Issue 1397

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

BLUEJUICE NEW BDO ANNOUNCE

SEABELLIES

SHIHAD

RAG N’ BONE

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NEWSDESK

LOCAL NEWS

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GLOBAL NEWS

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

TIME TO HIT THE PIT Hits And Pits 2.0 crashes into Perth this weekend.

Who knows what will be left of Amplifier/Capitol once The folks at the Big Day Out have just announced a new line-up addition to the country’s longest-running the likes of Black Flag, Boysetsfire, Bad Astronaut, The summer festival. Welcome aboard Primus, Vista Chino, Bliss N Eso, Kerser, The Drones, CSS, Bluejuice, Violent Ataris, Snuff, No Fun At All, Good For You, Off With Soho, The Jungle Giants and All The Colours.

Their heads and Jughead’s Revenge get through with They join the already announced Pearl Jam, Arcade Fire, Blur, Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion, Major the joint this Sunday, November 24? Rarely has Perth Lazer, Steve Angello, Flume, The Lumineers, Tame Impala, 360, Grouplove, Mac Miller, PEZ, Dillon Francis, seen such a stunning line-up of punk and hardcore Flosstradamus, Portugal. The Man, Toro Y Moi, Bluejuice , The Naked And Famous, Ghost, Mudhoney, Cosmic talent. Those brave enough for it had best snag their Psychos, The 1975, Northlane, RÜFÜS, Big Gigantic, Kingswood, Bo Ningen, The Algorithm, DZ Deathrays, ticket at Oztix before they’re all gone!

Peking Duk, Loon Lake and Ben Morris.

Watch out for more announcements, including the local line-up. The Big Day Out happens in Perth Black Flag on Sunday, February 2, at Claremont Showgrounds. Tickets are available from bigdayout.com/tickets.

BIG DAY OUT GETS BIGGER

Primus

STARRY NIGHTS Alt country/folk singer, Catherine Traicos has relocated to Perth after being based in Sydney for some years. She also has a new album out, The Earth, The Sea, The Moon, The Sky which she’s made with her band The Starry Night, out on Friday, November 29, through Ocean Awaits Records. Expect something lovely when she delivers the record live as a four-piece on Saturday, December 21, at the Rosemount Hotel as part of the A Not So Silent Night line-up and on Sunday, December 22, at Fremantle Arts Centre’s Courtyard Sessions.

Catherine Traicos

HIS LIFE & MUSIC Award-winning Indigenous artist, Gurrumul will perform with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in Kings Park & Botanic Garden on Saturday, March 8. This musical event will present a live account of Gurrumul’s life - voiced through song, film and the storytelling of his people. He’ll perform tracks from his third studio album alongside re-arranged works from previous records. Special guests on the night include Kate Ceberano and Dewayne Everettsmith. Tickets go on sale on Monday via Ticketmaster.

Gurrumul

AWESOME ANTICS The Antics nights at the Claremont Hotel have been going so well in their quest to bring awesome indie music to the masses that this Saturday, November 23, they’re upping the ante considerably with Super Antics. Three rooms will host a mellifluous multitude of bands, including Rainy Day Women, Nick Allbrook, Peter Bibby And His Bottles Of Confidence, Kucka, Spaceman Antics, plus DJ sets from Abbe May Vs Rex Monsoon, Nick Allbrook, SlumberJack and Lukas Wimmler. What’s more, there’s an art exhibition presented by Behind The Grey Door that features work from Katie Malajczuk, Bruno Oliver booth, Felicity Groom and Bradley Johnson. The whole thing gets rolling at 7pm and - best of all - it’s free!

Rainy Day Women

BLUES ’N’ ROOTS BOOTS UP Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Jake Bugg and Dave Hole have just been added to the West Coast Blues ’n’ Roots Festival happening at Fremantle Park on Sunday, April 13. They’ll join John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Doobie Brothers, Erykah Badu, Matt Corby, Morcheeba and a list of other names too long to mention here. Jump on! Tickets on sale via Moshtix.

Elvis Costello Pic: Danny Clinch

AMONGST THE GUM TREES AURAL CURES Local groove-heavy trio, Usurper Of Modern Medicine have been working on the follow-up to their Acid Chess (2011) and Turbo Handshake (2012) EPs and are launching the first single/video, Motorolla Borealis on Wednesday, November 27, at The Bird. The single is from their debut full-length to be released next year; the video was made in Japan, and the band is back with their performances incorporating live visuals. Guests on the night include Electric Toad, Eteana and Raaghe.

Usurper Of Modern Medicine

The Nukara Music Festival in the Chapman Valley (26 kilometres north-east of Geraldton) has just released early bird tickets for their event on Saturday, March 15, and have announced Mama Kin will be appearing on the line-up. It will be the festival’s 10th anniversary and they’re stepping things up a notch by adding a new stage and kicking the live music off two hours earlier - at 3pm - a full eight hours of roots and folk music. The original ‘Creek Stage’ will remain, plus DJVB will be spinning tunes from 1am to 3am. Tickets available from the Geraldton CD Centre or by calling (08) 9921 4821.

Mama Kin Pic: Lisa Businovski

SOUND THE SIREN Shortly after Chrissy Amphlett’s passing, Donna Greene, lead singer of Perth band Siren, (billed as The Ultimate Divinyls Tribute) paid tribute to Amphlett with a special show. Greene performed the show whilst suffering fatigue, pain and impaired vision, and in an ironic twist has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) herself. She’s now even more determined to raise money for the MS Society and is putting on a show this Friday, November 22, at The Charles Hotel with Dean Denton (The Frames).

Tickets on sale via ticketbooth.com.au Donna Greene, Sound The Siren Pic: Crosbie Photography

THE BEST OF JESS Perth’s beloved Jess McAvoy returns to the West next month after two whole years of spurning us for the dubious attractions of Toronto and New York. We’ll forgive her though, as she’s putting on a show at the Astor Theatre on Friday, December 13. This is a rare chance to catch one of Perth’s favourite scions back in her old stomping grounds. Tickets are available through liveattheastor.com.au.

Jess McAvoy WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

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N E W S L E T T E R - S I G N U P AT W W W. X P R E S S M AG . C O M . A U F O R E XC L U S I V E C O M P S

PRINT AND DIGITAL EDITIONS PUBLISHER/MANAGER Joe Cipriani

EDITORIAL - 9213 2888 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 COMPETITIONS win@xpressmag.com.au For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au PHOTOGRAPHY Rachael Barrett, Stefan Caramia, Guang-Hui Chuan, Daniel Craig, Brandon D’Silva, Max Fairclough, Daniel Grant, Sammy Granville, Matt Jelonek, Emma Mackenzie, Callum Ponton, Denis Radacic, Bohdan Warchomij, Michael Wylie

CARRIE PRIZE PACK Based on the best selling novel by Stephen King comes Carrie out in cinemas next week. Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother (Julianne Moore) who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom.

To win one of five prize packs containing a double inseason pass along with a copy of the original Stephen King novel and a copy of his latest release, Doctor Sleep, plus the soundtrack - email win@xpressmag.com.au.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Leah Blankendaal, Nina Bertok, Lucas Bowers, Aaron Bryans, Joe Cassidy, Hayley Davis, Chris Gibbs, Alfred Gorman, Shaun Cowe, Hayley Davis, Predrag Delibasich, Jayde Ferguson, George Green, Alex Griffin, James Hanlon, Chris Havercroft, Joshua Hayes, Brendan Holben, Coral Huckstep, Ellie Hutchinson, Rezo Kezerashvili, Tom Kitson, Clayton Lin, Charlie Lewis, Daisy Lythe, Andrew Nelson, David O’Connell, Shane Pinnegar, Nick Sweepah, Jessica Willoughby

NATURAL NZ MUSIC FESTIVAL The third instalment of the Natural NZ Music Festival is happening on Saturday, December 7 in the picturesque, Red Hill Auditorium. It’s all about tasty kiwi rock, reggae, hip hop, R&B and dubstep featuring electronic roots five-piece Kora who’ll share the stage with Shihad, Tiki Taane, Optimus Gryme, Australian Idol winner Stan Walker, reggae band 1814, DJ SirVere, Tali and local Perth crew, Box Party. Tickets on sale now from redhillgigs.com.au and Oztix or to win a double pass email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

Shihad

ADVERTISING - 9213 2888 SALES MANAGER AGENCY / MOVIES / ARTS / EDUCATION / SPONSORSHIP / ONLINE MARKETING Craig Mauger - advertising@xpressmag.com.au MUSIC SERVICES / MUSICAL EQUIPMENT / BANDS / RECORD LABELS Dez Richardson - musicservices@xpressmag.com.au ENTERTAINMENT VENUES / LIVE AND DANCE MUSIC PROMOTERS Tim Milroy - entertainment@xpressmag.com.au CLASSIFIEDS LINAGE classifieds@xpressmag.com.au

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT - 9213 2854 CONTENT COORDINATOR Anthony Jackson - production@xpressmag.com.au ART DIRECTOR Dwight O’Neil DESIGN + PRODUCTION Andy Quilty, Anthony Jackson, Kasia Mazurkiewicz

FILM: THE SPECTACULAR NOW From the writers of (500) Days Of Summer and based on the book by Tim Tharp, The Spectacular Now is the story of Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) high school senior, effortless charmer, and self-proclaimed ‘life of the party’ and how he unexpectedly falls in love with nice girl, Aimee Fineky (Shailene Woodley).

The film is out from December 5 and screening exclusively at Cinema Paradiso and Luna On SX. To win one of ten double passes to a preview screening on Thursday, November 28 at 6.30pm at Cinema Paradiso, email win@xpressmag.com.au.

The Spectacular Now

FILM: FILTH Ripped from the twisted Irvine Welsh novel is the R18+ film, Filth directed by Jon S Baird and starting James McAvoy, Jamie Bell and Jim Broadbent. Released in cinemas this week, it’s about a corrupt cop who stops at nothing to get what he wants. Read a review of the film in Eye4 of X-Press and to win a double pass valid for the season - email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

James McAvoy in Filth

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THE VANS @ THE ROSIE Local pop rockers, The Vans have been swanning around in Europe and they’re back for their first Perth showcase this Saturday, November 23 at The Rosemount after taking in five countries over 80 days and over 50 live performances. Special guests include Hostile Little Face, The Midnight Mules and Daisy Clover. Get your tickets via Oztix and Heatseeker or to win yourself a double pass to the show, email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

The Vans

EDITORIAL DEADLINES General: Friday 5pm, Eye4 Arts: Thursday 10am, WIN: Friday 5pm, Salt Clubs: Monday 5pm , Local Scene: Monday Noon, Gig Guide: Monday 5pm ADVERTISING DEADLINES 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 WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY Advertisers and/or their agents by lodging an advertisment shall indemnify the publisher, and its agents, against all liability claims or proceedings whatsoever arising from the publication. Advertisers and/or their representatives indemnify the publisher in relation to defamation, slander, breach of copyright, infringement of trademarks of name of publication titles, unfair competition or trade practices, royalties or violation of rights or privacy and warrant that the material complies with revelant laws and regulations and that its publication will not give rise to any rights against or liabilities in the publisher, its servants or agents. Any material supplied to X-Press is at the contributor’s risk.

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MELBOURNE BOUNCE In little under a year, the ‘Melbourne Sound’ electro movement has taken the world by storm and OneLove Recordings captures all the biggest club tracks on the Melbourne Bounce compilation. Featuring exclusives and remixes by the best in the genre including Will Sparks, Deorro, TJR, Orkestrated, Chardy, SCNDL, Slice N Dice, Zoolanda, Joel Fletcher, JDG, Uberjakd, J-Trick, T-Rek, Chris Lake and more. To one of five copies on CD, email win@xpressmag.com.au.

THE BEATLES LIVE AT THE BBC CITY AND COLOUR @ BELVOIR In 1994, The Beatles Live At The BBC was released to worldwide acclaim, selling more than five million copies within six weeks. The new companion to the first BBC collection, On Air - Live At The BBC Volume 2 contains 63 tracks - none of which overlaps with the first release. It includes 37 unreleased performances and 23 unreleased recordings of in-studio banter and conversation between the band members and their BBC radio hosts. To win of five copies, email: win@ xpressmag.com.au.

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Canadian musician, Dallas Green aka City And Colour pops into Perth for a special show at Belvoir Amphitheatre on Saturday, December 7. It’s part of his national tour to promote latest album, The Hurry And The Harm. Special guests include Husky and Twin Fork. Get your tickets from cityandcolour. com but if you’re lucky, you could win a double pass by emailing win@xpressmag.com.au.

City And Colour

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FLESH

NEWS - INTERVIEWS - REVIEWS - CONTENTS

SINGING TO THE SUNDOWN

HOUSE COLLECTIVE Argentinean house DJ/musician, Guti, is stopping

by The Collective at Malt on Thursday, December 19. A classically-trained jazz virtuoso and national rock’n’roll hero in Argentina, Guti was born into a family of orchestra directors, saxophone players and pianists and after a stint playing in the band, Jovenes Pordioseros, he went onto make house beats with his friend and Latin Grammy-nominated producer, Leandro Martinez and a heartbeat later he ended up in Düsseldorf working on his techno and house projects. Supports on the night include the Shaddow Brothers, JK-Robot, Marko La Kucha x Colour and Locky Mazzucchelli. Tickets on sale via pulseradio.net.

The beach music event, Sundown Sessions at the picturesque Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre will return again in 2014. Decked out with rugs, cushions, sun lounges and deck chairs – the stage is set on the sand with the Indian Ocean as your backdrop and for the first session back on Saturday, January 18, from 4pm catch the sweet sounds of New Zealand reggae/ soul seven-piece, Fat Freddy’s Drop and Mat McHugh of The Beautiful Girls. Get your tickets through Oztix and Mills Records.

Pic:Leonard Cohen Photo by Bohdan Warchomij

Pic: Fat Freddy’s Drop

LEONARD COHEN Perth Arena Wednesday, November 13, 2013

ENERGETIC ANGST

Pic: Guti

Local pop rock four-piece, Hundred Acre Wood are launching a new video, My Alibi at PICA Bar this Saturday, November 23, with all proceeds going to the children’s charity, Variety WA. Featuring Chris Baker on guitar and vocals, Kael Silk on bass, Matt Ruggiero on drums and Billie Kiagoes on lead guitar, the boys are set to deliver their energised rock with support from Ruby Boots and The Scotch Of Saint James. There’s also a complimentary minicheeseburger or vegetable soup shot for people who arrive early. Tickets on sale at the door or via the band’s Facebook page.

Pic: Hundred Acre Wood

DYLAN TRIBUTE Perth musical stalwart, Rick Steele is paying tribute to Bob Dylan at the Northshore Tavern at Whitford City Shopping Centre on Thursday, December 5.

Performing with his Big Band the tribute, entitled Highway 61 Revisited came about through an initiative of the Northern Blues N’ Roots WA organisers, Dave Gillam and Derek Cromb who felt it time local music lovers were given the chance to see Steele play a 90-minute set dedicated to the songs of Robert Allen Zimmerman. Support on the night comes from Fremantle roots musician, Mike De Velta.

Pic: Rick Steele

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News Win Flesh Music The Bellrays Natural NZ Music Festival Tumbleweed / Between The Buried And Me Spotify / Moonsorrow New Noise Eye4 Cover: Filth Filth / Bad Grandpa / Adoration Much Ado About Nothing / The Hunger Games Arts Listings Salt Cover: Cut Copy News / Reviews / Producer’s Cut / Salt Nights Out Mix Master Mike / Helena Club Manual Rewind: Shed Scene Live: An Evening On The Green / Mezzanine / Leeches Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Local Scene Tour Seabellies Tour Trails Gig Guide Volume

FRONT COVER: The BellRays play the Fly By Night’s 27th Birthday Celebrations this Thursday, November 21.

SALT COVER: Cut Copy releases their fourth album, Free Your Mind.

At the age of 79 years, the legendary Leonard Cohen skipped out onto the stage at Perth Arena, played for three hours and change - not counting a 20 minute intermission - like it was nothing and then danced off appearing as grateful to the assemblage of fans for listening to him as we were to be allowed to listen.

Younger performers, take note; your tantrums and truncated shows do not impress.

It was, simply, a fantastic night, utterly bereft of filler. The first four songs alone - Dance Me To The End Of Love, The Future, Bird On A Wire, Everybody Knows - were better than most entire gigs.

Cohen, still sprightly in his neat suit and fedora, is one of those rare old legendary birds who deserves the status and accolades heaped upon them. A master raconteur in the medium of song, he gets extra points for leavening his emotional, complex poetry with a healthy does of humour and self-deprecation, as when he paused following applause during Tower Of Song to ask whether the audience was humouring him, or the timeless line from Chelsea Hotel #2, ‘You told me again you prefer handsome men, but for me you’d make an exception’.

The setlist ranged across Cohen’s career, reaching right back to The Songs Of Leonard Cohen

for his early, spiritual beat poet musings through to the darkly apocalyptic prophecy of Waiting For The Miracle and First We Take Manhattan (which we didn’t get until the first encore). You could have heard a pin drop during the achingly beautiful Suzanne. Longtime collaborator Sharron Robinson duetted with Cohen on In My Secret Life before taking on lead vocal duties on Alexandra Leaving, while the second encore saw backup singers the Webb Sisters deliver beautiful lead harmonies on If It Be Your Will.

And yes, he sang Hallelujah.

It’s interesting to speculate what Cohen’s cultural cache is these days. The crowd was mostly north of 40, a few individuals aside, and the Arena was less than full. Of course, this is the third time he’s played to Perth crowds in the last few years after financial malfeasance by his former manager left him close to broke, so maybe he’s been a bit overexposed around these parts. The thing is, can you be overexposed to one of the greatest singer/ songwriters of all time?

According to the crowd that night the answer is a resounding no. A few made a break for the exits in between encores -and what’s up with that, anyway? - but the majority hung on to every syllable until Cohen finished on Closing Time and told us all he’d see us ‘...down the road.’ Whether that’s on the cards is debatable - it’d be nice if the dapper old gent could enjoy retirement again - but if the opportunity does arise to catch Cohen live, you’d be a fool not to grab it with both hands. It was the show of the year, hands down.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

SUBSONICS You’ve Got Entrail Atlanta’s Subsonics play a free show this Sunday, November 24, at the Mustang Bar with Leeches. BOB GORDON reports.

Garage rock cult legends Subsonics recently released, In The Black Spot, their first studio album in seven years.

Now there’s no need to rush these things, but let’s face it, that’s two episodes of 7 Up. A band infamous for tongue in cheek interviews, X-Press felt prompted to ask singer/guitarist Clay Reed, (a) the comedic reason and (b) the real reason for the gap...

“Well (a) we have a couple of fans that are... well, they’re gangsters,” Reed explains “... and I owe them money.

“And (b) the fortune teller read the chicken entrails and said it was a good time to make a record.”

Nothing too serious on either front, then.

After all that time though, one wonders if there was there anything specific that Subsonics were aiming for on the new album?

“The sound spit out chewing gum sounds like spit onto the sidewalk and stepped on 1,000 times,” Reed says, before adding that “it sounds like it was stepped on 2,000 times.”

Describing the trio’s internal chemistry as “over-the-counter stomach medicine,” Reed says that he’s not personally motivated by music anymore.

“I’m more motivated by noises than music,” he notes, “static, household appliances... insects.”

The band have always - and still - reside in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s home, but one can’t be too sentimental.

“Atlanta is familiar and it’s... okay as long as you can leave pretty often,” Reed reveals. What about the music scene there? “The music scene... I try to stay out of scenes,” he says. “There’s always good groups and bad groups... just the ratios fluctuate.”

Subsonics are ending off the year with a trip to Australia. Reed doesn’t seem keen to ponder 2014, ending with this poultry prediction.

“I don’t have a crystal ball,” he muses, “but again, consulting the chicken entrails... it looks itchy, smelly and covered in a horrific looking rash.”

BLUEJUICE Douchebusters Bluejuice’s Perth tour dates were cancelled earlier this month, but they’ve just been announced as part of the Big Day Out at Claremont Showgrounds on Sunday, February 2. Stav Yiannoukas speaks to LEAH BLANKENDAAL about touring, their new single S.O.S., and what it was like to (pretend) shoot a baby in the face.

No one ever accused Bluejuice of taking themselves too seriously.

After a mini-hiatus early this year and the departure of “the most talented keyboardist we’ve ever met... stubborn fucking weirdo,” Jerry Craib, the boys have taken a bit of a departure from their signature five-piece line up, replacing Craib with a range of international and local talent. Their latest single, S.O.S. was billed as an advert for their recent Douchebusters tour, in which the boys travelled the country ridding it of douches with music and ray guns.

Singer, Stav Yiannoukas, is definitely a fan of the tongue-in-cheek approach. “I think when we have tried to take it seriously, it hasn’t always worked out great for the band,” he says. “If you’re thinking about things that Bluejuice do well it’s that fun and funny up tempo live show.”

This is certainly true for the S.O.S. film clip,

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in which, amongst other things, Yiannoukas shoots a crying (douchebag) baby with a ray gun, “To protect it’s mother!” he protests.

This said, although the subject is comedy, the music making is serious business. The boys pulled out all stops in recording S.O.S, which features some musical heavyweights from around the globe. “Jake (Stone, vocalist) went to London to record it with two producers from Act Your Age, and then they brought in a whole bunch of session musicians, including musicians from Amy Winehouse’s band and singers from Basement Jaxx,” says Yiannoukas. “It was kind of a big affair in terms of who was involved in the recording.”

However it was only a twist of fate that gave the band this song. S.O.S. very nearly wasn’t even a Bluejuice tune at all. “Strangely with this song it was actually written for a side project band of Jake’s called The Breakups, which featured both of his sisters, as well as our drummer James Hauptmann and his sister,” says Yiannoukas. “Getting these musicians together in the same place at the same time proved to be too much however... when Bluejuice was looking for a tune to put out this one came up as a really good one.”

What doesn’t change is the energy of a Bluejuice show, along with the ridiculous costumes and frequent light shows. It is this energy that makes Bluejuice one of the most entertaining and refreshing Australian bands doing the rounds at the moment.

“There’s often live projections that we do that go with the songs,” says Yiannoukas. “And this set of costumes aren’t actually that stupid. They’re ever so slightly distasteful – just slightly!” he laughs.

“I guess Bluejuice is a great deal about relentlessly holding your attention for 45 minutes to an hour, helping you forget your troubles for the day.”

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MUSIC

VIEWS

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INTERVIEWS

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STORIES

What is your approach to a festival set, as opposed to a headline show?

We generally play a shorter, more intense set at festivals. If we’re playing near the end of the day and people have been out in the hot sun all day, I don’t want to many people passing out in ecstasy when they see me in my tight black jeans.

NATURAL NZ MUSIC FESTIVAL

Who will you be keen to catch on the Natural NZ bill on the day?

Tiki Taane, because he’s got some mean ass songs. And some pretty songs. It would be cool to see Optimus Gryme, too. He did two awesome remixes of our songs, In The Future and Sleepeater.

Kora, because they’re choice dudes and they play their sticks really well. And the Bum Bums. Are the Bum Bums playing?

The Sound Of The Long White Cloud Presented by X-Press Magazine, the ever-popular Natural NZ Music Festival happens on Saturday, December 7, at Red Hill Auditorium. BOB GORDON sent some postcards across the Tasman to catch up with a selection of artists on the bill.

KORA (STU KORA, GUITARIST/VOCALIST) Who are your favourite acts on the New Zealand music scene?

Shapeshifter... hard! Those boys have really stuck to their guns as drum ‘n’ bass artists and are always a gem to watch live, especially at a festival.

Really good guys too. Ladi6 as well. It’s just good to see a lotta NZ bands giving it a good go. It’s a lot of commitment, and in this digitised world you’ve got to come up with different avenues of trying to represent yourself. CDs are getting harder and harder to sell, so you’ve got to make way for the digital. But it’s great to see bands like Sonz Of Zion and others really getting involved all across the entertainment board.

TALI Who are your favourite acts in the New Zealand music scene?

I have heaps! Acts I love seeing live are Kora, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Shapies, The Upbeats, Tiki and Ahori Buzz. I am a fan of Stan Walker’s amazing voice and Ladi6 too. I also love DnB producers Eavesdrop and Toyko Prose, and up-and-coming artists Laura Hunter, RosaDub, and Janine And The Mixtape.

You can’t beat the production from Bulletproof and Chromatic... there’s just so much talent here!

As a Kiwi, what does it mean to be playing on an NZ bill like this, all the way over in sunny Perth?

It means a lot to me. Initially I had to plead my case to be on this line-up as Brian (Terry, promoter) didn’t originally think I would fit the bill, considering I am mostly known for playing drum ‘n’ bass shows in Perth. But he has taken a chance and it’s worked out well, as I will also be performing with Kora.

To be able to bring my acoustic set here alongside my very talented guitarist is a really big deal. This is a chance to reach a whole new audience - some who may not be familiar with my voice or repertoire and show ‘em what we got! Plus I get to play alongside some awesome Kiwi musicians and party in one of my favourite cities!

What is your approach to a festival set, as opposed to a headline show?

We do the same sort of set with most shows we play, whether big or small. Lots of energy and positivity, a mixture of original songs and a couple of covers, some rapping and some singing. Harry (Leatherby) smashing it on the guitar... it’s generally a good time enjoyed by most!

Who will you be keen to catch on the Natural NZ bill on the day?

I’ve never seen Nesian Mystik although I became friends with Awa last year when I met him up at (NZ dance music station) George FM. I remember coming home to NZ from London for a visit a few years back and they were like the talk of the town.

Considering this is also their last show together and my first ever seeing them - I don’t wanna miss them!

Also I am excited for Kora, because not only are they closing out the festival, but I am joining them on stage for the first of a few shows together, so it will be pretty exciting!

What’s on the cards for you in 2014?

A lot! It’s 10 years since I released my first drum ‘n’ bass record on Roni Size’s Full Cycle imprint so I want to do something to celebrate that. Rumours are he may be visiting our pacific shores next year too, so it would be very fitting if he did! I am also releasing an EP of new songs all written, recorded and produced by me. I have tunes coming out with Ahori Buzz, Syrup D (Dan from Kora), Dan Aux and hopefully a tour of both New Zealand and America to contend with too.

Not to mention the artist I am currently developing, RosaDub, has her EP we are releasing in Feb. Eek, I better stop writing and get back to work!

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No. What’s on the cards for you in 2014?

Laser vaginal rejuvenation. Get a job. We’re currently in the middle of preproduction, lyric writing and finishing the arrangements of the material for our next album, which we’re recording in Auckland in December.

As a Kiwi what does it mean to be playing on an NZ bill like this, all the way over in sunny Perth?

Love the opportunity to be able to share a piece of home for everybody in Perth. As you know, Perth is quite far away and it’s not like Brisbane or Sydney where you can just hop on a reasonably cheap three-hour flight back to NZ. It really is quite far, so to be able to bring that piece of ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ feeling to everyone in Perth is always a great thing. Most of us in Kora are from Whakatane and as small as that place is, it seems half the people from Whakatane have moved to Perth.

So we know quite a few WhakaPerths over there.

That’s what I heard they were called anyway (laughs) but yes we do have a lot of old school friends there.

So it’s always a good opportunity to play in Perth.

Always.

What is your approach to a festival set, as opposed to a headline show?

I think the difference there is, when it’s a headline type, you pretty much have all the time to set your gear up, have a soundcheck and make sure everything’s good so your set can be more of a show show, you know? Like have a great lighting show to accompany the set or showing off a few new tracks, etc. So you can pretty much have a solid set.

But festivals, you’ve gotta be a bit more flexible. Change-over time is extremely, understandably limited. So it’s about using that change-over time as efficiently as you can and also making do with what’s on hand, i.e. the lighting show and the PA system, sometimes back up gear.

So the songs are almost like the favourite picks of the bunch. And for those just-in-case moments, songs that can be played with flexibility - like if our keyboard or guitar broke down. But we’re always aiming to give out that x-factor vibe as there are a few bands throughout the day. You wanna be able to stand out amongst them all.

Who will you be keen to catch on the Natural NZ bill on the day?

Definitely Shihad. Awesome bunch of guys with a really huge, solid rock sound. They are definitely legends back home and have represented NZ well around the world. I wanna see how Perth handles them. Just look at Hone TuMeke - Jon Toogood, but that’s what we call him sometimes, cheeky darkys aye (laughs). He is quite a small man but his presence is fucking huge! We wanna be there the whole day so we’re doing the Pokemon thing and gonna catch em all!

What’s on the cards for you in 2014?

Writing. Getting back into the momentum of things. And really gonna make some pushes. We kind of had winter off for the first time ever. Probably the first ever time off ever! But we did due to the new changes we had been going through. But we’re starting a summer run with the Katchafire boys and that’ll take us into next year and it’s pretty much no looking back from there. We have a new drummer, Joe Brownless, and we have our usual soundman Richie Allan up onstage playing bass/guitar as well.

And some of us play in another band called the Heavy Metal Ninjas, so it was an easy process to gel as a band with the new members. It’s a pretty tightknit crew.

So 2014 for Kora? it’s pretty much write tracks, drop tracks and videos and keep heads banging like we do.

OPTIMUS GRYME Who are your favourite acts in the New Zealand music scene?

There are so many man, Shapeshifter, Tiki Taana, Ladi 6, The Upbeats, Homebrew, Opiuo, KLAB, the entire 60 artists on the Aotearoa Bass Allstarz compilation!

As a Kiwi, what does it mean to be playing on an NZ bill like this, all the way over in sunny Perth?

I feel very proud to be representing our amazing music scene, playing to not only all the kiwi expats in Perth, but also shown the Aussies what we’re made of!

What is your approach to a festival set, as opposed to a headline show?

When I play a festival, I realise I am one single cog in the machine. So I always try to tailor my set to make sure the sound flows from my set into the next. Festival sets are usually shorter, so it’s high energy, and I go out guns blazing.

Who will you be keen to catch on the Natural NZ bill on the day?

Everyone! I am so proud to be part of the line-up and have so much respect for all the artists playing. They make some of the best music in the world!

What’s on the cards for you in 2014?

I have another solo album coming out mid next year, it’ll be a two-CD compilation filled with drum and bass, jungle, dubstep, trip hop and atmospheric soundscapes. Keep ya ears open!

DJ SIR-VERE Who are your favourite acts in the New Zealand music scene?

Right now I’m really digging this Aucklandbased crew called The Doqument. They are all MCs in their own right, but in the last year or so came together to be somewhat of a supergroup, and the musical and visual output these guys have been putting out is refreshing and quality. There is also Tha Movement from Otara in South Auckland. Dave is a quality MC and his ‘real’ rhyme style is original and solid. Rock-wise, I’m a massive fan of Beastwars.

I just love what I hear and am dying to see them live but have lucked out every time. I hope to see them live real soon. Lastly there is Six60. I’ve been following them for years and have become friends with Matiu (Walters, vocals/guitar), and I just think they are awesome at what they do. I’ve always flown the flag for NZ artists - that’s not going to change.

As a Kiwi, what does it mean to be playing on an NZ bill like this, all the way over in sunny Perth?

It’s a real honour to be on such a quality bill. I have played in Perth loads of times in the past, so I know there is a large Kiwi component in the community and playing alongside some of my good friends is going to be awesome.

SHIHAD (PHIL KNIGHT, GUITAR) Who are your favourite acts in the New Zealand music scene?

I think Craig Terris is doing some really cool stuff. You should check out the awesome video for his first single, Ahead Of The Storm.

The animator did an amazing job. He’s a very talented humble and good looking man. I like what Cairo Knife Fight and Villainy have been doing.

I don’t actually listen to music. I hate it.

As a Kiwi, what does it mean to be playing on an NZ bill like this, all the way over in sunny Perth?

Long bloody flight. Strewth. It’s also means I’m very proud my fellow Kiwi musos that have made in-roads into the live music scene over here. There’s so many great places to play in Australia, and so many great live music venues. It says a lot about Perth that you have a whole music festival devoted to bands from the land of the All Blacks. The reverse would probably be a very different proposition in New Zealand. I’ll probably just feel very at home with all the Perth Kiwis around, and catching up with some muso friends from NZ, too. I’m sure I’ll catch up with plenty of our Perth live music scene friends too, which is always nice.

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What is your approach to a festival set, as opposed to a headline show?

My style is all about fun and music - period - so banging out a 45 minute set for a festival is a bit of a challenge. There is so much music to choose from, its quite a challenge! I do have some exclusive remixes for tracks from Scribe, Che Fu and the Deceptikonz that I have made that I will be spinning on the day. Whatever it is, it’s going to be fun!

Who will you be keen to catch on the Natural NZ bill on the day?

I know that this festival will be one of Nesian Mystic’s last ever shows, so I’m all about catching the bro’s doing their thing - it’s going to be awesome. Also seeing Stan (Walker) live again will be great. I’m a big fan and have been impressed with his new set.

What’s on the cards for you in 2014?

My focus is Mai FM in New Zealand (maifm.co.nz). I run the station and making it awesome is my primary job - so that takes up most of my time. Apart from that I continue to gig pretty much every weekend all over Aotearoa and that’s not looking like stopping any time soon.

Hosted by MC Jahlei and DJ Hamz, The Natural NZ Music Festival also features Tiki Taane, Home Brew, Stan Walker, 1814, Nesian Mystik, Mike King and Box Party. Tickets are available from oztix.com.au and redhillgigs.com.au. For more details head to naturalmusicfest.com.au.

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THE BELLRAYS Lightning Strikes Touring in support of their new LP, Black Lightning, The BellRays return to Perth for the first time in almost seven years, bringing their Californian-born soul, garage and high octane rock’n’roll assault to the Fly By Night’s 27th Birthday Celebrations this Thursday, November 21. SHANE PINNEGAR explores vocalist Lisa Kekaula’s artistic imperative in advance of their visit.

Lisa Kekaula sports big hair and an even bigger voice out front of The BellRays, yet she’s not sure whether Australian audiences get her band’s blend of guts and emotion.

“You know... I dunno!” Kekaula laughs. “I don’t really know who gets what any more. I used to be really concerned about it, but now I just kinda look at it like, ‘if they get it they get it, if they don’t, more power to ‘em’.

“It’s one of those things where I’m not trying to make it hard, but I’m not going to conform to make it easy for people to understand, or justify what it is that’s going on in my heart. So whatever it is that happens, is what happens!” she says with another throaty laugh.

Not conforming comes naturally to Kekaula and her bandmate/husband Bob Vennum, and over a 23-year career they have admirably refused to compromise their artistic imperative.

“For me or Bob, money is obviously not why we do what we do. We do it because, if you really have to be in a band you don’t do it ‘cos you want to - you do it ‘cos you must do it. You wish you had a pining for something else, something that provided a lot better living - but you don’t!”

In 1994 Kekaula did come pretty close to having a hit single on her hands when she collaborated with UK DJ’s Basement Jaxx on the single Good Luck, which went to #12 in the UK and #22 in Australia.

Kekaula is amused at the thought that that success may have got the suits thinking ‘ka-ching!’ and applying pressure for more of the same.

TUMBLEWEED Fraternity Touring in support of their new album, Sounds From The Other Side, Tumbleweed hit the Rosemount Hotel this Thursday, November 21, and Mojos on Friday, November 22. PATRICK EMERY checks in with vocalist, Richie Lewis.

A few years ago the members of Tumbleweed were sitting backstage after playing a corporate event.

Despite still being flushed with the success of their reformation, the band found itself at a crossroads.

“After we’d got back together we were basically playing nostalgia sets, with the material up to Galactaphonic,” says Tumbleweed singer, Richie Lewis.

“We were sitting backstage after playing one of the Coopers After Dark series, and we thought, ‘what are we doing?’ This wasn’t really what we were about. So decided that we’d get back into the studio and write some new songs.”

Despite Tumbleweed’s original success Lewis felt there was still a “sense of unfinished business” that the original Tumbleweed line-up needed to attend to. “I thought we’d always missed the mark a bit in the past,” Lewis says. “We were still writing songs when the band broke up, and we felt that the chemistry was still there between us.”

The ‘classic’ Tumbleweed line-up – Lewis, guitarists Lenny Curley and Paul Hausmeister, bass player Jay Curley and drummer Steve O’Brien – had reformed in July, 2009, for the Homebake festival.

“I remember being told, as soon as we started getting that level of notice, ‘we really love your band, but we really want you to change everything!’ Ahhh well, you really don’t love our band and you really don’t get what we’re doing! I mean, I’m fortunate enough, where I never really cared what other people think - I’ve never been that kind of a person. I’m not desperate for attention.”

“No, there was no pressure for me to do it, and I’m glad for it ‘cos I have a tendency to just tell people to fuck off as soon as they start doing stuff that I’m not into!” she laughs.

Kekaula says she keeps songwriting fresh and interesting and challenging for herself by letting “the song lead itself. I mean, we don’t say, ‘let’s write a song like this’. To me, songs are born just like people, and they have a life of their own and as long as you listen to that, you can’t go wrong, ‘cos it’s gonna live the way it’s gonna live.”

The success of that initial reformation – which had followed a number of years of estrangement – had led to a series of national tours and a re-kindling of the band’s creative and fraternal spirit. That spirit had buckled over 10 years previous, when – faced with frustrating commercial imperatives and an overbearing industry – Tumbleweed had gradually shed members and lost sight of its original artistic focus.

Regaining that focus was critical to the recording sessions that led to the making of Tumbleweed’s new album, Sounds From The Other Side.

“For us making the album was about fulfilling a creative need,” Lewis says. “I think after Galactaphonic, and the break-up of the original line-up, Tumbleweed had gone off on a particular direction that had strayed from where we’d been going originally. So for this album, we wanted to go back to that original path,” he says.

Older and wiser about the recording process, Tumbleweed could – literally and creatively – afford to define their own artistic vision. “These days we take a much more active role in the studio,” Lewis says. “Early on in our career we had these big US producers, but now we’ve got more experience.

That said, you’re always learning something about the studio, and each studio is different. Getting back into the analogue studio was great – you get that warm, analogue sound.”

For Tumbleweed, playing music has once again become a subject of passion and pleasure, rather than expectation.

“Now it’s an escape – we all have jobs, families, and lives outside of music,” Lewis says.

“We do Tumbleweed for enjoyment, and we enjoy every time we play because it’s an escape. Because we’ve been around the block we’ve realised that the differences between us aren’t actually divisive, but the things that keep us together.”

Sharing three bands and one daughter with your partner for over 20 years requires a special kind of loving relationship – the kind that is especially rare in rock’n’roll.

“Not just in rock’n’roll - in life!” Kekaula exclaims. “I feel very fortunate to be able to say that we are good enough friends to be able to continue to do that kind of thing together. We do spend a lot of time together, but you know, he’s my best friend.”

Kekaula is typically forthright about how she deals with prejudice as a coloured woman (her mother was African American, her father native Hawaiian) fronting a fierce rock’n’roll band, and against The BellRays, who have a lot more in common with the ‘60s Nuggets era than anything around these days.

“You don’t,” she states firmly. “That’s the other thing obviously we don’t. I remember being told, as soon as we started getting that level of notice, ‘we really love your band, but we really want you to change everything!’

“Ahhh well, you really don’t love our band and you really don’t get what we’re doing!” Kekaula laughs at the memory. “I mean, I’m fortunate enough, where I never really cared what other people think I’ve never been that kind of a person. I’m not desperate for attention.

“At the same time I am a force to be reckoned with on stage and I always love how shocked everybody is when they find out, ‘oh wow, black female

fronting a rock band and doing this stuff - wow this is mind blowing’ and blah blah blah.

“But there’s been a huge concerted effort,” she says, getting warmed up into her completely justified rant, “to say, ‘tall, skinny white guys play rock music’ - they don’t even like black guys playing rock music - ask Fishbone! Ask Living Colour!

“And all that being said, this isn’t a racial war for me! I don’t give a fuck what somebody else says, in the long run. It’s not gonna make me sleep better or worse, you know? I’m gonna do what I’m gonna do and feel good doing it, until I don’t feel good doing it and then I’ll stop!”

Lisa Kekaula is many things: a remarkable singer, artist, wife and mother for starters. She also admits that she “feel I earned” being seen as an ideal role model to anyone who believes that real, uncompromised rock’n’roll – the sort that isn’t watered down and homogenised for radio, for a hit is worth the effort and sacrifices, as well as to anyone who thinks the rock’n’roll lifestyle shouldn’t preclude a happy, meaningful relationship.

“Truth is completely underrated any more in the world today,” she notes. “It’s one of those things where people have to search and look for it, and I’m satisfied in living it, so if it helps anybody else along the way realise ‘I can listen to my own voice’ and move forward, that’s awesome!”

BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME

(Waggoner; guitarist) old band Prayer For Cleansing.

We had been friends for years and I remember always having loved the band and always feeling like there was a small progressive rock element in their music, sometimes, every now and then.

“But I always thought there should be more. My contributions to Alaska I felt were pretty blatant and then carried over to Colors. I think it kind of helped inspire Paul to step outside the box a little bit more. He always likes to hear something crazy or weird, but he also writes the more straight-forward things. I think he even surprises himself sometimes.”

Visiting Australian shores this month off the back of their latest effort, The Parallax II: Future Sequence, the band decided to do something a little different by giving fans the chance to hear the album in full. Widely considered as one of their most interesting and popular releases to date, their sixth full-length was also their first foray into the conceptual realm.

Building on an idea that came from the 2011 EP, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues, Briggs points to the band wanting to recapture some of their energy felt on their Colours (2007) release. “When we did the EP, it was like fighting each other, people leaving the room and needing space,” he says. “We were just trying to force things to work because we had just been on tour for nine months straight and coming into that session was tough. It was probably the toughest writing we had done since Alaska, whereas with Colors, The Great Misdirect (2009) and The Parallax II, we just came in with so much creative energy.

“I don’t get a good conceptual sense out of the EP. I really think it was just trying to do something out of very little. We didn’t have time that whole year to be home and write and work on stuff or advance as musicians. With The Parallax II, it was really a focus on doing what was best for the song, and ultimately the record. There wasn’t really a feeling like there might have been in the past like, ‘I don’t think that’s best for the song’.

“We didn’t hit those moments very often — maybe like two times in the whole record. The good vibe is just there on this record.”

Parallax Lives American progressive metallers Between The Buried And Me will play their acclaimed 2012 record, The Parallax II: Future Sequence, in full this Friday, November 22, at Amplifier Bar. JESSICA WILLOUGHBY catches up with bassist, Dan Briggs.

Dan Briggs, bassist for Between The Buried And Me, could be mistaken for being the quiet one in the dynamic outfit. But he is actually a wunderkind.

Joining the band just in time for Alaska in 2005, the stringsman was 20-years-old. So it was hard to believe he had earned his way into this progressive band – until you hear his back-story.

So what was it like to be so young and play a major part in Between The Buried And Me’s launch to success? “It was cool,” he says.

“I’ve been in bands since I was 12. They were all local bands and I had done a small number of out-of-town shows. I was in college at the time studying upright bass, like classical curriculum. I was just a huge Dream Theater fan and I was writing stuff that was more progressive rock.

“I was a fan of Between The Buried And Me big-time and Tommy (Giles Rogers; vocals) and Paul’s

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SPOTIFY Dedicated Follower Of Fashion Eighteen months after launching in Australia to headlines such as ‘Artist Anger As Spotify Launches In Australia’ and ‘Does Spotify Have a Future?’, the world’s most visible streaming service appears here to stay. JULIAN TOMPKIN visits Spotify headquarters in Stockholm for a rare glimpse behind the digital curtain of the company that changed the way we listen to music.

The washed-out grey office block seems hardly befitting to headquarter the sort of global internet start-up that makes daily headlines in the world’s more salubrious broadsheets. But, as with the flimsy A4 sheet of paper that so ephemerally bares the company’s distinctive green insignia on the streetlevel entrance, perceptions can be frustratingly deceiving.

Such was the case when a little Swedish website flicked the switch and went live back in October, 2008. Very few people heralded this a landmark moment of progress. Indeed, after a decade of turbulence and now finally enjoying some stability brought by steady iTunes revenue, many music industry pundits reckoned (or at least quietly prayed) these Swedish upstarts would simply disappear, like Napster and Pressplay before them.

Having recently celebrated five years in business, there is little doubt Spotify – or, more precisely music streaming – is here to stay, and the CD can finally join the cassette in retirement (closely followed by the MP3, as Apple readies for iTunes’ succession to iRadio).

“Streaming was inevitable, it was only a matter of time,” Jonathan Forster says matter-offactly. A genial Newcastle upon Tyne lad, equally at home talking pints and proxies, Forster was one of founder/CEO Daniel Ek’s first draft picks seven years ago and is now the General Manager for Europe, the company’s most successful territory.

“Dan’s bet was, looking at the way that people are consuming media, are governments really going to throw people off the internet when it’s being used to provision so many services? And looking at the size of the ad industry, look at what Google had done and we’ve seen Facebook do it since – if you could monetise the pirate listening with advertising it would be bigger than the music industry. He thought that it was a matter of time… but there’s no lying, we learnt stacks.”

The first thing Ek – along with fellow founder, Martin Lorentzon – learnt was that the record labels weren’t as turned on by his idea as he was. Having first approached them collectively and individually in 2006, it would take two long and

SPOTIFY: THE HALLWAY, THE MOTTO. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MAXIME TOMPKIN

SPOTIFY’S STOCKHOLM HQ. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MAXIME TOMPKIN

frustrating years before the labels reluctantly handed over the keys to the vault and allowed Spotify to launch in a number of limited European markets, with a ‘see how it goes’ approach.

Although regularly seen keeping company with the de rigueur rollcall of net billionaire acquaintances, like Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker (who is a major Spotify investor), Ek isn’t your typical internet millionaire – confident but understated, driven but measured. Having started his first company at 14, Ek was a jaded multimillionaire by his early 20s – unfulfilled by his Ferrari and frustrated with his place in the universe. After heading country for a spell to ponder life’s big questions he emerged in 2006 with the formula for what would become Spotify: “think it, built it, ship it, tweak it.”

The company’s first landmark victory was the resurrection of Sweden’s recorded music industry.

As the home of Pirate Bay and with one of the fastest internet speeds in the world and ubiquitous computer ownership, by 2008 Sweden’s recorded music industry was all but decimated by illegal downloading.

However, following Spotify’s launch in October the Swedish government trounced Pirate Bay in the courts and then signed off on a Europe-wide anti-piracy policy. Whether white knights or accidental heroes, Spotify were nonetheless in the right place at the right time – the epoch of legal streaming was imminent.

Acknowledging the dramatic turn of events in Sweden and sensing the changing winds, the labels signed up – literally. Reports suggest the three remaining ‘majors’ (Sony, Universal and Warner) collectively own an 18 per cent stake in the private company. Perhaps reassured by Sweden’s reputation for a cool-headed and methodical business culture, the labels have gambled their own survival on Spotify – but Forster says it’d be foolhardy to draw direct parallels between Spotify and those dependable (if not slightly unromantic) paragons of Swedish virtue and prudence, Ikea, Ericsson and Volvo.

“I think we’ve got to be really careful about not overstating our effect on the music industry, but at the same time we’ve got to puffer our chests and not be too Swedish,” he ruminates, sipping on a mug of coffee. “We’ve got over a thousand people working on a digital music problem and that’s probably more than anyone else in the whole world, so we’ve got to

MOONSORROW Life In The Dead World Finnish crusaders of epic pagan metal, Moonsorrow, are touring Australia for the first time, hitting the Rosemount Hotel this Sunday, November 24. JESSICA WILLOUGHBY chats with guitarist, Mitja Harvilahti.

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have some self belief.”

Self belief is at the epicentre of Spotify’s philosophy; a sort of quiet resolve that, while they may be attempting to reconstruct mountains, it’s all in a 12-hour-day’s work. Taking up four floors in Stockholm’s city centre, the office has the sort of frisky get-up you’d expect of a cutting-edge startup, but without the brazenness. There’s the usual video gaming room (apparently Ek reigns as FIFA champion), a Metallica pinball machine (Lorentzon holds the record score) but otherwise the sonorous drone of fingers punching keyboards.

Here around 450 unfazed 20-somethings quietly crunch obscure analytic data – like how Spanish streaming nosedives around 1pm (siesta time) while in Finland’s consumption goes into overdrive around 11pm (as the saunas close) – and curate playlists for every conceivable scenario, from homework mood-setting soundtracks to aggregating the hottest yodelling rappers you’ve never heard of.

But o ne cruci al q u e s t i o n re ma i n s deceptively unanswered: can artists earn a respectable crust from the new business model? Traditional digital sceptics Metallica say yes; digital distribution pioneer Thom Yorke says no. But in reality it depends on your own perception of what is the ‘product’ – the brand or the song? If it’s the brand then Spotify’s a gift of YouTube proportions. If it’s the song then you may well be toast.

Forster avers that Spotify is designed to work at scale. He says the company is on track to pay the industry one billion dollars by the end of this year, but more users will inevitably mean more money for everyone. So what’s the magic tipping point, where streaming royalties supplement lost revenue from CDs and legal downloads? Forster is not saying, but repeatedly references Facebook’s one billion users. However, with only 24 million users in 32 territories, that hallowed figure may appear but a distant apparition for Spotify.

Indeed, there are some – including streaming competitor Pandora’s CFO Mike Herring – who reckon Spotify’s business model is fatally flawed; with the company needing nothing short of divine intervention to survive long-term. Maybe it is another sign of Ek’s cautious Swedish business nous that he chose to set up Spotify HQ next door to a church.

“We’re making investments to support a company that has tens or hundreds of millions of users all over the globe, not just to be a very profitable and loved-by-the-industry Swedish music streaming service, which we could be today,” Forster says, admitting that user numbers remain frustratingly low. “It’s hard, and it’s always been hard to make a huge living doing the thing you love. It’s tricky. We don’t have all the answers. It’s never been that easy for artists; I think there’s a myth that it is. We often say in the start-up world the best entrepreneurs are the ones that didn’t give up.”

Perhaps it was no mere coincidence that Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush’s 1986 chart-topping duet, Don’t Give Up, was recently featured in one of Spotify’s karaoke playlists, curated by a 20-something between bouts of FIFA.

Pagan metal is a musical genre often considered foreign to Australian shores... but that is about to change.

For the first time in their 18-year history, Finnish titans, Moonsorrow, will be bringing their heavy brand of post-apocalyptic tunes to capital cities across the nation.

With six albums already behind them, guitarist, Mitja Harvilahti, says the band can hardly contain their excitement about finally coming down under.

“It’s a great privilege to get to tour Australia finally,” he says. “It’s one of the things we always wanted to do, but we couldn’t know when and how. It might be that the scene in Australia is only now starting to warm up for us enough. We never had any promotion there, so all of it had to go from people to people. I like it that way, but it takes time. I still don’t even know how much of a crowd we’ll draw, but it’s going to be a great tour.”

Moonsorrow are touring off the back of their most recent LP, 2011’s Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa, a release that takes the band and their fans down a darker path. A conceptual album, Harvilahti says the release reveals a new opportunity for those wanting to delve further into their back catalogue.

“The title means ‘As Shadows We Roam The Land Of The Dead’,” he says. “It has a storyline of a group of people that are searching for life and future

in the dead world. It’s our first complete concept album and everything – the music, lyrics and the art work – goes hand in hand with the story.

“I recommend people buy the vinyl copy of it to enjoy it in the best possible way, with the big pictures of the gatefold. CD really killed the visuality from music and internet downloading killed the rest, but vinyl is coming back. We have a huge 13 LP Collector’s Edition Box coming out next year. That is, at the moment, the biggest LP box ever in the history of metal. It will be gorgeous with all the art and extra stuff.”

To be released via Blood Music, no release date has been set. Harvilahti hopes it is sooner rather than later. “Blood Music contacted us and told us how much they would love to do this mega-release,” he explains. “We saw how much effort and attention to detail and art they put into their releases, so we immediately understood that this is the right companion for our long-awaited LP release.”

But that doesn’t mean the pagan metallers are turning away from a focus on new material. With their sixth opus circulating for almost two years now, Moonsorrow is slowly looking towards work on the follow-up.

But it is still early days, according to Harvilahti. “We indeed are experimenting with lots of stuff, but more to find the right elements,” he says. “I wish I could tell you more, but it’s hard since we are in the beginning of the journey.”

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JONATHAN FORSTER, SPOTIFY EUROPE GM. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MAXIME TOMPKIN

NEW NOISE

For more album reviews head to xpressmag.com.au

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THE APE

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4.5

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THE DEEP END

OUT OF 5

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PALMS

The Ape Ape Records

Cop This Relentless Rock Records

Sun Shy EP SideOneDummy/Universal

Step Brothers Spunk

Here comes Perkins’ latest act of self-invention, The Ape. The Ape isn’t, as Perkins has made clear already, a complex beast: it’s dirty-arsed garage rock’n’roll with enough funk and soul (courtesy of Perkins’ supporting cast, Raul Sanchez, Gus Agars and Pat Bourke) to make you get your derriere wiggling on the dance floor.

The opening track, Mission, operates on multiple levels: the grinding riff and Perkins’ salacious lyrical commentary throw back to rock’n’roll’s primitive origins; the title itself offers a brief glimpse into a wider economic context. Crawl Back is slow and funky enough to elicit a wry smile from Sly Stone; Don’t Need Nuthin’ is James Brown fronting the Beasts.

But there are other moods to The Ape: All Of Us mutates from power ballad into heavy grunge rock experience; Gonna Make You Love Me is the best Beatles track Perkins has ever put his hand to; All The Same is slick, sexy and charismatic. The sparseness of It’s No Fun strips The Ape concept back to its skeletal form; Kitchen Monkey would be at home strutting the clubs of LA back in ’79. Jane locks into a blues-rock groove but finds more contentment in the arms of The Faces than Canned Heat; I Can Feel A Thing suggests vulnerability – though, really, is that part of the Tex Perkins raison d’être?

And therein lies the issue – is The Ape for real, or is it part of a rolling tide of irony? And maybe it doesn’t even matter. Just suck it up.

Since AC/DC have semi-retired in middle aged mediocrity and ever-longer gaps between rehashed memories of past glories, there’s a huge market hole opened up for someone exciting enough to tread a similar path with style and (relative) originality.

Airbourne have already made their name doing just that, but with their third album they’ve pretty much fallen into a bit of rut as well, so that leaves the field wide open.

Enter The Deep End, born of the mean and filthy streets under Melbourne’s seedy belly. Aficionados of no frills, riff laden rock’n’ fucken roll, and disciples of the ‘if you don’t like it you can fuck off’ church of noise.

Taking the Accadacca blueprint as their main inspiration, they’re not afraid to mix it up a little with some quieter moments (Tattoos, Midnight Sun), but when Jazz Morrice and Drew Suhr’s guitars lock in like Malcolm & Angus’s, Matt Berg & Nick Trojanovski’s rhythm section rivets a song down and Dale Schober’s whiskey and ciggies gravel-throated roar kicks in, shivers go down the spine like the first time you heard AC/DC with Bon all those years ago – or The Poor or Airbourne more recently.

The songs here are the clincher – Bigger Better Badder, Knife Fight, Cheap Night Out, Shit Talker, Run With It – they all put the icing on the cake and ensure Cop This is more than just shallow imitation.

The SideOneDummy record label has been responsible for bands with punk leanings since the mid-’90s, but no one must have told Dresses. There is precious little that screams punk rock about this Portland boyfriend/ girlfriend duo that have been playing music together for just over a year are more interested in warm weather, hipster jeans and a stylish set of bangs. Sun Shy is the duo’s introduction to the public.

Timothy Heller (yep, a woman named Timothy) and her partner in crime Jared Ryan Maldonado play twee folk tunes that evoke thoughts of the beach rather than a workshop surrounded by grease monkeys.

Blew My Mind is the first song the couple wrote together and is chock full of the joyous revelry that comes with a new relationship, with some keys and beats thrown in for good measure.

Maldonado steps out from the shadows to provide some unaffected vocals to the title track, Sun Shy, which is bound to be a party anthem of the summer. Friends Are Dead is an impeccable dose of female driven euro-melody that is so infectious it would make the likes of Lily Allen blush if she had some class.

With two voices and a foot in the folk, indie and pop camps, Dresses are a band that are still finding their unique voice. If Sun Shy is anything to go by, it will be a hell of a lot of fun observing their coming of age.

Red Riders were responsible for a couple of pretty unremarkable records a few years back, but not to be perturbed, Al Grigg has moved on to brighter pastures.

His third band in almost as many years, Palms is a throw back to all that is good about slacker indie.

Step Brothers started off as a fairly lo fidelity effort recorded in the kitchen of Palms’ friend, Owen Penglis, who was promptly paid with food of either kebabs or Vietnamese. The recordings outshine their budget by a considerable margin. The loose acoustic opener, In The Morning, is very much the calm before the storm as Grigg puts on an affected drawl that is like Westerberg before he discovered the evil old brew.

The sedate nature subsides with a cacophony of guitars and vocals as Grigg screams through Love without detracting from its instant hook. Palms dine from the influence of recent American guitar bands from Weezer to The Strokes to forge their tunes, without being a parody or pastiche. There is ample energy and sing along qualities for Palms to stand on their own feet.

Palms pack a full blown melodic punch with ample character and guitar crunch to make Step Brothers an edgy delight that pulls you back for repeated listens again and again.

CHRIS HAVERCROFT

CHRIS HAVERCROFT

PATRICK EMERY

SHANE PINNEGAR

0.5 OUT OF 5

SURVIVE THIS! The Life You’ve Chosen Epitaph Records We all make mistakes. It’s all part of learning and growing. The Life You’ve Chosen is one huge mistake, and if Survive This! want to survive as a band, they’re

going to need to forget this LP and start fresh.

Their first poor decision was becoming the protégé band of Falling In Reverse singer, Ronnie Radke, who hasn’t done anything positive for the music industry since his departure from Escape The Fate in 2008. Radke’s influence as a producer of the album is evident through its predictable rhythms, unimaginative riffs and inexcusable themes.

The final nail-in-the-coffin is Pardon Me, which features lyrics that promote violence against women such as, ‘Just wait ‘til I get my hands on you.

Bleed bitch bleed’. As musicians you have a social influence and impact - there is no place for this filth in the music industry and Survive This! should be ashamed. Start fresh or stop trying.

AARON BRYANS

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OUT OF 5

HANNI EL KHATIB Head In The Dirt Innovative Leisure Records Hanni El Khati’s second album was produced by Dan Auberbach, and at times, the level of influence exerted on his sound by The Black Keys descends into parody.

This is particularly so here on the closing brace of the fuzzed out Sinking In The Sand and the muted-thenexpansive House On Fire. When sticking to his own

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voice, however, Khatib delivers a distinct, thrilling and diverse rock record.

A tendency to musical bombast is nicely offset by Khatib’s thin, reedy pipes and his comfort with different genres. Things really start to cook on the sinister reggae of Skinny Little Girl and the flame bright soul stomper, Penny. This starts a string of six straight killers, stopping at wah wah stomp on Can’t Win ‘Em All and Sabbath exploding out of bratty garage punk on Pay No Mind. By the time the sextet closes with the deliciously seductive polyrhythms of Low, you can forgive its slight sigh of an ending.

This is a good, at times great rock’n’roll album, a collection of songs you want to have a drink with. Khatib’s been quoted as saying he makes records for anyone who’s been shot or hit by a train. He’s playful and inventive enough that he could take that subject matter to some interesting places.

CHARLIE LEWIS

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A R T S & C U LT U R E

Tackling only his second feature project as director, Scottish filmmaker Jon S. Baird decided to aim for the sky and the gutter simultaneously, adapting the hilarious, profane and disturbing novel, Filth, by Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh.

Jon S. Baird is feeling a bit out of sorts when we speak to him, having just jumped off a long-haul flight. “I just got back from India so my head’s a bit up my bum at the moment with jetlag and stuff,” he explains in his thick Scots accent. “But I’m strugglin’ through.” He is, however, keen as mustard to talk about his latest

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film. “I always find this a good way to get your head back in focus, y’know?”

Filth the novel is a deliberately offensive and obtuse book, detailing the downward spiral of Bruce Robertson, a monstrously selfish and cruel Edinburgh cop, as he pursues both the perpetrator of a savage murder and his own perverted gratification.

At the time of publication it seemed like author Irvine Welsh’s concerted attempt to alienate the literati who had elevated him following the success of Trainspotting and, to a lesser extent, Maribou Stork Nightmares. This didn’t intimidate Baird at all.

“They said it was an unfilmable novel and I thought, ‘Ah, a challenge! I don’t think it is.

I think there’s a way to do this.’” he recalls. “That’s the bottom line. I just always felt that it was his best book. I always felt it was the best and the most intriguing and the most complex and it had

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the best potential - that’s what I felt, anyway. And Irvine certainly feels that Filth is in his top two books - he won’t tell me what the other one is, though! I remember I bought it the day it came out and it was the first book of Irvine’s I’d read, so I’d read it before Trainspotting. I thought this character, Bruce Robertson, would make an incredibly complex antihero if handled the right way.”

He also insists that the success of Trainspotting the movie, which put director Danny Boyle as well as actors Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlysle and more on the map, did not give him pause. “ I never really thought about it too much. You get an author like Stephen King who has had so many different novels adapted, many different kinds of novels and many different kinds of movies and I just felt that I couldn’t concentrate on the other films, whether people like ‘em or don’t like ‘em; I just have to do what I want to

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do. So that was kind of it, you know?”

Indeed, even the process of adapting the novel into screenplay form didn’t faze him, although he admits to some heartbreak once the filmed scenes were assembled in the editing suite.

“There were two massive scenes from the book that we actually shot that didn’t make the film and that was more heart wrenching. I got everything that I loved from the book into the script and we shot it all. I amalgamated characters, places and storylines and it was very tough to do, because you’re condensing a 300 page novel into a 90 minute film so it’s a difficult thing whatever the book is, but what was more difficult was the edit and getting rid of the scenes that we shot that I really liked but knew couldn’t stay in the film.”

TRAVIS JOHNSON

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A R T S & C U LT U R E

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GET SOME PERSECTIVE

FILM

The first solo show by Kynan Tan, perpectives [macro] runs at Free Range Gallery from Friday, November 22 until Saturday, December 14. Tan uses self-constructed computer programs to develop audio-visual material derived from data sets, archived footage, computer-generated imagery and synthesised sound. Works within the exhibition include multi-speaker, screen and projection pieces and 3D printed sculptures. For more info, go to freerange.org.au.

VAYA CON DIOS, VAN GOGH MONKEYING AROUND WITH BOWIE To help fund the upcoming theatrical production Monkey, The Demon And The Weeping Magpie for Fringeworld 2014, Luna Outdoor will be hosting a special screening of the 1986 Jim Henson classic, Labyrinth, on Sunday, December 15. This is going to be a Labyrinth screening like no other, as it borrows The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s audience participation model to make sure all and sundry get in on the fun.

There’ll dancing, drinking, food, singing and bulging (mainly around Bowie’s nether regions). Tickets are $20 plus booking fee through eventbrite.com (not Luna) and are extremely limited, so get a move on.

The Art Gallery Of Western Australia’s fantastic MoMA exhibition, Van Gogh, Dali And Beyond: The World Reimagined, is drawing to a close, but there’s still a bit of time to go and check out some of the greatest artworks on the 20th century before they all get boxed up and shipped off after Monday, December 2. Get down on Friday, November 29 for The Last Hurrah closing party, featuring Bob Evans and Mathas, which includes guided tours of the exhibition from 6pm until 9.15pm. Head to momaseries.com.au for more info.

Rubber Johnny Directed by Jeff Tremaine Starring Johnny Knoxville, Jackson Nicoll

Pic: Labyrinth

PRESENT AND CORRECT If you’re looking to give something a little more thoughtful than a new-generation console or a gift voucher this season, get down to the Fremantle Arts Centre Bazaar to navigate your way through a mind-boggling selection of locally designed and produced artworks, leather goods, textiles, ceramics, woodwork, beauty products, fashion and toys. Make a day of it - the galleries are open, food and drink for sale and a live DJ. It all happens on Friday, December 6, Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8.

Head to fac.org.au for further details.

SACRED GEOMETRIES Anya Brock’s new exhibition, Unplan, is on at Fremantle’s PS Art Space from this Friday, November 22 until Sunday December 1. Consisting of a series of huge wooden geometric compositions, Unplan explores notions of immediacy, spontaneity and the acceptance of consequence. Venture on to psas.com. au for further information.

BAD GRANDPA

BURNING DESIRE Against The Grain: Tim Burns Survey is on at the Alcoa Mandurah Art Gallery from Friday, November 29 until Saturday, January 11. Spanning four decades of the self-described contextual artist’s career, the exhibition includes more than 350 A3 images of previous works, as well as three of Burns’ films: Why Cars? CARnage!, Political Transmission and Thus Went Phillipa. Burns is no stranger to controversy and this collection serves as a fitting overview of his creative and political concerns. For more information, go to manpac.com.au.

Pic: White Cells by Tim Burns

The team that previously brought you Jackass brings you more of the same. If this is your thing, go see the movie. If your evenings consist of reading Proust and listening to Bach, then this might not be the film for you. As for the rest of us sitting uncomfortably on that bell curve, Bad Grandpa produces more than a few surprises and delivers some quite unexpected laughs.

Given the confines of a narrative this time, the film tells the tale of recent widower Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville). Finally freed of a sexless (‘since the ‘90s’) marriage only to be frustratingly saddled with his eight year old grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) by his jail-bound daughter, Irving looks to ferry the kid half way across the country to his deadbeat father so he will be free to pursue his carnal desires. Cue a string of rocket-powered pratfalls, scatological humour, and hidden camera stunts, all strung together in the guise of a road movie.

Bad Grandpa is helmed once again by long time director of the previous Jackass movies, Jeff Tremaine, who manages to cobble together the various hidden camera footage and staged scenes into a cohesive whole. For fans of Jackass this must be like unwrapping the bike you have always wanted

for Christmas and then hilariously riding it straight into your Grandfather’s crotch.

Yet as easy as it is to dismiss this movie as just crass entertainment, there is a certain anarchic sense of fun to be had. There is quite a sharp core of writers involved, including Fax Bhar (Hearts Of Darkness) and long time Jackass collaborator Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich), creating the set ups.

Despite being incredibly uneven, Bad Grandpa is occasionally riotously funny, and even achieves the odd touching moment.

Slathered with enough prosthetic make-up to allow him to continue his pranks in anonymity, Johnny Knoxville’s portrayal of Irving Zisman is equal measures cringe-worthy, hysterical and heartwarming. True the aged lothario’s failed attempts to pick up often wear a bit thin, but when the comedic set up works it has the audience howling with laughter. Also, one must grudgingly respect a person with the moxie to prank a barful of bikers, and the charisma to explain it to them afterwards.

However, the real revelation in this film is Jackson Nicoll. His interactions with Knoxville and the general public grant this movie an emotional heart while still retaining the comedic elements. He also easily steals the show with a lift from Little Miss Sunshine.

That one sequence alone demonstrates he has quite a career in comedy ahead of him if he so chooses (or exotic dancing if things don’t go as planned).

Horribly uneven, rocketing the audience between laughs and groans, Bad Grandpa is not going to be to everyone’s taste. It will, however, delight fans of the genre, and even surprise a few partners that may have been dragged along.

DAVID O’CONNELL

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FILTH It’s An Unfair Cop Directed by Jon S. Baird Starring James McAvoy, Eddie Marsan, Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots, Shirley Henderson, Jim Broadbent Let’s address the elephant in the room first: Filth isn’t as good as Trainspotting, Danny Boyle’s 1996 adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s epochal novel about Scottish skag addicts on the make. That’s okay, though; few films are. It is, however, streets ahead of The Acid House and Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy, two dismal attempts to repeat Trainspotting’s success. Still the question remains: can Filth stand on its own flat feet?

Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy) is a horror of a human being. Venal, vile, violent, awash in drugs and whiskey, he views the world through a jaundiced eye that is always fixed on the main prize.

He’s also an Edinburgh cop. His never-ending quest to sate his desire for debauched sex, drugs and malicious prankery is only interrupted when he clocks that solving a brutal murder might net him the promotion he feels may entice his estranged wife back to his side.

Bruce thinks this is the ticket to the big time but it is to clear to everyone around him - and us - that he is simply circling the drain more and more rapidly.

McAvoy - a long way from his role as Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class and even further from his turn as the faun, Mr Tumnus, in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe - is electrifying in the central role, delivering a forceful, hilarious and 18

nuanced performance. Bruce is a monster, but when we are privy to his thoughts and see the world through his eyes it’s easy to be seduced into sharing his attitudes. While his deeds are unforgivable - he blackmails an underage girl into giving him head at one point and frames his best friend, the mildmannered Clifford (Eddie Marsan), for sex crimes at another - McAvoy’s intense, amicably evil turn makes him an indelible anti-hero.

He’s supported by an impressive ensemble that includes Jamie Bell as Ray, Bruce’s fellow copper and cocaine aficionado; Imogen Poots as Amanda, a female officer who is not taken in by Bruce’s questionable charms and Jim Broadbent as Dr Rossi, Bruce’s psychiatrist, who appears in a number of increasingly dreamlike and hallucinatory sequences that work to reveal some of Bruce’s tragic and traumatic back-story.

Director Jon S. Baird employs a garish, frenetic and grungy sensibility - yes, much like Boyle and co did back in ‘96 - but it works to position Filth as a companion piece to, rather than an imitation of, Trainspotting. To be sure, veterans of the first film will not get the heady shock of the new that it engendered on first viewing, but neither will they feel that Filth is a waste of time.

In adapting the source novel, Baird has at times taken excessive liberties and it’s a shame that so much of Welsh’s more outré material didn’t make it to the screen. Then again, given that , for example, part of the novel is narrated by a tapeworm in Bruce’s intestines, perhaps such changes were inevitable. Still, that alone should let you know whether you’ve got the stomach for this one.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

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MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Black And White Bard Directed by Joss Whedon Starring Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese, Clark Gregg, Sean Maher, Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion The average person might manage to squeeze a little light household maintenance into a few weeks’ vacation time - maybe a spot of painting or gardening at most. When Joss Whedon had some time off during post-production on The Avengers, he got his mates together and made another movie. All questions of quality aside, it’s a salutary lesson in time management.

Based on the William Shakespeare play of the same name, the film charts the romantic entanglements of a group of Italian nobles staying at the estate of Leonato (Clark Gregg). Hero (Jillian Morgese), Leonato’s daughter, is betrothed to the valiant Claudio (Fran Kranz), with the pair seemingly being everything star-crossed young lovers should be.

In contrast stand the older and more cynical Benedick (Alexis Denisof) and Beatrice (Amy Acker). Following a one night stand (an addition to the source material) they have bickered incessantly and proclaimed to have no faith in romance. The visiting Don Pedro (Reed Diamond), having played matchmaker with Hero and Claudio, decides that setting up these two will be a worthy challenge, while his villainous half-brother, Don

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John (Sean Maher) amuses himself by trying to ruin every relationship he can.

On paper it sounds a bit complicated, but this is light, nimble, and winningly warm stuff, so don’t be intimidated by the florid language or dull memories of tedious high school lit classes. Whedon has assembled a charming cast - most of whom he’s got on speed dial, no doubt - and by keeping set dressing and design elements to a minimum - he shot the whole thing in his own house in black and white with handheld cameras - the dialogue and performances are foregrounded. There’s a playfulness here, a sense that everyone is having a ridiculously good time. Although shot quickly and cheaply, the whole affair never feels amateurish; Whedon’s creative choices feel like artistic decisions rather than pragmatic ones.

The Whedon faithful will be well pleased by this one - geek icon Nathan Fillion fills the small but crucial role of the bumbling constable Dogberry, and that’s bound to put a smile on every viewer’s face but even those who have avoided the Firefly Kool-Aid so far should have a good time of it. For all that he is lauded now, as a writer Shakespeare was never afraid to appeal to the cheap seats, and there’s plenty of silliness and broad comedy here.

As a kind of experiment in film form, Much Ado Without Nothing was always going to worth taking a look at; the fact that it’s actually a good film is kind of a bonus. It’ll be interesting to see if Whedon and his stock company ever tackle something like this again; here’s hoping they do, and sooner rather than later.

Much Ado About Nothing screens as part of The Perth International Arts Festival at Somerville Auditorium from Monday, November 25, until Sunday December 7, and at the Joondalup Pines from Tuesday, December 3, until Sunday, December 8. Go to 2014.perthfestival.com.au for session times and tickets.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

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ADORATION Sharing Is Caring Directed by Anne Fontaine Starring Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frecheville, Ben Mendelsohn, Gary Sweet Adoration has gone by many names. Adapted from the novella The Grandmothers by Doris Lessing, it was called Two Mothers for a while, then Perfect Mothers.

It was called Adore when it released in overseas markets and is now called Adoration for its domestic release. None of that really matters, though; by any name, the film is a complete mess.

The film concerns lifelong friends Lil (Naomi Watts) and Roz (Robin Wright) and their respective surf-rat sons, Ian (Xavier Samuel) and Tom (James Frecheville). Their idyllic seaside life is unsettled when Ian acts on his attraction to Roz and they begin an affair. Tom, seemingly acting out of spite, jumps into bed with Lil. Naturally, this turn of events, though thoroughly embraced by all directly involved, is not going to go down too easily with anyone outside their familial four-way.

Conceptually, this is a very interesting, albeit discomfiting, subject. How often do we see mature female sexuality - and sexual fantasy tackled on the big screen? Throw in a pretty heavy homoerotic subtext - Gary Sweet turns up as a local guy who is sweet on Lil, only to be dissuaded when he assumes that she and Roz are hooking up - and some barely-veiled incestuous longings and you have a recipe for something both troubling and provocative.

Unfortunately, concept and execution are not the same thing. Director Anne Fontaine (Coco Before Chanel) and screenwriter Christopher Hampton (Atonement) tackle this hedonistic tale if illicit desire with such dour seriousness that it sinks under the weight of its own pretensions. For a film explicitly concerned with sex it is bizarrely un-erotic, and what couplings we do see are fleeting and coy, even when they’re ostensibly passionate. It’s interesting to conjecture what a filmmaker like, say, Paul Verhoeven, veteran director of Basic Instinct and Showgirls, might have made of such a lurid scenario; at the very least, the fucking wouldn’t have felt so faux.

There are elements here that do work, though. Watts and Wright do excellent work, lending shading and nuance to even the most tin-eared dialogue, and the rest of the cast do what they can.

Ben Mendelsohn crops up as Roz’s (former by the halfway mark) husband, and he’s always a welcome addition. The whole affair (heh) is beautifully shot by director of photography Christophe Beacarne, who makes the beach town location achingly enticing and shoots the lithe bodies of his young male leads as though they were Greek gods.

Still, it’s all to little effect. Word is that the film’s initial screening at Sundance elicited peals of laughter from the attendant crowd. The exact same thing happened at the Perth screening and, frankly, it’s hard to imagine any other response. Adoration’s key contribution to film culture is that it will give the viewer pause before they describe almost any other film as ‘awful.’

Head to xpressmag.com.au to read our interview with actor James Frecheville.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

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THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE Say You Want A Revolution Directed by Francis Lawrence Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman What was subtext now becomes text in this eagerlyanticipated follow-up to last year’s smash hit YA adaptation, The Hunger Games. Whereas that film was a sci-fi survival drama with a strong thread of wealth disparity commentary running through it, the sequel is a full-on smash-the-state call for revolution and is all the better for it.

Picking up the narrative shortly after the events of the first film, Catching Fire sees heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and her fellow Hunger Games victor, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) dragged around the various Districts that comprise PanEm, the film’s dystopic future America on a propaganda tour. Trouble is brewing, with the oppressed people of PanEm viewing Katniss as a symbol of resistance against President Snow’s (a delightfully evil Donald Sutherland) brutal regime.

Violence is inevitable - if anything, Catching Fire is bloodier than the first film - but will it be for survival or a greater cause?

A couple of minor missteps aside - some early table-setting scenes drag a little, and at first glance a rerun of the actual in-universe gladiatorial Hunger Games seems unimaginative before things kick up a notch - this is compelling, engaging stuff.

The Hunger Games series is far and away the best young adult film series since Harry Potter hung up his wand, and arguably more politically astute. Jennifer Lawrence is flat-out brilliant as Everdeen, delivering a heroine worthy of the title, and the adult supporting cast - Woody Harrelson as alcoholic mentor Haymitch; Elizabeth Banks as the superficial, strangely tragic Effie; Lenny Kravitz’s quietly rebellious Cinna - don’t put a foot wrong. The younger cast occasionally falter, and any efforts to engineer a love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Liam Hemsworth’s hunky Gale Hawthorne are doomed due to the latter’s utter blandness, but that’s largely forgivable. There’s a weight and a seriousness of purpose here that is largely absent from most fare aimed at a younger audience.

Extrapolating a bit, one of the key themes of the series is personal agency, and it’s one that needs to come to a head in the next two films (the third book, Mockingjay, has been split into two for the cinema, as is the fashion these days). With both PanEm and the resistance wanting Katniss for their own purposes, the question of what she actually wants and whether she has the power to plot her own course is crucial, given that she’s largely been reacting to stimuli so far.

Assuming the best possible outcome for the series, Catching Fire is a great middle episode, working to up the stakes, build the world and deepen the characters and their relationships. Bring on Mockingjay.

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PUBLIC SPACE Theatre In The Real Having already made it’s mark at Fringeworld 2013, the experimental performance piece, Public Space, will once again be delighting and baffling audiences at Joondalup’s Twilight Markets. We caught up with co-director Renee Newman-Storen.

Public Space began life as a development Mark Storen undertook with Little y Theatre Company and The Advanced Acting Worksop about a year ago, centred around the notion of public space and stories and experiences that occur in public space.

Renee Newman-Storen explains further.

“It was a very interesting thing where intimate, sometimes quite risqué and confronting moments were turned into monologues and put into the public space, but alongside that we had this kind of immersive experience that would occur where we would stage certain things that the ticketholder would be aware was part of the performance but the rest of the public wouldn’t be.”

Producer/Performer Georgia King in Public Space.

Photo by Steven Gerard

This was originally performed as part of this year’s Fringe Festival, in the heart of the city.

“This was in and around the Cultural Centre and they were some of the most successful moments. for example, we’re all staring off into the distance looking at the world and there’d be a random skateboarder that would just come through our field of vision, or a little girl would follow one of our performers holding her hand because she found her really interesting.”

Now the show, completely reworked, has a new home in Joondalup for the next few weeks.

“Mark and I decided that we would like to pitch it with Little y again - so it’s a co-production between theMOXYcollective and Little y Theatre Company - to Joondalup, because they have a very interesting arts development package there, and we were successful, so Public Space will be part of their Summer Twilight Markets.”

Public Space takes place at 7pm every Friday from November 22 - December 20 For further information, go to joondalup.wa.gov.au.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

RETRO RUMBLE Popup Power Mojo Juju

The brainchild of HMS Popup, The Retro Rumble is a two day celebration of the current craze for ‘50s/early ‘60s kitsch cool. Think Mad Men, rockabilly, ‘50s housewives, pinup art, hot rod culture.

Saturday, November 23, sees the State Theatre Centre’s Theatre Underground is taken over by 11 awesome old school bands including

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headliners Mojo Juju, Lady Voodoo, Natalie Gillespie, The Fabergettes, The High Learys, The Sin & Tonics, The Waltones, Jordan C. Thomas and The Hammer 9.

In addition, there’ll be a retro marketplace, an old school games arcade, vintage hair and makeup stands and more.

Tickets are available through Ticketek.

Then on Sunday, November 24, All of Northbridge succumbs to the call of the retro, with markets in Russell Square from 11am, Live music and DJ sets in the Piazza with DJ Gareth Bird and MC Feisty, plus the Rumble Recovery Party at The Mustang Bar from 3pm. For full details, head to theretrorumbe.com.au

A R T S & C U LT U R E

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

Midsummer (A Play With Songs): The State Theatre Centre The last production of the Black Swan State Theatre Company’s 2013 season is uproarious romp through an unstable landscape of love, intoxication and chaos. It runs until November 24. Go to bsstc.com.au for session times and tickets.

Organic Symmetry - Bev Vivian

VISUAL ARTS Organic Symmetry: The York Mill Boiler Room Gallery A range of garments by Wheatbelt resident Bev Vivian – responsible for Studio Bibi’s one-of-a-kind textile products. The handmade garments and accessories reflect a certain earthiness and are characterised by the use of natural fibres such as wool, silk and cotton. The exhibition runs until December 1. Visit theyorkmill.com.au for more.

Perth Chamber Orchestra - Beethoven, Beer & Bratwurst: The B Shed Performance on Tuesday, December 10. Go to perthsymphony.com for information and tickets.

Lior & Westlake - Songs With Orchestra: Perth Concert Hall Performance on Wednesday, December 11. Head to waso.com.au for tickets.

Casting Doubts: Enright Theatre A comedic journey through real-world problems facing Indigenous actors, this new production features an all Aboriginal cast drawn from WAAPA’s 2013 Aboriginal Theatre graduates. The show runs until November 21. Head to waapa.ecu.edu.au for tickets and info.

Peter Pan: His Majesty’s Theatre West Australian Ballet presents a delightful adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s beloved children’s story. The season runs from November 22 - December 15. Go to waballet.com.au for more 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 Hola Mexican Film Festival: Cinema Paradiso This celebration of south of the border cinema runs until November 24. Go to holamexicoff.com for more.

Gimme Some Truth: Luna Cinema, Leederville RTRFM presents Australia’s first ever music documentary festival. Featuring 10 films, four Australian premieres and one world premiere, it runs From November 29 - December 1. Head to rtrfm.com. au for tickets, session times and further info.

Perth International Arts Festival Perth’s biggest celebration of art, film, music, theatre, dance and culture runs from February 7 - March 1.

Head to 2014.perthfestival.com.au for the full program.

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

localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au

Van Gogh, Dali 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.

Momentum: The Perth Centre Of Photography A free exhibition curated by Paulo Anselmi that celebrates the 21st birthday of PCP. Featured artists include Max Pam, Toni Wilkinson, Juha Tolonen, Flavia Schuster, Perdita Phillips, Graham Miller and Chris Young. It runs until December 8. Go to pcp.prg.au for more details.

Little Paintings, Big Stories: Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery Runs until December 14.

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

140 ART: 140 Nationally recognised artists and local emerging talent both contribute to this temporary gallery project that runs until January 31. Andy Quilty, Phibs, Amok, Anya Brock, Pip McManus and more will use shopfronts and walls along Wellington, William and Murray Street as a canvas for an ambitious urban art project. Head to 140.com.au for further information.

Exploring Arcadia: Linton & Kay Galleries CBD Having sworn to never again paint negative images following the September 11 attacks, artist Donald Waters has instead dedicated himself to producing uplifting and idyllic works. His latest exhibition is a further exploration of his constant themes of peace, joy and simplicity. It runs until November 21. Go to lintonandkay.com.au for more.

The Problems Of Explaining A Thunk: Fremantle Arts Centre Set in an installation reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Steven Dickie’s newest work explores the limits of conventional knowledge through a series of video and installation works that look at our inability to express and explain thoughts. It runs from November 22 - January 19. Go to fac.org.au for more.

The Problems Of Explaining A Thunk - Steve Dickey

Printmakers Landscape: Heathcote Museum & Gallery An investigation into landscape and environment through the medium of print from Robyn Collins, Emily Douglas, Kay Gibson, Jane Hardy and MaryLynne Stratton. The exhibition runs until December 22. Head over to melville.wa.gov.au for further info.

2013 Bankwest Art Prize: Bankwest Place The exhibition of all the finalist pieces for this prestigious annual award, including works by Rachel Coad, Penny Bovell, Susanna Castleden, Thea Constantino, Penny Coss, Jo Darbyshire and more, runs from November 27 - March 3. Go to bankwest.com.au for more.

MUSIC Caladenia Ensemble: Linton And Kay Galleries CBD Performance on Sunday, December 1. Go to cappuccino-concerts.com.au for more.

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c o m i n g o f a g e While some bands go off in different directions with each new record, indietronica stalwarts, Cut Copy remain true to their sound on fourth album, Free Your Mind. But why change tact when you’re onto a good thing? RACHEL DAVISON chats with drummer, Mitchell Scott, on the eve of the album’s release through Modular/Universal and ahead of their appearance at Future Music Festival on Sunday, March 2 at Arena Joondalup.

It’s been almost ten years since Cut Copy’s revered debut, Bright Like Neon Love and with each album, the (now) four-piece seem to garner more success. 2008’s In Ghost Colours debuted at number one on the ARIA Album Chart and 2010’s Zonoscope earned them a Grammy nomination in the US. The likeable and slightly kitsch, Free Your Mind with its ‘80s pop textures, swirling synths and ever-so-catchy dance hits, is the realised sound of Cut Copy coming of age and doing what they do best.

“We’re always just trying to do something that we find appealing and always open to trying different ways of working and different sounds,” he says from Melbourne. “I guess that’s how you find out what you naturally sound like - by trying different things and what the commonalities are that end up existing. I guess that’s the sound that’s inescapably yours. I think that’s probably what we found on this record.”

But not everything stays the same. While Bright Like Neon Love was charmingly simplistic and DIY in terms of its production and with each record since, the sound seems to get bigger and lusher.

“We’re still self-produced, but the sound of that changes over time, partly from learning more about production and just stylistically trying different things with the production,” Scott explains. “The same can probably be said about the way we play our instruments - we started out in a position of not really knowing how to play, learning as we go along always feeds into it and then trying different things in the studio, whether it’s grabbing new percussion gear and acquiring new synthesizers... it’s a never-ending process. As well as that, there’s always different music that you’re listening to and inspired by when a couple more years roll around and you’re working on a new record.”

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This time around they enlisted the production talent of Dave Fridmann - founding member of Mercury Rev with a list of notable mixing credits under his belt including MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular, The Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots and both Tame Impala records, to name just a few.

“Dave was sort of right up there - he was basically the number one we wanted to work with and his availability was about the worst of anybody we talked to. He was like, ‘I can do it in about six months’ and we just thought, ‘how can we do that?

We can’t wait six months!’ Eventually we just bit the bullet and said we’ll wait and make this record with Dave and make it the best it can be. So we went over and worked with him in his studio in Upstate New York - a crazy little cabin in the woods.

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Cut Copy. Continued from cover.

“We thought it would be interesting to see how he would work on our music, seen as though it’s a lot more dance-influenced than a lot of the other stuff he’s done before and not everyone gets that. It’s a little bit different to traditional rock music... but right from the word go, he was really comfortable with our music and understood it. He was a dream to work with.”

Fridmann’s psychedelic touch can be heard throughout the whole record, but most noticeably in the warped overtones of Dark Corners & Mountain Tops - one of Scott’s favourite tracks on the album.

“Well I think that (track) lends itself really well to his sound for sure - big reverbs and lots of cool stuff... but he was just really interesting to work with for a number of reasons. One of the things he would say, if there was some messed-up sound, he would want to be turning that way up, rather than squishing things and making them normal and easy on the ear, he was the opposite.

“If there was something grating in the song he would want more of it... that’s what he sort of aims for - a really messed up way of working. While he’s very technically capable, he lectures at university in sound engineering, he also knows when to throw it all out of the window and do the thing that is so technically awful that it makes people think there is something wrong with their stereo - and there’s a place for that as well.”

In addition to Fridmann, another notable coup for Cut Copy is True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard

starring in the video clip for their current single, Free Your Mind.

“He’s a friend of ours actually,” says Scott.

“We’d previously met in Rio, Brazil when we were touring the last record. He came and introduced himself backstage at our show and said he was a big fan and we were blown away to hear that. We ended up hanging out all night and having a massive night and became close. We kept in touch and we had this video idea that suited him, but we almost a little hesitant - we didn’t want to stretch the friendship and we knew we couldn’t afford him. But our director, who’s a friend of ours, encouraged us to make a call and see if it was possible and luckily he was super keen and on board to do it and the money wasn’t a problem,” he laughs.

Skarsgard couldn’t have been a better fit for the sort of culty revolution Cut Copy are amusingly championing in the marketing of the record, which included huge billboards displaying the phrase ‘Free Your Mind’ in remote areas of the world, including WA. “Yeah exactly - we thought it was a crazy fit,” Scott says of Skarsgard. “It was almost scary how funny it was. We showed up at this ranch... ‘cause we went over there and cameoed in the video so we could hang out a bit more and say thanks for coming and doing our video. It was hilarious showing up and seeing what was going on, on this massive ranch. The first scene I walked in on was him playing bongos on people’s heads.” It all seems meant to be, “absolutely”.

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RTRFM’S DANCE PARTY

HEIRS & GRACES

There’s a ten hour marathon of electronic grooves and upbeat pop music happening for RTRFM’s annual Seriously Sound System. Kicking off at 2pm in the Perth Cultural Centre’s Urban Orchard on Saturday, December 14, the all-local lineup includes live sets from Omega Is The Alpha, Kučka, Bastian’s Happy Flight, Boom! Bap! Pow!, Boys Boys Boys!, Community Sound System (represented by Diger Rokwell, Ylem, Mathas, Empty and ASAP) and DJs from dance crews, Untitled Sound Alliance, DeadWeight!, I.C.S.S.C, Habitat, The Likes Of You and The District. Get your tickets now from rtrfm.com.au.

It’s been a big year for east coast disco-pop band, Clubfeet with a J Award nomination and now the release of The Remixes, containing re-takes of tracks on their breakthrough album, Heirs & Graces from the likes of Ta-ku, Panama, Guerre, Lancelot, Joyce Muniz, Mercury, Aashton, ATTAR! and All Dom Wrong. Catch the Clubfeet DJs on the Wet & Mild Tour on Monday, December 23 at Villa. Tickets on sale at the door.

Clubfeet

Kučka

FLASH FORWARD Dance adventurers, Miami Horror are returning home to Melbourne for the summer after a long stint in Los Angeles. They have a new single out called Real Slow - “about finding that place or person were you feel secure enough to take things slowly,” reveals the band’s producer Benjamin Plant. They’re playing two shows in Perth - the first on Sunday, December 8 at Sets On The Beach, Scarborough Beach and on Saturday, February 15 at Amplifier Bar.

Inhibit are putting on a massive local line-up that celebrates drum’n’bass in all its glory. Drum’n’bass aka the type of electronic music that emerged in the UK in the mid-’90s, typically characterised by fast breakbeats with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, right through to jungle and its sub genres of tech-step, jump-up and liquid funk - you’ll get to celebrate it all on Friday, December 20 at Shape Bar (both levels) with Rregula, Spectrem, VLTRN, Greg Packer, Ekko & Sidetrack, Gorilla Tactics and Illusiv & Dvise - to name just a few. Tickets on sale at the door on the night.

Miami Horror

VLTRN

TAKING IT REAL SLOW

PRODUCER’S CUT

OUT OF 5

When are you at your most creative?

When I’ve been reading a lot.

What are the tools of your trade?

Studio: largely Ableton, synths and samples. Live: Those plus Kaoss Pads, mic and various other trinkets.

MOKA YOUNG

CHASE & STATUS

Young N Restless Independent/Obese Records Distribution

Brand New Machine Mercury Records/EMI

Moka Young is a Gold Coast resident that has seemingly come out of nowhere with a debut release via what is likely the most important record label in Australian hip hop - Obese. Moka has a distinctly American feel to the way he structures his raps, and the beat production throughout echoes this. The synthesized strings and crisp drum sounds feel a little bit too clean, but the instrumentals do often drift into some soulful melodies. It may not be the typical fare for this label’s roster, but it does hint at better things to come. Lyrically, Moka changes lanes drastically from incredibly earnest tributes to his mother (Miss Young) and his new born son (lead single New Blud), to braggadocious self promotion on tracks like Can Ya. It is this latter track that most exemplifies Moka’s ability to rap, riding the stuttering rhythm with a style more typical of the USA’s southern states. He certainly knows how to put together a verse but it often feels like there could be more substance behind his rhymes, in order to truly make them land with the listener. Interestingly, it’s the album opener Making My Way that is the most engaging track, with lyrics delivered over an instrumental entirely free of any drums.

Chase & Status’ third studio LP is well on the way to solidifying their reputation as being one of the biggest crossover acts hailing from underground drum‘n’bass since Pendulum. It’s a diverse collection of work encompassing pretty much every dance music genre from the last two decades, and although a more apt title would have seen the words ‘brand new’ replaced with ‘reference’, the album is essentially a tightly put together nod to the ‘90s done in style. Five years since their debut LP on Andy C’s Ram Records, Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status) are on to a winning formula that’s seen them fully embracing EDM to fuse their original interest in d’n’b with dubstep meets pop and now garage, trap and trip hop. Early on in the piece, the genius of dub sound system track, International shifts into the two-step shuffle of Blk & Blu and Deeper Devotion is a highlight, perfectly recreating the feel good vibes of acid house 25 years ago. It’s a pleasure to listen to and although vocal offerings from the otherwise flashy presences of Major Lazer, Nile Rodgers and rapper Pusha T abound, you get the impression that if the machine is a vehicle, it’s a well-oiled one with Chase & Status firmly installed in the driver’s seat.

NICK SWEEPAH

JO CAMPBELL

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VARIOUS ARTISTS Kitsune Maison 15 [PIAS]

This edition of Kitsune’s compilation is a truly eclectic mix of artists and genres, moving from electro, deep house to hip hop; it’s the musical equivalent of speed dating. Antimatter People’s Only Ark is a quality electro track, at times eerie and unsettling but masterfully put together. Voices a mellow disco number from Go Wolf 24

Most exciting moment on stage?

The best show I ever played was Lapalux and oOoOO at The Bakery – great crowd and a great reception.

Weirdest thing that’s happened while performing?

I don’t know, cops being called to a tiny little art gallery – twice? I guess that’s not that weird though…

Which producers are you digging right now?

Strunkdts, El-P, Lazerbeak, Marijuana Deathsquads.

Where can people get your tracks?

Bandcamp and SoundCloud. My name is very Google-friendly.

OUROBONIC PLAGUE What kind of music do you make?

Industrial-Ambient-Tech-Drone.

Quick overview of your year so far?

Great shows with Barn Owl and Whitehorse and the monthly excursion into weirdness that is Village Oblivia.

SALT NIGHTS OUT

follows, before moving deeper into house as we’re introduced via Moonshine to Jake Bullit. Johnny Pierce’s Home is a favourite and actually feels imbued with the kind of folky, roots happiness of the likes of John Butler Trio; it’s refreshing, just like lemonade. Chela delivers some synthy electro with Romanticise and right along side that era influence comes, Deezy Daisy, the Oliver Nelson remix of Portland. Later on NONONO delivers some beautiful vocals atop some very groovy notes on Scared - one of the choice tracks on the mix, and Dillon Cooper brazenly assaults the entire mix on State Of Elevation - spitting lyrics licking an incredible bassline and beat. There is never enough room to give justice to all the artists on a Kitsune compilation. Just know that this one is well worth a listen! Guaranteed it will result in love of at least one, if not many, of the artists in a kind of polyamourous, musical Shangri-La.

Anything else you’d like to tell X-Press?

Come down to Gilkisons on Friday night and party with us.

Ourobonic Plague plays the Village Oblivia stage as part of I.C.S.S.C’s event on Friday, November 22 @ Gilkisons Dance Studio.

Ourobonic Plague

come to trust - {MOVE} and Good Company presented in the spirit of consensual dance floor collaboration.

Expect to hear: In this case, six hours of fantastic music mixed by true selectors from home and abroad. A proper afro-calypso house and disco dance party from midnight till sunrise!

THE GREATER GOOD

Next lineup: The Awesome Tapes From Africa (Los Angeles), Invisible City Sound System (Toronto) and Michael Ozone (Melbourne) with local support from Rex Monsoon and Donna Kebabey.

Cool stuff: Rum-spiked coconuts for early arrivals.

When: Our first edition featured Jneiro Jarel (the man behind the beats behind the mask) in a smoked-out and boarded-up Velvet Lounge. The next edition is being held at a transformed Geisha Seaside Oasis Bar & Lounge this Friday, November 22. Occurs any time the moon and stars align.

The Greater Good Volume II is on this Friday, November 22 @ Geisha.

Ethos: Good, soulful music from two groups you’ve

Awesome Tapes From Africa

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Attend if...: You know what’s good for you!

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HELENA GIRL FROM AUS Helena is steadily becoming one of Australia’s most prominent producer/ DJs, dominating the world of electronica with her progressive electro/house beats.

FRANCIS WITSENHUYSEN chats to the leading lady about her upcoming appearance at Future Music Festival on Sunday March 2 at Arena Joondalup.

Seducing dance floors globally with her club hit, Girl From Outta Space, the UK-born, Australian-bred Helena says she’s ready to live up to her reputation as the boss of electronica at next year’s Future Music Festival. “I’m so honoured to come back to my home ground. The lineup is pretty epic. I can’t wait to play my set and be able to deliver my sound, vibe and what I’m about there, and tour with everyone on the bill. I’m sure I will come offstage flying. When you’re learning, you look at these guys who are successful and that’s what you aspire to be doing, playing a festival like Future. To reach those levels, to kick those goals, you

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really are playing out your dream as an artist.”

Becoming the first female artist to be booked as the support DJ on the main stage for Miami’s Ultra Music Festival in March was an experience Helena will never forget. “It’s the highlight of my career so far. I got booked on the main stage alongside Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure and Major Lazer. I ended up doing 24 sets on the live stage, so I was playing in between all of the main acts. I was literally running backwards and forward all day playing sets every hour, on the hour. It was pretty intense; at the end of it I almost collapsed and died, but it was worth it.”

Helena says she’s proud to show other women that they too can dominate main festival stages. “It’s a huge honour, to be leading the way in that sense and opening up future opportunities for female artists. I get a lot of emails from girls who want advice on different things, like how to go about furthering their careers. It’s really cool to think I’ve been inspiring other female artists. To see girls up there kicking it as hard, when it’s been such a boys club for so long, is a really positive thing for the music industry.”

Helena’s recent decision to relocate to LA where the club scene is exploding was an easy one.

“I’ve been touring the States since January and did quite a few shows backwards and forward... the shows I’ve been part of here and the clubs I’ve played, have been ridiculous. There’s been such a positive response everywhere I’ve played, and it’s really exciting that I’m building a strong fan base over here.”

Growing up surrounded by music and DJs, Helena says she didn’t have a choice with music,

it chose her. “My love for music originated back in the UK; I was obsessed with music in general, it was my passion and love. My brother’s a DJ, a lot of my good friends are DJs and I was also involved in running nightclubs in the UK, so becoming a DJ was just a natural progression. I would steal my brother’s equipment and make quite a hobby out of mixing. I never set out to become a DJ; I just loved it, which makes me incredibly lucky to be able to make a career out of a hobby.”

MIX MASTER MIKE Twist And Shout The world of electronic music has come a long way in the past two decades. Since the ’90s, DJs have become so identifiable that most of them have stopped putting ‘DJ’ in front of their name. DJs come and go, but one who has never left is Mix Master Mike. DANIEL PRIOR checks in ahead of his show at Villa this Friday, November 22.

A legend in the DJ world, coming to prominence in 1992 after winning the DJ Battle For World Supremacy, Mike struck it big when he became the turntablist for the Beastie Boys. He’s spun tunes through the age of compact discs, the rise of MP3s and iTunes, and shows no signs of stopping as the technological revolution brings us to the world of the Cloud.

“Technologies have changed everything so much, especially in the last ten years,” says Mike.

“It has its good and bad sides. I mean, I miss record shopping, but it has allowed us simplicity and access, so it’s hard to say one way or the other.”

But with ease and simplicity also comes apathy; an entire generation of listeners forgoing the rich history of music in exchange for ‘what’s hot now’. “I feel listeners are getting a bit lazy - not as a whole, but there are a lot of people who only take a passive role with music. Hopefully I’m wrong, but I see a lot of people just downloading music without much interest or reason. Things aren’t as wide open as they used to be.

“Growing up, music was about exploring,” Mike continues. “We were explorers. It was a challenge to find something worth listening to, to be the one who found it and shared it with everyone… that’s the reason why I do what I do. I’m here for the education. I’m spinning all this music; bringing back the ’70s with the ’90s and new stuff; it’s a stew that mixes and ties all these sounds together so that people can experience it and learn from it and hopefully go out and explore. That’s education.”

Mike has maintained his passion and drive for over 20 years. In that time, he has become a three-time consecutive winner of the DMC World DJ Championships, worked with musical greats such as Fela Kuti, and is credited with inventing the ‘tweak scratch’ technique. Still, he believes his best lies ahead of him.

“There’s never an end to this music thing.

It’s a heavy addiction for me. But I love finding new ways of bending and shaping music. I am always trying to create my own path, and sometimes it makes me wonder, ‘Is what I’m doing a bit too crazy?’

But crazy is good. I discovered dubstep in 2007 and brought it out to the States and made my own concoction of it... and hopefully I create something relevant, because that is the ultimate goal with music: it’s to make something relevant that lasts.”

Mike still believes in his craft, and that the art of DJing is as strong as ever. “Technology has made it easier to be a DJ, but DJing isn’t about the technology and knob-twisting. There’s enough knob-twisting going on already in the music industry.

If you’re going to be a DJ, just be honest and make sure you’re about the music.”

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WEDNESDAY 20/11

Art Department - Sunday, Nov 24 @ Parker

CLUB RED SEA Candyshop THE CRAFTSMAN FiveO EVE NIGHTCLUB Retro Thursdays ft. DJ Crazy Craig KALAMUNDA Grizzly LEISURE INN DJ Peta MALT Collective NEWPORT HOTEL Tiki Bar Open Mic Night

OCEAN ONE Lokie Shaw FRIDAY 22/11

AIR NIGHTCLUB VIP Platinum Fridays AMBAR District ft. Charlie Chan / Axen / Easy P / Jon Ee / Gracie / Sistym / Breadway / Aslan AMPLIFIER Fridays Are Back

THURSDAY 21/11

AMBAR Shed THE BEAT (DOWNSTAIRS) Fantasy Thursdays THE BIRD Pond / Doctopus Tour Fundraiser ft. Doctopus / Ben Witt / Shiny Joe Ryan THE CAUSEWAY Xport Thursdays CLUB BAY VIEW DJ Matty S & DJ Ben Renna

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CAUSEWAY

BEAT

AMPLIFIER/ CAPITOL Harlem Wednesdays THE BRASS MONKEY Victor CAPTAIN STIRLING Lokie Shaw CLUB RED SEA Cheek GOLD BAR Famous Wednesdays THE GRAND Anthony Grier GROOVE BAR (CROWN) DJ Crazy Craig THE LLAMA BAR Akuna Club MUSTANG BAR DJ James MacArthur PLAYERS BAR Why Wait Wednesday? ft. DJ Ambadextrus SOVEREIGN ARMS Jordan Scott THE VILLAGE BAR Village People Wednesdays THE BIRD TW!ST ft. Ms. Monica

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Mr Grevis - Friday, Nov 22 @ The Rosemount

THE AVENUE DJ Lokie Shaw THE BEAT (DOWNSTAIRS) PLAY THE BRASS MONKEY James Ess & Vicktor C5 METRO FREO Residence ft. Bass Attics CAPITOL Capitol Fridays CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) I Love 80’s & 90’s CLUB RED SEA Awol DAILY PLANET Sundowner Sessions THE CARINE Az-T THE CAUSEWAY Acoustic Sundowner THE COMO Funky Bottoms THE CRAFTSMAN Britty THE DEEN Student Night FLAWLESS Monarch Fridays THE GENEROUS SQUIRE Tastes Like Chicken

GINGER NIGHTCLUB Mondos “Feel Good” Dance Party GILKISONS DANCE STUDIO ICSSCX Village Oblivia GOLD BAR Friday Vanity THE GRAND Jay Mackay GROOVE BAR (CROWN) DJ Crazy Craig LAKERS TAVERN Grizzly LIBRARY Sneaky MUSTANG BAR Swing DJ/ Cheeky Monkeys/ DJ James MacArthur MY PLACE Karaoke NEWPORT Gravity PARAMOUNT Flyte/ Dj John/ Jordan PLAYERS BAR Hooch THE QUEENS Reuben ROCKET ROOM Howlers ft DJ Frank N Bean SHAPE BAR The Switch SOVEREIGN ARMS ANG3L VILLA Mix Master Mike THE WHALE & ALE DJ Spinback YAYA’S ACE ft DJ Pup

THE BALMORAL Back To The 80’s BAR 120 Little Nicky BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) CANVAS BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) Big Kidz Party Karoke Party BRASS MONKEY DJ Peta & Jordan Scott THE BRIGHTON DJ Mel 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 COURT Skarlett Saramore Adam Love/ Nino Brown EAST END BAR Home FLAWLESS LQ Saturdays FLYRITE FΔMILY FLAWLESS Cube GEISHA BAR Wankelmut GENEROUS SQUIRE Defauntly

MY PLACE

GILKISONS DANCE STUDIO Back 2 The Old Skool Anthems Night ft. Ian M GOLD BAR Saturday Pure Gold THE GOOD SHEPHERD Chocolate Jesus THE GRAND Jay Mackay GROOVE BAR (CROWN) DJ Dan LEEDERVILLE HOTEL (DOWNSTAIRS) Under The Arena Party THE LIBRARY DJ Victor / DJ Riki LOST SOCIETY Chalk (indie/ hip hop) METRO CITY Bombs Away & Ivan Gough METRO FREO Metropolis Saturdays PARKER Parker Saturdays ft. Drifter/ Paul Scott/ Jackness/ Chiari/ Axen PARAMOUNT Felix/DJ John/ Jordan PLAYERS BAR LUXE

SATURDAY 23/11

AMBAR Japan 4 ft. Escue/ Mo’Fly/ Marko Paulo/ Bezwun/ 4by4 AMPLIFIER Pure Pop

Skarlett Saramore - Saturday, Nov 23 @ The Court

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Mix Master Mike FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22 - VILLA THE QUEENS Kenny L/ JMC/ Tom Drummond/ Mikeee/ Jon Ee THE SAINT Az-T SOVEREIGN ARMS Britty TIGER LIL’S DJ Bojan/ Benjamin Sebastian/Alex Koresis THE WHALE & ALE DJ Spinback THE WEMBLEY HOTEL Lokie Shaw WOLF LANE Soulville YAYA’S Arcadia All Nighter BAM BAM

SUNDAY 24/11

THE AVIARY (ROOFTOP) Rooftop Sessions Dustin Tebutt & Grace Woodroofe THE BAKERY Jon Wayne THE BIRD Sunday Selections ft John Safari / Jeremy Hunt / Ryen Beatty 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

PARKER Art Department & Jacques Lu Cont ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The Get Down THE SAINT DJ Jon Ee/ Az-T THE QUEENS Fiveo & Sam Spence MONDAY 25/11

MUSTANG BAR Triple Shots THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Bada Bingo!

TUESDAY 26/11

MUSTANG BAR Danza Loca Salsa Night

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

THE COURT

CAPITOL

THIS WEEK MIX MASTER MIKE 22 Villa DISTRICT 22 Ambar BAM BAM 22 White Star Hotel, Albany 23 Ya-Ya’s 24 The Fly Trap MR GREVIS 22 The Rosemount 23 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury BOMBS AWAY & IVAN GOUGH 23 Metro City SKARLETT SARAMORE, ADAM LOVE & NINO BROWN 23 The Court WANKELMUT 23 Geisha ART DEPARTMENT AND JACQUES LU CONT ft. Shadow Brothers 24 Parker DUSTIN TEBUTT & GRACE WOODROOFE 24 The Aviary JON WAYNE 24 The Bakery NOVEMBER

KID KENOBI 29 Parker STEREOSONIC 30 & Dec 1 Claremont Showgrounds DECEMBER

THE BAMBOOS 5 Capitol

SCNDL 6 Parker NAPT 6 Ambar KILTER 7 Flyrite TODD TERRY 7 Geisha Bar SLANTED & ENCHANTED ft. Jon Hopkins/ Le1f/ Kelpe/ Lower Spectrum & more 7 The Bakery NATURAL NZ MUSIC FESTIVAL ft. Kora/ Nesian/ Mystik/ Optimus Gryme & more 7 Red Hill Auditorium 15TH ANNUAL PERTH DANCE MUSIC AWARDS 8 The Court CHIC & NILE RODGERS 8 The Astor Theatre SETS ON THE BEACH ft. Miami Horror/ DJ Snake/Alison Wonderland/ Fort Knox Five & more 8 Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre MINISTRY OF SOUND: THE ANNUAL 2014 ft. Uberjak’d & Chardy 13 Villa ALEX METRIC Philly Blunt, Axen & Paradise Paul 13 Parker TUBE & BERGER 13 Geisha DIESELBOY, XKORE & TEDDY KILLERZ 14 Villa

RTRFM’S SERIOUSLY SOUND SYSTEM ft. Omega Is The Alpha, Kuèka, Bastian’s Happy Flight & more 14 Perth Cultural Centre’s Urban Orchard LOOPTROOP ROCKETS, SAGE FRANCIS 18 Villa WAKA FLOCKA FLAME 19 Metropolis Fremantle GUTI 19 Malt BOTNEK 20 Ambar INHIBIT’S DRUM’N’BASS ft. Rregula, Spectrem, VLTRN, Greg Packer & more 20 Shape Bar (both levels) CLUBFEET DJS 23 Villa BREAKFEST ft. Stanton Warriors/ LTJ Bukem/ Plump DJs & more 26 Belvoir Amphitheatre BREAKFEST AFTER PARTY 26 Ambar MARTEN HØRGER 31 Ambar SALT ON THE BEACH ft. De La Soul 31 North Fremantle Beach ORIGIN ft. Wiz Khalifa/ A$AP Rocky 31 Ozone Reserve

JANUARY

CUBAN CLUB ft. De La Soul/ DJ Yoda 1 The Flying Squadron Yacht Club CLUB PARADISO ft. Bag Raiders & Yacht Club DJs 1 Salt On The Beach CYRIL HAHN 4 The Bakery SUNDOWN SESSIONS ft. Fat Freddy’s Drop 18 Scarborough Beach DANNY DAZE 23 The Collective @ Malt AVICII 27 Perth Arena HANNAH WANTS 31 Parker FEBRUARY

ALICE RUSSELL February 6 & 7 Chevron Festival Gardens ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL ft. Cashmere Cat/ Earl Sweatshirt/ Four Tet/ Jamie XX 8 Esplanade Park & West End, Fremantle #TOGETHER ft.

Ta-ku/Zeke/ Kit Pop/Cosmo Gets/Sable 8 Chevron Festival Gardens 100 MILLION NIGHTS 11 Chevron Festival Gardens

AMPLIFIER

LADI6 & HOME BREW 13 Chevron Festival Gardens MIAMI HORROR 15 Amplifier DJ SHADOW 15 Chevron Festival Gardens EBONY BONES 16 Chevron Festival Gardens AUSTRA 17 Chevron Festival Gardens DJ FOOD/DJ CHEEBA/DJ MONEYSHOT 18 Chevron Festival Gardens Shed. Photo by Daniel Craig

ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT ft.

Roy Ayers 27 Chevron Festival Gardens

SHED

PUBLIC ENEMY 28 Chevron Festival Gardens

Allstate/Craig Hollywood/SHED @ Ambar Thursday, November 14, 2013

MARCH

FUTURE MUSIC ft. Deadmau5/ Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/ Phoenix/ Hardwell 2 Arena Joondalup GOOD LIFE ft. Deadmau5/ Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/ Hardwell & more 3 Arena Joondalup MAY

ELLIE GOULDING 28 Challenge Stadium

Fleeting Meeting Rene Pawlowitz is a man who goes by many names, but the Berlin techno wunderkind stopped by Perth to give us a taste of the sounds of his oldest and most popular production alias, Shed - a name that has released two albums on Berghain’s purist Ostgut Ton label and last year’s acclaimed The Killer, on Modeselektor’s 50Weapons.

As big a name on the techno world stage as Shed is, being a Thursday night, it was a fairly small crowd that turned up at Ambar, but those who did, were there for one reason - the music.

A selection of locals warmed things up for the early crowd who were mostly content to lounge about, but around 11, Allstate picked up the energy levels and primed the crowd for what was to come with some harder sounds, encouraging a group onto the dancefloor.

Then around midnight, it was time for the musical chameleon himself. The sight of the man setting up his laptop and controller enticed pretty much everyone in the club to gather on the dancefloor and a warm reception greeted him as he kicked off his set.

Starting off slowly with some sonic soundscapes, it took a while for Shed to build it, but soon he had control of the crowd and was conducting

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the insistent beat from behind his laptop. A producer first and foremost, he played a live set, mixing and reworking his own material with plenty to choose from under his various prolific guises. He wove a tight web of stark, minimal, industrial sounds that was easy to get lost in.

There were moments of pure brilliance such as when the thundering beat and sinister sounds of I Come By Night came galloping into the mix, giving us glimpses of the possible heights of a Shed set at full intensity, but this gig never seemed to quite reach its potential. A man used to playing to a packed Berghain, it would have been a quite different vibe with less energy to feed off for him, and after only an hour he stepped down, leaving the crowd wanting more.

Our own Craig Hollywood then had the unenviable challenge of following on, and did a great job to keep the dancefloor moving, giving the crowd what they wanted and enticing many punters to stick around and cut loose to some more upfront tunes. The joyous strains of Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy went down well for those who still had plenty of dance left in them.

All up, an all too fleeting meeting with one of the best producers in the game. Despite the weeknight slot, it’s a shame the Perth techno community couldn’t represent better for such an exclusive, intimate show, because if we want to see as much underground variety touring our city as our eastern counterparts, we have to get out and support such tours and show there’s a lot of love for proper techno in our town. It could have been so much more. Let’s hope he returns for a bigger, longer set sometime soon.

ALFRED GORMAN

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Mezzanine - Photo by Rachael Barrett

MEZZANINE Foam/Sincerely, Grizzly/ Pat Chow/Depth Boys Amplifier Bar Friday, November 15, 2013

Bernard Fanning - Photo by Matt Jelonek

AN EVENING ON THE GREEN Bernard Fanning/The Cruel Sea/Sarah Blasko/ Bob Evans/Band of Frequencies Pioneer Women’s Memorial Park, Kings Park Sunday, November 17, 2013 Kings Park’s annual concert series kicked off this weekend, with a two-part extravaganza across Saturday and Sunday nights. Saturday’s lineup was packed with Australian rock royalty, including the legendary acts Hoodoo Gurus and You Am I. Not to be outdone, Sunday’s lineup featured a stellar list of stars, headed by Australia’s prodigal son Bernard Fanning.

Fanning has been touring hard since the drop of his second solo album, Departures. His set combined a number of tracks from this recent release, as well as from the wildly successful 2005 Tea And Sympathy.

Opening the set was the upbeat, countryinspired Thrill Is Gone, complete with mandolin. A series of rock anthems and ballads followed, including the lovely Departures (Blue Toowong Skies), complete with thick four-part harmony, and the ballad Watch Over Me, which had the whole audience captive.

On the other side of the coin, tracks such as the country-inspired Yesterday’s Gone and rock anthem Limbo Stick had everyone up and dancing.

LEECHES Tikdoff/Plastic Bags/ Prague/Sharon The Rosemount Friday, November 15, 2013 The night was anything but Dullsville, but Leeches certainly were its lords, transforming the fittingly underground mini bar 459 into an all-out punkfest for the launch party of their EP, Lords Of Dullsville.

The surprisingly groovy for a punk band Sharon headed up the noise with some insanely tight drumming, with jazzy high hat moments and excellent guitar accents perfectly complementing the strong, sometimes throat-ripping vocals. Bellows of ‘Shaaaaron’ resembling a sozzled Ozzy Osborne erupted from some of the friendlier punters, and with their relaxed style, the band seemed to enjoy this light-hearted start to the night.

Beginning their set with a shit-ton of feedback followed by a smack in the face of crushingly loud punk, Prague certainly knew how to excite the crowd. This is what they were here for: simple riffs done loud. With vocals like the angry drunken drawlings of a homeless Englishman, the vocalist played the set from the comfort of the decidedly animated pit. A valiant effort.

Plastic Bags may hate school, but they do still have a thing or two to learn about getting the right sound. They certainly had the right attitude and energy though and the crowd fully responded to that.

By mid set their songs had become almost catchy and

Fanning closed his set with a double encore: first, the exceptionally popular anthem Wish You Well, followed by an all-in, super-happy, love-fest cover of the George Harrison classic What Is Life.

Almost upstaging the main act, The Cruel Sea gave a pumping set as the first support act.

Drawing from their instrumental roots, the band opened without front man Tex Perkins, reminding the audience of their individual musicianship.

Joining them for the second song onwards, Perkins got down to singing his signature dirty, earthy blues, with songs such as It’s Alright Cause She Loves Me, Better Get A Lawyer, and Black Stick. Perkin’s trademark (slightly pervy) humour came through as he quipped about ‘...being able to smell [the previous support act] Sarah Blasko’s breath on the microphone… pepperminty.’

Other supports included Queensland group Band Of Frequencies, Perth boy Bob Evans, and the minty fresh Sarah Blasko. Evans played a shortened set, with a stripped back band. Queen of the dusky vocals Sarah Blasko followed him, playing with the crowd, teasing and twirling round the stage. Blasko’s set was chilled out, supported by only two other musicians.

Highlights from Blasko included God Fearing and Cast The Net, both sultry numbers from her 2012 album I Awake. Rounding out her set was the harrowing Not Yet, in which synth and vocal lines played in unison, for a haunting and beautiful effect.

An Evening On The Green offered the adult fans of Fanning and The Cruel Sea an opportunity to reminisce about seeing their favourite bands in dingy pubs from the comfort of a fold out chair, with a bottle of Verve in hand. This type of concert is an increasingly popular way of tapping the 30-45 year old market; combining excellent music with comfort and a bedtime before 11pm. Personally, if this is what my mid-30s have to offer, bring it on.

LEAH BLANKENDAAL

their fourth song was definitely the best, sounding like a femme punk anthem, but without overdoing the high pitched screams.

Tikdoff revved the crowd up even further with yet another front person well and truly on the front line, deciding to play the entire set whilst battling the surging crowd of punk punters. Short, simple riff structures and lots of reverb with so much bottom end that it began raining wine glasses behind the bar at one point kept the set loud, fast and tight.

There was a little confusion mid set ‘sorry I didn’t know what song I was singing’, but that didn’t stop them from throwing down a full set of deafening noise, much to the delight of the masses.

Leeches, despite what their moniker may suggest, did anything but suck. A three piece, their sound was somehow the thickest and fullest of the night and it was pretty clear from the get-go that these guys have a much more varied list of influences.

Although each of their songs were short and punchy, they still had transitions, or some sort of change to keep them engaging. With their no nonsense changes between songs, it seemed as if they were going to run out of material at the rate they were churning it out, but their eclectic, thrashy punk rock was unrelenting.

With all this crushingly loud noise it again began raining wine glasses and this time even the shot glasses followed suit. And even though they’re ‘old cunts, got a kid n shit, trying to pay off the mortgage’ they really let us have it, flexing their punk muscles like they were a bunch of young rebels trying to piss off their parents. The final song of the night, Media Frenzy, was a brilliant take on the part media has played in sensationalising shark attacks off the WA coast, proving that these guys are not just a bunch of rowdy punkers, but thought-provoking writers too.

LIANA KELLY

Some of the finest local acts in Perth had ears ringing in the best possible way for the launch of local talent Mezzanine’s new album Strange Paradise. The Depth Boys started the night with their hallmark precision and professionalism. Straight to the point, these boys have been working hard to keep their names fresh in the minds of the local heads. Shimmering reverb on the always pristine drum lines filled the space between the chaotic percussion, creating a wonderful mania over resplendent bass and guitar riffs.

Pat Chow blasted their way onto the stage next with their high tempo and gritty sound. As the set progressed, elements of what could be described as booze fuelled frat boy rock with a punky edge became apparent. It’s assumed that beer sales would have skyrocketed during their final tunes as the crowd tried desperately to get on their level.

Things took a turn for the harder with the arrival of Sincerely, Grizzly. Having made their way over from Adelaide for the launch celebrations, a distinctly different flavour hit the atmosphere as heavy distortion laden chords and dirty vocals exploded from the speakers.

Crowd pleasers Foam bubbled up from

the depths to smash the place with their signature sound. Packing an Australian tinge with lashings of ‘90s grunge, there is a strange melancholic energy to these guys that is just so cool. They thrive in a small room environment, giving their instruments and lead man Joel Martin’s voice a chance to permeate into the tightest nooks of the venue. So Far So Good is a tune that never fails to move and has a sing along quality that got the room bouncing.

The act of the night took to the stage and the crowd pushed up to engage in the overdriven reverie that is Mezzanine. It was obvious that they had been putting in work to get themselves tight for this night and their positive approach was absolutely infectious. These lads really have riff driven, rockin’ pop down to a tee.

The titular track Strange Paradise succinctly rode the razor thin edge between content and danceability. This track in particular displayed a booming heaviness combined with vocals sliding along the top register to create a palpable mood. Their final track, Mannequin Girl, was a good summary of their softer side with an ineffably catchy hook and memorable progression.

In a rare display, Mezzanine manage to encompass grunge, rock and pop to create something as accessible as it is moving. The relaxed, esoteric and quietly funny banter of lead man Cory John Rist, paired with his strong and interesting vocal timbre, give the band an endearing quality that make them hard to turn away from. It’s no doubt that this well honed new release will help elevate Mezzanine to even greater heights.

JAMES HANLON

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB Sugar Army Metropolis Fremantle Wednesday, November 13, 2013 Perth’s lovers of alternative rock ‘n’ roll were served up an immaculate evening of music courtesy of legendary San Francisco outfit Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Opening the gig in true style off the back of a fantastic performance at the WAM Saturday Spectacular were Perth’s own Sugar Army. Sugar Army are akin to a coiled snake; their potential energy and control are almost palpable. The drummer alone was a microcosm of this aesthetic as he kept a steady, thumping rhythm which was only broken by explosions of perfect high tempo rolls. The wave-like modulated white noise and pads from the keyboardist served to further accentuate the parabolic nature of the bands set as they pushed and pulled the crowd through their journey.

It was time for the main act and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are something else entirely.

While staying true to classic rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities, they possess a flair for progression that could honestly induce a transcendental state. Entrancing and meditative are not words you often see next to stunningly heavy, but lying just underneath the headbanging riffs and slamming percussion produced by this ineffably cool trio was something immeasurably deep. Washings of reverb, delay and pulsating distortion wrapped around the music, giving the impression of a majestic writhing organism. The blushed faces of the crowd were a sight to behold as eyes widened and mouths split into grins of pure pleasure, gradually gaining in vividness as BRMC pumped their fire into the venue.

When we all thought it was said and done, the group returned to the stage, acoustics guitars and harmonicas on hand to give the crowd another chance to become a part of their sonic world. Before loving and leaving us, lead guitarist Robert Levon Been humbly thanked us for being there, exclaiming that we were all beautiful, which was perhaps an enlightened example of seeing yourself in others. When musicians and personalities like this come together, the experience becomes more of a conversation with the audience than just a performance. The lack of ego, coupled with a real love for the music they make, manifested the highest

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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- Photo by Daniel Grant

purpose of a live performance; giving people the opportunity to touch and interact with moments of crystallised creative energy, brought to life by deft hands and narrated by thoughtful and melodic story telling. It’s this sort of honest and honourable commitment to the purest calling of rock ‘n’ roll that makes a gig memorable. Until our next dose of realness, we’ll be floating in the wake of this high definition experience.

JAMES HANLON 29

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THE BEAT NIGHTCLUB

THE BEAUFORT STREET FESTIVAL

Runaways is turning two! And to celebrate, this Saturday, November 23, downstairs at The Beat, Monuments, Emberville and Dyatlov will show you how to party hard ripping up the floor! Doors open at 10pm.

Beaufort Street And Environs Saturday, November 16, 2013 It seems like most of Perth poured into Beaufort Street on Saturday to sample what has fast become one of the key cultural events on the Perth calendar. With food, drink, music, performance, art and stalls, there was something for everyone!

ROSEMOUNT HOTEL This Wednesday, November 20, catch The Imps, Radio In Motion and more, and Thursday night it’s the legendary Tumbleweed with German stoner rockers Kadavar and Sweden’s Blues Pills, along with local support from The Devil Rides Out. Friday night sees hip hop hero Mr Grevis hit the stage with support from Dazastah and Mr Hill, and Saturday night you can catch The Vans playing their only hometown show for the year following a busy year of international touring. Sunday catch Swedish folk-metal masters Moonsorrow with support from Claim The Throne. Doors open 8pm each night, except Sunday which is 6pm. Head to rosemounthotel.com.au for ticket info.

Photos by Bohdan Warchomij

YAYA’S Carmen, Karie

Gemma, Samantha

It’s all about the tours this weekend! Friday, November 22 sees Brisbane’s own triple j favourites The Cairos gracing the stage as part of their Obsession Tour, with support from Braves and Tired Lion. On Saturday touring Melbourne rapper Bam Bam hits the floor as part of his Bags Packed Tour. Finally check out the free Southbound Launch Party from 1pm on Sunday, November 24, with Stagebound winners Indigo and indie-pop dreamboats WiseOaks.

The Cairos

MOJOS Annabel, Madeleine, Kate

Chelsea, Isla, Catriona, Will

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Violet Amia

The Beaufort Street Festival

Sunday, November 24, sees Annettathon presented

by Good Buddies Foundation. You see, some nasty hooligans smashed all the windows in Anetta’s car a few weeks back, making it much harder for her to get to work and therefore making it near on impossible for her to pay to get it fixed. Luckily she’s got a whole bunch of good buddies to help her out, including: Electric Toad, Shit Narnia, Laurel Fixation, Rabbit Island, The Brothers Polain, Fucking Teeth, Count Nikolaus, Mudlark, Lost/Tuneless, and Plastic Bags, who will all play for her benefit on Sunday from 2 until 10pm. Entry will be $10 and all monies collected will go to fixing our good buddy’s car windows. If there is any left over it will be donated to local charity No Matter What - they help to improve the quality of life for children and families effected by cancer in our community. Pete Bibby is going to cook barbecue of the vegan and not so vegan variety out the back, just like old times.

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RAILWAY HOTEL This Friday night catch The Killer Hipsters, Who’s Your Daddy, Burnhabit and The Stems’ Richard Lane. Doors open 8pm and entry is $8 at the door.

Saturday catch the massive Translucid show in the beer garden featuring Liquid Soul, GMS, OLI B, Punkz On Junk, Sam Wise, Ilusha, Jeevan and Daniel Sun. Doors open 12pm and entry is $40. Sunday it’s the monthly Gignition new band showcase in the beer garden from 4 until 8pm, this week featuring Sublight, The Lonesome Marys, Nodes, Crisis Mr Swagger and Yaqui Yeti.

The Lonesome Marys

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RAG N’ BONE Perth alt-rockers Rag N’ Bone are proudly launching their debut single, Crossing, this Friday, November 22, at PICA Bar. Support comes from Axe Girl, Moana, Mossy Fogg and Pussymittens. We leaned on guitarist Axel Carrington to give us the scoop.

“We formed in early 2012 over many failed promises and broken hearts,” Carrington tells us. “Sara (Mcpherson, bass), Kiera (Owen, singer) and I all met at WAAPA, while Jamie (Gallcher) was a fella that came round one day and hit a drum real nice. We’ve gigged steadily since October last year and continue to forge new sounds with a chisel.”

Now they’re ready to share that sound, which Carrington describes as “...ecstatic truth through abrasion, angelic melodies and striking an anvil with a railroad spike,” with the world in the form of their first recorded single, Crossing, which was laid down at Fat Shan’s back in February under the supervision of Jim Power. “There was no pain,” Carrington recalls. “Jim was a gentle soul, prodding us to get the right take and sculpted our mangled form into a beautiful swan, ready to attack nearby ducks.”

Asked whether the single release points to an EP or album release in the near future, Carrington is a little guarded. “We’re constantly working on new material, as the sun rises and sets, so probably. I think we’re looking into doing a live-tracked release at some point.”

Whatever the future may hold, eager punters can get a taste of it at PICA Bar this Friday from 8pm.

CONNECT WITH DISCONNECTED Central Institute Of Technology presents an awesome acoustic showcase next Wednesday, November 27, at The Rosemount Hotel.

Disconnected features Ragdoll, Hailmary, Black Ink and Headflood delivering stripped back, unplugged versions of their normally hardrocking offerings. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $8 on the door, tickets through Oztix.

Ragdoll

FOUR ON THE FLOOR Get down to The Railway Hotel this Friday, November 22, for a heady dose of healthy music - or perhaps a healthy does of heady music. Richard Lane, Burnhabit, Who’s Your Daddy and The Killer Hipsters are all on the bill. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $8.

WHO TAUGHT YOU TO TORTOISE? This Thursday, November 21, get down to YaYa’s for a night of no-frills modern rock at the hands of Aborted Tortoise, Showering Vixens, Tooths and Mossy Fogg. Doors are open at 8pm, entry is $5.

DOCTOPUS IN DISTRESS

Mossy Fogg

The last Doctopus gig of 2013 sees the boys trying to scratch together enough cash to hit the road. The Pond/Doctopus Tour Fundraiser at the bird on Thursday, November 21 will see them take to the stage along with Shiny Joe Ryan And His Cosmic Microwave Background and Ben Witt performing solo. There’s also a draw for two VIP tickets to Southbound to sweeten the pot! Doors open at 8pm, entry is $5.

Having racked up three consecutive European tours since their last Perth show, The Vans thought it was high time they showed the old home town a bit of love. Catch them at The Rosemount Hotel this Saturday, November 23, along with Hostile Little Face, The Midnight Mules and Daisy Clover. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $10.

Doctopus

The Vans

GET IN THE VAN

HERE IT COMES THE SOUND OF DRUMS Local dream-pop proponents Flower Drums have gone and made a video, and they’re letting it float off into the world like a soap bubble off a twisted loop of coathanger this Friday, November 22, at The Bird. Also present at the birth of the Birthday Girl video will be Dianas, Diger Rokwell and Karli White. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $5.

ELOPE WITH ANTELOPE Having recently stunned the crowd with their performance at the WAM Saturday Spectacular, post-rock instrumental five man band Antelope invite you to cop another earful at the launch of their self-titled EP at The Bakery this Friday, November 22. Joining them on stage will be Runner, Lanark and Race To Your Face. Doors are at 8pm, tickets are $10 plus booking fee through nowbaking.com.au, $15 on the door.

Antelope

LO C A L & L AU NC H I NG 22/11 22/11 22/11 23/11 23/11 27/11 28/11 29/11 29/11 30/11 30/11 06/12 20/12

ANTELOPE EP Launch @ The Bakery FLOWER DRUMS Birthday Girl Video Launch @ The Bird RAG N’ BONE Crossing Single Launch @ PICA Bar HUNDRED ACRE WOOD My Alibi Music Video Launch @ PICA Bar OUR MAN IN BERLIN Airhead Single Launch @ Flyrite USURPER OF MODERN MEDICINE Motorolla Borealis Music Video Launch @ The Bird RICHMOND STREET RECORDS Blender Album Launch @ Rosemount SILVER DEE & THE GRASSHOPPERS Taking You Home Tonight Album Launch @ Mojos WARNING BIRDS Horrors Single Launch @ The Fremantle Arts Centre FALLING IN WAVES EP Launch @ PICA Bar TANI WALKER Bridges Halfway EP Launch @ Kulcha PENNY KING QUARTET Journey Album Launch @The Ellington Jazz Club KRISTIE SMITH The Bunny Boiler Album Launch @ The Fly Trap WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

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TOUR TRAILS

JEDWARD, NOVEMBER 23

THIS WEEK BELINDA CARLISE & 1927 20 Astor Theatre HUNDREDTH 20 Amplifier 21 YMCA HQ THE CAIROS 21 Mojos Bar 22 YaYa’s THE BELLRAYS 21 Fly By Night Club BOY & BEAR 22 Metro Freo 23 Astor Theatre JEDWARD 23 Regal Theatre FLEETWOOD MAC 22 & 23 Perth Arena CANCELLED BAM BAM 22 White Star Hotel, Albany 24 The Fly Trap 23 YaYa’s EROS RAMAZZOTTI 23 Challenge Stadium HITS & PITS 2.0 Black Flag, Boysetsfire, Bad Astronaut, Snuff, No Fun At All, Good For You, Off With Their Heads, Jughead’s Revenge 24 Amplifier & Capitol MOONSORROW 24 Rosemount Hotel NOVEMBER I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN 27 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 28 Players Bar 29 YMCA HQ 30 Amplifier 1 Newport Hotel BRITISH INDIA 28 Prince Of Wales 29 Settlers Tavern 30 Capitol THE ATARIS 29 Amplifier CANCELLED THE SEABELLIES 29 Flyrite BIRDS OF TOKYO 29 Metro Freo STEREOSONIC 30 & Dec 1 Claremont Showgrounds MUSE 30 Perth Arena SCREAMING JETS 30 Astor Theatre DECEMBER I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN 1 Newport Hotel THE SEABELLIES 1 Mojos Bar SCREAMING JETS 1 Wintersun Hotel, Geraldton

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TOURS LIVE

BRITISH INDIA, NOVEMBER 28-30

SIMPLE PLAN 3 Challenge Stadium ALICIA KEYS & JOHN LEGEND 5 Perth Arena THE BAMBOOS 5 Capitol DYSON, STRINGER & CLOHER 5 Fremantle Arts Centre 7 Ye Olde Quindanning Inne THE MELVINS & HELMET 6 Metro Freo KYLESA 7 Rosemount Hotel METRIC 7 Metro City NATURAL NZ MUSIC FESTIVAL 7 Red Hill Auditorium CAVE 7 Astor Theatre 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 METRIC 7 Metro City WHITELY 7 Amplifier 8 Mojos Bar 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 ABBE MAY 13 The Bakery 19 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES 14 Rosemount Hotel

THE PRESETS 15 Hotel Rottnest THE NERVE 19 Mojos Bar WAKA FLOCKA FLAME 19 Metro Freo HUMAN NATURE 20 Perth Zoo CATHERINE TRAICOS 21 Rosemount Hotel THE GIN CLUB 21 Mojos Bar SMOKE MY TOUR FlipTrix, Dirty Dike, Jam Baxter, Ed Scissortounge and DJ Sammy B-Side 24 Metro Freo BREAKFEST 2013 26 Belvoir Amphitheatre DE LA SOUL 31 Salt On The Beach NEW YEARS EVE FIESTA Abbe May, The Kill Devil Hills, Split Seconds, Simone and Girlfunkle, Huge Magnet, The Floors, Patient Little Sister & DJ Shannon Fox 31 Rosemount Hotel JEBEDIAH 31 Dunsborough Tavern JANUARY DE LA SOUL/DJ YODA 1 Cuban Club (Flying Squadron Yacht Club, The Esplanade, Dalkeith) SOUTHBOUND !!!, Bonobo, Crystal Fighters, Grizzly Bear, Horrorshow, Johnny Marr, London Grammar, MGMT, Neil Finn, The Roots, Vampire Weekend and more!

3-4 Sir Stewart Bovell Park, Busselton, WA WATAIN 9 Amplifier DEAFHAVEN 11 Rosemount Hotel DAUGHTERS 14 Amplifier PARAMORE 16 Perth Arena HALF MOON RUN 16 Fly By Night Club MISFITS 19 Amplifier SETS ON THE BEACH 19 Scarborough Beach KARNIVOOL & DEAD LETTER CIRCUS 23 Red Hill Auditorium CELTIC WOMAN 24 Riverside Theatre BORN OF OSIRIS & AFTER THE BURIAL 25 Rosemount Hotel 26 YMCA HQ

STEEL PANTHER, DECEMBER 12

WE ARE SCIENTISTS 26 Amplifier AVICII 27 Perth Arena FEBRUARY SELENA GOMEZ 1 Perth Arena 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 PERTH FESTIVAL 2014 The National, Public Enemy, Okkervil River, Julia Holter, The Basics, Booker T Jones, DJ Shadow, Charles Bradley, Wire, Robert Glasper & Roy Ayers,Madeleiene Peyroux, Olafur Arnalds, Keaton Henson, Mikhael Paskalev, Ebony Bones, Duaghn Gibson, Pond, Ta-Ku, Canyons, Owl Eyes, Altan, Austra, Husky, Ladi6, Homebrew, DJ Food, DJ Cheeba, DJ Moneyshot plus many more 7 February – 1 March Various Venues across Perth LANEWAY FESTIVAL 8 Fremantle THE LOCUST 10 Amplifier THE NATIONAL 14 Belvoir Amphitheatre MIAMI HORROR 15 Amplifier PETE MURRAY 16 Astor Theatre SETS ON THE BEACH 23 Scarborough Beach DOLLY PARTON 27 Perth Arena NEKO CASE 27 Fly By Night Club BRUNO MARS 28 Perth Arena MARCH KERSER 1 Metro City 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 GOODLIFE FESTIVAL Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Hardwell, Rudimental, Knife Party, Kaskade, Porter Robinson 3 Arena Joondalup BRIAN MCKNIGHT 7 Riverside Theatre BILLY BRAGG 8 Perth Concert Hall GOLD PANDA 9 The Bakery QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE & NINE INCH NAILS 11 Perth Arena JOSH PYKE 12 Quarry Amphitheatre NEIL FINN 16 Perth Concert Hall KATE MILLER-HEIDKE 21 - 22 Quarry Amphitheatre SEBADOH 25 Rosemount Hotel DARK TRANQUILLITY & ORPHEUS OMEGA 25 Capitol 30 SECONDS TO MARS 25 Challenge Stadium HUNTER & COLLECTORS 29 (sold-out) & 30 Kings Park & Botanical Garden APRIL WEST COAST BLUES N ROOTS Matt Corby, Michael Franti, John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Doobie Brothers, Boy & Bear 13 Fremantle Park BOZ SCAGGS 14 Crown Theatre MICHAEL BUBLE 26 - 27 Perth Arena MAY LEE KERNAGHAN 9 Crown Theatre JASON DERULO 10 Perth Arena SEPTICFLESH & FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE 18 Amplifier ELLIE GOULDING 28 Challenge Stadium JUNE JAMES BLUNT 13 Riverside Theatre

TO U R TA L E S

SEABELLIES From The Belly Of The Belle Three years since the release of their debut album, By Limbo Lake, indie Sydney-siders, Seabellies, have been on a mission to anchor themselves within the turbulent riptide of the Australian music scene. Now touring in support of their second LP, Fever Belle, frontman Trent Grenell chats with SHAUN COWE ahead of the band’s show at Flyrite on Friday, November 29.

Fever Belle is the second studio album by Seabellies, and in the three years since the release of By Limbo Lake, Trent Grenell believes the band has found its voice.

“Staying true to yourself is quite difficult in the current industry model,” he says. “This record was easier for us; we knew what we were and we knew what we wanted to be, and it was just much more liberating.”

Darker, deeper and more introspective than the band’s previous work, Grenell admits Fever Belle is heavily inspired by a relationship and subsequent breakup he went through during the writing. “We really wanted an album that was split half and half, thematically. Half about the pure joy about being in love and being happy, and then the other side of that when it’s all taken away.”

To help the band with this process two producers were brought on board to work on the album, Berlin-based Simon Berckelman, ex-frontman of Philadelphia Grand Jury, and Tim Whitten, who has produced albums for a host of Aussie bands, including Powderfinger, Hoodoo Gurus and Augie March.

Written and recorded in alternating periods between Melbourne, Sydney and Berlin, Grenell believes the time spent in the latter city helped to inspire the dark electronic themes throughout the song.

“Berlin changed the treatment of the songs and definitely the mix. There’s a lot of electro stuff over there and a lot of different kinds of music.” He says. “We gave Simon time to really just focus on his interesting techniques in the studio. He was in the tracking room with us and Tim was in the control, making sure it all worked.”

Now with the recording process over and the album released, the band is set to embark on a national tour. “This is the biggest tour we’ve ever had. We’re coming over to Perth for the first time in three or four years. It’s just that logistics are very difficult. It’s very costly to travel around, but you know, we wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t worth it.”

“Staying true to yourself is quite difficult in the current industry model. This record was easier for us; we knew what we were and we knew what we wanted to be, and it was just much more liberating.”

Expanding on this, Grenell says he believes one of the biggest problems facing any upcoming Australian band is the expense of touring and the lack of options.

“There’s just not enough cities and venues,” he says, “touring is very hard. There’s just so much travel involved. It’s not like America where you can drive two or three hours and you’re in another huge city.”

Since the band’s victory in the 2007 Garage To V Competition, Grenell has been on a mission to consolidate the band’s success into a long-lasting brand. When asked about why he thought the Seabellies had succeeded where so many others had failed, he says: “I think, more than anything, we’re just a stubborn bunch of motherfuckers and we just outlasted a lot of bands. It’s sad there’s bands out there that have such potential and such great music, and it’s such a difficult industry to persist in.”

Another problem Grenell has with the music industry is the tendency for Australian bands to draw too heavily on international influences, rather than creating a uniquely Australian sound.

“It’s easy to get caught up chasing the fads that come to us from the States and the UK. I think a lot of bands come and go riding on the sounds of international bands. You’ve got to be careful of that because you can have a really short career.”

Even so, he admits the Seabellies once followed a similar path, sourcing heavily from the Canadian music scene. With this new album however, Grenell believes the band has finally grown into its identity. With a new tour and a new sound, Grenell is cautiously optimistic on the future of the band. When asked whether he believed Fever Belle will take them to the next level, he answers simply: “Whether it’s worked or not time will tell.”

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GIG GUIDE

THE BITTER GRINS/ THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL/WEDNESDAY 20 WEDNESDAY 20/11 AMPLIFIER Academy Hundredth Sierra Foxes Ruthless ASTOR THEATRE Belinda Carlise 1927 BAR 120 Felix BAR ORIENT Karaoke BIRD TWI!ST Ms. Monica BRASS MONKEY Sugar Blue Burlesque CARINE Open Mic Night Chris Gibbs CLAREMONT HOTEL Acoustica THE FLY TRAP (FLY

BY NIGHT) Sweet Apple Jazz GREENWOOD Quiten Going ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Ali Bodycoat Night Cap Sessions GROOVE BAR (CROWN) 5 Shots INDI BAR Tracey Barnet Jordan McRobbie LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Decoy Duo LUCKY SHAG Howie Morgan MOJOS BAR General Eclectic Ensemble Formidable Freqshow Jacob Diamond MOON CAFÉ Going Solo Rabbit Island Jake Webb Leigh Craft MUSTANG BAR Blue Gene DJ James MacArthur PADDO Dove Stu Nugent Andy Newman ROSEMOUNT The Imps Radio In Motion The Bitter Grins China Doll

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HAILMARY/THE MUSTANG BAR/ THURSDAY 21

SWINGING PIG Open Mic Night Greg Carter UNIVERSAL Retriofit THE VIC Leighton Keepa VILLAGE BAR Village People - Open Mic YAYA’S Giggidy THURSDAY 21/11 AMANI WINE BAR Live Jazz Night THE BAKERY Diamond & The Merindas BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) Fantasy Thursdays BALMORAL Howie Morgan BAR ORIENT Open Mic Night THE BIRD Doctopus Shiny Joe Ryan Ben Witt BRASS MONKEY Rhythm Bound Karaoke BRIGHTON Open Mic Night Rob Walker THE BROOK Open Mic Night Chris Gibbs BROOKLANDS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke THE CAUSEWAY BAR Xport Thursdays DEVILLES PAD Rock n’ Roll Karaoke DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Open Mic Night Pat Nicholson ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Tunesmiths Café Open Mic Night Distant Sun ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The Graham Wood Trio Night Cap Sessions FLY BY NIGHT CLUB The Bellrays

LOCAL GIG

GATES OF PERDITION

GATES OF PERDITION Amidst The Broken, Corpseflesh, Dawn Of Leviation Friday, November 22. The Civic Hotel

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FLYRITE Eleventeen Eston Methyl Ethel The Weapon Is Sound Peter Bibby THE GATE Greg Carter GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Decoy INDI BAR Bex’s Open Mic Night LANEWAY LOUNGE Saffron Sharp Trio LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Jack & Jill LUCKY SHAG Adrian Wilson MOJOS BAR The Cairos Red Mexico Braves MUSTANG BAR The Deep End Hailmary Potent Remedies DJ James MacArthur NORTH FREMANTLE BOWLS CLUB The String Beans PRINCE OF WALES Autopilot ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Tumbleweed Kadavar Blues Pills The Devil Rides Out THE SAINT Heath Franklin’s Chopper SETTLERS TAVERN Acoustic Open Mic Night Claire Warnock UNIVERSAL Off The Record THE VIC Harry Moore YAYA’S Aborted Tortoise Showering Vixens Mossy Fogg YMCA HQ Hundredth Sierra Anchored Idle Eyes Vultures FRIDAY 22/11 AMPLIFIER Between The Buried And Me The Contortionist THE ALBION Jen De Ness Trio THE BAKERY Antelope Runner Lanark Race To Your Face BALMORAL Mike Nayar BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) The Black Fridays BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) PLAY BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Roger Roger BELMONT TAVERN Matt Angell BEST DROP TAVERN After Hours

VDELLI/INDI BAR/FRIDAY 22

THE BIRD Flower Drums Dianas Diger Rokwell Karli White THE BOAT Nathan Gaunt BRASS MONKEY Jamie Powers THE BROOKLANDS TAVERN Vendetta THE CARINE Velvet CHASE BAR & BISTRO James Wilson CITRO BAR Jean Proude CIVIC BACKROOM Gates Of Perdition Amidst The Broken Corpseflesh Dawn Of Leviation COMO HOTEL Penny King Trio CRUISING YACHT CLUB Sophie Jane DEVILLES PAD WAYJO DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN DJ Aaron Clarkson EAST 150 BAR Justin Cortorillo ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Blue Hornet ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Gotta Be Gatsby James Flynn Chelsea Gibson Dd Soul Chelsea Cullen EMPIRE BAR Howie Morgan FAIRLANES AMPHITHEATRE Chris Gibbs THE FLY BY NIGHT Scottish Ceilidh Dance THE GATE Dirty Scoundrels GOSNELLS HOTEL Chris Gibbs Trio THE GREENWOOD Greg Carter GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Tod Johnston & Peace Love HIGHWAY HOTEL Heath Franklin’s Chopper HYDE PARK HOTEL Ricky Green INDI BAR Vdelli INDIAN OCEAN BREWING COMPANY Ben Merito KALAMUNDA HOTEL Cheek2Cheek LANEWAY LOUNGE Astrid Ripepi Hans Fiance LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) InRetroSpect M ON THE POINT Retriofit MAHOGANY INN Leah Grant METRO CITY Planet Bollywood METRO FREO Boy & Bear

MOJOS BAR Tumbleweed Kadavar Blues Pills Legs Electric MUSTANG Adam Hall & the Velvet Playboys Swing DJ Cheeky Monkeys DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT HOTEL Karaoke Classic PADDO Easy Tigers PADDY MAGUIRES Madam Montage PEEL ALE HOUSE Vanerty Brothers PORT KENNEDY TAVERN GhostBuskers THE PRINCIPAL B.O.B. RAILWAY HOTEL The Killer Hipsters Who’s Your Daddy Burnhabit Richard Lane ROCKET ROOM Kickstart ROLEYSTONE COUNTRY CLUB Jamie Powers ROSIE O’GRADYS FREMANTLE Pump ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Mr Grevis Dazastah Mr Hill SAIL AND ANCHOR Howie Morgan SOUTH ST ALEHOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SPRINGS TAVERN Die Hard Karaoke SWAN HOTEL (BASEMENT) Grave Forsaken Lizzie Lambie The Jephasuns The Midnight Collective SWINGING PIG Almost Famous Greg Carter UNIVERSAL Nightmoves WINSTERSUN HOTEL Josj Johnstone YAYA’S The Cairos Tired Lion Braves SATURDAY 23/11 ASTOR THEATRE Boy & Bear BALMORAL Roger Roger THE BAKERY The Phillipines Appeal Showcase BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) CANVAS BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) Runaways Monuments Emberville Dyatlov BELGIAN BEER CAFE Mike Nayar

Deadline Monday 5pm. The Gig-Guide is a service to advertisers listing all LIVE MUSIC. All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press. Email guide@xpressmag.com.au

ENSEMBLE FORMIDABLE/MOJOS/ SATURDAY 23 BIRD Nora Zion & Leon Osborn Sable Ylem BOAB TAVERN James Wilson BREAKERS TAVERN GERALDTON First And Final THE BROOK Dirty Scoundrels THE BROOKLANDS TAVERN Tandem THE CIVIC BACKROOM Bonfire THE CLAREMONT HOTEL SUPER ANTICS Rainy Day Women Nick Albrook Peter Bibby Kucka Spaceman Antics CRAFTSMAN GrooVe DEVILLES PAD Nyoka Musango DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Heath Franklin’s Chopper EAST 150 BAR Adam James ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Desert Bells ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Bronwyn Sprogowski The Graham Wood Trio The Amani Consort FLY BY NIGHT Rockit Crisis Point THE GATE The Hitman GOSNELLS HOTEL Light Street GREENWOOD Cargo Beat GROOVE VAR (CROWN) Hi-NRG HOTEL ROTTNEST Love School HYDE PARK HOTEL Howie Morgan Project INDI BAR Proud Mary INDIAN OCEAN BREWING CO Shawne & Luc LAKERS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke LANEWAY LOUNGE Kat Kinley Trevor Jalla Trio MOJOS BAR General Eclectic Ensemble Formidable Freqshow Jacob Diamond LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Decoy Duo MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke M ON THE POINT Rhythm 22 MOJOS BAR Aslan Andrew Sinclair Capelas Jak Doepel James Ireland

MAKE THEM SUFFER/YMCA HQ/ SUNDAY 24

MUSTANG Shot Down From Sugar Town DJ Holly Doll Milhouse DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT HOTEL Gravity Tahli Jade ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Mr Grevis Dazastah Mr Hill THE ODD FELLOW (NORFOLK BASEMENT) Our Man In Berlin The Morning Night Lanark PADDO Cheeky Monkeys PARAMOUNT NIGHTCLUB Felix PEEL ALE HOUSE Spritizer PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Anthony Buttaccioc QUARIE BAR & BISTRO Ghostbuskers RAILWAY HOTEL Translucid Liquid Soul GMS OLI B Punkz On Junk Sam Wise Ilusha Jeevan Daniel Sun REGAL THEATRE Jedward ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The Vans Hostile Little Face The Midnight Mules Daisy Clover ROSIE O’GRADY’S FREMANTLE Flava SAIL & ANCHOR The Mojos THE SHED Huge SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SPRINGS TAVERN DJ Eugene SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) Tracey Barnett Lain Alex Adam Pandphobia Siraguse blues Aaron Gwynaire SWAN HOTEL (BASEMENT) Ibis Elm Blowhole In Orbit The Stokies Project SWINGING PIG Almost Famous Greg Carter UNIVERSAL Soul Corporation WINTERSUN HOTEL Mango Tango YAYA’S 360’s BAM BAM Dylan Joel

SUNDAY 24/11 AMPLIFIER/CAPITOL Hits & Pits 2.0

Black Flag Boysetsfire Bad Astronaut Snuff No Fun At All Good For You Off With Their Heads Jughead’s Revenge BALMORAL Easy Tigers BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Andrew Winton BELMONT TAVERN Dove BIRD Untitled Sundays THE BRIGHTON Ali Hill BROOKLANDS TAVERN Gerry Azor THE CAUSEWAY Accoustic Sunday THE CARINE Jonny Dempsey CIVIC HOTEL Frank G COMO HOTEL Velvet CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Zydecats DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Kris Buckle ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Darren Reid & the Soul City Groove ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The OZ Big Band Freddie Grigson Organ Trio Saffron Sharp THE FLY TRAP (FLY BY NIGHT) Bam Bam THE GATE Ryan Webb HYDE PARK HOTEL Adrian Wilson INDI BAR The Sunshine Brothers INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Retriofit KALAMUNDA HOTEL Ricky Green LAKERS TAVERN Wesley Goodlet Jamboree Scouts LANGFORD ALE HOUSE Josj Johnstone LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Thierryno METRO FREO Smoke My Tour Dirty Dike Fliptrix, Jam Baxter, Ed Scissortongue DJ Sammy B-Sideirty Dike Fliptrix, Jam Baxter, Ed Scissortongue DJ Sammy B-Side M ON THE POINT Nathan Gaunt MOJOS BAR Annettathon Electric Toad Shit Narnia Laurel Fixation

TAYLOR CUTTS/THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL/MONDAY 25

Rabbit Island The Brothers Polain Fucking Teeth Count Nikolaus Mudlark Lost/Tuneless Plastic Bags MULLALOO BEACH HOTEL Sunday Cider Sessions Karin Page Electrophobia MUSTANG Tailgate Sundays The Subsonics Leeches DJ Holly Doll PEEL ALE HOUSE The Hitman PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Greg Carter RAILWAY HOTEL Gignition Sublight The Lonesome Marys Nodes Crisis Mr Swagger Yaqui Yeti ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Moonsorrow Claim The Throne QUARIE BAR & BISTRO One Trick Phonies THE SAINT Howie Morgan Project Mike Nayar SEAVIEW TAVERN Jean Proude SOUTH ST ALEHOUSE Blackhart & Strangelove SWINGING PIG Matt Angell Steve Hepple UNIVERSAL Retrofit WANNEROO TAVERN James Wilson WHISTLING KITE James Wilson YMCA HQ Make Them Suffer Temporal I, Valiance This Existence Exanimis MONDAY 25/11 BRASS MONKEY Wire Birds XBOX Mondays ELLINGTON JAZZ

CLUB Chamber Jam November MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic MUSTANG BAR Triple Shots ROSEMOUNT HOTEL CIV Artists’ EP launch #2 Taylor Cutts Good Things Come Pursuit of Alchemy The Eb Oreo THE SAINT Celebration Karaoke YAYA’S Big Tommo’s Open Mic Night TUEDAY 26/11 BRASS MONKEY Open Mic Night Josh Terlick THE BIRD Barefaced Stories THE COURT Open Mic Night CHARLES HOTEL David Capper Wayne Green and Ragged Company Flaming Crows THE CRAIGIE TAVERN Open Mic Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Scott Nelson Quartet GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Jack & Jill KALAMUNDA HOTEL Open Mic Anthony Kay LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Hans Fiance LUKCY SHAG Ben Merito MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke MOJOS BAR Golden Slums Lammas Tide Cosmic Starfish MUSTANG BAR Danza Loca Salsa Night YAYA’S Ashlyn Koh, Reef Selleck Little Skye Joel Martin

LOCAL GIG

OUR MAN IN BERLIN The Morning Night, Lanark Saturday, November 23, The Odd Fellow

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YO U R M U S I C G E A R A N D T E C H N O LO GY F E AT U R E

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS Package Deals For Beginners.

With Christmas right around the corner it’s a busy time for both retailers and shoppers as they seek out the perfect gifts for their friends and families. Musical gifts are special as they also offer the chance of a journey, be it for youngsters with stars in their eyes or oldies who finally have the time to learn some of their favourite music. There are so many options out there for beginners. Here are some great options to consider for budding guitarists, bassists, drummers and home studio producers.

A highly affordable way to get started on electric guitar is with Fender’s Squier beginner package. Inside the box is a good-sounding, greatlooking Squier Affinity Strat. A Stratocaster-type guitar is an excellent style of instrument to begin because its design has been so-often emulated it will teach new players as much about recognising famous guitar tones as getting their first notes and chords playing comfortably. The guitar in this package is complimented by a 10 watt Fender Frontman 10G

For those with a slightly bigger budget, the Squier Affinity Strat HSS package featuring a guitar with a humbucking bridge pickup and a 15 watt Fender Frontman 15G amp is available at a RRP of $499. Also at this price point is (for the first time) a Squier Affinity Telecaster package with the same amp included. Players who are interested in picking up a higher quality amp from the get-go will lean towards the $699 package which includes the aforementioned Squier Affinity Strat and Fender’s famous G-Dec amplifier loaded with amp modelling, effects and backing loops. Each price point includes all of the extra goodies offered in the basic pack, so no matter the budget players will walk out with everything they need to get started.

Beginning bass players won’t put a foot wrong with Fender either. There are two packages on offer making the Precision and Jazz styles of Fender bass available. These two styles of instrument are responsible for an incredible array of recorded bass sounds on some of the most famous albums in history. Bundled with Fender’s punchy 15 watt Rumble 15 bass amp, it’s a hard deal to beat at a RRP of $599 with the aforementioned guitar package extras included in the deal.

Squier Affinity Strat Bass

practice amplifier. Accessories in the package include a gig bag, strap, cable, picks, instructional DVD and even a chromatic guitar tuner. As it says right there on the box: everything you need to stop dreaming and start playing. The package has a RRP of $399 but in today’s competitive retail market some lucky rookies have been picking it up for less than $300, so shop around.

Squier Strat Pack

One of the trickier instruments to commit to is the drums as not only do they take up more physical space, there is also the volume issue to consider. Taking on an instrument of this type is a family decision and one that needs to be considered and prepared carefully for the sake of continued harmony within the household (and the neighbourhood). The Mapex Prodigy drum kit is good name-brand option and comes with everything you need to get started: drums, hardware, drum thrones, cymbals and sticks.

The drum shells are fashioned with basswood, providing a sharp sound in a lightweight structure.

The standard five-piece kit includes a 22-inch bass drum with 10, 12 and 14-inch toms and a 14-inch snare. Then there’s the 14-inch hi-hats, 16-inch crash cymbal and 20-inch ride cymbal as well as all of the necessary stands and hardware required to put it all together. The kit package retails for $599, again shop around because some thrifty new tub-thumpers have been able to secure this deal considerably cheaper too. A good add-on to consider would be a set of practice pads, rubber discs which sit on the top of each drum to dampen the sound for more comfortable practice sessions if a dedicated (preferably sound-proofed) area is not an option.

Mapex Prodigy Drum Kit

Ableton Studio Pack

The home studio market continues to grow with many musicians utilising smaller affordable set-ups to record. There are some amazing options out there for fledgling producers wanting a complete entry-level solution. Focusrite have been releasing some excellent interface options for the home studio in recent years and they have come up with a great recording package. As well as the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface, there is an AKG Perception 120 Studio Condenser microphone with stand and cable as well as a set of AKG K44 headphones. Bundled with the Scarlett 2i2 is Ableton Live Lite recording software, all you need to provide is a computer. It’s all good, reliable gear for a RRP of just $399.

CHRIS GIBBS 36

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Mentok Commandz Yu

BLENDER 2013 I Like Your New Stuff Better Than Your Old Stuff Every year, Richmond Street Records releases a compilation CD of work from the music students at the Central Institute Of Technology (TAFE to those of us a bit longer in the tooth). We had a word with 2013 Richmond Street Records Co-Director Andrew Keys about this year’s offering, entitled Blender 2013, which features the work of Kat Wilson, Mentok Commandz Yu, Elkwood, Sundstrom and more.

Give us a potted history of the project. What are its aims and goals? How long has it been around?

Since 2010, Richmond Street Records has been releasing compilation CDs annually as part of the Central Music Industry Training (CMIT) by Diploma students in the Music Business course. This year we got together and decided to change the name, calling it Blender 2013. We felt the new name better represented the concept of the compilation CD, a blend of music from different genres coming together to create the perfect mix for all ears! There is a little something for everybody on the album.

Why was the compilation’s name change from Stacked?

We wanted to try something new this year, and Richmond Street Records felt that Stacked was becoming a little bit stale. The thought of changing the name, concept, design and the way we market the compilation CD got us excited! We also launched a new website design to coincide with the compilation CD release. We think that Blender has a strong visual meaning for the compilation CD. How involved are students in the process? How much freedom do they have and what’s the oversight like?

The students at Central Music Industry Training, are involved every step of the way in developing the compilation CD and releasing it into market. Firstly, the Music Performance students work on their repertoire during the year. Then, when the songs are ready, they work in collaboration with the Technical Production students to record the songs on professional equipment at TAFE. Then, Music Business students commence and launch the label, Richmond Street Records, and commence the process of securing music for the CD. This includes all Central bands submitting their music for inclusion, and lecturers and ourselves choosing the best tracks. Once we lock in the track listing, the CD is professionally mastered for us. While all of this is happening, Richmond Street Records develops the artwork and promotional materials by working with photographers and graphic designers, and commences planning for release.

What value do students derive from a project like this?

The process of developing the CD right through to final product and marketing the release is very real for Central students. Industry mentors and Central lecturers work hard to simulate how the process would actually be in industry. The students

have big wins but also learn a lot throughout the process. At the end we expect them to be exhausted but able to look at what they have created and reflect on this process for next time!

How are the bands on the album selected?

All Central bands submit their music for inclusion on the CD via an online process, and the lecturers and ourselves choose the best tracks through a voting system. This process takes time as each track is listened to blind (not knowing band names, etc) and voting occurs. At the end all of the votes are tallied to provide the final track listing.

Blender 2013 launches with a spectacular live show at The Rosemount Hotel on Thursday, November 28, featuring performances from Kat Wilson, Mentok Commandz Yu, Elkwood and Sundsrom. Doors open at 7pm, entry is free and includes a free copy of Blender 2013.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

Kat Wilson

Elkwood

Sundstrom WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

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RECORDING MIXING MASTERING PRODUCING Fremantle location. Call Pete Kitchen Cooked Records. Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764 REVOLVER SOUND STUDIO Ph 9272 7505. www.revolverstudio.com.au SONGWRITERS AND BANDS! - 30TH ANNIVERSARY DISCOUNTS! UNLOCK YOUR SONG’S POTENTIAL! FREE APPRAISALS. UK Producer, 40,000+ hours studio experience, 20 yrs in London. Kicking arrangements. Great studio and the ability to really listen will give your material the edge you need. Call Jerry on 0405 653 338 or visit www.jerichomusic.com.au TONE CITY RECORDING STUDIO World class equip & production. Clients inc: Abbe May, Pond, Sugar Army. Contact 0409 297 362. tonecityrecording@gmail.com REHEARSAL STUDIOS AAA VHS REHEARSAL ROOMS Great facilities, great vibe & great price!!! Unit 5 /16 Peel Road, O’Connor. Phone 9418 5815 or 0413 732 885 BIGBEAT SOUND STUDIO Clean rooms, all new PA systems, air-con and good parking . Willetton Ph: 0425 698 117.

PLATINUM SOUND ROOMS Professional rehearsal rooms, airconditioned, quality PAs mob 0418 944 722 STREAM STUDIO’S 89 Stirling St, Perth. Mobile: 0403 152 009 info@streamrehearsal.com.au VISION REHEARSAL Perth’s premier rehearsal facilities. Visit www.visionstudios.com.au for all info. East Vic Park. Email rehearsal@visionstudios. com.au or call 0432 034 122 TUITION ***GUITAR LESSONS - XMAS VOUCHERS AVAIL Give the gift of music. Beg to adv, all styles.

Catering to WAAPA and AMEB standards. All tutors have WWC clearance. Cliff Lynton Guitar Institute.Mt Lawley 9342 3484 / www.clifflynton.com BASS GUITAR LESSONS AVAILABLE by WAAPA tutor. A practicle approach to learning. .All styles.

Years of experience. Tony Gibbs 9470 6131 GUITAR & KEYBOARD TUITION (BeginnersProfessional) One on One lessons. Free guitar trial lesson. Burswood Ph 6460 6921/ 0415 238 729 www.gvkschoolofmusic.com.au GUITARWORKS TUITION Professional tutors, all ages-levels-styles. Progressive methods & friendly environment. Bedford & Joondalup Studios. 041 444 8907 guitarworks@iinet.net.au

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FREMANTLE GOES LIVE Fremantle Recording Studio have expanded their repertoire, turning their warehouse office into a boutique live venue for the summer. Summer Studio Sessions is the brainchild of new manager Paige Lampkin, who aims to emulate the live music community of New York City by bringing artists and audiences together in a relaxed atmosphere conducive to creativity and good times. The last Summer Studio Session featured the likes of Mudlark, Villain, Apache, Hunting Huxley, and These Winter Nights connecting with the crowd. The next one, on Saturday, December 7, will feature local hip hop and electronica artists doing their thing. No lineup has been announced as yet, so keep an eye on fremantlerecordingstudios. com.au for breaking news.

Sol Republic Master Tracks XC

SWEET SOUNBDS FROM SOL The first professional-calibre headphones from Sol Republic, the Master Tracks XC, launched recently.

Studio tuned by Calvin Harris, the over-ear ‘phones combine pro-grade sound reproduction with modern design aesthetics. RRP is $349 and they’re available right now from JB Hi-Fi . Head to solrepublic.com for more.

SPEAK YOUR MIND Does a week go by without a new portable speaker hitting the market? The latest one to wash up on our shore is Yamaha’s PDX-B11, a Bluetooth-ready little powerhouse that’s ready to stream your favourite tunes at your next barbecue, picnic or beach bash.

Available in four designer colours at a recommended price of $149, it’s got a lot of bang for very little bucks. Shoot over to au.yamaha.com for more details, Yamaha PDB-B11

CUSTOM SAN DIMAS NATURAL MODELS These beautiful guitars have only just become available to Australian purchasers. Manufactured to exacting specifications by Jackson/ Charvel but distributed by Fender, both models feature a stunning h a n d - r u b b e d o i l f i n i s h t h at highlights the natural wood grain of the body. They also feature top mounted Floyd Rose tremolos and Seymour Duncan pickups.

The Cooked Black Ash San Dimas (RRP $3599) features a carbonised black ash body and red maple neck, while the Koa San Dimas (RRP $3899) produces warm tones similar to a mahogany instrument.

For more information, head to charvel.com but hurry - the clock in San Dimas is always ticking.

Cooked Black Ash San Dimas

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

MASTER YOUR ART WITH MALMSTEEN Thump Music, having already shipped over an impressive roster of distinguished talent to show local musos the ropes, now add another feather to their already bristling cap with Yngwie Malmsteen. The illustrious axeman will be doing a mere four clinics in Australia, including one at the Hale School’s John Inverarity Theatre on Friday, December 13. This is bound to sell out, so those waiting to learn at the knee of the six string samurai had best secure their tickets via thumpmusic.ocm.au ASAP.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

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