently introduced the underground Night Bass party brand in LA, putting a US twist to UK bass house and garage; Night Bass isn’t contra but post-EDM. “It’s somewhere between EDM and that purist house scene – we’re right in the middle, ‘cause it’s got more of 16 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
has also remixed the South Australian Motez’ Own Up for Sweat It Out! (“I love Motez obviously – he’s killing it right now!”) Clevenger’s aim is an ‘artist’ album. “An album is a really big personal challenge,” he says. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, but I think I’d psych myself out – it’s kinda daunting. I really wanna do one and I’ve been thinking about it for about a year. Now that I’ve found a solid direction, I’m really wanting to do one... I don’t know when or where, but it’s definitely in my plans, for sure.” Clevenger will drop unreleased songs when he kicks off his Oz tour at Villa Nightclub: “Perth is an amazing place to play. I always have a great time there. Everyone there has such a great taste for the same kinda music that I’m into, so it’s perfect. I’ve just got tons of new shit to bring – I can’t wait.” WHEN & WHERE: 8 Aug, Villa Nightclub
A THOUSAND HOURS Armed with only a loop station, effects pedal and microphone, Sam Perry’s possibilities in sound exploration are infinite. He discusses the positives and negatives of his trade with Kane Sutton.
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he last three years have been huge for Sam Perry. Born and bred in the northern suburbs of Perth, he’s paved a promising path for himself, with a Laneway slot in 2011, playing support for huge acts such as Mutemath, Sampology and Dub FX, and more recently, has been involved in a tour that took him to Germany. “That tour was a lot bigger than I thought is was going to be, to be honest,” Perry chuckles. “I thought it was just going to be smaller
venues, but we ended up playing in these huge entertainment centres and places like that. It was a really cool show, and it gave me a taste of how things could be. It definitely makes you feel pretty cool, you know.” Perry recently released his single, Fever, a smooth, slow groove that was conceived as part of a whole new experiment for the solo artist who had, until that point, worked on everything by himself. “This time Matt [Mclean] from Lilt teamed up with me as a producer, and we went in with this completely different
idea: I basically went into the studio without any equipment. I picked the microphone that I liked and I just went a cappella. He gave me a click track and an A chord and we just started moulding harmonies together. I was doing it dry on the mic and it sounded pretty dry and disgusting hearing it back, but then we went through it and tuned it and worked on it in postproduction. It was a great experiment and I loved it.”
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Perry’s performances are usually part-improvised and part-rehearsed, and the difficulty he faces in not becoming overwhelming by the sheer possibilities he has at his disposal is vital. “Live, I know the loops inside out and I know what I can do. Once you learn that I can throw down a C or a C#, I know immediately what note needs to come out of my mouth next for it to sound right. I know if I track something and it’s out of key, I’m in trouble. It can get pretty frustrating trying to do new things; that’s why I’ve got everything I know I’m good at in my back pocket. You can go anywhere, and there’s no knowing where it’s going to go, so trying to stick with a style or vibe or feel is really difficult. It’s a headfuck. You know what they say, like, put a thousand hours into something, and you can come good – that’s basically what it’s like. I have the pedals, and it’s like home. I don’t go out that often; a Saturday night for me is like everyone’s out of the house and I’ll get a nice whisky and start learning more. It’s about absorbing yourself and knowing it subconsciously. I can’t read music, I’m not a musical mind-screwer – I’m just winging it and doing it the way I think it should sound, and it’s just great to know it’s coming across and people are liking it.” WHEN & WHERE: 8 Aug, Flyrite
THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 17
★★★★ ½
album reviews
FKA TWIGS
DOT HACKER
How’s Your Process? (Work)
LP1
Young Turks/Remote Control
Smack Face
First listen: ‘Didn’t Grimes make this record a couple of years ago?’ Second listen: ‘Grimes who?’ Third listen: ‘I’m submerged here – let me drown.’
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Switch off the lights, lay your speakers down and turn your stereo up. Tahliah ‘FKA Twigs’ Barnett lives up to all the hype with a complex, breathtaking debut record that seems to share your air, your skin, and haunt your soul like only true love can. The opening trio of songs are standout, the 26-year-old Brit serving up hypnotic choral mantras and post-dub/trip hop collisions (Preface), and reflective leftfield R&B romance (Lights On), before dropping Two Weeks, a disarmingly sensual song to lay arms to, even if it does briefly use a note progression from Air Supply’s All Out Of Love. From there the album unwinds with this concentrated grace: nothing is rushed, no moments are deemed meaningless.
And whether dramatic (Video Girls) or futuristic (Closer), it’s all-consuming. Left on its own, Barnett’s vocal is magnificent – and you just know she’d deliver these songs note perfect live. But she puts it on the pedestal it deserves by surrounding it with these cavernous sonic structures, space in which she hides earthy beats and instrumentation, the discovery of which is left to the listener. There’s no reason to settle for cookie cutter pop when this delicious arty shit is on offer. Experience LP1 once; ideally spin it plenty more than that. Benny Doyle
Dot Hacker is Josh Klinghoffer’s other band. As staunch as Red Hot Chili Peppers’ music might be to some, Klinghoffer’s entry into the group following John Frusciante’s departure was big news. It thankfully brought new fans to Dot Hacker from the Chili Peppers’ huge fanbase, but the effect was short-lived, and it led to delays for debut album Inhibition. Follow-up How’s Your Process? (Work) is an album from a band now trying to prove their own identity, and the results show that struggle. The fact that this is a band made up of uniquely talented musicians is clear from the diversity of styles and arrangements on show. Nineties-aping industrial beats clash against twangy reverb in First In Forever; Sermon Of Sorts is classic British rock in a New York café. The fact that bands like Gnarls Barkley, Hella, The Motels and even El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez
HILLTOP HOODS
PORTER ROBINSON
Golden Era/Universal
EMI
For anyone who’s been asleep for the past decade, Hilltop Hoods not only led Australian hip hop’s assault on the mainstream, but have remained at the top of the heap as others continue to make a play for the pinnacle of the genre.
It’s hard being famous, apparently. After suffering from an acute identity crisis as a famous DJ, Porter Robinson has sat down to create something unique and new, something that won’t neatly slot on your superstar DJ playlists. While it’s easy and often tempting to confuse pretension with ambition, the soundscapes and emotions on Worlds sound sincere if nothing else.
Walking Under Stars
Walking Under Stars is a curious album. The distance from this, the Hoods’ seventh studio album, to their earlier albums, is significant and represents the clear maturation of the trio over the years. Whereas Left Foot, Right Foot and The Calling were full of aggressive delivery and party anthems, what Walking Under Stars offers – for the most part – is a little more subdued. The main component of this is DJ Debris’ reliance on strings and piano, while MCs Suffa and Pressure have also mellowed in their vocal delivery. Maybe this is a result of the pair growing older and wiser, or a reflection of the genre in general; on the 18 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
★★★½ Lopez fill up these muso’s resumes means that there’s equal weight given to different styles, with neo-soul and new wave tinges playing off jazz drum sections and arena-rock guitar leads. It all gets a bit washed-out in heavy tone at points, which drags down the high points. How’s Your Process? (Work) is what happens when a bunch of guys who are all talented in different waves of the musical spectrum get together and embrace those differences. The album does come off sounding The Bends-ish, and with a follow-up in (Play) coming later this year, we’ll see if it pays off in the long run. Cam Findlay
Worlds
★★★★ surface, it’s difficult to know. Some of the songs for Walking Under Stars were created at the same time as those for their last album, 2012’s Drinking From The Sun, and with both albums bookended by The Thirst Pts 1-5, there is definitely significant cohesion between the two. If Walking Under Stars was the first Hilltop Hoods album you heard, though, you’d be impressed with the crystal-clear production and consistent approach brought by all three members. An intelligent record is on offer for those willing to set aside their expectations of another Aussie hip hop paint-by-numbers record. Dylan Stewart
Worlds is a fitting title – Robinson explores faraway places with this release, island-hopping from one influence to another. Sad Machine and Flicker sound distinctly influenced by Asian electronic music with their robotic lilt, while Sea Of Voices is more at home in the foothills of Icelandic mountains. Despite this adventure into ambience, however, Worlds often feels shrouded and distant. Robinson often manages to successfully avoid formulation, but doesn’t always achieve a real
★★★ sense of purpose. Lionhearted and Hear The Bells, both with guest vocals, leave a more solid impression, the latter balancing the orchestral overtones of the instrumental songs to great effect. Gapping rifts and hanging chasms invade what seems to be a concept album that built its house on the sands of confusion. It’s obviously a labour of love, but it’s a shame that Robinson hasn’t focused the textual forays and songwriting into a body of songs that play well together. At its enigmatic best, we’re left with an album that sounds terrible on laptop speakers, but suitably mountainous on a large system. Roshan Clerke
album reviews
★★★½
DEVONTÉ HYNES
Palo Alto – Music From The Motion Picture
★★★½
JOHN GARCIA John Garcia Napalm
Based on short stories by James Franco, Gia Coppola’s directorial debut, Palo Alto serves up teen angst realities in contemporary California. Blood Orange’s Devonté Hynes has pulled together the soft, sweet, dreamy vibes of this soundtrack. Hynes’ focus is on weightless ‘80s electro-funk and R&B that comes in the palest pastel shades. Coppola’s cousin Robert Schwartzman works in with the mood to provide hazy lo-fi indie-electro-pop. Meanwhile his brother Jason deploys his Coconut Records moniker to provide an upbeat moment. Overall an incredibly smooth ride.
You can hear John Garcia’s current horizons in this music; the future seems infinite, and this album practically lets recent troubles burn. The Kyuss legend’s first solo record is pretty straightup alt-rock for the most part, though as expected it sounds like it’s delivered beneath a hazy desert sun. However, there are sections that still hit like a sledgehammer, and of course Garcia himself sings like he’s channelling heaven and hell. The Doors’ Robby Krieger, Danko Jones and Nick Oliveri all show up here, but Garcia is the heart beating at the centre of these songs, and hearing his emotive verses linger is the undeniable highlight of this LP.
Guido Farnell
Benny Doyle
Domino/EMI
★★★½
ERIC CLAPTON & FRIENDS
The Breeze: An Appreciation Of JJ Cale Bushbranch Records/ Universal Clapton has for a very long time been outspokenly affectionate and reverential of the late, great JJ Cale: possibly most notably with their collaborations and his own renditions of Cocaine and After Midnight. Just over a year since Cale’s sad passing comes this homage. Cale’s songs are given the loving devotion, attention and precision that has come to be typical of the highly influential guitarist, with polished production, deftly expert musicianship and excellent yet humbly understated orchestration.
★★★★
SHABAZZ PALACES Lese Majesty Sub Pop/Inertia Psychedelic rap was never meant to be MCs spitting about Martians and talking sneakers. It was meant to be Shabazz Palaces. A woozy, disorienting, slightly sinister sonic adventure, Lese Majesty is the 2014 equivalent of Sandy Bull’s 1963 alt-classic, Fantasias For Guitar And Banjo. The Palaces’ first fulllength, Black Out, was similarly hallucinogenic. This second record might have been a little tighter. The opposite is true. Via the buzzy Noetic Noiromantics, the somewhat accessible #CAKE and the aptly named Motion Sickness, it’s a journey deep into our subconscious and back. Turn on, plug in and drop out. James d’Apice
Lukas Murphy
MORE REVIEWS themusic.com.au/reviews/album ★★★½
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS Hypnotic Eye Reprise/Warner It appears Tom Petty ain’t one for mellowing. His often jaundiced eye still in evidence from the opener American Dream Plan B – full of Dylan-borderingon-Burroughs-style bile against the status quo. It’s familiar, yet that bit older. This can manifest itself as the grumpy chugging of Forgotten Man, or the more reflective romance in Sins Of My Youth. There’s a couple of clunkers on a mostly solid album, but they’re offset with U Get Me High – classic Heartbreakers as Petty’s and Mike Campbell’s guitars vie, before Benmont Tench’s trademark organ kicks in to settle the argument. Ross Clelland
★★★½
★★★★
BEAR HANDS
#1 DADS
Warner
Pieater/Inertia
Bear Hands’ smart little name might draw to comparisons to Animal Collective, and that wouldn’t be too far off the mark. Dillon Rau’s drawn-out drawl compares well to Panda Bear, but Bear Hands take a much more earnest lean on Distraction. It’s smart, edgy and eclectic, and is even more of a medal on their chests due to its DIY creation, major label support coming only after. Single Giants fuses hooky guitar leads with electro synth while songs like Violet Iowa pack MGMT-level electro-psych into three-minute gems. A balance of powerful pop tracks and mellow, guitardriven moments work smoothly.
This is the second solo record from Tom Iansek from Big Scary, and carries on the polished, vaguely detached vibe of their last record, Not Art, although it’s low-key and beautiful in a more touchable way. However, it could do without the songs featuring guest vocals. Iansek fits his sound around their voices, particularly on the bluesy, boring So Soldier with Ainslie Wills, and it’s kind of a bummer as his own voice, with its magic balance of sexy vulnerability, works so well with his music’s cold intimacy. You miss that when someone else takes the spotlight.
Distraction
About Face
Neon Jungle – Welcome To The Jungle Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – CSNY 1974 Wovenwar – Wovenwar The Strums – We Are A Fucking Rock’N’Roll Band Alarm Bells – Part Two Humans As Animals – Eukaria Spaam – Invasion
Madeleine Laing
Cam Findlay
THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 19
live reviews
TIMOTHY NELSON & THE INFIDELS, INSTITUT POLAIRE, THE AVENUES, COLAB Rosemount Hotel 1 Aug What was surely the local event of the month began with hip hop initiative Colab, taking a brief foray from their usual timeslot at the Moon Café. It was spearheaded by the hosts, Empty and Archi, who freestyle-rapped over the top of a completely
“not saying goodbye properly last time”. Brought in by sparsely played piano, the seven-piece folk band soon erupted with harmonies, instrument swapovers, and utter effervescence. About halfway through the set, it was brought to their attention that since the last time they had played, five babies had been born to various band members. After much anticipation, Timothy Nelson & The Infidels marched through the side-of-stage doors to The Stone Roses’ What The World Is Waiting For playing at an exigent volume (quite appropriate, really, given the album build-up has gone on for a couple of years), and were met with
TIMOTHY NELSON & THE INFIDELS @ ROSEMOUNT HOTEL. PIC: ELLIOT CAHILL
improvised rhythm section provided by John Brown and Bryn Stanford, and backed up further by a neat little horn section. With guest MCs abounding, the topics were funny, entertaining and sometimes a little cheeky (especially when an audience member got distracted by their phone and stopped paying attention to the performance). Following the improvisational collective was Perth-based indie-rock outfit The Avenues, who provided an energetic, no-holdsbarred set, showcasing excellent musicianship and professionalism. Institut Polaire were next on the bill, with vocalist/guitarist Erik Hecht bidding Perth a warm hello, and apologising for 20 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
finish a thoroughly enjoyable night – although perhaps not quite as enjoyable as the evening Nelson had the night before, in which he “got stoned and ate pudding”. The jury’s out on that one. Lukas Murphy
DAN SULTAN, STONEFIELD, WAY OF THE EAGLE Astor Theatre 2 Aug The Astor was packed out early for the sold out performance by Melbourne blues rocker Dan Sultan as part of his
TIMOTHY NELSON & THE INFIDELS @ ROSEMOUNT HOTEL. PIC: ELLIOT CAHILL
rapturous applause from the at-capacity venue. With a three-strong backing vocal troupe, a whole lot of vivacity and a strawberry-blonde halo around Nelson’s dome, the band cut straight to the chase and began steamrolling through their all-too-short timeslot. Calling Out To You and Out Of My Mind were both pretty potent, channelling some Saturday Night Fever – and the laser lights, rippling ginger afro and overhead disco ball certainly were not detracting from that vibe. The slowjam Rush was announced as the “last song”, much to the objection of the revelling audience, but after a brief step outside, the encore swiftly followed, featuring singles Mary Lou and of course, Born In The ‘90s, bringing to a
keyboardist Sarah began playing the long, drawn-out organ chords for To Whom It May Concern, with the band gradually building up the rhythm before Hannah let loose with another epic guitar solo which got a huge response from the audience. Amy got behind the kit for a few songs, bashing away at the skins like a mad woman on To The Mountains, before returning to the front to cap off the set with electrifying versions of Put Your Curse On Me and Through The Clover. Looking infinitely cool as he came on stage draped in a leather jacket with hair slicked back like a ‘50s greaser, Dan Sultan and his band immediately kicked into Under Your Skin.
KATE MILLER-HEIDKE @ ASTOR THEATRE. PIC: AMBER SOUTHALL
massive national tour for his critically acclaimed third album Blackbird. Looking suave in a bright white blazer and jeans, Melbourne musician and producer Jan Skubiszewski, aka Way Of The Eagle, got the night started with a solid DJ set featuring an energetic mix of hip hop and R&B. Up next was four-piece sister act Stonefield, who treated the crowd to a heavy dose of classic ‘70s hard rock, beginning with live favourite Black Water Rising. Lead singer Amy Findlay strutted about on stage while guitarist Hannah punched out the heavy riff before delivering the first of many blistering guitar solos. The band got into a spacey prog jam during Over And Over before
Sultan whipped the crowd into a frenzy immediately with his biting guitar work and howling blues vocals, supported by the two horn players and keyboardist who added extra punch to the riff while the other band members laid down a solid rhythm. As the band grooved along on the blues shuffle of No More Explanations, Sultan got the audience clapping along and dancing before dropping a screaming Hendrix-esque solo as the stage lights flickered on and off, illuminating the band members’ shadows dancing across the ceiling. Sultan delivered a tender version of Loving’s Just For Fools before playing a new unreleased song he wrote with Paul Kelly and a stellar version of Nobody Knows. The band
live reviews returned to rock out with Sultan on Crazy before finishing with a thunderous version of Old Fitzroy and leaving the stage to a massive round of applause from the satisfied audience. Scott Aitken
KATE MILLERHEIDKE, RYAN KEEN Astor Theatre 1 Aug Lush vocals and a humble, friendly aesthetic saw an acoustic folk explosion in UK’s Ryan Keen. Bass triggered by foot pedals and beats created by frantic hand movements carefully striking
shattered and bellowing drums lit the stage to reveal her backing band for Sing To Me. It was the debut of a new band, and outfit – the latter of which made her look like an “18th century clown mixed with a shuttlecock” - and by the time Mama rolled around, with its disjointed structure and tight execution, the band had proved their worth. Things went from old to older with 2004’s Monster, a track of her debut EP, as requested by fans leading up to the tour. An interesting a cappella verse replaced the typical Caught In The Crowd intro, but received a warm reception. Back-up vocalist and violinist Emma Dean who played in a band with Miller-Heidke ten years
DAN SULTAN @ ASTOR THEATRE. PIC: BRON WOODWARD
the body of his guitar made for a fine appetiser. If his next Australian single and set closer Focus incites the nation to do exact that, Keen will return to headline venues of the same size in no time. In typical Kate MillerHeidke fashion, the stage design resembled a scene from a warped children’s fairytale; pale, large hands stood in the background, jutting out from the group, with pieces of jigsaw puzzles falling from the ceiling and intertwining around them. Having played a secret show the night previous, the first official show of the tour kicked off with Bliss, a song placed as the final track of her most recent record, O Vertigo!, to summarise its predecessors. As an opener it did so much more. The spotlight was
into a set highlight, erasing all recent discrepancies The set’s most intimate and defining moment was a duo performance of In The Darkness with Nuttall, stripped back to its barebones with fragile vocals placed on top. Nuttall was given his time to shine with tonguein-cheek hip hop parody Compromise as his alter-ego Franky Walnut, who had appeared in Perth a month earlier in support of The Beards. Fittingly, Nuttall, keeping his hip hop vibe alive, then took on the role of WA rapper Drapht in Drama. It wouldn’t be a MillerHeidke gig if she didn’t bring up chronic flatulence at least once, and another anecdote about her own bad
with sulky balladess Laurel Fixation pouring husky, melancholy songs of the dole, sex and self-consciousness into the gradually filling venue, quivering with reverb as she sang and swaying metronomically. Her deep, anxiety-ridden lyrics took a turn with more seductive and mischievous songs Grubby Girls and O, Chubby Boys, the crowd buzzing. And while it was no mean feat for her mellow voice to get attention, those tuned in were spellbound by her intelligent, detailed and tender lyricism across the omnipresent PA. With her startling looks, bell-clear voice and a wash of magenta light across the stage, Fixation made it clear that the night was about
DAN SULTAN @ ASTOR THEATRE. PIC: BRON WOODWARD
ago - received an “intimate” introduction for a vocalheavy and captivating duet of Rock This Baby To Sleep. Solo, Miller-Heidke rattled off comic number Are You Fucking Kidding Me? and kept the funnies flowing with an anecdote about googling herself while on the toilet.
experiences was delivered as a segue into Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball featuring a verse of Everything Is Awesome from The Lego Movie. By the time closers The Last Day On Earth, Little Adam and Space They Cannot Touch rolled around, everything was indeed awesome.
The kinks of a new band on the first show of the tour surfaced with Jimmy kicking off in the wrong key and forcing a restart midverse, Sarah beginning with the wrong key tone and a faulty microphone hindering the start of an otherwise captivating rendition of Share Your Air, with Keen singing Passenger’s lines. Guitarist Keir Nuttall busted out a loop pedal, and with Dean by Miller-Heidke’s side on keys, Humiliation was transformed
Daniel Cribb
VILLAIN, THE HOUNDS, LAUREL FIXATION Mojo’s Bar 29 Jul After a last minute announcement that band Slacker couldn’t make the gig, the night began slowly
quality over quantity, even minus the fourth band. The Hounds took the stage next, a rock band with driving piano provided by bespectacled keyboardist Glenn Tippett and a boastful falsetto voice from frontman Jack Haynes. The Hounds blared their signature rock to an enthusiastic crowd, with Haynes racing guitar solos against the wandering bass of Sam Nightingale, who kept a steady, smug beat while her bandmates sped their way through fiddly, cheeky riffs in Justice, The Others and Tragedy. Pausing for an impassioned cover of The Beatles’ Oh Darling, The Hounds forged on through a strong set of Vegas-inspired rock and catchy, simple lyrics in Gentleman, a sneering THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 21
live reviews and triumphant finish with Haynes sheepishly thanking the ecstatic audience as they left the stage. Finishing the night were Villain, a young band dressed to the nines in ‘60s mod outfits, complete with skinny ties, and holding a clear love of their equipment. The full bar cheered them on as they launched into Left Behind before stepping aside to unveil their strong singer/drummer, Alexander Popoff-Asotoff providing the guts of the vocals alongside baby-faced guitarist Rowan Florence. Feelgood doo-wop met pomrock in songs like Brand New Day and Tequila Mockingbird, with winding solos and the flair of Greta AndrewsTaylor’s ambling bass. PopoffAsotoff ’s vocals were warm and delightful, but he struggled to be seen from behind the kit, though the rest of the band frequently stepped out of the way to give him pride of place. With danceable, upbeat songs, Villain brought the
night to a neat and early close with cheers from the crowd. Richard Moore
BEN SALTER Indi Bar 3 Aug Ben Salter opened his set at Indi Bar with Once In A Lifetime, an easy listening sound reminiscent of the likes of big name Australian acoustic acts like Josh Pyke and Paul Dempsey. Salter played a variety of tunes: drawn-out melancholic pieces and upbeat acoustic songs with strong drum beats. Throughout the set echoes and whistles were often utilised, a smart choice for somebody performing as a one-man band. Among the setlist, Opportunities was a definite standout, showcasing Salter’s vocal range and taking the listener through a variety of different paces. Other highlights were his
guitar solos, a testament to both his talent and the beautiful subtlety an acoustic guitar can create. The music, however, was more suited to an outdoor venue; something about soft guitar sounds and story-like lyrics calls for that, and while Indi Bar has enough character and space for a lot of gigs, a Ben Salter show wasn’t an ideal choice. This mismatch was apparent, the patrons, preparing themselves for what appeared to be their final hoo-rah before their working week, clashing with Salter’s laidback sound and style. His interactions with the crowd seemed to be affected by this – performing to a crowd new to an artist usually requires more detail – more names of songs, albums and talking to the punters. Salter shied away from this, and consequently his stage presence was lacking.
managed to channel the core of Australian acoustic music, delivering a raw performance that offered a range of other acoustic indulgences. Rebecca Metcalf
MORE REVIEWS themusic.com.au/reviews/live
Electric Toad @ Rosemount Hotel The Lammas Tide @ Rosemount Hotel
Despite this, Salter still
arts reviews utilise 100 per cent of their brain is a pretty nifty hook for a story, not a mention a pretty nifty way for Scarlett Johansson’s Lucy to gain some superhuman abilities.
LUCY
LUCY Film
In cinemas Writer-director Luc Besson is well and truly in his element with the completely nonsensical but thoroughly entertaining sci-fi action-thriller Lucy. Okay, perhaps not completely nonsensical. There are some scientific and philosophical ideas in here that could merit further discussion, but its main notion – the theory that we only use ten per cent of our brain’s capabilities – is one that has been debunked time and again. Still, having someone able to 22 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
After an unauthorised operation by the ruthless Mr Jang (Choi Min-sik), Lucy is an unwilling drug mule, transporting a bag full of an experimental new narcotic in her belly. But when the bag starts leaking after she is brutally assaulted, she starts changing in some unexpected ways. As her brain power escalates, Lucy’s seemingly able to do everything from manipulate energy to travel through time. She has to avoid Jang and his bloodthirsty gang but how much trouble can a pack of guys with guns cause a woman who’s rapidly evolving into some kind of god? You have to give Besson his due: he throws a lot of stuff against the wall with Lucy and a surprising amount of it not only sticks but forms something compelling and captivating. His trump card is Johansson, an actress of incredible control and precision. Guy Davis
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Film
In cinemas 7 Aug Superhero movies tend to end the same way: with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, two men in silly costumes have a fistfight. But in Guardians Of The Galaxy, when Lee Pace’s glowering, face-painted ubervillain is about to raze an entire civilisation by the mighty power of his phallic hammer, Chris Pratt responds by dancing. Badly. To his own half-mumbled version of the Five Stairsteps’ O-o-h Child. Pratt is the star of the piece, but he’s no singular hero. Instead, once he lands in a hellish space prison his rivals for the space-orb bounty turn unlikely allies. Bradley Cooper voices a wise-crackin’ raccoon like a Joisey guido; Vin Diesel is a shape-shifting, idiot-savant plant-man; Dave Bautista is a killing machine; and Zoe Saldana as sexy warrior woman Gamora is the colour of used green play-
doh. These lovable losers band together at the opportune time, but Gunn never loses sight of the joke: when they do the classic The Right Stuff slow-mo-strut to meet their fate, the raccoon is pulling at his jocks and Gamora is yawning. Guardians Of The Galaxy lacks the self-appointed ‘seriousness’ that turn most superhero sagas into unconvincing political parables or tasteless riffs on real-life terrorist attacks. Here, Marvel leaves such baggage back on Terra Firma, abandons gravity for levity, alighting into space with a silliness that’s as breathtaking as the special effects. Anthony Carew
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
the guide
Answered by: Adam Livingston Single title? Shooting From The Bell Tower What’s the song about? Being young and invincible and not giving a shit.
EMPERORS
How long did it take to write/record? This one sat for ages without lyrics before we finished writing it, and then the whole album took a while to record, so from conception to reality it probably took about a year. Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? It’s from our super secretly titled album that’s coming out very soon on a top secret date some time before December. I drew a sick donkey for the cover but it got vetoed. What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? Disney movies. We’ll like this song if we like... Cute baby animals. Imagine a baby panda right now. If you like that cute baby panda you’ll like this song. Do you play it differently live? What you hear live will be pretty close to what’s on record, although Greg has been experimenting with some Tuvan throat singing which he might throw into the live mix. When and where is your launch/next gig? 9 Aug, Amplifier Website link for more info? emperorsmusic.com
Pic: Court McAllister
THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 1
eat/drink
FOOD TRIPPING IN JAPAN
They only have two kinds of gyoza (that’s all you need), which come steamed or pan-fried, and a few other small side dishes like cucumber with miso sauce and bean sprouts with a meat sauce.
Eat/drink editor Stephanie Liew ate her way around Tokyo and Osaka. Here are some of the foods she dreamt about for days afterwards.
YAKITORI @ AKIYOSHI, SHIBUYA Meat skewers dipped in one of four kinds of sauces (soy, vinegar, mustard, cutlet), depending on the meat and cut. Grilled right in front of you and then placed on a stainless steel bench if you’re seated at the counter, where you can watch the chefs at work in the open kitchen.
RAMEN @ ICHIRAN, SHIBUYA (VARIOUS BRANCHES)/ANYWHERE, REALLY Even the chain restaurants are excellent. Ichiran is a little different: they focus exclusively on tonkotsu (pork-based) broth, and the ordering system requires you to buy tickets for your menu items from a vending machine and then fill in a form detailing your tastes (broth richness, hot sauce spice level, noodle density and so on). The result is a beautifully balanced bowl of ramen tailored just the way you like it.
GYOZA @ HARAJUKU GYOZARO, HARAJUKU
TAIYAKI @ FUSHIMI INARI SHRINE MARKETS, KYOTO
¥290 (roughly AU$3-3.50) will get you a plate of six of the best dumplings to ever grace your taste buds.
Fish-shaped waffles, made right before your
RAMEN
YAKINIKU
eyes, with a squirt of hot custard in the middle and stuffed with things like red bean paste and matcha cream or fruit, and topped with whipped cream, icing sugar and caramel or chocolate sauce. Surprisingly it’s only mildly sweet (no sugar headaches), and the fish-cone is fluffy with a slight crisp on the outside.
OKONOMIYAKI @ DOTONBORI/ANYWHERE IN OSAKA Osaka (and the Kansai region in general) is famous for its ‘savoury pancakes’ consisting of cabbage, meat, flour, eggs and other ingredients. Often restaurants have a hot plate on the table, which the waiters use to either cook the okonomiyaki or just to serve it up. If you’re lucky they even draw on it with sauce and mayonnaise.
YAKINIKU @ SUSUMU, OSAKA Charcoal-barbecued meats served with dipping sauce and sides of pickled and seasoned vegies. This particular yakiniku place is a tiny, standing-only bar. They have a huge selection of meat cuts: tongue, rump, third stomach, intestine, diaphragm... And the staff have a great time trying to communicate the body part by gesturing to it on themselves. Each cut of meat has its own distinctive texture and flavour, complemented by a superb smokiness. To read an extended list, head to theMusic.com.au.
TAIYAKI
THEME PARK EATS Butterbeer from Hogsmeade, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter @ Universal Studios Japan Tastes like a magical combination of creaming soda, liquid cinnamon shortbread and butterscotch, with salted caramel creamy froth on top. When sipping it in the picturesque setting of Hogsmeade, you could swear it warms you from the inside out (even though it’s really just the best spider you’ll ever drink in your life, no big deal). Have a cup before going on the fantastic Harry Potter & The Forbidden Journey ride, and then another one after. Disney character-shaped foods at Tokyo Disneyland What the Mickey Mouse burger lacks in flavour and substance it makes up for in novelty and cuteness. The Little Green Men mochi (rice cake balls) are filled with strawberry, chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Surprisingly tasty. The raspberry and peach-flavoured Minnie Mouse icypole is a GREAT thing to have in your hot little hands/ mouth when it’s 34 degrees and humid and you’ve got an hour’s wait ahead of you to get onto a ride. 24 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
OKONOMIYAKI
THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 25
the guide wa.live@themusic.com.au
TASTE TEST
SINGLE FOCUS be released mid-October. What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? The lyrics are based on a conversation I had at a bus stop with an African woman. I was listening to Iron & Wine a lot and watching Breaking Bad when I wrote the music.
ARTS MARTIAL
The best album to comedown to is… Little Dragon.
Answered by: Jarrod Ross
The most surprising record in my collection is… A few guilty pleasures. Tyler, The Creator.
The best record I stole from my folks’ collection was… Greatest Hits – Toto. The f irst record I bought with my own money was… Smash – The Offspring (on cassette). The record I put on when I’m really miserable is… The Emancipation Of Mimi.
The last thing I bought/ downloaded was… Awake – Tycho. The record I’m loving right now is… Hungry Ghost – Violent Soho. When and where are your next gigs? 8 Aug, Indi Bar.
The record I put on when I bring someone home is… Voodoo – D’Angelo.
Website link for more info? artsmartial.com.au
My favourite party album is… Depends what kind of party Cross – Justice or Full Circle – Pennywise.
JOEL BARKER Single title? City What’s the song about? City explores the idea that places act as triggers for emotions and memories, and how binding that can be. How long did it take to write/ record? I wrote the song City, and full album Beyond The Crows when living in the UK for six months. The lyrics were written pretty quickly following a string of events that influenced me greatly. Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? It’s from my forthcoming record Beyond The Crows, which will
EP FOCUS
CURTIS MCENTEE EP title? Narcissus How many releases do you have now? This is my first release! Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? A lot of the songs I wrote quite a long time ago, so it was about doing the songs, and my younger self, justice, and bringing them to life to kickstart things for the future. What’s your favourite song on it? I Was Made For Loving You. I think it’s poignant and it seems to resonate with the most people. We’ll like this EP if we like... Music that is meant to tell a 26 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014
Do you play it differently live? Yes, I keep a life-size cardboard cut out of Justin Vernon and Tarantino drinking scotch around a campfire on stage. They keep me company. They’re still learning the chorus... When and where is your launch/next gig? City single launch, Astor Lounge, 8 Aug. Doors at 8pm. Support from Slums and Logan Crawford. $10 worth of goodness. Website link for more info? joelbarkermusic.com
EP FOCUS
story or evoke emotion that you never thought you had.
LOWER SPECTRUM
When and where is your launch/next gig? At the Indi Bar on 10 Aug!
EP title? Traces
Website link for more info? curtismcentee.com
We’ll like this song if we like... Justin Vernon drinking scotch with Tarantino around a campfire.
Answered by: Ned Beckley How many releases do you have now? Traces, Little Appeal, From Here On, Lower Spectrum. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Moving cities. Discovering different environments. Analog synthesisers. Gospel music. What’s your favourite song on it? Khlever. We’ll like this EP if we like... Nicholas Jaar, Dabrye, fLako, Evian Christ.
When and where is your launch/next gig? Saturday 9 Aug, The Bird. Website link for more info? lowerspectrum.com
the guide wa.live@themusic.com.au
FRONTLASH
LIVE THIS WEEK
WE ALL SCREAM
Krispy Kreme recently announced they’re opening a store in Perth, and now Ben & Jerry’s have revealed plans to open a store at Hillarys Boat Harbour. We love food.
TOP SECRET FEEL THE BASS
MANX AND THE MACHINE
FAST AND GUILTY
He’s been killing it with only a few months of public play, and now local wunderkind Lower Spectrum is launching his new EP, Traces, at The Bird on Saturday. Leon Osborn, Mei Saraswati and Craig McElhinney support.
Canadian bluesman Harry Manx forged his distinctive style by studying at the feet of the masters and then under a rigorous tutelage with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt in India. He brings it all to Fly By Night on Saturday night.
Influential in the international hip hop scene, Guilty Simpson and Katalyst have joined forces to create an album that has been kept tightly under wraps, yet already has the interest of the global music industry; hear a taste at Mojo’s on Thursday.
1 UP
TAKE A DIP
BEERS AND BRAINS
Playing SNES on a big screen with mates is ace in anyone’s book. But add Catbrush, Dream Rimmy, Golden String, Rag N’ Bone and The Fruity Whites to the mix and you’ve got a killer at The Rosemount on Wednesday.
It’s finally here; the Big Splash band Competition 2014 kicks off at The Bakery on Saturday night. The first and second bands from the semi-finals will battle it out for the $10,000 cash prize.
If you want to know how to excel as a music manager or manage your own music, The Rosemount on Tuesday is the place to be for WAM’s Music Industry Sundowner series. Featuring The Music’s own Dan Cribb (The Decline) and Mark Neal (Odlaw).
Secret show series The Hidden Sound launched last week, with Kate Miller-Heidke making a surprise appearance for the sold out debut.
FUNNY BUSINESS Australia’s finally been given an airdate for US comedy Louie. The Louis CK show hits The Comedy Channel, 19 Aug.
LOUIE
BACKLASH SPLITTING HEADACHE
Like a scene from The Hangover 3, a giraffe in South Africa has died after hitting its head on a bridge while being transported on a highway.
IT’S BACK ON!
LADY’S MAN
IN YOUR BRAIN
Plenty of hard rock lovers were left lingering earlier this year when New Zealand/Brit alt riff force I Am Giant, but clearly the guys are fanging to get back on the road. They’ll launch the brand new album at Amplifier on Thursday.
Jon Cooper aka Jon Pleased Wimmin is an Edinburgh-based DJ who rose to fame in the club world during the 1990s where his flamboyant cross-dressing and stylish presence became a force to be reckoned with. He heads to Connections on 8 Aug.
After a long search for a new guitarist, Vida Cain are finally ending their extended hiatus for their first show with a mighty new axe wielder at Ya Ya’s on Friday. Project: Bad and Approaching Opposite support.
FRESH TUNES
WHAT’S FOR DESERT?
PEEL AWAY THE LAYERS
Fat Shan’s Fresh talent Band Competition kicks back into gear for the third heat at 459 Bar on Thursday. Alex Hindley, Oakland, The Hounds and Bad China will battle it out for the coveted studio time.
Fresh off the stage of the 2014 Big Day Out Tour, Fremantle rock act From The Dunes are releasing their second highly anticipated EP, Changing The Game. They launch it at Mojo’s on Saturday night.
John Waters, brings his biopic spoken word tour Looking For A Glass Onion to Queens Park Theatre, Geraldton, 7 Aug; The Astor Theatre, 8 & 9 Aug; Mandurah Arts Centre, 13 Aug; and Bunbury Entertainment Centre, 14 Aug.
GET OUTTA MY FACE Facebook went down over the weekend and apparently some people in LA resorted to calling the police. Oh dear.
FOAL Disgraced ex-NRL player Todd Carney was pictured with the Schappelle sisters in Bali last week. Probably not the best way to get your career back in line.
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Live THIS WEEK
THIS WEEK’S RELEASES… HILLTOP HOODS Walking Under Stars Golden Era Records/Universal JOE HENRY Invisible Hour Planet Company/MGM GEOFFREY O’CONNOR Fan Fiction Chapter Music DOT HACKER How’s Your Process? Part One (Work) Smack Face Records 28 • THE MUSIC • 6TH August 2014
HOT IN HERE
HUNGARY FOR MORE
ALL IN THE MIND
American DJ extraordinaire AC Slater fell in with the turn-itup-to-11, bass-hungry, New York party starters Trouble And Bass early on in his career. Along with Parisian fellow party purveyor Mercer, he heads to Villa on 8 Aug. Moshtix for tickets.
Hailing from Hungary, Myon & Shane 54 (MS54) have achieved extraordinary success in the international dance music scene with notable releases including numerous Beatport number ones. They hit Metro City on Friday.
Masters of powerful, progressive metal for 27 years now, Neurosis blow the roof off of Capitol on Wednesday. They’re widely regarded as one of the greatest metal bands out there, and are supported by local drone purveyors Drowning Horse.
SHARP BEATS
THE M&S CONNECTION
THE RIGHT TREE
Get ready for Caribbean rocksteady, ‘50s and ‘60s rhythm and blues with Razor Jack digging through his crates on Saturday at Swallow Bar. The venue will also be celebrating their second birthday on the night.
Now known as the central headquarters of everything Motown- and soul-related, Fly By Night will celebrate two years of being just that on Friday with a big Motown & Soul spectacular, featuring the usual suspects.
Local singer-songwriter Joel Barker is gearing up to release his debut album Beyond The Crows right now. But first he gives us a taste of it with the single City, which he launches at Astor Lounge on 9 Aug.
STAY AWAKE
ALL HAIL
KILL KILL, BANG BANG
Love Of Cartogaphy is the new record from Sydney-based post-rockers sleepmakeswaves, and it’s a bloody ripper. Hear it, and one of the best live sets you’ll see in this country, at Amplifier on Friday.
Emperors have already kicked off the national tour for their new single, Shooting From The Bell Tower, with some big shows in Adelaide and Melbourne. They hit Prince Of Wales, Bunbury on Thursday and Amplifier on Saturday.
It’s been a long time a’coming, but the video for Moana’s sweltering track The Killer, My Girl gets the video clip treatment at The Bird on Friday night. Puck, Old Blood and Golden String support.
SHAKE IT
GLATTER SPUNK
KIDS IN THE HOUSE
Land Of 1000 Dances presents yet another night of irresistible dance music to spice up your mid-week blues with Shake at the Bird on Wednesday night. DJ Lady Carla will have you busting moves all night.
A night dedicated to punk rock, post-punk, extreme hardcore and other noisy musical directions, Splatter Gunk descends on Mojo’s on Wednesday night, featuring Black Stone From the Sun, Sprawl and more.
Latch Key Kids, Trip Hazard & The Rude Boys and Choking Stanley like playing music, having fun and partying. Watch them do all three of those things with generous aplomb at 459 Bar on Wednesday night.
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THE MUSIC PRESENTS SLEEPMAKESWAVES: AUG 8, Amplifer
COURTNEY BARNETT: SEPT 26, Fly By Night
EMPERORS: AUG 9, Amplifer
THE DECLINE: SEPT 27, Amplifier Bar
BONJAH: AUG 14, Northshore Tavern; AUG 15, Indi Bar; AUG 16, Amplifier; AUG 17, Dunsborough Tavern
BALL PARK MUSIC: OCT 24, Astor Theatre; 25 OCT, Settlers Tavern, Margaret River
KINGSWOOD: AUG 21, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; AUG 22, Capitol; AUG 23, North West Festival, Port Hedland MELODY POOL & MARLON WILLIAMS: AUG 23, X-Wray Cafe; AUG 24, Settlers Tavern, Margaret River; AUG 26, Ellington Jazz Club
THY ART IS MURDER: DEC 17, Capitol; DEC 18, YMCA HQ ONGOING: GIGNITION: Upcoming band showcases 4-8pm last Sunday of each month at The Railway Hotel BEX ‘N’ TURIN’S OPEN MIC NIGHT: 8pm-late every Tuesday at Rosemount Hote
DMA’S, THE CREASES: SEPT 25, Mojo’s Mar; SEPT 26, Amplifier Bar
GIG OF THE WEEK EMPERORS: 9 AUG, AMPLIFIER BAR. PIC: COURT MCALLISTER
WED 06
Sugar Blue Burlesque: Brass Monkey Hotel, Northbridge Neurosis + Drowning Horse: Capitol, Perth Open Mic Night with Shaun Street: Carine Glades Tavern, Duncraig Ben Merito: Citro Bar, Perth Priscilla Gardner Quintet: Ellington Jazz Club, Perth Howie Morgan: Lucky Shag, Perth
KINGSWOOD
Splatter Gunk feat. Dust + Sprawl + Black Stone from the Sun + Vin: Mojo’s Bar, North Fremantle
CLUB GUIDE
WED 06
Northbridge Nightly Now + Various DJs: Flyrite, Northbridge
FRI 08
Jesse Slayter + Miss Demeanour + Genga + Peter Payne + Various DJs: Ambar, Perth Myon & Shane 54: Metro City, Northbridge Candy + DJ Karl Blue + DJ Skoob + Various DJs: Parker Nightclub, Perth
SAT 09
Japan 4 feat. D-Funk + Bezwun + Dead Easy + Tee EL + Standards Down: Ambar, Perth Father feat. HIPHOPTRAPJERSEY + PurpleNote4APurpleDrank + Free Throws: Flyrite, Northbridge 1st Anniversary Party with Drifter + Troy Division + Paul Scott + Acebasik + Lukas Wimmler + Jackness + Axen + Wasteland + Not So Hot: Parker Nightclub, Perth
DJ Neil Viney: Public House, Perth
Zel + NDorse: The Aviary, Perth
Paradise Paul + NDorse: The Aviary, Perth
Sigma + Drumsound & Bassline Smith + Spectrem + Spillage + Maker: Villa Nightclub, Perth
tyDi: Toucan Club, Mandurah Mercer + AC Slater + Philly Blunt + Lukas Wimmler: Villa Nightclub (10pm), Perth
MON 11
Manic Mondays + Various DJs: Parker Nightclub, Perth
Going Solo feat. D-JEONG + Louis Inglis: Moon Cafe, Northbridge Adult Baby feat. Dream Rimmy + Catbrush + Rag n Bone + Golden String + The Yokohomos + The Fruity Whites: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth
88 To Yesterday + House Arrest + At The Space Jam + The Right Way Up: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge
THU 07
I Am Giant + Special Guests: Amplifier Bar, Perth Karaoke: Brass Monkey Hotel, Northbridge Siren Song Enterprises: Brighton Hotel, Mandurah Karaoke: Brooklands Tavern, Southern River Jack & Jill : Crown Perth (Lobby Lounge), Burswood Hi-NRG: Crown Perth (Groove Bar), Burswood Rock n Roll Karaoke with Magnus Danger Magnus: Devilles Pad, Perth Open Mic Night with Kris Buckle: Dunsborough Tavern, Dunsborough Morgan Bain: Ellington Jazz Club, Perth
DJ Anton Maz: Rosemount Hotel (Beer Garden), North Perth
Greg Carter: Gate Bar & Bistro, Success
The Latch Key Kids + Trip Hazard & The Rude Boys + Choking Stanley: Rosemount Hotel (459 Bar), North Perth
Nathan Gaunt: Grand Central, Perth
Margaret River Primary School Battle of The Bands + Various Artists: Settlers Tavern (5pm), Margaret River
Howie Morgan: Lakers Tavern, Thornlie
Open Mic Night with Greg Carter: Swinging Pig, Rockingham
Guilty Simpson + Katalyst + Marksman Lloyd + Mei Saraswati + Raaghe Ismail: Mojo’s Bar, North Fremantle
Shake A Tailfeather feat. DJ Lady Carla + Seventh Son: The Bird, Northbridge
Open Mic Night + Various Artists: Indi Bar, Scarborough
James Wilson: Lucky Shag, Perth
Villain + The Midnight Mules: Mustang Bar, Northbridge
Adam Hall & The Velvet Playboys: The Laneway Lounge, Perth
Record Club - U2 / War + The Nordeens: Newport Hotel, Fremantle
Virtual Insanity: Universal Bar, Northbridge
Open Mic Night with Chris Kinna: Peel Ale House, Halls Head
Emperors + Pat Chow: Prince of Wales, Bunbury Noah Skape + Emilie Flynn + Radio In Motion + The Hounds + Bad China + Dry Dry River: Rosemount Hotel (459 Bar), North Perth Trophy Eyes + One Last Thing + We Can Breathe In Space + Lowlight: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth Comedy @ Settlers feat. Greg Fleet + Garry Who: Settlers Tavern, Margaret River The Tommyhawks + Knights: The Bird, Northbridge Jessie Gordon Duo: The Laneway Lounge, Perth G & G Shenanigans + Dave Gillam & Steve Garde + Pink & White Bridge + Vibrolators with Peta Lee: The Northshore Tavern, Hillarys Dove: The Paddo, Mt Hawthorn Off The Record: Universal Bar, Northbridge Apollo’s Attic + India 9 Nine + Black River Ransom: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge
FRI 08
Sleepmakeswaves + Breaking Orbit: Amplifier Bar, Perth Looking Through A Glass Onion with + John Waters: Astor Theatre, Mount Lawley Hi-NRG: Bailey Bar & Bistro, Joondalup Blizard: Civic Backroom, Inglewood DJ Boogie: Clancys Canning Bridge, Applecross Ensemble Formidable + DJ JO19 + Coaster T: Devilles Pad, Perth Paul Grabowsky: Ellington Jazz Club (7pm), Perth
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the guide wa.gigguide@themusic.com.au Eddie Masson: Ellington Jazz Club (10.30pm), Perth
Dan Cribb & The Isolated + Mezzanine + The Disappointed + White Oak & Stuyvesant: Newport Hotel, Fremantle
Motown & Soul 2nd Anniversary + Various Artists: Fly By Night, Fremantle
The Get Down with Charlie Bucket + John Safari + Klean Kicks: Rosemount Hotel (Beer Garden / 4pm), North Perth
Silvertongue + Beckon + Tale + Henry Kissinger: Mojo’s Bar, North Fremantle
Sunday Sessions with John Reed: Settlers Tavern (Verandah / 3pm), Margaret River
Karaoke: Newport Hotel (Two Sparrows Bar), Fremantle Faulty Towers Dining Experience: Rigby’s Bar, Perth
Sunday Sessions with Voudou Zazou: Swallow Bar (5pm), Maylands
Burgers of Beef + The JAC + Glenn Musto: Rosemount Hotel (459 Bar), North Perth
James Bosley + Mike Cardy: Swan Lounge (arvo), North Fremantle
Cat Haven Fundraiser with Jupiter Zeus + Dan Cribb & The Isolated + Project Redlight + 88 To Yesterday + Brufield: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth
Jacob Diamond + Riley Pearce + Dee Muru: Swanbrook Winery (2pm), Henley Brook Slam Poetry Heat #2 + Various Artists: The Bird, Northbridge
Juice feat. Strangelove: Settlers Tavern, Margaret River
The Healy’s + Renogade: The Shed, Northbridge
The Convicts: Swan Lounge, North Fremantle The Bakery Box Social #1 feat. Tired Lion + David Craft + Methyl Ethel + Ghetto Crystals + Mitch, Robbie & Lewis (The Love Junkies): The Bakery, Northbridge Moana + Puck + Old Blood + Golden String: The Bird, Northbridge Crush + DJ Glen: The Shed, Northbridge
Retrofit: Universal Bar, Northbridge
AXE GIRL: 9 AUG, THE ODD FELLOW Nightmoves: Universal Bar, Northbridge
Paul Grabowsky: Ellington Jazz Club (7pm), Perth
Vida Cain + Project: Bad + Approaching Opposite: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge
Ruby & The Remedy: Ellington Jazz Club (10.30pm), Perth
SAT 09
Emperors + Pat Chow + Lionizer + Childsaint: Amplifier Bar, Perth Looking Through A Glass Onion with + John Waters: Astor Theatre, Mount Lawley Joel Barker + Slums + Logan Crawford: Astor Theatre (Astor Lounge), Mount Lawley Broods + Special Guests: Causeway Bar, Victoria Park Ragdoll: Civic Backroom, Inglewood Deep Sea Disco + DJ Swami Adima: Clancys Fish Pub, Dunsborough Roy Orbison & Del Shannon In Concert - A Tribute with Dean Bourne + Fallon: Crown Perth (Crown Theatre), Burswood Black Magic Disco with DJ JO19: Devilles Pad, Perth
Harry Manx: Fly By Night, Fremantle From The Dunes + These Winter Nights + The Durongs: Mojo’s Bar, North Fremantle Karaoke: Newport Hotel (Two Sparrows Bar), Fremantle Fetid Mound + Cavalier + Kaan + Penance: Railway Hotel, North Fremantle Faulty Towers Dining Experience: Rigby’s Bar, Perth Television Addict play songs by The Victims + Television Addict + The Homicides + Helter Skelter + Legs Electric: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth Tony Lane Electric: Settlers Tavern, Margaret River DJ Razor Jack: Swallow Bar, Maylands Icy Dice + Special Guests: Swan Basement, North Fremantle Big Splash - The Grande Finale + Dream Rimmy + more: The Bakery, Northbridge
Lower Spectrum + Leon Osborn + Mei Saraswati + Craig McElhinney: The Bird, Northbridge Dan Cribb & The Isolated + Varial + Mark Neal + Noah Skape: The Monkey Bar & Lounge, Mandurah Boom! Bap! Pow! + Axe Girl: The Odd Fellow, Fremantle Huge + DJ Matt: The Shed, Northbridge Soul Corporation: Universal Bar, Northbridge Sass feat. DJ Jordan + Double Dee + DJ Cookie: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge
SUN 10
Glenn Musto: Broken Hill Hotel, Victoria Park Paul Kelly + Naomi Pilgram + Stephen Pilgram & Band: Cable Beach Amphitheatre, Broome MFG: Ellington Jazz Club, Perth Justin Walshe Duo + Odette Mercy + Eduardo Cossio + Michael D Lane: Mojo’s Bar, North Fremantle
1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU
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MON 11
Trivia: Clancys Canning Bridge, Applecross Wide Open Mic + Various Artists: Mojo’s Bar, North Fremantle Trivia: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth
Big Tommo’s Open Mic Variety Night: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge
TUE 12
Anea Duratovic Quintet: Ellington Jazz Club, Perth Mojo’s Monthly Comedy feat. Luke Askloke + Corey White: Mojo’s Bar, North Fremantle Bex & Turin’s Wide Open Mic: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth Dirtmouth + Sly Withers + The Eb Oreo + Ballet For Boys + Indecision: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge
THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 31
2 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014