Issue 1391

YOUR EDUCATION, TRAINING & CAREERS FEATURE

33,560 OCTOBER 2012 MARCH 2013 - AUSTRALIA’S HIGHEST CIRCULATING STREET PRESS

THE VOLCANICS

JAE LAFFER

ROBERT DELONG

BUSBY MAROU

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MORE BLUES! MORE ROOTS!

The second announcement for the 2014 West Coast Blues N’ Roots has been made, with the addition of Matt Corby, Michael Franti, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Morcheeba and Soul Rebels to the line-up.

T h e y j o i n J o h n M aye r , D ave Matthews Band, Doobie Brothers, Erykah Badu, Boy & Bear, Steve Earle & The Dukes, Gary Clark Jr and Russell Morris.

Tickets go on sale Monday, October 14, via Moshtix. Head to westcoastbluesnroots. com.au for more details.

STAND UP GAL

SULTAN SET TO SWING

Dan Sultan has announced his forthcoming Back To Basics tour, a national jaunt that will once again promote recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution through the Rock For Recognition movement. He stops by WA with shows at the Fly By Night on Saturday, November 16, and Ellington Jazz Club on Sunday, November 17. Tickets through flybynight.org and ellingtonjazz.com.au.

Comedian, actress, author and activist, Rosie O’Donnell will bring her brash and bold wit to Perth for a show at the Concert Hall on Tuesday, February 4.

Perhaps best known for her daytime talk Asta s h o w, T h e R o s i e O ’ D o n n e l l S h ow, Rosie O’Donnell she’s proven to be a massive success - winning the Emmy for Outstanding 2012 triple j Unearthed High winner Asta performs at Talk Show host over six consecutive years - but her the Aviary Rooftop Sessions on Sunday, October 27. heart remains with stand-up. Tickets go on sale on The My Heart Is On Fire singer who has captured the Tuesday through Ticketek.com.au. attention of millions in the short time since her public debut, will be supported by Pumba, Rachel Gorman and DJ Charlie Bucket. Entry is free as always from 4pm, but capacity is limited, so get down/up quickly. Adelaide’s Sincerely, Grizzly have made a lot of people very happy by announcing not only a new single, Us; Or Optimism, but a run of live dates this November. Perth fans can catch them, alongside Dan Sultan Mezzanine, Foam, Pat Chow and Depth Boys, at Some fine Perth bands are all getting together for Amplifier on Friday, November 15. a free show at the Newport Hotel, Fremantle this Sunday, October 13. From 3pm catch Timothy Nelson, The Crooked Cats, Frighteners, Red Tailgate Sundays make the prospect of Monday Engine Caves, Hunting Huxley, Nevada Pilot, morning’s return to work so much easier to bear.

Sexy Robot and last but not least, Lumpy Dog. Every Sunday, the Mustang Bar is a chilled out haven And did we mention this was all for free? of cold beer, hot food and hard-rockin’ old school tunes. It’s a different line-up every week, with this Sunday, October 13, featuring Deep Fried Southern Grits Band with Datura and DJ Holly Doll. Future guests include Special Brew, Some Like It Yacht and Perth’s Sons Of Rico have released the third single, the Isolites. The fun starts at 4pm and entry is free. from their LP, In Rico Glaciers. Against The Grain follows on from previous singles You Don’t Know What You’re Missin’ and I’m Not Thinkin’ About You and is a falsetto laden, riff-some foot-stomper to be sure. They have an Easy Coast tour in the pipeline, but in the meantime Sons Of Rico will perform at the Saturday Spectacular on Saturday, November 9; the Prince of Sincerely, Grizzly Wales, Bunbury, Friday, November 15; the Indi Bar on Saturday, November 16, and the Newport Hotel on Sunday, November 17.

The Alexander Park Craft House - a base for 13 independent organisations with a combined membership of around 1400 contemporary textile art practitioners - will hold an Open Day on Sunday, October 20, from 10am-3pm. Avail yourself of a variety of textile art displays and sales; miniDatura, this Sunday at the Mustang Bar workshops on the hour; indoor and outdoor activities for kids and adults; food, drink and more.

Soak in it, enjoy and learn. Alexander Park Craft House is on Clyde Rd, Menora. For more details Sons Of Rico head to apch.com.au.

If you didn’t already snap up tickets for the Sunday, November 17, An Evening On The Green at Kings Park, odds are you’ve missed the boat.

Mellen Events and Roundhouse Entertainment have announced that the show, which sees former Powderfinger powerhouse Bernard Fanning perform with guests The Cruel Sea, Sarah Blasko, Bob Evans and Band Of Frequencies, has completely sold out.

How this bodes for ticket sales for the Saturday, March 29, An Evening On The Green, which sees a reunited Hunters & Collectors perform alongside Something For Kate, Diesel and British India, is anyone’s guess, but you might want to snap up your seats sooner rather than later. Tickets go on sale on Friday, October 9 at 9am through Ticketmaster.com.au.

ASTA-NOMICALLY TALENTED

SINCERELY OPTIMISTIC

BLACK SUNDAY

Morcheeba, 2014 West Coast Blues N’ Roots

KING OF THE BOARD

You know you’ve arrived when you get your own special Monopoly Edition, and now Perth has been picked by Rich Uncle Pennybags to join the elite. The new special version of the family favourite game features iconic Perth locations such as Rottnest Island, Swan River and Crown Perth, with Kings Park standing in for Mayfair/Boardwalk. Keen readers might note that many are state-owned and technically not available for purchase, but a cursory examination the economy indicates that the game is, if anything, remarkably prescient.

Monopoly: Perth Edition will be available at all good toy stores next month.

Perth Monopoly

SUNDAYS AT THE ‘STANG

RICO SUAVE

OPEN CRAFTS

POPULAR EVENINGS

SIREN SONG

King River is the new single from local roots-rock outfit, The Siren Tower, and they’ll be marking the release of this latest offering from their debut album, A History Of Houses, with a national tour. Perth fans can see them live at Amplifier Bar on Saturday, November 9. Support has yet to be announced, tickets will be available on the door.

The Siren Tower

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Reactions/Comp Thing Flesh Moby/Reguritator/Bring Me The Horizon Music: Amorphis/Busby Marou New Noise Eye4 Cover: Jae Laffer Eye4: News/Diana/Gravity Eye4: 2 Guns/Metallica: Through The Never Eye4: Brad Sherwood Arts Listings ETC: Short Courses Salt Cover: Robert DeLong Salt: News/Testpad/Behind The Decks Salt: Trentemoller/Lower Spectrum Salt: Club Manual Salt Rewind: Horrorshow Scene Live: Apache/Eleventh He Reaches London/Swervedriver Local Scene Tour Trails Gig Guide Volume

Cover: Moby releases his 11th studio album, Innocents.

Salt Cover: Robert DeLong plays Stereosonic @ Claremont Showgrounds on Sunday, December 1. www.xpressmag.com.au

Boz Scaggs

THE BOZ HITS TOWN

Legendary vocalist, guitarist and global hit maker, Boz Scaggs is bringing his signature tunes to Perth for a show at the Crown Theatre on Monday, April 14. For this show he’ll be performing from his back catalogue and showcasing his 17th album, Memphis - a retrospective celebration of family history and American roots music. Special guest on the night is ARIA Hall of Famer, Russell Morris.

Tickets go on sale on Monday through Ticketek.

MITCHELL & PYKE SUPPORTS

Perth acts Rainy Day Women, Riley Pearce and Room For Reason have all been added to the line-up at the City of Wanneroo event happening on Saturday, November 9, at the Wanneroo Showgrounds. They’ll take to the stage before headliners Lisa Mitchell and Josh Pyke for this free, family friendly concert. Gates open at 4pm and you can register for a free ticket from wanneroo.wa.gov.au/concert.

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Print and Digital Editions Publisher/Manager Joe Cipriani Editorial

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Managing Editor Bob Gordon: editor@xpressmag.com.au Dance Music & Features Editor Rachel Davison: danceeditor@xpressmag.com.au Local Music & Arts Editor Travis Johnson: localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au Gig & Event Guides Co-ordinator guide@xpressmag.com.au Entertainment Services Co-ordinator / Competitions win@xpressmag.com.au Photography Callum Ponton, Stefan Caramia, Daniel Grant, Sammy Granville, Matt Jelonek, Denis Radacic, Emma Mackenzie, Guang-Hui Chuan, Max Fairclough Contributing Writers Henry Andersen, Ashleigh Whyte, Nina Bertok, Shaun Cowe, Derek Cromb,Chris Gibbs,Alfred Gorman,George Green,Alex Griffin,Chris Havercroft, Joshua Hayes, Brendan Holben, Coral Huckstep, Rezo Kezerashvili,Tara Lloyd, Adam Morris, Andrew Nelson, Chloe Papas, Ben Watson,Jessica Willoughby,Miki Mclay,Morgan Richards,James Manning, Joe Cassidy, Shane Pinnegar For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au

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Kaskade

KASKADE: ATMOSPHERE

Grammy-nominated DJ and producer, Kaskade has just put out his eighth studio album, Atmosphere, which debuted at #4 on the iTunes Dance Album Charts. It follows on from last year’s, Fire & Ice, and the man himself has stated it’s his most personal record to date: “This album is very personal to me, just as every album of mine has been, but this is something special as it’s really about my home and where I am.” The 13-track collection of emotive club tunes is out via OneLove Recordings and to win a copy, enter and include your full name and postal address.

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Saxon - DeadWeight! Crew

IT’S A DEADWEIGHT! TING

Dedicated to showcasing the best underground music, but putting the focus back on the party dipping it in pop rocks and soaking it all in rum and Red Bull, It’s A DeadWeight! Ting is putting on its next party at Flyrite on Friday, October 11. Special guests on the night include DJs, Clunk, DeadWeight! Crew’s Machete Kills Nebula and Modo, plus Saxon. Tickets are $10 before 11pm or $15 after, or its $5 all night with a member card. To get your name added to the guest Cultsensation film, Machete sees Danny Trejo list, enter now to win.

(Machete, From Dusk Til Dawn) and director Robert Rodriguez (Machete, Sin City) reuniting for the sequel. Trained to kill and left for dead, Machete is back and this time he’s on the right side of the law. With gory comic book action, over-the-top characters and an all-star cast including Jessica Alba, Antonio Banderas, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Mel Gibson, plus Lady Gaga and Carlos Estevez (aka Charlie Sheen) as the President of the United States, it’s more badass than ever. We’ve got ten double passes to give away. Enter now to win.

Bobby Alu

FILM: MACHETE KILLS

BOBBY ALU: ISLAND VIBES

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Island, afro, soul artist Bobby Alu from the Gold Coast is heading to WA for a stack of shows during October.

Vesna Samreth - production@xpressmag.com.au It’s all in celebration of his second album, Take It Slow, Art Director which is out now through Vitamin. Catch Alu and Dwight O’Neil band on Friday, October 11 at Clancy’s Fremantle; Design + Production Saturday, October 12 at the Indi Bar; Sunday, October Andy Quilty, Anthony Jackson, Kasia Mazurkiewicz 13 at Clancy’s Dunsborough; Thursday, October 17 at Mojos Bar; Friday October 18 at Prince of Wales, Printing Bunbury; and on Saturday and Sunday October Rural Press Printing Mandurah For one night only, Challenger Ready at Ambar is 19-20 at Settlers Tavern, Margaret River. We’ve got Administration 9213 2888 doing Grand Theft Auto 5 Halloween style on Friday, double passes to both the Clancy’s Fremantle and November 1. Think of Ambar as San Andreas, the bar Indi Bar shows to give away. Enter to win, letting us Accounts know which show you’d like to attend.

Lillian Buckley accounts@xpressmag.com.au as Los Santos and the booth is your console. Each of the challengers becomes an ally or antagonist; Distribution 92132853 who’s got game? The night features DJs Tonic v Mr B, Distribution distribution@xpressmag.com.au Benny P v Genga, Tee EL v DNGRFLD, Philly Blunt v 4by4 and Bezwun v Marko Paulo. Presale tickets are CAB AUDITED CIRCULATION: available from the Boomtick shop and/or enter now 34,000 OCTOBER 2012 – MARCH 2013 to win one of two double passes. And remember... dress up on the night is encouraged.

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CHALLENGER READY: HALLOWEEN

EDITORIAL General: Friday 5pm,, Eye4 Arts: Thursday 10am, Comp’ Thing: Monday Noon,, Salt Clubs: Monday 5pm , Local Scene: Monday Noon,, Gig Guide: Monday 5pm ADVERTISING Cancellations: Monday 5pm, Ads to be set: Monday Noon Supplied Bookings / Copy: Tuesday 12 Noon, Classifieds: Monday 4pm Published by: Columbia Press Pty.Ltd. A.C.N. 066 570 803 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No PP600110.00006 Suite 55/102 Railway Street, City West Business Centre, West Perth, WA 6005 Locked Bag 31, West Perth, WA 6872 Phone: (08) 9213 2888 Fax: (08) 9213 2882 Website: http://www.xpressmag.com.au

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WA BEER WEEK: GOLDEN TICKET

Like beer? Love craft beer? Then we’ve got the prize for you. The WA Brewers Association, WA Beer Week and X-Press Magazine are giving you the chance to win a Golden Ticket for 2013’s most important week: WA Beer Week. Encompassing over 40 events across nine days, you’ll have access to 15 ticketed events including the Fremantle Beer Fest, Double Night Of The Barrels at Sail & Anchor, Beer Fact Hunt at Clancy’s Fremantle and the title fight between Josie Bones and Five Bar to battle it out for East Vs West supremacy - six courses, six beers, three rounds, one winner! As well as winning a limited edition beer lover’s pack. Check out the full list of events at wabeerweek. com.au and let us know why you deserve to win.

Booka Shade

Sirgin

SIRGIN: ONE LOVE Perth MC and producer Sirgin Supadi will shortly drop a new album, One Love, which will be available online from October 19. After a stint in the US immersing himself in hip hop music and culture, the local producer has returned to Perth, written and produced a 14-track album, and has set up his own record label to release it. Check out the first singles Dreamin and I Keep Riding and get down to his launch show on Saturday, October 19 at the Civic Back Room.

To be in the running to win a double pass to the show, enter now and note you must physically pick up the tickets from the X-Press office.

BOOKA SHADE + DIGITALISM

Germany is in the Villa house on Friday, October 25 when Booka Shade and Digitalism arrive for a formidable double-header show. Booka Shade are a duo who consistently produce brilliant electronic music, either via their own artist albums or as soughtafter remixers and Digitalism? Well they sold out their last show at Villa and have equal aptitude and pizzazz with their EP of last year, Blitz going ballistic. Tickets are on sale now via Moshtix and the Boomtick shop, but you might just be lucky enough to win a double VIP pass. Just let us know why you want to go!

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MORE WAM FESTIVAL DETAILS ANNOUNCED We’re mighty proud to announce details of the X-Press Launch Stage at the PICA Bar & Amphitheatre as part of the WAM Festival’s Saturday Spectacular.

44th Sunset, Antelope, Apache, Emperors, Greyjoy, Husband, Sons of Rico, Sugar Army, Sugarpuss, Tired Lion plus one more special guest to be announced, will be heading that one up from 8pm on Saturday, November 9, supported by the City of Perth.

WAM have also announced half of the allday line-up happening across the Urban Orchard, the Emerging Artists Wetlands stage, plus Northbridge venues The Bird, YaYa’s, Mustang Bar, Universal Bar, The Bakery, Beat Nightclub and The Brass Monkey.

The Volcanics You’ll be able to check out the likes of China Doll, Daramad, Diger Rokwell, Kučka, Lo & Behold, Ruby Boots, Sid Pattni, The Ghost Hotel (all WAM Song Of The Year nominees, incidentally), Andrew Winton, Autopilot, Bastian’s Happy Flight, China Doll, Dead Owls, Dianas, Dux n Downtown, Emperors, Ensemble Formidable, Everyteen, FAIM, Flower Drums, Kill Teen Angst, Leeches, Man The Clouds, Mezzanine, MmHmmm, Mt. Mountain, Perennial Perth rockers The Volcanics launch their new album, Get A Move On, Naik, Pimps Of Sound, Puck, Pumba, Race To Your Red Engine Caves, Scalphunter, Simone & at Amplifier this Saturday, October 12, with support from Datura, The Wishers Face, Girlfunkle, Stoney Joe, The Amani Consort, The and The New Invincibles. TRAVIS JOHNSON has a word with lead singer, John Coalminers Sect, The Community Chest, The Justin Walshe Folk Machine, The Weapon Is Sound, Tired Phatouros, ahead of this momentous event.

Lion, Trigger Jackets, Valdaway and Vida Cain.

More announcements will be made next week.

If you’ve ever seen John Phatouros on stage, then playing the music we were influenced by.”

WAM have also released details of the you know he’s the real deal; a powerhouse rock Asked to elaborate on what makes Music Conference, taking place across various frontman, all surly swagger and forceful vocals, Australian rock stand out for him, Phatouros shies Northbridge venues on Thursday-Friday, November one of the few remaining pureblood members of away from giving a concrete answer - he just knows 7-8. Keynote speakers will be Adalita, Catherine a tribe with a rich and terrible history. it when he hears it.“I can’t say what’s distinctive about Haridy and industry guru Michael Chugg. The new It’s always amusing, and a little confusing, Australian rock’n’roll but I can say that Australia, just announcement of delegates includes Adam Trainer to meet him in person, then, and find a guy who’s like Britain and just like America, they know how to (RTRFM 92.1), Allegra Caldwell (InSync – NSW), polite, self-effacing, and even - dare we say it? - a bit play rock’n’roll. It’s real. A lot of other countries, they Andy Rantzen (Australia Council for the Arts – NSW), on the shy side. want to play rock’n’roll, but they’ve got a different Annmarie McMath (I Hear Motion - VIC), Becc Bates “Aw, do we have to include that?” he beat or they’ve got a different shuffle and it just replies when asked for a quick précis of his band, The sounds almost like a tribute to rock’n’roll - and we’re Volcanics. His reticence is charming. not doing a tribute to rock’n’roll. I don’t know the For those who don’t know, The Volcanics Australian sound, but I know that when you hear it, have been around since 2002, releasing their first you know it.”

EP, Nothin’ For You, in 2004. They formed with the That fierce allegiance to the heritage of sole aim, Phatouros says, of playing “... Australian Australian popular music informs Get A Move On, rock’n’roll, influenced by all the bands that the guys right down to the choice of behind-the-mixing-desk in The Volcanics dig: The Saints, Radio Birdman, The talent that helped midwife the album into existence.

Screaming Tribesmen, Cosmic Psychos. It’s mainly the Rob Younger of Radio Birdman and The New Christs ‘80s guitar bands we’re influenced by, and a lot of produced, while living legend Wayne Connolly mixed them on Citadel - ‘70s and ‘80s Australian.”

That name-check of Citadel Records the project.

Still, it’s The Volcanics’ baby, a collaborative is deliberate, because that legendary label will effort between the four members, with none taking be releasing The Volcanics’ latest effort, the fulllength album, Get A Move On. Citadel, as Aussie centre stage in the production process. As Phatouros music aficionados well know, has been home to tells us, “We all write and we all choose not to write a an impressive roster of talent, including The Lime whole song and then bring it to the band and have Spiders, The Trilobites, The Bamboos and The Stems. the band cover it, so to speak. We don’t enjoy one person writing a song and the other people learning The Volcanics should be right at home.

The Volcanics came into existence because that song. We all write, like a lot of bands, together.

Phatouros and his bandmates were none-too- Someone starts it and then we all jump on it and pleased with the early 21st century Australian music make it better than if one person did it. At different landscape. “There were lots of Australian bands times, different members start the idea.”

Of course, with a new album comes, almost playing music that made them sound like American bands,” he explains. “There were more Australian inevitably, a new tour, and Phatouros is excited at the bands playing music that made them sound like prospect. “We’re going to tour early next year - just they were American rock’n’roll than Australian, so an Australian tour - and we’re applying to see if we that made it - not an easier choice, because we don’t can go to SxSW. If that does happen - we’re trying choose to play that kind of rock’n’roll, that’s just to organise that. Our main priority is promoting what’s in us, if you know what I mean, but at the time the album, though, so our main thing is our album there was fuck all Australian bands that we knew of touring around Australia.”

THE VOLCANICS Move It Or Lose It

VDELLI ALBUM LAUNCH Vdelli hit the stage with next to no fanfare on this, the Freo album launch for their new album Never Going Back. So much so that we turned around midconversation and there they were, slowly cranking up the heat with some subdued blues licks.

Michael Vdelli has been doing this forever, and it shows - he’s magnetic onstage, a truly great and unfairly underrated blues rock singer and guitarist who is enjoying more acclaim in Europe right now than in his home town, following repeated treks through Germany, Scandinavia and the like.

Over there they appear on chat shows and make repeated appearances at Sweden Rock Fest, while here in Perth its pub favourites the Indi Bar and Clancy’s. That says a lot more about Perth’s laissezfaire audiences than it does about the band.

Nuff Your Stuff is introduced as the most laidback track on the album but, like all the material on offer, it smoulders and gets the dancers up.

A classic power trio, Vdelli the band have a clearly defined dynamic which gives each member ample room to move and stretch out. Drummer Ric Whittle is the heartbeat of the band, riveting down a monolithic foundation which bassist Leigh Miller overlays with funky, soulful rhythms and groove. His R&B vocals on Get It Up show that these guys are far removed from mere generic blues copyists.

This gives Michael Vdelli total confidence to lay down guitar and vocals without a glance behind him. He knows Whittle & Miller have the chops to keep the train on the track, and provide the room he needs to add the seasoning to this blues rock stew.

I’ve Been Going Too Hard (For Too Long) from their Kevin Shirley-produced Ain’t Bringing Me Down album is a raunchy and sinewy flex, full of binge regret, while a fiery Could Be Good rounds out www.xpressmag.com.au

Bobby Alu

BOBBY ALU

Clancy’s Fish Pub, Fremantle Saturday, October 5, 2013

A Family Affair

For Charles Wall, Bobby Alu was but an alter ego upon the release of his self-titled debut LP in 2010.

Vdelli Photo: Matt Jelonek the first, blues-heavy, set.

Set two opens with Dream Girl Nightmare, one of the highlights from Never Going Back, heralding a harder rocking set that peppers tracks from the new album (Change The View, the title track) with flammable covers including I’ve Seen Fire And I’ve Seen Rain – Miller again seizing the opportunity to flex his R&B chops while Vdelli himself weighs in with a tastefully subdued solo.

The night ends with a feisty and passionate jam that takes Voodoo Chile into uncharted waters, all three musos stretching out and in stunning form.

News that the band recorded the previous night’s show at the Indi Bar for a live album will be welcomed by fans, and with another European tour locked in for early 2014 the band are assured of increasing their acclaim whilst in such rude form. _ SHANE PINNEGAR

(Arts South Australia – SA), Bob Gordon (X-Press Magazine), Cam Merton (Hidden Shoal Recordings), Chloe Goodyear (Woodford Folk Festival – QLD), Clive Hodson (Perfect Pitch Publishing – NSW), Danny Rogers (St. Jerome’s Laneway/Lunatic Entertainment - NSW), Darren de Mello (96FM), David Chitty (Sunset Events), Dom Alessio & Lewis McKirdy (Triple J – NSW), Emily Lubitz (Tinpan Orange - VIC), Evan Alexander (Heapsaflash - QLD), Grace Barbé, Hayley Dart (Country Arts WA), John Wardle (National Live Music Office – NSW), Kate Mills (Native Tongue - VIC), Kurt Beaudoin (Meerkats), Leon Ewing (WAM), Luke Rinaldi (Sweet Mate Music), Mama Kin, Meg Williams (AAM – NSW), Michael Szumovski (Alberts - NSW), Millie Millgate (Sounds Australia - NSW), Nicholas Jones (Tone Deaf VIC), Noah Shilkin (Sonic Lolly), Paul Cashmere (The Noise Network – VIC), Pete Guazzelli (Department of Culture and the Arts), Samantha Nakhoul (WSOU – USA), Simon Collins (The West Australian/The Wire), Steve Kulak (Fuse Music Group - NSW) and Will Lanarch-Jones (Parallel Management – NSW).

Keep an eye on wam.asn.au for updates.

The public voting for the WAM Awards are now open, courtesy of our colleagues at themusic.com.au.

Now Bobby Alu has not only expanded into a band, but as Walls has it, a family on the second album, Take It Slow.

“Our sound has formed over the past couple of years touring around the country,” he says.

“This collaboration is very much the sound that exists now which you hear on the album. The first album was entirely solo and writing the second album with my mates was a rad and fulfilling experience that I’ll never forget.

“The bond is tight. We’ve known each other for so long and been a part of so many other projects it was such a great feeling to finally tour together.

The sound of the music we play is already fun and positive and there’s no guessing that we really have a good time performing together.”

Guitarist, Paulie B, has certainly stepped up on this album, taking on the role of producer and inviting the band (sorry, family) into his studio.

“There’s no doubt Paulie B is an integral part of Bobby Alu,” Walls says. “He has so much experience and talent that is evident from his time with his previous bands George, The Beautiful Girls and more.

“Most of all he’s a bloody good mate. He and the bass player, Stewart Barry, went to primary school together. His studio is our HQ. It’s got a perfect mix of current gear vs. classic retro mics and preamps

- we call it Hifi Lofi. There was no question in keeping the second album in the family, it felt right and I’m stoked it’s happened.”

Walls has spent the last 12 months touring as percussionist for Xavier Rudd. There’s much that he brings back to Bobby Alu from that experience.

“It’s been out of this world,” he says. “The man is amazing. I didn’t really know what to expect and at the end of his tour I hold so much respect for him. I got to visit so many places around North America over a heavy two-month tour in a bus in this crazy world of sold-out shows and festivals of 15-20,000.

“I guess I’m bringing back all that experience. On the road you meet so many inspiring people and see so much beauty in the world but equally you see the opposite. I wish to promote and encourage the good and the positive.”

Now that he’s back to Bobby Alu and the album second album has been released, there’s new experiences to look forward to.

“First and foremost I’m excited to release it in WA this week!” Walls says. “We’ve had such good times there on previous tours and no doubt it will happen again on this current tour. We are just stoked that it’s out, that our idea and hard work is now available for others to listen and share. I hope people can put the album on and chill out for 50 minutes against the hustle and bustle of what life’s become.” _ BOB GORDON Bobby Alu’s WA tour kicks off this Friday, October 11, at Clancy’s Fremantle; then Saturday, October 12, at the Indi Bar; Sunday, October 13, at Clancy’s Dunsborough; Thursday, October 17, at Mojos; Friday, October 18, at the Prince Of Wales, Bunbury, and Saturday-Sunday, October 19-20, at Settlers Tavern, Margaret River.

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equipment and at the end of the day, I wanted to make a record that was more vulnerable and that also had a quality of fragility to it. I wasn’t looking to make a big, bombastic, super-slick pop record - I wanted something warmer and more inviting.

“It’s funny, it almost worries me because the process of making this record wasn’t very frustrating at all and usually the more frustrating it is to make, the more successful the record is,” he explains. “My most successful album was Play and making that was incredibly frustrating. So the fact this record wasn’t frustrating means it’s probably doomed to be a complete failure.”

He says it was a very nice process making the record, in part due to the producer and collaborators, but he is realistic about his prospects of success, his honesty bordering on selfdeprecation at times, especially given his longevity as an artist to date.

Moby

MOBY

An Innocent Man You only have to take a quick listen to Moby’s latest euphoric single, The Perfect Life, to make the assumption he’s quite content with life and his latest creative offering. RACHEL DAVISON chats with the LA-based electronic pop artist about his 11th studio album, Innocents.

Innocents is a return to the vintage Moby we know and love, more akin to 1999’s Play and subsequent 18, than his many stylistic deviations of the past seven years.

It’s lo-fi, despite being produced by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent – a big shot pop producer whose worked with the likes of Madonna, Lady Gaga and Beyonce. There’s a whole lotta soul injected by some powerful female vocalists such as Skylar Grey and Cold Specks. A warm richness added by the unique voices of Damien Jurado and Mark Lanegan and a collaboration on The Perfect Life with The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne. All of this is warmly cocooned in Moby’s signature, downtempo pop-tronica.

“It’s a tricky thing to talk about,” says Moby, poolside, on the phone from his home in LA when asked if he’s ‘happy’ with his latest record.

“I’m really happy with how we made it because we used a lot of very strange, old

REGURGITATOR Our Man In Hong Kong Touring in support of their new album, Dirty Pop Fantasy, Regurgitator play the Indi Bar on Wednesday, October 16; the Prince Of Wales, Bunbury on Thursday, October 17; Metropolis Fremantle on Friday, October 18, and the Rosemount Hotel on Saturday, October 19. ALASDAIR DUNCAN chats with Quan Yeomans.

There’s a certain sense of archness about Regurgitator’s music, a sense of observing the world from a position of wry detachment.

This wryly humorous approach has seen the band through a career of nearly two decades, which is why it’s so surprising to hear singer Quan Yeomans letting his guard down on their new album. Dirty Pop Fantasy, the band’s eighth full-length record, contains the requisite doses of bouncy, new wave-inspired pop, as well as a few heavy guitar freak-outs – but also several tender ballads on which Yeomans, dare it be said, sounds a little bit vulnerable.

It doesn’t seem so strange, however, when you consider that during the writing and recording of their new album, Regurgitator turned to the perpetually lovelorn pop of The Magnetic Fields for inspiration.

“We listened to The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs constantly while we were recording the album,” says Yeomans. “We learned to play a lot of the songs, and we had this idea that we’d even busk some of 12

Regurgitator

them.” Of course, there’s more to the story than that. “I had a few relationship problems when I was living in Melbourne. A song like Mountains on the new album was inspired in particular by that, and by The Magnetic Fields. I remember at the time how I’d sit and listen to them while I rode the trams. On the good days, I’d enjoy singing Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits, and on the bad days it was I Don’t Want To Get Over You. That album was a really good fit for me at the time, emotionally.”

In the wake of his relationship troubles, Yeomans left Melbourne for Hong Kong, and the experience of living and dating there has been an eyeopener for him.

Socially, the city is a whole new world. “The people you meet in Hong Kong are very different from the people you meet in Australia. There’s not a lot of art for art’s sake here. People are extremely stressed about their jobs, they have difficulty expressing themselves emotionally. They can be very cold in their interactions with you, so relationships here can be very different, too.”

As you might expect, Yeomans gets a lot of strange looks when he tells people he’s in a band, but he likes it that way.“A lot of people can’t compute that as a lifestyle or a way of surviving,” he laughs. “People in Hong Kong are all about the money. I mean, if you date a girl here and meet her parents and tell her what you do, it can be quite difficult. My best friend here is a magician – he does work for corporate people, which is basically all you do.

“The thing about Hong Kong is every art piece, every gallery show, every gig is something corporate. The only actual solo shows I’ve played here have been for Casio and Nike. You don’t really put on a show just for its own sake. That’s the way things are here. I mean, I get a kick out of it.”

Being an outsider in Hong Kong suits Yeomans just fine. “I don’t do a normal job here at all,” he says.“If I go back to Melbourne, every single person is a musician and an artist or whatever, so it’s not a big deal. Here, being a musician is actually kind of exciting!”

“It’s funny, it almost worries me because the process of making this record wasn’t very frustrating at all and usually the more frustrating it is to make, the more successful the record is.

My most successful album was Play and making that was incredibly frustrating.

So the fact this record wasn’t frustrating means it’s probably doomed to be a complete failure.”

“The thing is I’m 48-years-old making records in 2013, so my expectations of success are really pretty small. It would just be absurd at this point in my career to want to go out and try and sell millions of records, because that would involve so many distasteful compromises...

“Almost no one sells millions of records anymore –certainly not 48-year-old guys who aren’t willing to compromise.”

Our conversation leads to the existential angst one can experience as the years creep by - our interview occurring the day before Moby’s 48th birthday - and just because Moby and Wayne Coyne are dressed in mariachi costumes wandering

the streets of LA, singing their hearts out and living a seemingly idyllic existence in the video for The Perfect Life, Moby isn’t typically all sunshine. Is this then, the happiest song, he’s ever written?

“Back in the rave days I wrote some really happy rave songs but The Perfect Life, is a very happy song, especially if you listen to the song in conjunction to the video – it is pretty silly, but there is a degree of darkness in the lyrics,” he reveals and this single isn’t necessarily reflective of the tone of the new record overall.

While the teaming of Moby with Coyne seems like a rather strange collaboration, the two of them met in 1995 while on tour supporting the Red Hot Chili Peppers and they’ve remained friends ever since.

“The Flaming Lips and I were the opening acts, so for about two-and-a-half months, we shared a dressing room and had to deal with the sort of frustrations of being an opening act for a big rock band,” he explains.

“When I wrote The Perfect Life – it honestly sounded to me like a Flaming Lips song, so I thought to myself, well if I’ve written a song that sounds like The Flaming Lips, then maybe Wayne will sing on it. He really is the nicest person on the planet and just his whole approach to music, art and live performance I find really inspiring. I think of myself as being really lucky that I was able to get him to sing on the record.”

In what is deemed to be a pretty controversial move these days, Moby’s unwillingness to compromise means there isn’t going to be any touring in promotion of the album, except for three shows in an LA theatre, close to home.

“I realise that as much as I like being on stage and making music, I’m actually much happier and satisfied being in my studio writing it,” he explains. “So that’s the main reason why I’m not touring, I’m just trying to stay home so I can write more music. This of course drives my manager insane given the only way musicians make money now is by going on tour, and clearly no musician makes money by just making music... I’m sure my manager is on the verge of breaking up with me.”

But the comfortableness that shines through on this record is, essentially, all about doing the things that make Moby happy.

“I really do believe that life is short and I guess I look at a lot of musicians and public figures who seem to judge their success based on so many things they’d like to buy and I don’t want to judge them or be critical of it, but I feel like my job as a musician is not to make music so I can buy things, it’s to make music because I love making music.

“So even if I’m making considerably less money, I’m just happier staying home making music that probably no one will ever listen to.”

BRING ME THE HORIZON

Bring Me The Horizon

Sempiternally Yours Bring Me The Horizon are joined by Of Mice & Men and Crossfaith this Saturday, October 12, at Challenge Stadium. AUGUSTUS WELBY reports.

Bring Me The Horizon’s chart-topping fourth LP, Sempiternal, sees the band comprehensively exploring the electronic inclination hinted at on their earlier records.

The album is punctuated by the keyboard and programming work of the band’s newest member, Jordan Fish. Although he doesn’t take sole credit for the increase in electronic sounds, Fish says he aimed to incorporate his personality into the group’s established sound.

“On the last album there’s definitely bits of it, there’s strings, choral stuff, there’s electronics and there’s some synth parts. Really what I wanted to do was try to take the best elements of all that stuff and then put my own stamp on it. Everyone who does that kind of laptop or computer-based work has their own sound. It worked well, so we just went with it.”

Joining a group who have spent so much time playing together could make for an uncertain creative scenario. Also, one might understandably feel trepidation about contributing ideas and making stylistic alterations to such a widely loved band, however Fish indicates that the extent of his creative participation developed rather naturally.

“When I first started working with the band there was no plan whatsoever long-term, it was just, ‘See what happens, try out some ideas’. I

guess it just built up gradually so I didn’t have that much time to think about the fact that kids might not like it, or whatever.”

Rather than being intimidated by the legions of expectant fans, the biggest shock for Fish was actually the South-versus-North divide between himself and the rest of the group. “I’m different from the other guys in the band,” he says. “I’m not from Sheffield, I’m from South England – they speak completely differently. At first it took a bit of getting used to the in-jokes and the dialect and all that kind of stuff.”

Having been a fully-fledged member of the band for over a year now, Fish perceives himself to be on equal footing with the other four members. “Everyone treats each other as equals, so to be honest I don’t feel like this is a temporary thing or anything. In terms of decisions, everyone asks everyone’s opinion and everyone answers something. I’m enjoying it and the touring is really good fun, getting to see loads of amazing places.”

Indeed, Bring Me The Horizon have spent the majority of 2013 on a massive world tour, stretching back to their high-billing on the Soundwave festival early in the year.

The band’s headline tour in Australia this month takes them to much larger venues than any of their previous visits. They’ll be joined by fellow metalcore elite, Of Mice and Men and Crossfaith, and Fish guarantees the shows will be of a spectacular stature.

The strong support from Australian audiences will certainly not be taken for granted and Fish indicates the band intend to come to Australia as regularly as they can. “Because we’ve got such a good reaction in Australia, it’s one of the places we really want to focus on. If you’ve had a number one album you want to go and play to those people as much as possible.” #youshouldreadxpress

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VÅR No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers

CHER Closer To The Truth

NINE INCH NAILS Hesitation Marks

OKKERVIL RIVER The Silver Gymnasium

Warner

Columbia/Sony

Spunk

Sacred Bones is a label that caught the music world’s attention by releasing an extremely versatile bunch of acts and often the music they make can be equally diverse. Vår are one of the latest additions on the label’s roster and are comprised of four Danish musician/artists, most famous of them being Elias Bender Rønnenfelt from Iceage.

No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers is hard to pinpoint at first: here is an ambient track followed by an almost dance pop song then going into an industrial number followed by minimal wave/ krautrock sounds. It takes multiple listens to properly absorb the beauty of this album, and just like other such pieces of work it opens up more and more to those willing to listen.

With its moods leaning towards dark overtones, Vår might not be a perfect soundtrack for the upcoming summer, but don’t let that steer you away from them. Turn on the rain inside your head and let Vår be your umbrella.

From a woman nearly as old as pop music itself Closer To The Truth is a remarkable achievement in staying relevant. Cher’s vocals are still as commanding as in her heyday, while the menagerie of producers give her some modern, catchy material to work with.

However, the album is awkwardly topheavy. The first few tracks are a forced platter of bland up-tempo dance numbers, exhausting the listener before they get halfway through.

Later tracks show more diversity and maturity, with a country influence. I Hope You Find It is perhaps the only emotionally believable ballad on the album, showcasing the depth of Cher’s iconic vocals, while I Walk Alone gives us a bizarre foray into electronic dance/country music, which seems to have been written in the unlikely event E-popping cattle farmers stage a coup at their local nightclub.

The lyrics, though occasionally cringeworthy, are classic Cher/female empowerment, and the bonus tracks are cheesy, though not unsatisfying pop songs, and a track from the movie Burlesque. Overall, the album has potential but the listing is thoughtless and lacks coherency.

_ PREDRAG DELIBASICH

_ SHAUN COWE

Sacred Bones

The recent revival of Nine Inch Nails, after Trent Reznor announced in 2009 that it was “time to make NIN disappear for a while”, had NINcompoops around the globe gleefully perma-stretching their smiles in anticipation for Hesitation Marks.

The paranoia-inducing soundscape of opening track, The Eater Of Dreams, instantly straps you in for the emotional rollercoaster ride ahead – and keep in mind, like any good NIN album, Hesitation Marks should be best enjoyed like watching a horror film for the first time: with the lights off (and probably not just before bedtime).

Pay close attention to Copy Of A and Find My Way, and notice that something isn’t quite right.

The musical composition and lyrical content is a 25-year amalgamation of tormented soul-searching and self-psychoanalysis; Trent ‘Music Is My Psych’ Reznor seems to pay a final visit to his therapist in this beautifully nihilistic sonic diary. Stick around to the end for While I’m Still Here – a beautiful goodbye for NIN’s finest work since 1994’s The Downward Spiral.

_ FABIAN MALABELLO

Many have suspected that the bookish Will Sheff was bullied at school as he buried his head in literature and soaked up their tales. This may well be true but it is not the full picture as Sheff uncovers when he trawls back through his life during the mid-80s, growing up in his hometown of Meriden, New Hampshire. It is this era of his life that makes up the inspiration for The Silver Gymnasium with some surprising results.

The greatest strength of Okk er vil River has been Sheff ’s lyrics and he certainly doesn’t disappoint this time around. The point of difference for The Silver Gymnasium is that it has none of the stripped back and weighty ballads that form many of the highlights of the band’s back catalogue. The journey through song of Sheff ’s hometown is a more vital affair, which is probably the best way to reflect on the revelry of youth.

On The Balcony has the kind of chorus that could see it plastered all over radio such is its sugar levels. Pink Slips is more circumspect but no less appealing; Stay Young is celebratory and when Sheff tells you on All The Time Every Day ‘when you could do so much you do … fuck all’ you can’t help but buy in.

The Silver Gymnasium has moments of regret and loss but it is triumph and hope that permeate during this walk through the small town of Sheff ’s youth. This is an album chock full of earworms.

_ CHRIS HAVERCROFT

MILEY CYRUS Bangerz Sony

In the ugly aftermath of Sinead O’Connor ’s open letter to our dubious heroine, which warned not to let anyone make her feel that her sexuality was more valuable than her talent, there was a common sneering response: ‘Talent?’

This isn’t a sneer I can join in on.

Bangerz too rarely requires it, but Miley Cyrus has a hell of a voice, best in evidence on the rambling melodicism of the opener, Adore You. It elicits a quiet optimism, which Cyrus immediately sets about undoing with a pair of bland party anthems - We Can’t Stop recycles a melody from Jessie J and every ‘throw your hand in the air’ cliche from 1990, and the bratty SMS would sound dated even if it didn’t involve Britney Spears.

Unsurprisingly, there’s a hashtag song title, the Prince-lite #getitright. Surprisingly, it’s not terrible. There’s enough talent here (the winningly odd 4x4, a countrified club banger, points to what a distinctive Cyrus record might sound like) to suggest she may leave the world more than just another tawdry debate about exploitation.

But there’s too much cynicism and calculation to think that’s likely.

_ CHARLIE LEWIS

BABYSHAMBLES Sequel To The Prequel EMI

When discussing The Libertines v Babyshambles a friend recently stated, ‘No-one’s ever said my, that Pete Doherty’s career is on an upward trajectory’.

Which is true, while Doherty’s heroin-fuelled escapades seem to be, fittingly, like crack to gossip rags and TMZ, they have rarely proven conducive to good music on Doherty’s behalf.

It was therefore a surprise that Sequel To The Prequel didn’t follow the trajectory of Doherty ’s career. Namely, upside down in a backstage toilet covered in shit.

The songwriting is clever and catchy.

Bright vocal melodies disguise poetic, dark and funny lyrics; a reminder that beneath Doherty’s pockmarked exterior lies a competent lyricist.

The raw guitar tracks take an almost naïve approach towards twanging away through the stylistically diverse songscape, and the band gels in a way that denotes competent musicianship and the excellent production talent of Stephen Street. Choruses are this album’s highlight, especially Nothing Comes To Nothing; while the journey through genre characterised by dub track, Dr No, showcases the band’s originality, as well as the surprising malleability of Doherty’s slurring vocals.

And for the last time, it’s pronounced ‘Dockerty’.

_ SHAU N COWE 14

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MENTAL POWERS Pro Bono

FRANZ FERDINAND Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

Badminton Bandit

Domino

After being quiet on the recording front for a good couple of years into their existence, local difficult-topin-down-when-it-comes-to-musical-style combo Mental Powers turned into a extremely productive bunch. Pro Bono is their third full studio album and second on vinyl/digital download, again for an always versatile label in Badminton Bandit.

This time Mental Powers have abandoned their sometimes difficult listening improv style for more structured, rhythmic and even melodic songs.

While frequently impossible to figure out what instruments are actually being played, this album is filled with unusual sounds spread thickly over often incredibly catchy beats, making this a record that can both be listened and danced to.

Recording with Brendan Jay might have something to do with the album being more accessible then its predecessors, or it’s simply the band’s ability to always come up with different sounds. On that note, hopefully we see both Jay doing more production for local bands and Mental Powers keep making exciting music.

Here’s a scary thought. Some of the people going to Amps this Friday have been going every weekend since 2004, when people still listened to Hot Hot Heat and a black president was just something that happened on 24. This album is for them, and only for them.

RFRWRA is a litany of sexless, dr y irrelevance, coasting in neutral on disco struts so half-heartedly turgid that not even the band seem convinced it was a good idea to bother with them.

Stand On The Horizon puts up a decent fist of being worthwhile (it sounds like The Specials!), but heck, it’s a lonely thing in this bunch, especially when Alex Kapranos starts hallucinating that he’s an animal about seven minutes later.

I hate this album. I hate the fact I’m typing this sentence. And I hate you, Franz Ferdinand, for turning up so late to the party that you’re incredibly early to another one you weren’t even invited to. I don’t live in that house anymore, your jacket looks like crap and there is no way I am railing dexies with you again in your Daewoo in your mum’s driveway before we taxi to the city, so don’t ask.

_ PREDRAG DELIBASICH

DRAKE Nothing Was The Same

_ ALEX GRIFFIN

HAIM Days Are Gone

Young Money Records/Warner

Polydor/Universal

On the gorgeous Connect, Degrassi’s most famous alumnus quotes an old flame as saying ‘You can be whoever you want, even yourself’. It’s a key line, because this seems to be something Drake struggles with. When he sings (beautifully, as it happens) about his various contradictions and romantic wrongdoings on Furthest Thing it’s not clear if he’s confessing or bragging. Regardless, one wonders how many times he can return to that subject and expect us to care.

Drake’s never been a thug, but he bristles at any implication he’s soft, hence the belligerence of Tuscan Leather and Started From The Bottom. But naming a song Wu Tang Forever which contains (save for a sample of It’s Yourz) hardly a mention of the hip hop royalty and instead delivers another moody come on does nothing for his cred.

Drake’s emphasis on biography over storytelling can be narrowing. If he keeps producing records this good (and it is really good; soulful and hooky and pleasing from top to bottom), few heads could find much to complain about. But they might wonder why a man of his talent and insight never attempted anything grander.

This week’s flavour of the month comes from LA in shape of a debut album by newcomers, HAIM. Comprising of three sisters, the band has been “on radar” for some time and now finally have a product upon which they will be judged.

The sound the Haim sisters produce if stripped bare would easily be categorised as folkish pop, not far away from the usual singer-songwriter territory. Yet, on this massively overproduced album they’ve gone for an extremely synthesised ‘80s pop sound. Strangely, live they have a classic two guitars, bass and drums line-up, but those instruments are barely audible on the studio recordings.

It’s hard to see the reason for such move, apart from a deliberate decision to treat the recordings differently from live performance in order to appeal to a wider audience. In any case, the songwriting is immaculate, arrangements and vocal harmonies top notch and most of the songs are catchy as, which makes Days Are Gone an interesting hybrid of styles that simply seems to work well.

_ PREDRAG DELIBASICH _ CHARLIE LEWIS

ARCTIC MONKEYS AM

KARL SMITH Kites

Domino

LittleBigMan Records

These Sheffield lads have always dealt with sex of one k ind or another, whether it’s the drunken hook ups of Whatever People Say I Am… or the cold sweat infidelity of Humbug. But never have they made an album as completely about desire – and, while we’re on the subject, as sexy - as AM. Where previous Arctic Monkeys records sparked, AM is content to smoulder and smoke.

From the bass heavy strut of Do I Wanna Know?

AM locks into a swaggering groove, diverging briefly for the melancholy ballad, No 1 Party Anthem and the Lou Reed soul of Mad Sounds.

AM manages a neat duality; infused with longing, it’s strangely unromantic. Only one character professes to actually be in love, and our narrator immediately tells her to ‘snap out of it’. The feline Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? is the most successfully seductive song about a failed booty call you can imagine. The most uncomplicated words of devotion AM offersthose of the closing I Wanna Be Yours - belong not to Alex Turner, but punk poet John Cooper Clarke.

Still, the dark, yearning fantasy pervading AM makes it Arctic Monkeys most cohesive record. It’s also their best.

_ CHARLIE LEWIS

With a catalogue that has spanned a couple of decades, Karl Smith was championed

by John Peel and all the while remained an anti-rock star figure. Having fronted bands such as Thermos Cardy, Sodastream and Lee Memorial, the birth of his first child gave him the confidence and impetus to release aan album under his own name.

Kites finds the well-travelled singer comfortable in the surrounds of his home studio.

When the sounds of Smith’s faithful instrument (the guitar) was likely to wake the little ‘sleep thief’ in the house, he took to writing portions of Kites on keyboard which shaped much of the album. While organ and keys are prominent in songs such as Glass Eye, there is still enough discordant guitar to give the album some weight.

After Mr Morrison is probably the most unique tune that Smith has recorded to date. With enough brass to make the Polyphonic Spree uneasy, Smith mixes obtuse melodies with harmonies that would have been at home around the Manson Family campfire during a five minute stretch that wraps more ideas into one song than some do during a whole full-length.

Smith has lost none of his pop smarts with a collection that is unnervingly more complex than would be thought at first listen. Kites is one album that any an artist should be happy to put their name to.

_ CHRIS HAVERCROFT

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AMORPHIS After The Flood

Amorphis

of this mix are not the only new additions that received the general nod of approval. It is the ability of the six-strong outfit to truly shed their skin and defy all odds by breaking away from the lyrical pattern they had stood by for their entire career.

For the last 22 years, every opus released by Amorphis has retold tales from the Kalevala – an epic poem native to their homeland and widely taken as a defining literature in establishing the Finnish national identity. Although the piece has served them well, it was now time for the band to stray from this pattern and bring their own stories to life.

Amorphis are back.

With an original lyrical journey penned by This is an unusual statement, considering they never parted ways or stopped creating music. long-time collaborator, Pekka Kainulainen, drummer But it is the consensus of a majority of fans and critics Jan Rechberger says it is a welcome change for alike following the release of their 11th album, Circle. Amorphis.“When you deal with certain kinds of things An release that reveals a darker and heavier long enough, you feel the need to change something,” sound from the Finnish band, the focus on further he says. “I don’t know if there’s any more interesting orchestration and bringing the guitars to the forefront stories left in that book (Kalevala) for us to use. It’s

For the first time in their 23-year history, Finland’s Amorphis are finally touring Australia. Off the back of the diverse new album, Circle, drummer Jan Rechberger talks to JESSICA WILLOUGHBY ahead of their show at Capitol on Wednesday, October 16.

good to have something else. Pekka was the guy who was interpreting our lyrics in the past. He is an amazing person, with his knowledge of Finnish mythology and magic and stuff like that. It was kind of good to get him to write his own story and his own point of view on this folklore. I think it came out really good; it’s multidimensional. I hope we can continue with him in the future.”

Opting for an original story is not the only change Circle brings for Amorphis. Basically producing their last few releases themselves, Rechberger and company brought in producing mastermind Peter Tagtgren (Celtic Frost, Dimmu Borgir) to add his polish this time around.

The band also decided to avoid the hustleand-bustle of their hometown Helsinki and go to the land to record. Splitting their time between Petrax Studio in Hollola and their own studio, 5K, the whole process was more relaxed – according to Rechberger.

“This time we went to a countryside studio to do the drums, so it was relaxing to sit back for four days and record and see what’s working and what wasn’t.

Nobody was going anywhere. If we record at Helsinki, it’s always busy and everyone needs to go home and see their families or whatever. It always feels interrupted. It was really a good idea to get away.

“After we did the drums, we came back to the city to our own studio in downtown Helsinki and recorded all the rest of the material. That was also a nice choice, because in your own studio you can do whatever you want and be as long as you like. We also went to another studio to record some old vintage organs and grand piano. We even recorded some keyboards in a church. There was a flood of different environments in this recording and I think it shows.”

Busby Marou

BUSBY MAROU Marou Am I

Queensland’s Busby Marou have just released their second album, Farewell Fitzroy, and are touring nationally, hitting the Fly By Night on Saturday, November 30. JOSH FERGEUS speaks with Jeremy Marou.

“We toured so much last year,” Jeremy Marou says. “We love it.”

Marou is one half of Busby Marou, the Rockhampton duo who broke through with their self-titled album and hit single, Biding My Time, in 2011.

“I think we needed a song off that first album to do well and get us out there,” he reflects.

“It got a lot of mainstream airplay which was important for us to sell this album and tour it. When we first chose the song we thought it was perhaps a bit slow, a bit of a love ballad, but I guess now we look back and know it’s been great for us. It’s set us up to tour and sell tickets and without airplay and without people connecting to a particular song it’s hard to tour, it’s hard for bands to make money.

“That song, for us, is the one that put us on the map and it’s a favourite. Although we might get sick of playing it sometimes, it’s been good to us and people still love listening to it.”

Their second album, Farewell Fitzroy, has just been unleashed on Australian ears. The duo recorded the series of songs with Nashville producer, Brad Jones, well known for his work with artists such as Missy Higgins and Justin Townes Earle. “It was different, it was very different,” says Marou. “Comparing it to the first album where we tracked everything individually and everything was tracked perfectly; with this album we went into the studio and recorded it all live all in one room. We did say we wanted the sound we get at our live show on an album and that was one of the big reasons we chose Brad, he can record live very well.

“The good thing about Brad is, it’s good having a muso as a producer. He changed the structure of a lot of songs, put in bridges and chord changes. He played a big part in that whereas in the first album that was up to Tom and I to do off our own back. I didn’t agree with all of the things he did and we changed a couple of the songs after when we got the masters back, but that’s just how it works. In terms of learning stuff and the whole Nashville experience, it was a lot of fun and we learned so much.”

Asked what reaction he expects Farewell Fitzroy will receive, Marou is up front. “We’ve definitely got expectations. Tom and I want to keep doing music full-time. In order to do that, the album has to sell; it has to get a lot of airplay. We want a song that charts, we want the album to chart, to go gold at least.

“That has a lot to do with signing with Warner as well. The first album was just ours. Our family bought it. Our expectations for this album are a lot higher than the first one. We feel confident about it, all the feedback we’ve got so far has been very positive and if we can go out there and do a cracking tour and display what we’ve got then that will give it a bit of a boost as well. There’s definitely some big expectations that we have for the album and if we meet them we meet them and if we don’t we go and do another one.” www.xpressmag.com.au

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Together A l o n e Panics frontman Jae Laffer is touring in support of his debut solo album, When The Iron Glows Red, hitting Mojos on Thursday, October 24, and the Astor Upstairs on Friday, October 25. BOB GORDON checks in with the singer/songwriter.

While he’s both at home and in the driver’s seat as singer/songwriter for The Panics, Jae Laffer arrived at the decision to do a solo album as not only a step forward for himself, but for his muchbeloved band.

“I just thought in my head if anything ever comes up where I feel like I need to do anything to reinvigorate my situation in any way it’s nice that I’ve got it there,” he reflects. “When you’re in a band for a long time you meet so many people along the way, who might go, ‘we should write a song together’ or they might want to play some music with you. So it’s

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also just a nice excuse to bring some friends together that I’ve wanted to work with.

“But it was more a reaction for me. Our last record, it took a while to put together and I struggled through some of it. I think I really just wanted to make that decision about what the future holds for me musically and I got very scared of the idea that it would ever start cruising along or just reach a healthy plateau and that was it. For me it was like, ‘what do I do to stir the pot up again?’

“It was first and foremost from a creative angle, proving to myself if you take all the music business stuff out of it can I sit in a room and test myself by writing a whole bunch of songs real quick?

Can I make it without compromising with anyone, play a whole heap of the stuff and produce it myself and all of that kind of thing?”

Taking note of songwriting heroes such as Bob Dylan, Paul Kelly, Bruce Springsteen and John Lennon, Laffer decided to back himself and record what has become When The Iron Glows Red. The songs themselves dictated, in part, the solo route. Panics bassist Paul Otway joins in and elsewhere there

are contributions from Angie Hart (co-vocals on To Mention Her) and The Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, who lent ideas and encouragement to Leaving On Time.

“As soon as I had a couple songs written I knew that I should probably do it myself,” Laffer says. “I think because if it was a Panics record I could already tell how it was gonna go, what the process would be and what everyone would add. It’s not a million miles away from Panics-style stuff, so part of me was like, ‘I don’t really need to take these in for the treatment the boys will give them’ it’d be nice of the band do something completely different next time and I’ll take these - it’s a personal kind of record anyway - and deal with it myself.

“I felt that early on and like anything in life time’s short and I just felt excited by the prospect.

And when you get that shiver up your spine you got to think that’s healthy for all involved. My band and anyone around me are only going to be thankful if I’m giving off a good energy, so it felt good.

“I’m also really aware that it’s not like a ground-breaking record, it feels quite traditional, but a part of me felt like it was something I could do for myself. I just felt like backing myself and being

in a studio and making all the decisions. Sometimes you’ve got to stand back like a painter would and do something from start to finish on your own. It’s very good for your soul to know that you can do that. . It’s energising, that’s how I know it’s the right decision. I feel like I could do it again next week.”

As Laffer says, the album isn’t a million miles away from The Panics, which in itself shows an artist who is confident to be himself without the need to showboat. He’s comfortable in his shoes, but is just, for now, trying on a different pair.

“It’s a hard one to explain because obviously you just kind of follow your nose and do what you do and you’re happy to get a song at all,” he says. “I guess once it felt that there was still that Panics flavour in there rather than avoiding that, it felt good to me to just kind of claim it. It’s always going to be like that and you realise you’re proud of the sound you’ve created anyway.

“It’s an accurate description of me; what I’m about, the kind of subjects in the songs, the way I’ve done it. It kind of feels good to go, ‘I’ve done it all’, really. You’re really laying your heart on the line.”

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Sami Shah

GET YER HA HAS OUT

Beat the hump day blues tonight, Wednesday October 9, with the latest iteration of the monthly comedy showcase, HaHas At YaYa’s. Adam Peter Scott pulls MC duties while brilliant Pakistani comedian Sami Shah headlines, with support in the form of Sean Woodland (Sydney), Sean Conway, Emmet Glynn (Ireland) and Ross Vegas. Doors open at 8pm, tickets are $15 through ticketbooth.com.au, $20 on the door.

THE LUDOVICO TECHNIQUE

Noted Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi will be dropping into Perth as part of his first ever Australian tour, performing as part of the 2014 Perth International Arts Festival. Described as ‘A pianist with rock god tendencies,’ Einaudi is probably best known to local audiences for his film score compositions, which include Black Swan, The Intouchables and J. Edgar. He will perform at the Perth Concert Hall. Head to perthfestival.com.au for more info.

AN UNCOMMONLY GOOD IDEA

The good folks at Northbridge art space Paper Mountain want to turn some of the existing sublet studio spaces into The Common Room, a large shared space for creative types that might not necessarily have to cash or need for their own studio or office.

The space will include large central tables, smaller work desks, free wifi, plenty of power points and a library and woodworking shop. In addition, local designer A Good Looking Man will be designing the furniture and fittings. Of course, such an ambitious undertaking isn’t cheap, so Paper Mountain have launched a Pozible campaign to help underwrite the undertaking, with all the attendant incentives and rewards one might expect, including a heap of goodies from previous Paper Mountain exhibitions, publications and shows.

Head to pozible.com for more details.

2 Guns Little Fanfare - Karlee Rawkins

KARLEE IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS

Linton And Kaye Galleries Subiaco plays host to Sky World, the newest exhibition from New South Wales artist, Karlee Rawkins. This colourful collection of birds and their nests draws more on the iconographic and archetypal than any semblance of biological reality and asks us to examine our relationship to nature both in actuality and in more ephemeral cultural and spiritual ways. It runs from Thursday, October 17 until Thursday, October 31. For more information, go to lintonandkaye.com.au.

ROOFTOP RETURNS!

One of the coolest elements of the summer arts season, Rooftop Movies returns to the top of the Roe Street Car Park from Halloween Night, Thursday, October 31, with a screening of the excellent Swedish vampire flick, Let The Right One In. After that, the usual summer of cinematic excellence continues, with old favourites and new gems being played under the stars. Two new wrinkles have been added this year: Tuesday is now Choose Day, when Rooftop will exclusively screen films chosen from the staggering number of suggestions the public have sent in since last year, including The Big Lebowski, Donnie Darko, Dirty Dancing, Mean Girls and Blade Runner.

Meanwhile, Sundays are dedicated to Family Matters, with all-ages fare such as The Princess Bride, Teen Wolf and Spirited Away. Go to rooftopmovies.com.au for full details.

2 GUNS

Border War Directed by Baltasar Kormakur Starring Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Edward James Olmos, James Marsden, Paula Patton, Bill Paxton Stars Mark Walhlerg and Denzel Washington are clearly having a blast playing off each other in between the flying lead and spurting blood that punctuates this cheerfully old-fashioned action caper.

Wahlberg’s Stig and Washington’s Bobby Beans are small time criminals whose plan to rob a bank holding the ill-gotten gains of Mexican drug lord Papi (Edward James Olmos) goes awry when it turns out they’re both working undercover - Beans for the DEA, Stig for Naval Intelligence. A minor misunderstanding that results in Stig shooting Beans is largely forgiven when Stig’s commanding officer (James Marsden) tries to kill him and keep the stolen cash for his own purposes, and both realise that the money they stole doesn’t belong to Papi, but to a much more dangerous entity whose representative, played by a gleefully evil Bill Paxton, has no trouble slaughtering all and sundry in his quest to recover the loot.

Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur - he directed Walberg in the middling Contraband - wears his genre influences on his sleeve. 2 Guns takes place in the same mythical Tex-Mex borderland previously explored by the likes of Walter Hill and Sam Peckinpah; indeed an early scene where live chickens are used as target practice is a direct nod

to the latter’s Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid. Beneath the snappy patter and macho posturing there’s a cynicism at the heart of the whole thing. Every institution is corrupt; every relationship, personal or professional, is suspect; and every character’s survival depends on their ability to measure the angles and calculate the odds.

That subtext doesn’t overpower what is, on the surface, a fast moving, stylishly mounted buddy movie, though. Washington and Wahlberg have charisma to spare; Washington, in particular, effortlessly impressing as the confident and competent undercover operator. There’s noting too original going on here, but the fun comes not from being surprised by innovation, but seeing how well Kormakur and company embrace the tropes of the genre. It all ends in a flurry of bullets and explosions, as is only right.

In a strange way, 2 Guns impresses because of its resolutely mid-brow ambitions - with the bulk of theatrical releases being either low budget indie fare or hyper-budgeted tentpole extravaganzas, there’s something admirable for a work that simply wants to entertain its audience without reinventing the rulebook or breaking the bank. Both of the film’s stars have shown a certain affinity with this kind of fare - Washington made a bunch of movies with action auteur Tony Scott before the director’s untimely death - and with a fairly obvious sequel hook left dangling at the end, there’s a chance we’ll be getting a continuation of 2 Guns down the track.

If not, just enjoy it for what it is: a solid, dependable, unpretentious actioner. _ TRAVIS JOHNSON

Gravity Diana

DIANA

Drop Dead Diva Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel Starring Naomi Watts, Naveen Andrews, Cas Anvar, Charles Edwards, Geraldine James German filmmaker Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment, Downfall) and a solid cast do decent work with this story of the relationship between Princess Diana (Naomi Watts) and Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews).

Hirschbiegel’s film is not a full-fledged biopic, per se; the film is focused on Diana’s relationship with surgeon Khan following her separation from Prince Charles. Additionally, the royal family is kept at a distance, often spoken about but never seen, which means the film is a kind of microcosm, focusing on two people trying to live a private life while large events swirl around them.

And therein lies the key problem with the film: it’s a largely conjectural affair. With Diana in her grave and Khan a notoriously private man - one of the key reasons for the failure of their relationship, the film repeatedly states, is the camera-shy Pakistani doctor’s issues with dating the most famous woman in the world – we can’t know the exact details of their time together. Screenwriter Stephen Jeffreys is given the unenviable task of filling in the gaps – unenviable because any deviation from verified truth is an easy target for critical vitriol.

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‘Vitriol’ is perhaps too light a word to use here, though; the reviews for Diana have been beyond scathing, and frankly it’s difficult to see why; while far from a perfect film, it’s a serviceable enough piece. Watts, always an eminently watchable screen presence, manages to inject some inner life into a figure who, despite her level of media exposure, remains largely enigmatic, and Andrews is stolid but still charming as Khan. Problems arise when the film occasionally lurches across the line into melodrama, and the repetitious nature of the Khan/Diana relationship (the film is, by and large, a series of twoperson scenes as the pair dodge public attention and try to grab some quiet time together), but they’re not insurmountable. Hirschbiegel gets good mileage out of a number of thematically significant elements, such as the brown wig Diana repeatedly uses to disguise herself and, given what we know about the princess’ eventual fate, the ever-present paparazzi become, in this text, threatening harbingers of trouble to come.

Diana does falter in the last act, which glosses over Diana’s relationship with Dodi Fayed, the better to keep the focus on its central pairing, and frankly much of the flab could be trimmed to the betterment of the piece. Still, you get the impression that the film’s biggest sin in the eyes of its critics was even attempting to tell a story about such a controversial and iconic figure - doing so left it open to attack from Diana’s admirers and detractors alike, with the result that it’s unlikely to find an audience of any kind. _ TRAVIS JOHNSON

GRAVITY

Lost In Space Directed by Alfonso Cuaron Stars Sandra Bullock, George Clooney Mission specialist Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is having a bad day at work. Set adrift after a catastrophic debris impact on the space shuttle during her first space walk, Stone and fellow astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), must somehow survive in the unforgiving void and return to earth.

Director Alfonso Cuaron (Children Of Men) approaches a genre of science fiction that has not had many adherents since the heady days of the space race, that of the real life space disaster.

Jettisoning the standard sci-fi tropes of chest bursting aliens or killer cyborgs from the future, he instead presents a realistic scenario (save perhaps for the fantasy of a fully-funded NASA) in our everyday world - albeit 2000 kilometres up, in the cold, dark, hostile vacuum of space.

Cuaron produces a tightly planned piece of action cinema, keeping the audience on the edge of their seat for almost the entirety of its 90 minute running time. Revelling in the harshness of vacuum and the strange cruelty of Newtonian physics, he creates an entirely plausible world to threaten the hapless astronauts. Given entire freedom by zero gravity, the camera is rarely locked in place, instead revolving around the subjects, increasing the sense of disorientation. Often these revolutions shift into a

POV shot emphasising the sense of claustrophobia caused by the suit or by a capsule interior. The next moment it will be swept away, placing the astronaut as a mere dot against the black. The special effects further enhance this sense of immersion, continuing the utter believability of this vision. There is a very visceral sense to the destruction that actually made audience members flinch.

As for the stellar, although minimal, cast, Clooney has a lot of fun as veteran space-jock Kowalski, bringing a sense of derring-do combined with practised competence to the character. Ed Harris, as the voice of Mission Control, provides a welcome subtle reference to previous space movies, The Right Stuff, Apollo 13 and Armageddon.

Ultimately though, this is Sandra Bullock’s show.

Creating yet another in the proud science fiction tradition of strong female characters, Specialist Stone runs the gamut of emotions, allowing Bullock to stretch her acting range. It is often easy to forget that Bullock actually has an Academy Award (The Blind Side), and instead remember her for fluff roles like Miss Congeniality. This is a timely reminder of her talent, and one that hopefully garners a nomination in the coming year.

Gravity is the sort of movie that should maintain a place in science fiction fandom. Carefully thought out, meticulously crafted and beautifully realised, it completely captivates the audience with its sense of place and its relentless pacing. Unlike so many recent blockbusters it is spectacle not at the expense of plot or character, but rather on equal footing. Breathtaking cinema. _ DAVID O’CONNELL #youshouldreadxpress

Metallica: Through The Never

METALLICA: THROUGH THE NEVER The Memory Remains

Directed by Nimrod Antal Starring Dane DeHaan, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield When a 20 foot statue is erected on stage during a number, only to be knocked down at the conclusion of said song, then can it be argued you have become an overblown parody of yourself? Apparently not, if you are Metallica. Theatricality has been a core virtue since the band’s inception and finds perfect expression in Metallica: Through The Never.

Directed by Nimrod Antal, who brought us the visually stunning yet flawed Predators, Through The Never again plays to his strength of visual style.

In addition to the concert we get the tale of the roadie, Trip (Dane DeHaan), as he is sent on a simple assignment during the show. However, as the show progresses, the walls of reality crumble and an apocalyptic vision walks the city (either Sutter Cane is Metallica’s lyricist, or the pill Trip takes before the concert was not purely medicinal). This thin plot is purely a vehicle for a nightmare vision of urban warfare and decay that Antal revels in. Initially the cuts to this storyline distract from the concert footage. However, by the time of the riot sequences, the drumbeat of Metallica melds perfectly with the imagery of the police beating batons on riot shields. From here the two flow seamlessly together, the growl of Metallica fuelling the mayhem on the streets.

To balance this dark urban fantasy, the actual concert is just as delightfully ostentatious.

Poised on a stage that was seemingly designed

by Cenobites to maim in spectacular and intricate ways, the band members stand encircled by the audience. Each member faces out onto one section of the crowd, save for Lars Ulrich who sits squarely in the middle of a mosaic of monitors, demonstrating their competent showmanship. James Hetfield howls his lyrics with the usual gusto; Kirk Hammett plays some of the most beautiful guitars known to man with obvious glee and Robert Trujillo spider-crawls across the stage in a strangely compelling parody of movement. Trujillo’s physicality is used to great effect for his introduction, as he crouches, playing in a circle of amplifiers, the sound visibly pulsing around him.

These little special effect enhancements further meld the fantasy elements into the concert, corroding the barrier between the real and unreal, each member getting a quick but equally surreal moment. Between the computer enhancements, lighting, graphics, pyrotechnics and physical effects, no effort is spared to drown the audience in spectacle, and they obviously appreciate it in kind, responding with raw energy and emotion.

Consistently in danger of collapsing into pretentiousness, Metallica: Through The Never somehow manages to stay the course and produce a riveting concert experience. Buoyed by a strange alchemy formed by the director’s vision, the band’s impressive body of work and the sheer enthusiasm of the crowd, this one apparently does go to 11. _ DAVID O’CONNELL

See yourself? Tag yourself! Head to our Facebook

SUNDAY MUSIC Fremantle Arts Centre Sunday, October 5, 2013 Timothy Nelson And The Infidels entertained the crowd at the inauguration of this series of free concerts that will run every week from now until March 2014.

Photos by Matt Jelonek

Abby, Kara, Paul

Lucinda, Melinda, Jemimah

Matthew, Amy

Samantha, Luke

Tony, Ruth, Ian

www.xpressmag.com.au

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Brad Sherwood (right) with Colin Mochrie looking to stay on some groove where we both know what exactly we’re doing for a long period on stage; we’re trying to throw obstacles at each other to see how the other reacts to it, because that’s the fun of it.

It kind of goes counter to every other sport or artform.

You really always, when you think you should go left, try to go right and see where that takes you.”

Fans of the TV series should be familiar with the basic format of the stage show - although by its very nature, the show is anything but predictable.

“We have come up with a bunch of different games, some of which are specifically games from Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and then others are adapted for us to play because there’s only two of us and we don’t have a moderator. Sometimes we’ll give the moderating duties to the audience members or make them in charge of giving us a lot of information through the scene. So it’s sort of a hybrid, two man, live version of what used to have four people, a moderator and producers running the show. It’s really fun.”

As a special treat, Sherwood and Mochrie will be road testing new material.“Sometime after we get back from Australia we’re going to be shooting our second comedy DVD special,” Sherwood explains.

“So we may be trying out some new games while we’re in Australia for this new DVD, because we don’t want to do any of the same games that we played in the first one - so it should be scary!”

BRAD SHERWOOD Most Improvved

A veteran of countless improvisational comedy shows, including both the British and American versions of the television series, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Brad Sherwood is a man who always thinks on his feet.

Sherwood makes no bones about how much he loves improvisational comedy. Not for him the safety net of scripted performance; he needs the thrill of potential disaster to keep him interested.

“I do have an obsession with it,” he tells us. “Well, first of all, I have an obsession with making people laugh, sort of like how a vampire needs blood, and there’s something about improv that to me is more exciting than any other type of comedy, because you are literally only going out there with your wits and trying to synthesise all the information and trying to come up with something funny. And there’s pretty much nothing you could do that is more dangerous - it flies in the face of all other types of artforms where you’re practicing and rehearsing.”

Perth gets a chance to find out this month, when Sherwood and fellow Whose Line Is It Anyway? veteran, Colin Mochrie, bring their live show to town.

The pair have been working together so long, it’s understandable to think that they have each others’ Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood appear at The moves down pat by now.

Astor Theatre on Tuesday, October 15. Tickets are “Sometimes we do feel like we’re available through showticketing.com.au psychically linked,” Sherwood admits. “But the thing _ TRAVIS JOHNSON is we’re always trying to trip each other up. We’re not

EYES ON OCTOBER All Aboard The Pony Express!

Neon Pony

Calling All Crafters…

If you like sewing cute things onto other cute things, on Sunday, October 20, you’ll be able to get your arts and crafts on to your heart’s content at the Alexander Park Craft House open day. Textile-lovers both young and old will be encouraged to partake in a range of all-star crafts including felting, spinning, weaving, dyeing, hand and machine embroidery, rug making, quilting, embroidery and much more. There will be mini-workshops on the hour, locally-made craft sales, new skills, demonstrations, and even a sausage sizzle to keep your energy levels up while you craft away the afternoon. Even if you’re not a seasoned sewer, this full day of events will let you try your hand at some new activities, and maybe even find some new friends in one of the many craft groups presenting workshops. Kicking off from 10am and running until around 3pm, check out the Alexander Park Craft House open day at the Alexander Park Craft House, located on Clyde Road, Menora. For more information hit up apch.com.au.

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If shopping for hand-me-downs is the kind of thing that picks you up, then you’ll be pleased to know that leading local vintage label Neon Pony has announced its arrival to the top end of William Street in Northbridge. Neon Pony has set up shop next to the eclectic William Topp and Fair Go Trading stores and, to celebrate, will be holding a fun-filled open day on Saturday, October 12. From midday, the fashionable folks will be feeding and watering guests with delicious food and beverages. Local musos Luke Dux, Will Stoker, Ben Prodo (Pat Chow), Dylan Szymkow and Andrew Meredith (Thee Gold Blooms) will also be peddling some sweet tunes. In true vintage style Neon Pony will have a few vintage sellers, including Enid Twiglet, trading on the path in front of the stores. If that’s not enticing enough, all visitors will go in the running to win a voucher to spend in store simply by attending. For more info, hit up neonpony.com.au.

Pretty In Pink

If getting your fashion fix while helping a good cause sounds like a dream come true, you won’t want to miss this year’s instalment of the annual The Pink Gig charity event. In the fight against breast cancer, their mission is to raise funds to help change the lives of people who have been affected by the disease in Western Australia and assist in finding a cure for the future. For the first time, the event will feature a massive fashion show which will see models strut down the runway in Scarlet Fashion’s new summer range, luxurious lingerie and swimwear

by The Bra Bar, and jewellery by George and Charlie.

There will also be demonstrations of Living Colour and Matrix Hair products, as well as silent auctions, raffles, giveaways, goodie bags, a photo booth and more. The Pink Gig will be held in the beautiful Akoya Suite, upstairs at The Breakwater, Hillarys Boat Harbour, from 7pm ‘til 11pm on Wednesday, October 23. Tickets are available from a number of Perth retailers – to find your closest, hit up facebook.com/ pages/Pink-Gig-Perth. #youshouldreadxpress

VISUAL ARTS

Reactions - Paintings And Photographs From Athens 2010 - 2013: Nyisztor Studio An exhibition by Elspeth Geronimos and Greg Woodward that looks at the changing face of Europe’s oldest capital city. Runs until October 14.

Go to nyisztor.com.au for details.

Recent Acquisitions Your Collection: Art Gallery of WA Many of the more recent additions to the gallery’s extensive collection are on display until October 27.

Go to artgallery.wa.gov.au for more.

Bright Lights, Small City: Buratti Fine Art A showcase of new works from nascent Perth creators curated by Karys McEwen, this exhibition runs until October 12. More info is available at buratti.com.au

Va n G o g h, Dal i and Beyond - The World Reimagined: Art Gallery of WA The third exhibition in AGWA’s MoMA Series encompasses works from Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Richard Long, Frida Kahlo and more. The exhibition runs until December 2. Go to artgallery. wa.gov.au for further information.

alltervatn: Feast Your Eyes Outpost The inaugural exhibition at the new art space in Fremantle’s old Myer building features a selection of stunning aerial photographs by Jarrad Seng. The exhibition runs from October 9 - November 3.

Face Up: Wanneroo Library and Cultural Centre An exhibition of large scale portraiture by Adelaideborn artist Daniel Connell. It runs until October 13.

Go to wanneroo.wa.gov.au for further information.

Gemstones And Millstreams: PS Art Space This new body of work by Jo Darvall explores multiple facets of the West Australian landscape. It runs from October 11 - 22. Go to psas.com.au for further information.

Cavalia: The White Big Top This magnificent equestrian event combines spectacle and acrobatic skill reminiscent of Cirque Du Soleil with jaw-dropping displays of horsemanship and derring-do. From December 4 - 29. Head for cavalia. net for more.

FESTIVALS Lavazza Italian Film Festival: Cinema Paradiso, Luna On SX From October 10 - 23, experience the finest cinema Italy has to offer. Go to italianfilmfestival. com.au or lunapalace.com.au for films and session times.

17th Japanese Film Festival: Hoyts Carousel and The State Library Theatre Presenting a mix of classic and contemporary Japanese cinema, including Gatchaman (which you may remember as Battle Of The Planets or G-Force), Arrietty, Children Hand In Hand and The Grand Master. From October 23 - 27. Go to japanesefilmfestival.net for more information.

Proximity Festival: PICA 12 intimate performances created for an audience of one. One artist and one audience member alone in a space together. Runs from October 23 November 2. For details, head to proximityfestival. com.

Better Left Unsaid: Fremantle Arts Centre Acclaimed hand-lettering and typography specialist, Little Paintings, Big Stories: Lawrence Wilson Art Gemma O’Brien, explores how the shape and form Gallery of the written word can transform its meaning. Runs Runs until December 14. until November 17. Go to fac.org.au for details.

Lab Partners Showcase: Outré Gallery Original paintings and prints by San Franciscobased husband and wife team, Lab Partners. From November 1 - 30. Go to outregallery.com for more.

F r e m a n t l e Fe s t i v a l : Va r i o u s L o c a t i o n s , Fremantle Over 100 events across two weeks, encompassing a staggering variety of forms and media. Runs from October 25 - November 10. Go to fremantle. wa.gov.au for details.

THEATRE/DANCE/ PERFORMANCE Tales From Outer Suburbia: Spare Parts Puppet Theatre Inspired by Oscar-winning author Shaun Tan’s brilliant children’s book. It runs until October 12.

Go to sppt.asn.au for further information.

Hola Mexican Film Festival: Cinema Paradiso This celebration of south of the border cinema runs from November 14 - 24. Go to holamexicoff. com for more.

Bruce: The Blue Room Theatre A new two man, one puppet show by Tim Watts and Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd that runs from November 19 - December 7. Go to blueroom.org.au for more.

Trampoline: The Blue Room Theatre This dark comedy by Shane Adamczak explores what happens when a shiftless dreamer actually meets the girl of his dreams. It runs until October 23. Shoot over to blueroom.org.au for session Little Women The Opera: The Geoff Gibbs Theatre, times and tickets.

ECU WAAPA presents the Australian premiere of When The Lights Go Down: Phoenix Theatre The latest effort from Dark Psychic Productions is American composer Mark Adamo’s opera, adapted a backstage drama set in a Las Vegas cabaret club. from Louisa May Alcott’s timeless literary classic.

It runs from October 25 - November 9. Tickets are The season runs from October 12 - 19. Bookings available through TAZTix.com.au. through waapa.ecu.edu.au

MUSIC

Mine: Linton And Kay Galleries This exhibition by West Australian artist Matthew McVeigh draws on works he created while working as an artist in residence in Tom Price for three months. It runs until October 22. Go to lintonandkay.com.au for more.

Nosferatu - Symphony Of Horror: Perth Cultural Centre A Halloween screening of F.W. Murnau’s seminal vampire film, with live musical accompaniment

by MotET (Music Of The Electronic Times). Film begins at 8pm on October 31, entry is free.

The Beaufort Street Festival: Beaufort Street, Mt Lawley On Saturday, November 16, Beaufort Street is transformed into a Mecca of music, art, culture, shopping and food in a celebration of the inner city spirit. Go to beaufortstreetfestival.com.au for details.

To have your performance, exhibition or cultural event listed, get in touch via

localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au

PERTH BLUES CLUB 21 Up An institution in Perth blues and indeed WA music in general, the Perth Blues Club celebrates its 21st Birthday this SaturdaySunday, October 12-13, at its spiritual home of the Charles Hotel.

In 1992 a group of blues enthusiasts started the Perth Blues Club, settling on Tuesday nights at the Charles Hotel in North Perth as a weekly home for blues players, enthusiasts and anyone interested in the genre. Indeed, the Perth Blues Club has always extended a warm welcome to all comers, the genre itself is like a warm, friendly handshake as it is.

It’s not always been an easy road in that time, but in 21 years only one Tuesday night has gone without its shot of blues. The Perth Blues Club is nationally renowned as a supporter of great up-and-comers, those who have tasted

international success and lesser-known icons who still love taking to the stage.

At the heart of this is the defining, indelible fact that the PBC is a not-for-profit, community-focused club. And it’s run by volunteers.

“Personally, I am very proud of what the club has achieved over the past 21 years,” Club President, Rick Steele, said in a statement this week.

“We have provided a weekly gig on what is a quiet night for musos and nurtured fledgling talent while offering quality entertainment and we look forward to an even longer tradition of doing the same.”

Congratulations to the Perth Blues Club on its coming of age.

Rick Steele

Mark Constable

Diamond Dave & The Doodaddies

John Meyer

Chelsea Gibson

Ivan Zar

_ BOB GORDON

The celebrations go a little something like this...

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13

Doors open from noon and the celebrations start with a garden party at 1pm in the beer garden, with Ivan Zar, Mark Constable, Pete Romano, Darren Adair, Fiona Heath, Rick Steele, Bob Patient, Wayne Freer, Marc Gordon, and Elliot Smith and more special guests. And there’s still more acts to be announced.

The main band room hots up at around 7pm with Harp Attack - the first showcase of two of the club’s most popular special event nights.

‘Diamond’ Dave Billings and his band, The Doodaddies, will provide backing for Gary Collinson, Ivan Zar, Howie Smallman, Chelsea Gibson and Jorma Mereilennan.

A celebration of the guitar in the Festival Of The Fret kicks in around 9.45pm. Andrew McIllroy has assembled John Meyer, Gary Cox, Lindsay Wells and a throb of bass players Alan Dawson, Bob Greaves and Peter Oats with Frank Shinell on drums, gunning it until midnight.

The PBC wipes the sleep from its eyes from 10am with a Second-Hand Musical Trade Fair - instruments, amps, effects and music memorabilia will be bought and sold.

Live music re-commences in the beer garden just after lunchtime and will move into the band room from 4.30pm. The day will celebrate the launch of the PBC’s Steel Blues CD and the performers will be those featured on the album.

Bob Patient www.xpressmag.com.au

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SHORT COURSES There’s an array of short courses on offer as we head into the fourth term of 2013. Short courses are an excellent way to learn new skills; test the waters to see if it’s something you’d like to study on a longer term basis, or just to get those creative juices flowing. We chat to some lecturers and tutors at Fremantle Arts Centre and SAE about just a snippet of the courses on offer. Don’t forget to check out the courses available at UWA Extension and Central Institute of Technology too.

DEBORAH HASLAM

very popular with beginners and young professionals, as it gives them a chance to unwind and be creative after a hard day in the office.

Which courses are the most popular?

Weekend courses are great as we offer one or two day ones that are accessible to people who don’t have the time to commit to a nine week course. We Deborah Haslam finished her degree in Fine Art have great studios and such wonderful tutors, that (Printmaking) at Curtin University in 2012 and is they are each popular on their own merit. I guess now a practising artist, mainly drawing and text the key courses are Painting, Ceramics, Jewellery based but also incorporating video and mixed and Print, but we offer a wide selection of courses media work. She is also the Courses Coordinator including photography and music and these are always booking up. at Fremantle Arts Centre (FAC).

ARTIST / COURSES COORDINATOR AT FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE

What’s the ethos behind the courses at FAC? We try to make the courses accessible to people of all skill levels from absolute beginners to students who want to practice their skills and progress in their abilities. The idea of the courses is not only to offer great hands-on teaching but to create a welcoming atmosphere where people can feel comfortable in what they’re doing no matter what their skill levels.

We have some wonderful artists teaching here who are passing on their knowledge about their particular area of expertise and encouraging students to try new things and explore their creative potential.

Which course is your favourite?

This is a tricky one; I’m passionate about printmaking so I’m always keen to see what’s going on in the Print Studio, but I did one of our one-day jewellery courses recently, and although I had never tried it before, I was hooked. Ceramics is also an area I have never done in my own practice, so my next class is definitely going to be this – I love learning a new technique.

How do you keep expanding your skills?

I go to a lot of exhibitions, which is important for both my own personal practice and as part of my job, as it’s a great way to see what is out there and who’s doing it. It’s also practice and time to put into What kinds of people attend?

We have people from all over Perth as well as it, which is always a challenge when working full Fremantle. Students sometimes travel from Albany time, but I’m very lucky to work in such a wonderful to do courses (especially the weekend ones). There creative environment. is a great mixture of the more mature age students, some of whom have been coming for over 20 years, Some of Haslam’s work can be viewed at: but we also have art students, young professionals, deborahhaslam.com teenagers and of course kids during the holidays. In a regular weekday class you can always find a good To get an overview of the courses on offer at cross section of people. Our night courses tend to be Fremantle Arts Centre, head to: fac.org.au.

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Deborah Haslam

#youshouldreadxpress

ALISTER YIAP

MATHIEU VALTON

JEWELLERY DESIGN ARTIST Alister Yiap graduated from Curtin University of Technology in 2007 with a Bachelor Of Arts (Jewellery Design). Since graduation, his designs are available for sale in stockists around Australia.

He also teaches the popular, Contemporary Silver Jewellery short course at Fremantle Arts Centre.

Is jewellery design something you’ve always wanted to do?

I’d always been handy with Arts and Craft and became interested in jewellery in grade 10, when I was given a Swarovski Crystal Cross for my 16th birthday. I started researching into crystals and jewellery and ended up making jewellery pieces for all my friends. When it came to course selections I decided a Bachelor Of Arts (Jewellery Design) was going to be my calling.

What’s been the high point of your career so far?

Working on the Miss Universe: National Costume head band and belt buckle was a great achievement in 2011 and taking out the Fine Details Category during the 2010 Mercedes-Benz Western Australian Fashion Awards.

The Contemporary Silver Jewellery course looks fantastic. Is it a hard or easy discipline to learn?

You’d be surprised! There are some simple techniques which the basics can be learnt, but practice does make perfect.

ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCTION SAE Audio and Electronic Music Producer Lecturer, Mathieu Valton (also known as Hykus and Jump The Gun) completed a Diploma in Music Industry (Technical Production) at SAE Institute in 2005.

He went onto work at the ABC before ending up at SAE - firstly as a late night supervisor and Alister Yiap. Pic by Donna Ferreri then a full time lecturer. He’s created ARIA chart topping singles with Timmy Trumpet and Chardy Advice to those hoping to follow a similar path? and collaborated with the likes of Foreign Beggars, Hard work and perseverance, Rome wasn’t built in a Freestylers, TV Rock, Stafford Brothers and The day. Keeping active in the community and knowing Potbelleez. He gives us the low down on SAE. when the next jewellery exhibition or competition is, allows you to be aware and make sure you apply or Tell us about the Electronic Music Production enquire about how you can be involved.

Course at SAE. Well the EMP course is mainly focused on making Check out Yiap’s work at: www.malachialisteryiap.com music with computer software. Ableton Live is the software we use throughout the course, but I also do The Contemporary Silver Jewellery short course a basic introduction to Logic and Reason. My biggest runs on Saturdays from October 19 to November pet hate from a musician/producer/engineer/student/ 23 at Fremantle Arts Centre. Head to fac.org.au for pope/unicorn is when they say, ‘That program is shit, more information.

I am a **** software user till I die etc’ and they hate on everyone else who doesn’t use the same software.

They won’t go far in their career because every software has its limitations. The way I see things is you have to look at software as an instrument because certain ones do things better and faster!

What does the course entail?

We will cover some basic tasks to build up your skill base and when you are ready we can move into some projects of your own!

How do you keep expanding your skills?

Always be drawing, I enjoy drawing designs or things I find inspirational. Also keep your opportunities open, don’t pigeonhole yourself to any one particular thing. Design is design, whatever you are designing.

Create your own opportunities.

www.xpressmag.com.au

Ceramics course at Fremantle Arts Centre

Mathieu Valton aka Hykus enrolled. They all have one thing in common though and that’s a passion for music.

How to make the leap from studying music production to creating chart-topping tracks?

Well a good start is writing music and finishing records (laughs), but my success has been to always What skills do you learn? research, experiment with new genres, learning their The EMP course covers in-depth technical audio skills, structures and methods, but most of all never to theory and creative units in: sampling, audio editing, give up following my dream. synthesis, sound design, recording, live performance, basic mastering, industry perspective, copyright and Advice to those wanting to follow a similar path? much more - all in a six month course - basically just Download your program of choice, get some piano touching the sides. lessons and come do my course! Not only will I ruin your appreciation for much, but you will have joined Who attends? a family of liked minded musos and nerds as a SAE I have been blessed with the students who have Alumni member. passed in all areas of SAE, students who have dropped out of high school as early as 16 gaining scholarships Listen to Valton’s production work at: soundcloud. and blitzing the special entry requirements, to com/hykus students old enough to be my granddad. The majority of them hold a 9 to 5 job and some students sacrifice For more info about the short courses at SAE, head their monthly spend (eating mie goreng) to stay to: sae.edu.au

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#youshouldreadxpress

O

THI

GL

ROBERT DELONG

K N

B AL

ROBERT BERT

Washington EDM artist Robert DeLong may have been something of a world-beater this year, but he’s mainly just having fun. BOB GORDON reports.

Since his Just Movement album dropped in April, Robert DeLong has seen his music light up territory after territory. When he looks back on 2013, he will indeed be able to say that, to quote the huge Global Concepts single, he made people ‘fucking dance’.

“It’s been amazing,” he reflects. “It’s cool to see it filter throughout the world and seeing what regions respond to it. It’s exciting. It’s great after spending a lot of time on these songs alone in my room (laughs) to see them affecting a lot of people and open doors for me to be able to travel, which is awesome.”

That time in his room was well spent, even though just how long DeLong worked alone on those songs seems to have become a bit of a blur.

“It’s hard to say exactly, because a lot of these things were written, maybe even five years ago initially, but they’ve changed a lot since then, through performing them and spending time just evolving them in the studio.

“Global Concepts, that song was written about two-and-a-half years ago, whereas other songs were written, as I say, about five years ago. The whole process was pretty much me, alone, working on them for a www.xpressmag.com.au

couple of years then last year I went into the studio with this guy Mundy and we finalised everything over two harrowing weeks (laughs).”

It’s a concept that has indeed gone global, but DeLong had no such visions of success when he began working seriously on his music. Eventual performance, however, had a huge influence on what he had already created.

“Initially I had no ambitions,” he notes. “I was just writing songs and it was fun to record stuff. As time went on and I started performing, I guess, I started to realise that I could do something with this, that it was a viable use of my time. I started performing about two-and-a-half years ago and it was a bit different than it is now, but that was when I also realised that I wanted to integrate the dance element a lot more into my performance and subsequently I went back into the studio and re-thought a lot of those songs which were not even dance songs to begin with.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 28.

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he says. “They let loose and have a good time, dance and whatever. My performance is pretty high energy and if we have a good sound system we try to destroy everything as much as possible (laughs).

“It’s pretty consistent in that sense, especially if people have an expectation of what I’m going to do. Sometimes I think that if people have no idea of what I do and they see me live a lot of times they just kind of stand there and watch because it’s pretty different, I guess. Which sometimes is disconcerting to me (laughs) but it’s all good.”

DeLong started out on drums, playing in indie bands. His first instrument remains an important component in his music, not just in terms of beats, but his overall musical view.

“I’ll always approach things first and foremost from a drummer’s perspective,” he says.

“I think that helps a lot for me, especially early on when I started getting into dance music because it was initially really easy for me to identify rhythms and create them.

“Beyond that, I guess, as a drummer a lot of times your job is to just be the guy in the background overseeing everything, making sure that everything is holding together and trying not to get in the way, but provide a basis for the music. I think a lot of drummers become producers because of that.

They see everything from the global perspective, as opposed to, say, guitarists who just think about every note they can play (laughs).”

DeLong has become infamous for his use of handsets and controllers in his music. When it comes to creating an instrument that previously didn’t exist there’s no one to teach you and no rules to follow.

“I’ve always been a tinkerer and curious and it just kind of evolved,” he says. “Now for me it’s fun because it’s a way to reappropriate old technology and recognise that I’m probably better with a gamepad that I am with a keyboard (laughs).

“It’s fun to be able to find new tactile ways to interact with music. At this point, as long as it’s digital information in your computer, it doesn’t matter Robert DeLong what you’re doing - as long as you’re interacting with it you can have any means of creating or interacting “I reformed them that way to make everything with the sound. For me it was just kind of a fun thing, kind of coherent so it would be a much more fun but it’s evolved to be a big part of my show.” experience, I guess, to see me live.”

It’s one thing knowing people are listening to your music in other countries; it’s another going and performing it to them. For DeLong, the reactions » ROBERT DELONG around the world have been interesting. » SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1, STEREOSONIC @ “Generally I find that if it’s the right CLAREMONT SHOWGROUNDS environment people have kind of the same reaction,”

TODD THE GOD

FINALLY FAMOUS

Detroit hip hop artist, Big Sean, who recently came to global attention with the track, Control featuring Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica is heading to Perth for the very first time for a show at Capitol on Sunday, November 17. His career though, has been steadily on the rise over the past two years, since the release of his debut album, Finally Famous, which was followed up by Hall Of Fame; plus there’s the recent Grammy nomination for his collaboration with Kanye West on Mercy. Support acts to be announced soon, but get your tickets now from Oztix.

ILP WARP/INERTIA London singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Kwes’ debut full length ilp delivers on the promise of last year’s acclaimed EP Meantime, with an experimental take on electronic soul music that brings to mind the likes of James Blake. ilp is an immersive listen, best enjoyed from start to finish. Album opener Purplehands is a fitting introduction, with its soaring electronic production and evocative chorus, ‘Red and blue makes purple/ Crop circles baring the fruits of our love’. Kwes’ warm, un-showy vocals lend charm to his insular, abstract lyrics, which are often addressed to an absent or unaware romantic interest.

Early single Rollerblades wistfully remembers a childhood crush, with memorable lines like, ‘Hearing your eyes say to me/ Come rollerblade with me’ alluding to Kwes’ chromesthesia (a condition where he experiences sounds as colours) before the song melts seamlessly into Cablecar, an eight minute epic in three progressively dark parts.

Kwes shows off his incredible musicianship on the shape-shifting instrumental, Hives and ilp’s most melancholy number, Broke.

However, the highlight is B_shf_l, which appeared on Meantime, but is more than welcome here - an upbeat electro-pop number that closes the album on a high.

IT’S A NOSAJ THANG

Yarhkob

LA producer/DJ Nosaj Thing is heading back to Australia to promote his sophomore album, Home, released earlier this year. An innovative mix of hip hop and electronica, his acclaimed debut album, Drift, topped numerous ‘best of’ lists, and on his latest offering there’s some quality soundscapes and collaborations with Toro y Moi and Kazu Makino (Blonde Redhead). Catch him on Friday, November 15 at The Bakery with special guests, Kit Pop, Sable and Mei Saraswati. Tickets on sale from Now Baking.

» JOSHUA HAYES

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DYNAMICS DFA RECORDS/[PIAS] AUSTRALIA

» HAYLEY DAVIS

BASS HEAVY LOCALS

Yarhkob, The Weapon Is Sound (playing as a sound system), Freqshow and Child’s Play are all getting together for a night of live bass and electronica at YaYa’s on Thursday, October 17. Expect original hip hop from Child’s Play, some heavy dub from The Weapon Is Sound, plus drum’n’bass from Freqshow and Jake Steele, who’s playing under the Yarhkob moniker. Get down early as tickets are only $8 on the door.

Most exciting moment behind the decks?

DJing in the Smirnoff Tent at Splendour In The Grass and having some meat-axe dude dancing right in front of us on the raised stage. He had a huge Southern Cross tattoo and tribal tats. I got on the mic and bagged out his crap ink in front of everyone - it was exciting ‘cause I was pretty sure I was gonna get stabbed or bashed, for the rest of my set I was on edge.

Raddest DJ trick?

Watching Hansom scratch - he is awesome, in fact everything he does behind the decks is epic, but together we’re just magic, you’ll have to come witness the fitness!

HOLY GHOST!

Disco has made a triumphant, albeit unexpected, return of late. Daft Punk’s groovy Random Access Memories surprised the world with retro, chart-topping hits like Get Lucky and the ‘founding father of EDM’ Nile Rodgers has had an epic comeback working with the robots, as well as producers Avicii, Disclosure and David Guetta. And now, in what is arguably an even better incarnation of ‘70s era pop, Holy Ghost! have released their second album Dynamics.

Dynamics has all the signature sounds of a synthy, pop DFA record - cowbells and driving bass lines to boot. Thematically, it caters not for current dancefloor punters, but those of times past trying to find where they fit now, balancing adulthood with a yearning for those carefree years.

The album swings between driving, dance inducing tracks, Okay and Bridge And Tunnel (during which you will involuntarily click your fingers and move your head side-to-side because the funk is irresistible) and the rambling and reflective, I Wanna Be Your Hand and It Must Be The Weather - numbers that lull you into contemplation. Dumb Disco Ideas paints a picture in soundwaves of those late sunny afternoons with friends, dancing, beaches and bubble blowing.

The entire album is unashamedly joyous, not embarrassed by its resemblance of past eras or fearing claims of unoriginality. Listened to without paying much attention, the album can feel repetitive (ironically not so dynamic). But listener reaction seems to be drowning out the critics, with many professing their love for an album excellently produced and, just, fun.

New York house legend, Todd Terry is heading to Perth for a show at Geisha on Saturday, December 7.

In the late ‘80s, Terry was New York house music and the music he created over the forthcoming decade was considered as essential to the genre. During the ‘90s he bridged the gap between club tunes and commercial accessibility for his remixes for the likes of George Michael, Garbage, Everything But The Girl and Bjork and in the years since, he’s celebrated as one of the most revered figures in dance music. Mark the date in your diary as there’s no pre-sale tickets for this one.

Nosaj Thang

BEHIND THE DECKS

KWES

Todd Terry

Big Sean

Sosueme DJs

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL WITH SOSUEME DJS Best track to open and close a set with?

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Fresh Prince Of BelAir is always fun to start with; most people know the words to it, even the juvies. To finish we always love throwing down Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody; perfect song to play at the end of the night and hug your mates and have a sing-a-long.

Tools of the trade?

We make a bunch of mash-ups and edits in Ableton for our sets. When we play we both bring a USB stick each and link them across a few CDJ2000’s and go nuts. We don’t mind getting on the mic from time to time to say inappropriate things.

Favourite new track?

Not huge club tracks but we’ve been smashing the Lorde album, Team and White Teeth Teens stand out.

Best track to clean the house to?

The entire Jagwar Ma album - so, so, so good!

Weirdest tune you’ve ever played?

We’re pretty notorious for playing some weird songs.

We played the Disney Duck Tales theme song a while ago, the crowd had no idea what was going on, I also love playing old cheese ball R&B tracks like TLC - No Scrubs and Sisqo - Thong Song.

Favourite track to make out to?

Metronomy - The English Riviera is a great album to lay in bed to and get heaps smoochy with someone.

I have made sweet love whilst listening to the entire Flume album as well.

» SOSUEME DJS » SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 @ WELCOME TO THE VALLEY » BELVOIR AMPHITHEATRE

SALT NIGHTS OUT

Get More

HARLEM WEDNESDAYS When: Every Wednesday at Capitol from 9pm.

Ethos: A 1920s style speakeasy with a musical revamp.

Expect to hear: Trap and hip hop all night!

Next lineup: Get More, Genga, JS and Peter Payne.

Cool stuff: An array of special cocktails to make you regret going to work on a Thursday morning.

Attend if...: You like to dance, have a good sense of style and don’t mind drinking cocktails out of a jar.

» HARLEM WEDNESDAYS » WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9 @ CAPITOL #youshouldreadxpress

LOWER SPECTRUM GLOBAL APPEAL

Having just released his debut album and in search of fresh inspiration after months of world travel, Melbourne’s Lower Spectrum is relocating to Perth. ANDREW NELSON catches up with the man behind the music to discover the origins of his stylish brand of electronica.

Speaking to Ned Beckley - the self-effacing electronic producer better known as Lower Spectrum - a quote from Charlie Parker, the legendary American jazz saxophonist comes to m i n d, ‘Music is your own experience, y o u r t h o u g h t s , y o u r w i s d o m . I f y o u d o n’ t l i v e i t , i t w o n’ t c o m e o u t o f y o u r h o r n . ’ With the exception of the horn part, Beckley has followed this rationale to the letter. He started off being influenced by those around him and then packed his backpack and set off travelling the globe seeking inspiration for his music. “I travelled for six months around the world and predominately the whole album was made whilst I was travelling. I took a laptop, a bunch of mics and other things that I could carry with me and pretty much just put it altogether whilst I was travelling.”

The result is Little Appeal, a debut longplayer that shows the maturity of someone with many more releases under his belt and all through the album, the experiences of his travels are there.

Take Erasing Form, for example, “That song was predominantly produced while I was in America,” he recounts. “There were record stores that were the size of supermarkets; I managed to pick up loads of percussive vinyl that had really interesting African sounds and cowbells. So I came up with that rhythm and stretched it out from there.”

The ensuing track is a schizophrenic soundscape shifting from ambient beginnings to manic drum patterns, undercut by a memorable bassline.

Trentemoller

TRENTEMOLLER MUSICAL ENIGMA

Danish artist, Trentemoller continues to confound and refuses to be pigeonholed on his latest album, Lost. On the eve of its release ALFRED GORMAN chats to him in his studio in Copenhagen about his creative process and touring with his childhood idols Depeche Mode.

Speaking with a thick accent, it is obvious Anders Trentemoller has a lot to say about music – he is just, at times, hindered by language and gets tonguetied trying to find the right words. He is still based in Copenhagen, as he says, “It’s not a big, crazy city, and www.xpressmag.com.au

Lower Spectrum Estuary, however, was conceived thousands of kilometres away in Tuscany, Italy. “We managed to stay in a castle up in the hills. There was a winery there that we worked at that had a grand piano. I managed to record it with the mics that I carried around. It sounded amazing so it found its way onto the record.” The result is consequently a very different sound - epic pianos, soaring operatic vocals and sculptured drum beats.

To produce quality electronica of this standard obviously requires more than just a flash of inventiveness, it takes hard work and natural ability and Beckley seems to have in spades. Though not classically trained he has a knack of picking up anything and getting the right sounds out. “I can’t formally play any instrument,” he says casually when asked,“I just dabble with a lot of instruments and pick them up by ear. I can often just work my way around it to get the sound I really want.”

He’ll be showcasing his skills at Slanted & Enchanted at The Bakery on Saturday, December 7 as well as his upcoming live performance at The Bird to promote the album using sounds he’s literally built from scratch, “Sometimes I bring a harp into the live show which is pretty interesting,” he explains. “I built it when I was growing up in the country. There’s a harp guru there and we spent five days in the bush building it.”

» » » »

LOWER SPECTRUM LITTLE APPEAL OUT INDEPENDENTLY THROUGH BANDCAMP THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17 @ THE BIRD

it’s a close knit music scene.” While a lot of European musicians move to London or Berlin, Trentemoller says if he was to move it would be to New York City, “because of the whole music there, back to the ‘60s, The Velvet Underground, Talking Heads – a lot of the bands I really listen to. And despite being a very big city, it’s easy to get around.”

His unique brand of dark electronica and indie is very much in key with a lot of post rock and slowcore US bands, and his new album features several American vocalists. On this, his third album, his sound has progressed further, moving away from his electronic roots into producing music with the vision of performing with a band.

He’s had a chance to road test some of the songs, having just finished touring with Depeche Mode.“It was like a childhood dream come true, because Depeche Mode were the soundtrack to my teens. I’ve always loved the way Martin Gore could write these beautiful pop songs, but with a dark, melancholic edge to them. This was something that has always inspired me.”

Trentemoller certainly seems to have found his sweet spot on this latest album, with the perfect balance of light/dark, electronic/indie, instrumentation/vocals. He says when working on a new album, he never really knows where it will end.

“I really like if everything is open in the beginning. I kind of let the music demand which way to go. I start doing a lot of sketches of songs and very slowly through the process I start figuring out, ‘ok so this album is going to sound like this’. A lot of the songs ended up being very vocal based.”

The vocal tracks, he says, were written with specific vocalists in mind. After touring with Blonde Redhead, he was inspired to write Come Undone, for the amazing Kazu Makino. The Dream features Mimi Parker from Low. “It was very clear for me from the start, that this song could really fit her voice,” he says about Parker. “So it was actually quite nervewracking, approaching her to see if she wanted to work with me. It happened like this with all the songs, I had all these people in mind and just kind of asked them, and crossed my fingers. It was just lucky for me that all the artists said, yes! Maybe they could also recognise that these songs were written specifically for them.”

While Trentemoller plays 90 per cent of the instruments on the album, they play live as a five piece. “We are really hoping to come down to Australia. We haven’t had any requests yet, but would love to come back!”

» TRENTEMOLLER » LOST OUT NOW THROUGH IN MY ROOM/EMI 29

Deadline Monday 5pm. The Club Manual is a service to advertisers listing all DJs & Dance Music.

All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press. Email guide@xpressmag.com.au

AMPLIFIER/CAPITOL

WEDNESDAY 09/10

THURSDAY 10/10

Amplifier/Capitol – Harlem Wednesdays The Bird – Queens on the Deck ft. Nora Zion/Mei Saraswati/Jo Lettenmaier/Mama Cass The Brass Monkey – Victor The Brown Fox – Wednesday Night Salsa @ The Latin Lounge Captain Stirling – Lokie Shaw Club Red Sea – Cheek Gold Bar - Famous Wednesdays The Grand Central – Fiveo Groove Bar (Crown) – DJ Crazy Craig Leederville Hotel (upstairs) Kreem Leederville Hotel (downstairs) - Arena Party The Llama Bar – Akuna Club ft.

Yahtzle Mustang Bar - DJ James MacArthur P l aye r s B a r - Why Wait Wednesday? ft. DJ Ambadextrus Sovereign Arms – Jordan Scott The Village Bar - Village People Wednesdays

The Avenue – Jon Ee The Beat (downstairs) - Fantasy Thursdays The Bird – Hip Hop Kara”YO!”ke The Causeway - Xport Thursdays Club Bay View - Dj-Vi Son The Craftsman – Fiveo Eve Nightclub - Retro Thursdays ft. DJ Crazy Craig Flyrite – Thundamentals Kalamunda - Grizzly Leisure Inn - DJ Peta Malt - The Collective ft. Oliver Dollar Mojos Bar - Rufus Atlas Album Tour Mustang Bar - DJ James MacArthur Newport Hotel - Tiki Bar Open Mic Night

Yahtzle - Wednesday, October 9 @ Llama Bar

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FRIDAY 11/10 Air Nightclub - VIP Platinum Fridays Ambar - Tribe ft. District/ Force Majeure/ Jungle Shakedown Amplifier - Fridays Are Back The Avenue - DJ Lokie Shaw The Aviary - Paradise Paul/ Ben Sebastian/ Tomas Ford The Bakery - Vanity/ Vice Versa, Kites/ The Lake and the River/ Paper Walls Bar Orient - The Reggae Club The Beat (downstairs) – PLAY The Bird – Odette Mercy ft. Djs Bangers & Ash C5 – Residence ft. Bass Attics Capitol - Capitol Fridays Capitol (upstairs) - I Love 80’s & 90’s Club Red Sea - Awol 001 ft. Riot Class/ Mr Of The Carine – Jimmy Beats T h e C a u s e w ay – Aco u s t i c Sundowner The Como - Funadelic Fridays ft.

Funky Bottoms The Craftsman – Michael Brittliff The Deen - Student Night Empire Bar – Howie Morgan/ Matt Riley/Jordan Eve Nighclub - DJ Don Migi Flawless - Monarch Fridays Geisha Bar - 2013 Habitat DJ Competition Final Ginger Nightclub - Mondos “Feel

MUSTANG BAR

Bar 120 – Little Nicky/ Jordan Scott Beat Nightclub (Upstairs) CANVAS Beat Nightclub (Downstairs) Runaways The Bird – Human Xerox 3 Launch Brass Monkey – DJ Peta & Jewel The Brighton – Misscheif C5 Metro Freo - I Love 80s & 90s Capitol - Death Disco ft. Death Disco DJs Capitol (Upstairs) - Cream of the 80s The Causeway - House Party Club Red Sea – Fresh Saturdays The Como – Jay Lee Lloyd East End Bar – Home Flyrite - FΔMILY Flawless – Cube Geisha Bar – Habitat: Sharem Jey The Good Shepherd - Chocolate Jesus Groove Bar (Crown) - DJ Dan Leederville Hotel (downstairs) – Under The Arena Party The Library - DJ Victor / DJ Riki Lost Society - Chalk (indie/ hiphop) Metro City – EDM PRIME ft. Andy Moor/ Mobin Master Metro Freo – Metropolis Saturdays Newport – Karaoke Classic with Steve Parkin SATURDAY 12/10 Parker - Parker Saturdays Ambar - Japan 4 ft. Escue/ Bezwun/ Paramount – Felix/ DJ John / Jordan Philly Blunt/ Wish/ Blend Players Bar – LUXE Amplifier - Pure Pop Shape Bar – Jillionaire The Avenue - Jon Ee The Aviary – Paradise Paul/ Troy Tiger Lil’s - DJ Bojan/ Benjamin Sebastian/ Alex Koresis Divison YaYa’s – Arcadia All Nighter The Balmoral - Back To The 80’s

Good” Dance Party Gold Bar – Fresh Fridays The Good Shepherd – Throwback The Grand Central – Jay Mackay Groove Bar (Crown) - DJ Crazy Craig The Hyde Park - DJ Hages Lakers Tavern – Grizzly/ Merqury Library – Sneaky Mustang Bar - Swing DJ/ Cheeky Monkeys/ DJ James MacArthur My Place - Karaoke Newport - Karaoke Classic with Steve Parkin with DJ Tahli Jade/ Angry Buda/ Sardi/ Mr Phat Parker – Get Weird with Obey City ft. Zeke/ Manimal, Sable/ Sleepyhead/ Lightsteed/ Standard/ Lemon Lime/ Biddis Paramount – Flyte/ Dj John/ Jordan Players Bar - Hooch The Queens - Reuben Rocket Room - Howlers ft DJ Frank N Bean The Saint – Jinx Project Shape Bar - Homegrown FreQs 2013 Sovereign Arms – Ang3l Tiger Lil’s - Paul Malone/ Adam Kelly/ Alex Koresis Villa - Rufus Atlas Album Tour YaYa’s - ACE ft DJ Pup

METRO FREO

Obey City - Friday, October 11 @ Parker

SUNDAY 13/10 The Aviary (Rooftop) - Aviary Rooftop Sessions ft. Ben Sebastian/ Zel /Troy Division The Bird – Before Sunset ft. Ben M/Craig Hollywood/Reece Walker & Emerald Cabal Empire Bar - DJ Victor/ DJ Riki Eve Nighclub – DJ Slick Groove Bar (Crown) - DJ Crazy Craig Lakers Tavern - DJ Hages Mustang Bar - DJ Rockin’ Rhys Newport - DJ Tom Drummond Rosemount Hotel – The Get Down

The Saint - DJ Jon Ee/ Az-T The Queens – Fiveo & Mikeee

MONDAY 14/10 Mustang Bar - Triple Shots The Rosemount Hotel - Bada Bingo!

TUESDAY 15/10 The Bird – Barefaced Story Battle 2013 Heat Mustang Bar - Danza Loca Salsa Night

The Aston Shuffle

WELCOME TO THE VALLEY Rufus - Thursday, October 10 @ Mojos Bar and Friday, October 11 @ Villa

FT. BALL PARK MUSIC, THE ASTON SHUFFLE DJS, SAMPOLOGY & MORE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 @ BELVOIR AMPHITHEATRE

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See yourself? Tag yourself! Head to faceboåok.com/XPressMagazine

SHAPE

SWITCH

HORRORSHOW

MOJOS

THE CAUSEWAY

IN THE THIS WEEK Akuna Club ft. Yahtzle Wednesday, October 9 @ Llama Bar WAM S ong O f The Year Awards Night ft. Ylem & Dease Wednesday, October 9 @ Fly

By Night Oliver Dollar Thursday, October 10 @ Malt Thundamentals Thursday, October 10 @ Flyrite Rufus Thursday, October 10 @ Mojos Bar Friday, October 11 @ Villa Obey City Friday, October 11 @ Parker Spank! Party - Dirty Little Secrets Friday, October 11 @ Shape Oktoberfest In The Gardens Saturday, O c tober 12 @ Supreme Court Gardens Jillionaire Saturday, October 12 @ Shape Bunny Tiger ft. Sharam Jey Saturday, October 12 @ Geisha

COMING UP Akuna Club ft. Benson Wednesday, October 16 @ Llama Bar Yarhkob/The Weapon Is Sound/Freqshow/Child’s Play Thursday, October 17 @ YaYa’s Lower Spectrum album launch Thursday, October 17 @ The Bird Spit Syndicate Thursday, Oc tober 17 @ Newport Friday, October 18 @ Amplifier Sandro Silva Friday, October 18 @ Parker

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RTRFM’s Full Frequency Metric Halloween 15th Annual Perth Dance Presents: Broken, Beaten, Party Music Awards Scratched ft. Micah/Philly Thursday, October 31 @ Villa Sunday, December 8 @ The Blunt/Dart/Sardi & more Court Friday, October 18 @ Geisha Challenger Ready: Halloween Chic & Nile Rodgers N’Fa Jones Friday, October 18 @ The Friday, November 1 @ Ambar Sunday, December 8 @ The Manor Astor Theatre Saturday, October 19 @ Rainbow Nation ft.

Electric Vines Party, Swan Sneaky Sound System/ Looptroop Rockets/ Valley D i d i e r Co h e n / S a r a h Sunday, October 20 @ The Get McLeod/ Sun City/ Tomas Sage Francis Wednesday, December 18 Down, Rosemount Hotel Ford @ Villa Rene Lavice/Mind Votrex/ Saturday, November 2 @ Russell Square, Northbridge Mefjus Dim Mak presents Saturday, October 19 @ Villa Botnek Kid Mac At l a s D i v i n e 2 0 t h Wednesday, November 13 @ Friday, December 20 @ Parker Anniversary Party ft. Asta/ Mojos Bar Breakfest 2013 Boys!Boys!Boys!/DJ Yon Thursday, November 14 @ Jovi Thursday, December 26 @ Prince Of Wales, Bunbury Thursday, October 24 @ Friday, November 15 @ Belvoir Amphitheatre Parker YaYa’s Saturday, November 16 @ Salt On The Beach ft. De Mulder single launch Thursday, October 24 @ Settlers Tavern, Margaret La Soul Flyrite Tuesday, December 31 @ River Sunday, November 17 @ North Fremantle Booka Shade + Digitalism Indi Bar Friday, October 25 @ Villa Origin ft. Wiz Khalifa/A$AP Rocky R o k we l l & G r o o m Nosaj Thing Friday, November 15 @ The Tuesday, December 31 @ album launch Friday, October 25 @ Mojos Bakery Ozone Reserve Bar Big Sean Cuban Club ft. De La Soul/ The Hoot ft. Arms In Sunday, November 17 @ DJ Yoda Motion/ Escue/ Charlie Capitol Wednesday, January 1 @ The Chan, Standards Down & Flying Squadron Yacht Club Keymist/ Benny B Mr Grevis Friday, October 25 @ Ambar Friday, November 22 @ The Club Paradiso ft. Bag 10 Years Of Exit Records Rosemount Raiders & Yacht Club DJs ft. dBridge & SP:MC/Truth Saturday, November 23 @ Friday, October 25 @ Shape Prince Of Wales, Bunbury Wednesday, January 1 @ Salt On The Beach RTRFM’s Hotcakes Stereosonic Sunday, October 27 @ The S t J e r o m e ’s L a n e w a y Saturday, November 30 Velvet Lounge and Sunday, December 1 Festival ft. Cashmere Cat/ @ Claremont Showgrounds Earl Sweatshirt/ Four Tet/ Porter Robinson Jamie XX Saturday, October 26 & 27 Saturday, Februar y 8 @ @ Villa Todd Terry Saturday, December 7 @ Esplanade Park & West End, Technoberfest ft. Ben Sims/ Geisha Bar Fremantle DJ Qu Sunday, October 27 @ The Slanted & Enchanted ft. Jon Future Music ft. Deadmau5/ Court Hopkins/Le1f/Kelpe/Lower Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/ Phoenix/ Hardwell Spectrum & more Chet Faker Thursday, October 31 @ Saturday, December 7 @ Sunday, March 2 @ Arena The Bakery Joondalup ARTBAR

Horrorshow. Pic by Matt Jelonek

HORRORSHOW FEELING REAL...

Marksman/Jimblah/HORRORSHOW @ Mojos Bar Saturday, October 5, 2013 “It’s been a long time between drinks,” Horrorshow rapper Solo told Fremantle punters during the last WA set of the Sydney hip hop duo’s King Amongst Many tour. Not that Horrorshow has been quiet – they’ve just been busy working on their acclaimed new album, which recently debuted at number two on the ARIA Charts, and touring Australia and Europe with the Hilltop Hoods – but the ‘sold out’ sign on the door of Mojos early in the night suggested that fans were thirsty to catch the group in action again.

Local rapper Marksman Lloyd opened the night and delivered a well received set drawn from his two EPs, Lions On The Beach and The Bridges In Spain, that ended by him jumping into the crowd to perform his single, Dreamers.

Adelaide rapper and producer Jimblah took to the stage next, joined by vocalist Georgia B for the duration and opening with Situations from his 2011 debut, Face The Fire. Touring to promote his new album, Phoenix, which drops this Friday, the tracks he previewed suggest it could be one of 2013’s most interesting Australian hip hop releases. Jimblah also proved himself to be an assured live performer, moving from the microphone to the turntables and even to a drum machine, where he closed his set by tapping out the beat to Fireproof, one of the new tracks off Phoenix.

Horrorshow kicked their set off with the

first three songs from King Amongst Many – Human Era, Free and the title track, which Solo prefaced by noting he often gets asked about the group’s name in interviews. He explained that “it’s a word from a book (A Clockwork Orange) meaning good, awesome… fucking grouse,” before launching into King Amongst Many with its “are you feeling, are you feeling, Horrorshow?” sing-along refrain.

Their debut The Grey Space was touched on, with performances of All Summer Long, Choose None, and No Rides Left, which was introduced by an extended keyboard solo from Horrorshow producer and DJ Adit, while Jimblah returned to the stage for his guest appearance on Own Backyard.

Horrorshow then proved why they are far from a typical Australian hip hop act, choosing to peak their set with two of their most emotive and reflective songs, the family-history recalling Down The Line (Mana’s Song) and the lost-love tribute Walk You Home. “Even four years later, it still means so much to see so many people singing these words,” Solo noted during the latter tune’s chorus.

Mojos intimate atmosphere perfectly suited this sort of performance, although it less so for what came next, as Horrorshow finished with crowd favourite In The Rain, which Solo dedicated to late local hip hop legend Hunter, who he recalled meeting at Mojos a few years earlier. The crowd was electric as the song built up, and when the beat finally dropped it seemed like every punter in the small venue was jumping.

Horrorshow briefly left the stage before returning for a decidedly more laidback, but just as entertaining, encore performance of Dark Star Shine.

All up, it was a show that left the crowd feeling, well, real horrorshow.

» JOSHUA HAYES

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ELEVENTH HE REACHES LONDON APACHE

Eleventh He Reaches London - Photo By Denis Radacic

Apache - Photo by Rachael Barrett

The Floors/Black Birds/ Antelope The Rosemount Hotel, Saturday, October 5, 2013 Newcomers to the Perth rock scene, Apache, launched their first EP on Saturday night. Formed from the ashes of baby-faced rockers The Tumblers, this five piece came together in late 2012, adding guitarist Jake Chaloner (The Brow Horn Orchestra, James Teague) to their lineup. In this time Apache wasted no time forging an definite style and sound, with the musical maturity of artists who know each other and their instruments.

Channeling New York garage rock vibes, with an occasional kick of swampy blues, Apache’s set was short, sweet, and to the point. Opening with the dirty sounds of heavy rock tune Salem, the boys immediately bring to mind bands like Arctic Monkeys, The Vines, and even some of homespun heroes Tame Impala’s retro psychedelia. A brooding, moody sound quickly became the trademark of the evening, combining hard rock with lyrical vocals that was both angry and melodic.

These vibes continued throughout their set, with songs such as Punch A Hole In The Sun containing the right combination of catchy melodic phrasing and driving guitar riffs. Impressive also was the title track to the EP, Creatures. This is a song with all of the components there: a catchy chorus, driving guitar and bass riffs, and a very solid good old-fashioned rock

beat that got the whole crowd up and moving.

Changing the pace with blues-infused jam Wine, lead singer Timothy Gordon twisted and drawled over some very tasty guitar licks. Of all of the songs in the set, Wine gave the boys the stamp of musical authenticity, standing out as a song that did more than just channel the styles of other bands.

Moving through the set Apache kept the audience guessing with continual changes in pace, that gave their set a real enjoyable energy: something that even much more established bands struggle with.

Supporting Apache were a number of stellar local bands with a wealth of musical experience between them. Kicking off were instrumental five piece Antelope, followed by hard rock trio Black Birds, whose floating vocal melodies made a really interesting juxtaposition to their otherwise hardened sound. Veterans of the WA music scene, The Floors, were the final support, in a fabulous set of loud and dirty, bluesy swamp rock and roll that threatened to upstage the final act. The Floors’ particular brand of (self-titled) ‘jungle stomp rock’ always gets their crowd worked up, and tonight was no exception.

It is clear that Apache haven’t been around very long, and that they are still building up a bank of songs to fill a show with (about their new song Calcified, singer Gordon admitted ‘we wrote it this week ‘cos we didn’t have enough material’). That said, their sound is much more mature and focused than is usually expected at this stage in a career, with a surety that comes from musicians who obviously know each other. Keep an eye on what these guys can come up with in the future. Top notch. _ LEAH BLANKENDAAL

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving/ Naik The Bakery Saturday, October 5, 2013 Eleventh He Reaches London gathered a fine selection of purveyors of alternative sounds at The Bakery to launch their new album Bãnhãs. The product of four years of creative labour, including time spent recording in Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving keyboardist Ron Pollard’s Perth studio, Bãnhãs is not so much a departure from their 2012 release, The Good Fight For Harmony, but rather a continuance and maturation of their unique sound.

Bursting into the sonic spectrum to begin the evening was expressive polymath Naik aka Sam Price. If you have not yet witnessed him live, follow the gaze of the awed onlookers and get amongst it. With a versatile approach to performance, incorporating electric guitar and a vast array of triggered samples, this master craftsman of modern beat driven music was joined by Brody Simpson on the drums to kick off the night. With a hurling of the drumsticks and brief farewell, Naik was gone.

The hugely eclectic Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving, who are certainly not afraid to make you feel a little uncomfortable, took their places on The Bakery stage. TTOL are capable of coming together to create moments of absolute elegance. They are everything that they advertise themselves to be; part thoughtful, part cinematic and part insanity. Walls of controlled feedback in place of vocals, paired with a high physical

energy which was at no point matched by the audience, made for a somewhat chaotic set. Having said that, fans of this boundless feast for the masochistic ear would have gotten exactly what they were looking for.

At Eleven They Reached The Stage and introduced themselves with heavy, clean and grim chords accompanied by strong growling vocals. Each progression seemed perfectly composed to inspire a deep emotive response which, for a large part of the set, was a beautiful dread. For a relatively meek looking group of gentlemen, the pain being expressed seemed raw and real; a genuine intention which was extraordinarily refreshing considering the global music industry landscape. Between the moments of intensity, a melodic and heartfelt tone passed the lips of the lead singer creating spine-tingling contrast and telling a dynamic story of betrayal and a search for redemption.

The band respond to each other with pinpoint accuracy, and a sequence of dual guitar harmonies were used to precise energetic effect.

Eleventh He Reaches London are capable of great versatility within their interesting, post-hardcore niche and having recently completed a tour of Australia and Europe, it seems their sound has found a home in the hearts of heavy music lovers far and wide. Their ability to communicate and articulate the often jagged nature of the human experience into an auditory collage is an art possessed by few. The very title of their album, originating from Old English, translates as ‘bone house’, a fitting title for the music that unabashedly dissects the darker aspects of humanity. _ JAMES HANLON

CLANCY’S FREMANTLE

Tonight, Wednesday October 9, catch Chet Leonard’s Bingoteque! Friday, it’s Bobby Alu, Saturday sees Brendan Gallagher of Karma Country share the stage with David Craft, and on Sunday, October 13, witness the fun frolicking of The Zydecats.

SWALLOW BAR Blindspot

THE BEAT

This Thursday, October 10, DJ Safari will be dropping his special brand of tropical reggae beats from 7pm. Then on Sunday, October 13, experience the idiosyncratic Gypsy jazz of Voudou Zazou from 5pm.

This Friday, October 11, Blindspot showcase their new album, Drink And Laugh, with support from Nerdlinger (NSW), Scalphunter, The Bob Gordons and Alex The Kid. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $12, This Saturday, October 12, catch the WA heat of or $15 with a CD! Later, all girl rock band The Black the Global Battle Of The Bands, featuring Room For Reason, Crisis Mr Swagger, To Hell With Honour, Fridays will take you into the wee hours.

The Mondays, Hyte, Here Come The Cavalry, The Black Jackets, Gone By Morning, Hearts For Stones, Silence To The Left, Tempest Rising and Hello Darling. Doors open at 7.30pm and entry is Thursday, October 10, Rufus play Mojos Bar. $15. Sunday the Railway hosts the massive metal Catch them playing new material from ATLAS for two-stage show that is The Rottenning, featuring the first time, including singles Take Me and hype Animistic, Pyromesh, Facegrinder, Chainsaw machine #1, Desert Night. Supports on the night Charlie And The Chocolate Cha Cha Factory, Bayou, include Motez and Crooked Colours. Presale Got Sharks?, This Other Eden, Pending The Silence, ticket sold out long ago! Very limited walk up Amidst The Broken, BORC, 2nd Great Dying and tickets are $22 at the door on the night from Medusa’s Gaze. Entry is $15 and doors open 1pm.

8pm sharp.

RAILWAY HOTEL

MOJOS

ROSEMOUNT HOTEL

This Wednesday, October 9, catch Michael Triscari, Ricky Green and Daniel White, and Thursday night it’s the Parma United Party with live bands and cheap parmas! Friday night it’s the massive Darkwave two-stage show with LYTS, Seams and more, while Saturday night New Zealand sensation Katchafire play a sold-out show with special guests Common Kings (direct from Hawaii!). Doors open 8pm each night. Head to rosemounthotel.com.au for ticket info.

YAYA’S

Thursday, October 10, Midnight Boulevard are supported by Santa Muerte, Monicans and Mckaysenberg. Friday, Ol’ Bouginvillea launch their debut album, Bulk Choice. Special guests include Bayou and Troll.

Saturday October 12, Choking Stanley are joined by fellow rockers Hello Colour Red and Calectasia, as well as The Itch!

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SWERVEDRIVER The Rosemount Hotel Thursday, October 3, 2013

The last time Swervedriver hit our fair shores was in 2011 at the Perth International Arts Festival, which broke a 12 year drought after their final pre-break-up show in Margaret River at the end of 1998. Fortunately, they never broke up with us – they just love Perth. Having waited so long for what was ultimately a disappointing show at PIAF, Swervedriver fans would have been delighted to hear the news that they would be back so soon to perform their legendary debut album Raise in its entirety.

Quad-box-stacks to the roof gave the Rosemount the small club vibe that the venue deserves, and also had everyone wondering just how damn loud this show was going to be. After all, Swervedriver were Bobby Alu always one of those rare bands that had the capacity to flatten the all-important hairs in your ears whilst making the ones on the back of your neck stand bolt upright.

Walking on stage to a warm welcome, Earlier this year, Bobby Alu graced the stage at The Indi Bar and played to a full house, this Saturday, the mood was lightened by drummer Mikey Jones October 12, he is back with his full length album, appearing in an uber-tight singlet reminiscent of the Take It Slow. Get down early to ensure a piece of floor late Mel Smith in National Lampoon’s European Vacation space on the dance floor. Tickets are $15 on the door. (based on the average age of the crowd, that should Sunday, the underground legend that is Brendan make sense). The band ripped straight into the album, Gallagher, front man for Karma County is joined by backed by inoffensive visuals projected at the back of The Wishers. the stage (not exactly Pink Floyd – well, maybe in ’67).

INDI BAR

Swervedriver Photo by Mike Wylie

The sheer urgency of the first three songs – Sci Flyer, Pile Up and Son Of Mustang Ford – has survived the years and maintained the almost naïve excitement that comes with recording a debut album. When they took the foot off the pedal to ease into Rave Down – a particular highlight – you started to realise (if you didn’t already) the influence that these guys had on dynamics in the early ‘90s.

Perhaps a little disappointing was the muddiness of the mix, which did affect the clarity of the complex interplay between Adam Franklin’s Jazzmaster and Jimmy Hartridge’s Les Paul that they’re renowned for. But the fans - some clutching original vinyl to be later signed – were never going to care. Riffs were belted, ears were sore, and Raise was done.

Coming back on to play a greatest hits encore, the absence of any tunes from Ejector Seat Reservation and 99th Dream was obvious. They did play a couple of new ones including Deep Wound (a cracker!), and crowd favourites Last Train To Satansville, Never Lose That Feeling and Duel. It may not have reached the lofty heights of now-legendary shows in the ‘90s, but Swervies are welcome back here anytime. _ MATT GEARY #youshouldreadxpress

Edited by T RAV IS JOHNS ON

We then recorded the An Argument Between The Taste And The Feeling album and launched that in 2010 and were lucky enough to pick up a WAM SOTY award which opened up our touring opportunities a lot.

So I’ve spent these last two years tracking and writing the new songs whenever I can, but mainly just touring as much as possible and working on my first solo EP as well as gigging with an experimental jazz project.

MINUTE 36 The Secret, the new EP from the dark, experimental, nigh-on unclassifiable Minute 36, is making tis debut at PICA Bar this Saturday, October 12. Entry is free from 8pm, and support comes from Simone & Girlfunkle, Polly Medlen Band and Mossy Fogg. We caught up with Minute mastermind Kris Nelson for a brief but illuminating chat.

What’s the Minute 36 story?

I started the project back in late 2007 after I stayed in a haunted hospital doing some demo recording down here in Albany. I had pretty bad insomnia back then and I used the time I couldn’t sleep writing and recording demos and teaching myself double bass, violin and cello. I recorded the Era Quondam EP and launched that with a few solo tours in 2008. I finally got a three piece together and the rest of 2008 and 2009 were spent touring anywhere that would have us.

LION ABOUT

Indie-rock four piece, Tired Lion, are launching their new EP, All We Didn’t Know, at The Bakery this Saturday, October 12, with support from Sugarpuss, These Winter Nights, Thee Golden Blooms and FEYEK. Doors open at 8pm, and tickets are $10 plus booking fee through nowbaking.com.au, or $15 on the door.

How would you describe your sound?

I’m really not sure what genre to give it, but other people have labelled it some pretty funny titles over the years, so I’ll give you a few of them: jazz goth rock, dark cab rock, sleazy Indie, drunk jazz punk... but the all time best was emo jazz crunk bop. I have no idea wtf that even is.

My key influences are: Gatsby’s American Dream, Conor Oberst, Bob Dylan, Why?, Brand New and horror film scores.

Who did you record with?

I started recording the title track for this EP back in 2011 with Rob Agostini at Soundbaker but had to put it on hold due to touring to the Canadian Music Festival and New York and also attending the JB Seed Program that year. The other four tracks I recorded with Alan Smith at Bergerk early this year. The sessions went well. They were very split up as I would go in for a day every time I would be coming through Perth during tours. It seemed to work well that way as I was warmed up from a bunch of shows and everything felt really natural as Id been playing the new songs live for a while by then.

What’s your favourite track on the EP? My favourite is between Three States and Ballast,both for pretty different reasons.I’ve always had a sharp focus on the lyrics I write and it’s what sometimes delays the completion of my songs for months, so those are the ones I’m most proud of lyrically.

BIRTH OF THE BLUES

Celebrate the 21st birthday of The Perth Blues Club at The Charles Hotel from noon this Saturday, October 12.

An all day program of events is scheduled, including performances from Ivan Zar, Mark Constable, Pete Romano, Darren Adair, Fiona Heath, Rick Steele, Bob Patient, Wayne Freer, Marco Gordon, Elliot Smith in the afternoon. Then, from 7pm in the main band room, catch Harp Attack, which highlights the blues harmonica with Diamond Dave Billings, and the Festival Of The Fret, which celebrates blues guitar, from 9.45.

OL’ TIME ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

Hard-charging rock maestros, Ol’ Bouginvillea, are setting loose their debut album, Bulk Choice, this Friday, October 11, at YaYa’s. Joining them for what is destined to be a monstrously memorable night are Bayou and Troll. Doors open at 8pm.

Tired Lion Ol’ Bouginvillea

DARK TIMES AHEAD

If your musical tastes hover around the moodier end of the sonic spectrum, you’re gonna want to be at The Rosemount Hotel this Friday, October 11, for Darkwave, a showcase of Perth’s doomier and gloomier musical talent. The lineup includes Heytesburg, LYTF, SEAMS, Harlequin League, GOAT, Frighteners, Rag N’ Bone, Shouting At Camels and Ourobonic Plague. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $10.

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Heytesburg 12/10/2013

HITTING THE WALL

Local singer/songwriters MattyTWall and Andy Newman present a night of light and shade at The Velvet Lounge this Friday, October 11. Doors open at 8pm.

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Blindspot Drink And Laugh Album Launch @ The Beat Ol’ Bouginvillea Bulk Choice Album Launch @ YaYa’s Minute 36 The Secret EP Launch @ PICA Bar Tired Lion All We Didn’t Know EP Launch @ The Bakery The Volcanics Get A Move On Album Launch @ Amplifier We Move Walls Pat Single Launch @ 224a William St Oh White Mare Self Titled EP Launch @ The Rosemount Sirgin One Love EP Launch @ The Civic Rokwell & Groom New Parts Album Launch @ Mojos Sensory Amusia Disrepair Album Launch @ Amplifier Lights Of Berlin Brand New Day EP Launch @ The Rosemount Scalphunter 10” Vinyl EP Launch @ C5

xxxxx MattyTWall www.xpressmag.com.au

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#youshouldreadxpress

Katchafire, October 10 - 12 WOLF & CUB 26 Amplifier THE AMITY KATCHAFIRE AFFLICTION 10 Prince Of Wales, 26 Metro City Bunbury 27 Metro Freo 11 Metro Freo MATT CORBY 12 Rosemount Hotel 27 Fremantle Arts HARRISON CRAIG Centre TELEVISION 11 Regal Theatre 28 Fly By Night ME FIRST & THE SLEEP GIMME GIMMES 28 Rosemount Hotel THE CRIBS 11 Amplifier 29 Rosemount Hotel 12 Prince Of Wales, ANDRE RIEU Bunbury 29 Perth Arena BRING ME THE TONY HADLEY 30 Astor Theatre HORIZON 12 Challenge Stadium 5IVE Metro Freo WELCOME TO THE 30 CHET FAKER VALLEY 31 ARTBAR 12 Belvoir THE BREEDERS Amphitheatre 31 Astor Theatre ENSLAVED OKTOBERFEST Rosemount Hotel IN THE GARDENS 31 YELLOWCARD 2013 31 Capitol 12 Supreme Court VIOLENT SOHO Gardens 31 Mojos Bar LIMP BIZKIT RICKY MARTIN 31 Metro City 12 Perth Arena

THIS WEEK

THE DAVID LIEBE HART BAND 13 Amplifier

DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT 15 Metro Freo

LLOYD SPIEGEL 15 Charles Hotel

OCTOBER LLOYD SPIEGEL 16 Mojos Bar 17 Indi Bar AMORPHIS 16 Capitol REGURGITATOR 16 Indi Bar 17 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 18 Metro Freo 19 Rosemount Hotel MARINA PRIOR 18 Astor Theatre JUNGLE GIANTS 17 Newport Hotel 18 Capitol COLD GROUND 18 Beat Nightclub LOONLAKE 17 Flyrite SPIT SYNDICATE 17 Newport Hotel 18 Amplifier DIESEL 18 Fly By Night 19 Charles Hotel 20 Ravenswood Hotel ELECTRIC VINES 19 Oakover Winery MICKY AVALON 19 Amplifier KIM WILDE 20 Astor Theatre PAUL DEMPSEY 20 Fly By Night EVERY TIME I DIE 24 Amplifier JAE LAFFER 25 Astor Theatre BEHEMOTH 24 Capitol

The Amity Affliction, October 26 - 27

THE MEMBERS 16 Rosemount Hotel BEAUFORT STREET FESTIVAL 16 Beaufort Street DAN SULTAN 16 Fly By Night 17 Ellington Jazz Club THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS 17 Villa Nightclub BIG SEAN 17 Capitol JILL SCOTT 17 Riverside Theatre AN EVENING ON THE GREEN Hoodoo Gurus, You Am I, The Whitlams, Dave Graney & The Mistly, Rainy Day Women 16 Kings Park & Botanic Garden AN EVENING ON THE GREEN Bernard Fanning, The Cruel Sea, Sarah Blasko, Bob Evans 17 Kings Park & Botanic Garden NILE 17 Amplifier SARAH BLASKO 18 Fremantle Arts Centre Courtyard NOVEMBER TEX PERKINS VIOLENT SOHO 19 Fremantle Arts 1 Amplifier Centre Courtyard YACHT ROCK BALL 1 Fremantle Town Hall BELINDA CARLISE & 1927 EL VEZ/ JORDAN C 20 Astor Theatre THOMAS BAND THE BELLRAYS 2 Devilles Pad 21 Fly By Night BABY ANIMALS BOY & BEAR 2 Astor Theatre 22 Metro Freo JESSICA MAUBOY 2 Perth Arena 23 Astor Theatre THE SEEKERS JEDWARD 2 & 3 Riverside Theatre 23 Regal Theatre PITBULL & KEI$HA FLEETWOOD MAC 5 Perth Arena 22 & 23 Perth Arena BEYONCE HITS & PITS 2.0 8 & 9 Perth Arena Black Flag, USELESS ID Boysetsfire, Bad 8 Prince Of Wales, Astronaut, Snuff, No Bunbury Fun At All, Good For 9 Rosemount Hotel You, Off With Their LISA MITCHELL/ JOSH Heads, Jughead’s PYKE Revenge 9 Wanneroo 24 Amplifier & Capitol Showgrounds MOONSORROW ONEREPUBLIC 24 Rosemount Hotel 9 Metro City RAMAZZOTTI DREAM ON DREAMER EROS 23 Challenge Stadium 10 Amplifier I KILLED THE PROM 11 YMCA HQ SCOTT KELLY AND THE QUEEN 28 Prince Of Wales, ROAD HOME Bunbury 10 Rosemount Hotel 29 YMCA HQ LEONARD COHEN 30 Amplifier 13 Perth Arena DANCE GAVIN DANCE THE ATARIS 29 Amplifier 13 Amplifier STEREOSONIC BLACK REBEL 30 Claremont MOTORCYCLE CLUB Showgrounds 13 Metro Freo BIRDS OF TOKYO KID MAC 29 Metro Freo 13 Mojos Bar MUSE 14 Prince Of Wales, 30 Perth Arena Bunbury SCREAMING JETS 15 YaYa’s 30 Astor Theatre 16 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River 17 Indi Bar DECEMBER SINCERELY, GRIZZLY I KILLED THE PROM 14 Newport Hotel QUEEN 15 Amplifier 1 Newport Hotel BODYJAR SCREAMING JETS 15 Rosemount Hotel 16 Prince Of Wales, 1 Wintersun Hotel, Bunbury Geraldton

www.xpressmag.com.au

Leonard Cohen, November 13

MARTHA DAVIS & THE MOTELS 4 Astor Theatre ALICIA KEYS 5 Perth Arena THE BAMBOOS 5 Capitol THE MELVINS & HELMET 6 Metro Freo JACK JOHNSON 7 Kings Park INSANE CLOWN POSSE 7 Metro Freo CITY AND COLOUR 7 Belvoir Amphitheatre SLANTED AND ENCHANTED 7 Astor Theatre/The Bakery AIR SUPPLY 8 Perth Concert Hall JUSTIN BIEBER 8 Perth Arena CHIC & NILE RODGERS 8 Astor Theatre KATAKLYSM 8 Rosemount Hotel SETS ON THE BEACH 8 Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE 10 Astor Theatre TAYLOR SWIFT 11 Perth NIB Stadium STEEL PANTHER 12 Metro City ARCHIE ROACH 12 Fremantle Arts Centre Courtyard 13 Quarry Amphitheatre POND 12 Metro Freo BON JOVI 12 Perth Arena THE NERVE 19 Mojos Bar HUMAN NATURE 20 Perth Zoo DE LA SOUL 31 Salt On The Beach

FEBRUARY BIG DAY OUT Pearl Jam, Arcade Fire, Blur, Snoop Lion, Major Lazer, Tame Impala, Flume & more!

2 Claremont Showgrounds BRUCE STRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND 5,7,8 Perth Arena LANEWAY FESTIVAL 8 Fremantle THE NATIONAL 14 Belvoir Amphitheatre BRUNO MARS 28 Perth Arena

MARCH

FUTURE MUSIC Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Phoenix, Hardwell, Knife Party, Eric Prydz, Rudimental, Tinie Tempah, Chase & Status 2 Arena Joondalup THE WONDER STUFF 2 Rosemount Hotel SOUNDWAVE Green Day, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, Rob Zombie, Megadeth, Placebo and more!

3 Claremont Showgrounds BILLY BRAGG 8 Perth Concert Hall JOSH PYKE 12 Quarry Amphitheatre KATE MILLER-HEIDKE 21 Quarry Amphitheatre DARK TRANQUILLITY & ORPHEUS OMEGA 25 Capitol JANUARY DE LA SOUL/DJ YODA 30 SECONDS TO MARS 1 Cuban Club (Flying 25 Challenge Stadium Squadron Yacht HUNTER & Club, The Esplanade, Dalkeith) COLLECTORS SOUTHBOUND 29 Kings Park & !!!, Bonobo, Crystal Botanical Garden Fighters, Grizzly Bear, Horrorshow, APRIL Johnny Marr, London Grammar, MGMT, WEST COAST BLUES N Neil Finn, The Roots, ROOTS Vampire Weekend Matt Corby, Michael and more!

Franti, John Mayer, 3-4 Sir Stewart Bovell Dave Matthews Band, Park, Busselton, WA Doobie Brothers, Boy DAUGHTERS & Bear 14 Amplifier 13 Fremantle Park, PARAMORE Fremantle 16 Perth Arena BOZ SCAGGS HALF MOON RUN 14 Crown Theatre 16 Fly By Night MICHAEL BUBLÉ MISFITS 26 & 27 Perth Arena 19 Amplifier CELTIC WOMAN 24 Riverside Theatre MAY WE ARE SCIENTISTS JASON DERULO 26 Amplifier 10 Perth Arena

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The Love Junkies, Wednesday at Mojos

WEDNESDAY 09.10 AMPLIFIER The Academy Statues Scalphunter Dyatlov BAR 120 Felix BIRD Queens On The Decks Nora Zion Mei Saraswati Jo Lettenmaier Mama Cass BRASS MONKEY Sugar Blue Burlesque CARINE Open Mic Night Chris Gibbs CLAREMONT HOTEL Acoustica GREENWOOD Bernardine ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Honours Jazz Graduation Recital Kate Pass Shaun Rammers Jeremy Thomson Steve Vacca Night Cap Sessions FLY BY NIGHT WAM Song Of The Year Awards Tomas Ford Rainy Day Women YLEM & Dease The Ghost Hotel Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics GROOVE BAR (CROWN) 5 Shots INDI BAR The Littlest Fox Nate Landsdell LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Decoy Duo LUCKY SHAG Howie Morgan MOJOS BAR The Love Junkies Hootenanny Cavalier Frozen Ocean MOON CAFÉ Going Solo Craig McElhinney Ringham Kenta Alpha Is The Omega MUSTANG BAR Flash Nat The Action Men DJ James MacArthur

PADDO Dove The Suntones Dean Amato ROSEMOUNT Michael Triscari Daniel White Ricky Green UNIVERSAL Retrofit VILLAGE BAR Village People - Open Mic YAYA’S Tien Tran Dayne Rathbone Sean Woodland Emmet Glynn

THURSDAY 10.10 BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) Fantasy Thursdays THE BIRD Hip Hop Kara“YO!”Ke THE BOAT Jen de Ness BRASS MONKEY Rhythm Bound Karaoke BRIGHTON Open Mic Night Rob Walker BROOKLANDS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke THE CAUSEWAY BAR Xport Thursdays DEVILLES PAD Rock’n’Roll Karaoke Magnus Danger Magnus DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Open Mic Night Pat Nicholson ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Distant Sun ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Libby Hammer Night Cap Sessions FLYRITE Thundamentals THE GATE Greg Carter GRAND CENTRAL PARK Nathan Gaunt GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Decoy Duo INDI BAR Bex’s Open Mic Night KIDOGO ARTHOUSE Loren Kate LANEWAY LOUNGE Adam Hall & The Velvet Playboys LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Jack & Jill

We Move Walls

WE MOVE WALLS

NEVADA PILOT MAN THE CLOUDS LUCIDITY SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 OCCUPY POP-UP

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Scalphunter, Friday at Amplifier LUCKY SHAG James Wilson MARKET CITY TAVERN Original Night Bronston Emrys McNamara Mitchell Freind Tumble Like Alice Maneera Dave Contra Jenn and Shaun Les Diament Steve Tick MOJOS BAR Rufus Motez Crooked Colours MUSTANG BAR The Aunts Queens Boulevarde The London Bureau DJ James MacArthur NORTH FREMANTLE BOWLS CLUB The String Beans PRINCE OF WALES BUNBURY Katchafire ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Cabin Fever Sail On! Sail On! Friendzone Yeti Resort SETTLERS TAVERN Acoustic Open Mic Night Claire Warnock SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) Josh East Falloway Siragusa Blues SWALLOW BAR DJ Safari UNIVERSAL Off The Record THE VIC Voudou Zazou YAYA’S Midnight Boulevard Santa Muerte Monicans Mckaysenberg

FRIDAY 11.10 THE ALBION Jen De Ness Trio AMPLIFIER Me First & The Gimme Gimmes The Leeches FAIM BALMORAL Ghostbuskers BAR ORIENT The Reggae Club The Empressions Sista Che Mumma Trees BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) Blindspot Nerdlinger Scalphunter The Bob Gordons Alex The Kid The Black Fridays BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) PLAY BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Libby Hammer Trio Feisty Burlesque BELMONT TAVERN Matt Angell BEST DROP TAVERN Pretty Fly THE BIRD Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics Seventh Son Blind Tiger THE BOAT Nathan Gaunt

Blunt Force Trauma, Saturday at Gilkinson’s

THE BOAB TAVERN Frenzy BRASS MONKEY Acoustic Aly BROKEN HILL HOTEL Trevor Jalla THE BROOK Jonny Dempsey THE CARINE Velvet CAVES HOUSE Howie Morgan CHASE BAR & BISTRO James Wilson CITRO BAR Adrian Wilson CIVIC HOTEL (BACKROOM) Sugartooth The Tonic Felony Blues Southern Edge CORNERSTONE ALEHOUSE Madam Montage CRUISING YACHT CLUB Kizzy DEVILLES PAD The Continentals The Hula Hoopin’ Hurricane Les Sataniques King Kobra Razor Jack DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Big Steve Spouse Band EAST 150 BAR Dean Anderson ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Blue Hornet ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The Ellington Cushion Concerts For Kids The Amazing Ali Bodycoat Trio The Spread ft Jade Webb EMPIRE BAR Andrew Wilnton THE FLY BY NIGHT Motown & Soul Night THE GATE Dirty Scoundrels GOSNELLS HOTEL Chris Gibbs Trio THE GREENWOOD Greg Carter GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Tod Johnston & Peace Love HYDE PARK HOTEL Ricky Green INDI BAR Vdelli KALAMUNDA HOTEL Almost Famous KULCHA Indian Kulcha Arthur Gracias Gurpreet Singh Temple of Fine Arts LANEWAY LOUNGE Midnight Sun Nat Repepi M ON THE POINT Retriofit MAHOGANY INN Jamie Powers METRO FREO Katchafire Common Kings MOJOS BAR Hussle Hussle Thundamentals Bitter Belief Mathas Creed Birch MUSTANG Adam Hall & The Velvet Playboys Swing DJ Cheeky Monkeys DJ James MacArthur

NEWPORT HOTEL Karaoke Classic PADDO Easy Tigers PEEL ALE HOUSE Acoustic Nites PICA BAR Brendan Gallagher Ruby Boots PORT KENNEDY TAVERN B.O.B. THE PRINCIPAL Electrophobia REGAL THEATRE Harrison Craig RENDEZVOUS HOTEL PERTH Bernadine ROCKET ROOM Kickstart ROLEYSTONE COUNTRY CLUB Sophie Jane ROSEMOUNT LYTS Harlequin League Seams Goat The Frighteners Heytesburg Shouting at Camels Rag N Bone Ourobonic Plague ROSIE O’GRADYS FREMANTLE GrooVe SAIL AND ANCHOR Vanerty Brothers SAIL AND ANCHOR (UPSTAIRS) NightShift SOUTH ST ALEHOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SPRINGS TAVERN Die Hard Karaoke SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) The Lost and Found Duo Elkwood Beau Jones SWINGING PIG Rock It Greg Carter UNIVERSAL Nightmoves YAYA’S Ol’ Bouginvillea Bayou Troll YMCA HQ Statues Flowermouth Hollow Ground Vultures

SATURDAY 12.10 AMPLIFIER The Volcanics Datura The Wishers The New Invincibles BALMORAL Retriofit THE BAKERY Tired Lion Sugarpuss These Winter Nights Thee Gold Blooms Feyek BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) CANVAS BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) Runaways Runaways Alex the Kid Nerdlinger BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Mama Red & The Dark Blues

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The Gypsie Howls, Saturday at Mojos BIRD Human Xerox Threequel Return of the Bibbai (Fucking Teeth) Indiana Jonesin’ & The Last Cascade (Gunns) Craigler With a Vengence (Criag McElhinney) The Balearic Ultimatum (Eleventeen Eston) BOAB TAVERN James Wilson THE BROOKLANDS TAVERN Pretty Fly CHALLENGE STADIUM Bring Me The Horizon Of Mice & Men Crossfaith CIVIC HOTEL (BACKROOM) Zemlja CHARLES HOTEL Perth Blues Club 21st Birthday Celebration Weekend THE CLAREMONT HOTEL ANTICS Cow Parade Cow Runner Adam Trainer Lukas Wimmler CLANCYS FREMANTLE David Craft and Friends Brendan Gallagher CRAFTSMAN 5th Avenue DENMARK CIVIC CENTRE Loren Kate DEVILLES PAD Afro Jazz Sounds Ziggi & The New Generation Mondo Inferno Les Sataniques DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Short & Curly ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Blue Hornet ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Ali Bodycoat Libby Hammer GrooVe THE FLY BY NIGHT Amateur Pole Queen THE GATE Greg Carter GILKISONS DANCE STUDIO Perth Zombie Walk After Party Blunt Force Trauma Reapers Riddle Future Shock Drastic Cyberstruct GOSNELLS HOTEL Hells Bells Vamp GREENWOOD Cargo Beat HOTEL ROTTNEST Sophie Jane INDI BAR Bobby Alu INDIAN OCEAN BREWING CO Shawne & Luc KULCHA Theona Councillor Madjitil Moorna Choir LAKERS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke LANEWAY LOUNGE Jessie Gordon Trio Saffron Sharp Trio LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Why Georgia?

The Crooked Cats, Sunday at The Newport Hotel

MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke M ON THE POINT Rhythm 22 MOJOS BAR The Gypsie Howls From The Dunes Old Blood Pimps Of Sound Edie Green MUSTANG Bang Bang Betty & The H-Bombs Rockabilly DJ Milhouse DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT HOTEL Karaoke with Steve Parkin OCCUPY POP-UP We Move Walls Nevada Pilot Man The Clouds Lucidity OSBORNE PARK BOWLING CLUB Mustangs PADDO Cheeky Monkeys PADDY MAGUIRES Madam Montage PARAMOUNT NIGHTCLUB Felix PEEL ALE HOUSE Electrophobia PERTH ARENA Ricky Martin PICA BAR Minute 36 Simone and Girlfunkle The Polly Medlen Band Mossy Fogg PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Kizzy PRINCE OF WALES Me First & The Gimme Gimmes QUARIE BAR & BISTRO Little Ebony RAILWAY HOTEL Global Battle Of The Bands Room For Reason Crisis Mr Swagger To Hell With Honour The Mondays Hyte Here Come the Cavalry The Black Jackets Gone By Morning Hearts For Stones Silence To The Left Tempest Rising Hello Darling ROSIE O’GRADYS FREMANTLE Flava ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Katchafire Common Kings SAIL & ANCHOR Better Days THE SHED Huge SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SPRINGS TAVERN Die Hard Karaoke SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) Jess Dawson Helen Shanahan Radio In Motion he Bitter Grins SWAN HOTEL (BASEMENT) Black Ink Subject 2 Change The Garden Path Conan

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SWINGING PIG Almost Famous Matt Angell UNIVERSAL Soul Corporation WHALE & ALE Abbalicious YAYA’S Choking Stanley Hello Colour Red Calectasia The Itch!

YMCA HQ Ascension Reflections of Ruin Exanimis Acrimony Eyes Cast Skyward

SUNDAY 13.10 ALBANY BOATSHED MARKET Loren Kate AMPLIFIER The David Liebe Hart Band The Stiffys FAIM T.W.E.E.Z BALMORAL Electrophobia BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Belleville Quartet BELMONT TAVERN Dove THE BIRD Before Sunset Ben M Craig Hollywood Reece Walker Emerald Cabal THE BRIGHTON Nate Landsell BROOKLANDS TAVERN Gerry Azor THE CARINE Jonny Dempsey THE CAUSEWAY Accoustic Sunday CHARLES HOTEL Perth Blues Club 21st Birthday Celebration Weekend CIVIC HOTEL Mike Nayar CLANCYS FREMANTLE The Zydecats COMO HOTEL Velvet DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Kris Buckle ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Darren Reid & The Soul City Groove ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB WAYO & Paddy Fitzallen Aimee Francis THE FLY TRAP (FLY BY NIGHT) Stage Fright Open Mic FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE Brendan Gallagher THE GATE Jamie Powers INDI BAR The Wishers Brendan Gallagher INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Retriofit KALAMUNDA HOTEL Kizzy LAKERS TAVERN Wesley Goodlet Jamboree Scouts The Oom Papas LAST DROP TAVERN Jim Moore M ON THE POINT Nathan Gaunt

Got Sharks? Sunday at The Railway Hotel

MOJOS BAR Matt Gresham MUSTANG Tailgate Sundays Deep Fried Southern Grit Datura DJ Holly Doll NEWPORT HOTEL Timothy Nelson The Crooked Cats Hunting Huxley Red Engine Caves Sexy Robot Nevada Pilot Lumpy Dog OCEAN VIEW TAVERN One Trick Phonies PADDO Sea Level Trio PADDY MALONES Gary Fowlie PEEL ALE HOUSE Sophie Jane QUARIE BAR & BISTRO Better Days RAILWAY HOTEL Animistic Pyromesh Facegrinder Chainsaw Charlie And The Chocolate Cha Cha Factory Bayou Got Sharks?

This Other Eden Pending The Silence Amidst The Broken BORC 2nd Great Dying Medusa’s Gaze THE SAINT Howie Morgan Project SEAVIEW TAVERN Jean Proude SOUTH ST ALEHOUSE Blackhart & Strangelove SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) The Littlest fox The Chinos SWALLOW BAR Voudou Zazou SWINGING PIG Pat Nicholson Steve Hepple UNIVERSAL Retrofit WANNEROO TAVERN Chris Gibbs WHISTLING KITE Ricky Green YAYA’S Blindspot Nerdlinger Medicine Ratking

MONDAY 14.10 BRASS MONKEY Wire Birds XBOX Mondays ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Jeans O’Halloran Grigson Susnjar MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic MUSTANG BAR Triple Shots ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Sleep The Devil Rides Out Bayou THE SAINT Celebration Karaoke YAYA’S Big Tommo’s Open Mic Night

TUESDAY 15.10 BRASS MONKEY Open Mic Night Josh Terlick THE COURT Open Mic Night CHARLES HOTEL Lloyd Spiegel THE CRAGIE TAVERN Open Mic Night GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Jack & Jill ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Contemporary Music Recital David D’Uva Liyana Yousof Matt Keesing Tom Drouet KALAMUNDA HOTEL Open Mic Anthony Kay LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Hans Fiance MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke METRO FREO Devin Townsend Project MOJOS BAR Monthly Comedy Tien Tran Tim Beckett Matt Jan Sam Cribb Ross Vegas MUSTANG BAR Danza Loca Salsa Night YAYA’S Moana Childsaint Catbrush The Selkie and her Skin

Cow Parade Cow

COW PARADE COW RUNNER ADAM TRAINER LUKAS WIMMLER SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 THE CLAREMONT HOTEL

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MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY

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OPEN MIC NIGHT @ THE CRAIGIE TAVERN Tuesdays from 8pm. Solos, Duos, Trios, Originals and Covers. Contact Paula or Ceelay 0420375670 or openmiccraigie@hotmail. com TWO POSITIONS AVAIL FOR PINK TRIBUTE Exp Keyboard player & female backing vocals. Gigs waiting. Apply to: pinked@ outlook.com VOCALIST REQUIRED for cover/original band CRANK. Aged between 18-25. www. facebook.com/crankperth or call 0411 227 101 PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHY Promo p h o t o g r a p h y, s t u d i o , l i v e , l o c a t i o n .

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Edited by T R AV I S J O H N S O N

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LLOYD SPIEGEL Signature Moves

Tell us about the two new Cole Clark signature guitars (FL2-LS1/FL2-LS2) that you perform with and are now in production?

The idea came about because Cole Clark have always been about hard-working musicians.

They wanted to do a signature model, but slapping a rock star’s name on a scratch plate isn’t their style.

At the same time, I had added a second output to my stage guitar and it was getting a lot of attention from fans. An acoustic and electric output in the same guitar isn’t a new idea, but to have it come as factory standard seemed a great idea and because I represent those hard working musicians that Cole Clark are making guitars for it all fell together.”

You’ve long had a relationship with the Cole Clark crew. What’s the process like of creating a signature model?

At first I started brainstorming all kinds of things. I was like a kid in a candy shop. But ultimately I wanted to design a guitar for real musicians and that meant keeping it affordable, too. First I decided on a timber combination that best represented the sound I wanted and then thought about how it should look. Luckily, my stage guitar was already visually different to other Cole Clarks. That was just because I have a long standing relationship with the company and wanted something a little special.

The pickups were decided long ago. The Cole Clark 3-way pickup is the best in the world in my opinion and I had been using the misi-duo sound hole magnetic for a while for the dirty amp sound. It was just a matter of putting them through.

Lloyd Spiegel’s Signature Guitar Launch tour stops in on Friday, October 11, at The Laundry (Busselton); Saturday, October 12, at Settlers Tavern, Margaret River; Sunday, October 13, at the Quindanning Tavern; Tuesday, October 15, at the Perth Blues Club, Charles Hotel; Wednesday, October 16, at Mojos; Thursday, October 17, at the Indi Bar; Friday, October 18, at Freemasons Hotel, Geraldton; Saturday, October 19, Hills Blues Club, Mt Helena, and Sunday, October 20, at Clancy’s, Dunsborough.

What things do you look for in a guitar that you make sure are featured in your signature models?

Plugged in sound is the most important thing to me. I rarely play unplugged and on stage I want a guitar that will respond to emotion. That sounds odd, but when I attack it I want it to scream and when I play softly I want it to sing. It’s about having as close to a natural sound through a PA as possible. That’s why the timber combo and the pickup are so important to me and those two things were the focus of these guitars.

Lloyd Spiegel How’s the Cole Clark crew six weeks on from that dreadful fire?

The factory is being fixed as we speak and will be better than ever but the crew are still on leave. However most of them have come in asking if they can help with the clean up, which was great to see. They’re keen to get working again and it’ll be business as usual before you know it. It’s been hard to see all the damage after being with the company for 10 years but Cole Clark is a world wide brand that Australia can be proud of and the fire, while devastating, won’t stop them.

You’re performing again with WA percussionist, Arun. What do you feel he brings to your music?

Arun’s work on the Tangled Brew CD and with me on the road for those two years makes his influence a central part of my music whether he is there or not. He helped create my sound and continues to do so. He’s an absolute gentleman of the business and has his heart firmly placed in making music. It’s rare to perform with him now but such a great joy. Also, his mother is the best cook I have ever met… that helps.

What are your plans looking into 2014?

I’m headed to America, Europe and Japan in 2014. I’m also planning a new duo CD with drummer Tim Burnham and a solo live double album later in the year. That sounds busy, but I am actually slowing down. I’m keen on playing quality gigs instead of working myself to the bone in the hope it makes time for writing. The follow up to Tangled Brew has taken three years already because I was touring too hard to think. _ BOB GORDON

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