The Music (Brisbane) Issue #50

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KASABIANWHAT SENT TH EM I NSANEWHAT SENT TH EM I NSANE

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SPIDERBAITtour

AUS HIP HOP BOOK

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FOOD TRIP

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BOWDITCH

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#5 0 • 0 6 . 08 . 1 4 • B R I SBANE • F R E E • I N C ORP ORAT I N G

2 • THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014

THE MUSIC • 6TH AUGUST 2014 • 3


themusic6TH AUGUST 2014

#050

INSIDEFEATURES

Kasabian

James Reyne

Spiderbait

Ed Kuepper

Clare Bowditch

Rise Hip Hop Book Photographer

Michelle Grace Hunder

Kav Temperley

Hilltop Hoods Take Us Track-

By-Track Through Their New Record Walking Under Stars

REVIEWSAlbum: FKA Twigs

Live: Husky

Arts: Guardians

Of The Galaxy

THE GUIDECover: Bree De Rome

Food/Drink

Frontlash/Backlash

Indie News

Indie Features

Gig Guide

feature

“WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT OUR RECORD IS YOU CAN LET YOUR MIND RACE, LIKE, YOU CAN BE IN THE MOMENT, BUT YOU CAN BE IN YOUR OWN MOMENT AND IT CAN MEAN WHATEVER YOU WANT IT TO MEAN.”- SERGIO PIZZORNO OF BRITISH COVER STARS KASABIAN (P12)

“I’VE A VERY RELAXED STYLE WHEN I SHOOT. MY STYLE IS LITERALLY TO JUST HANG OUT AND HAVE A CHAT, WALK AROUND – IT’S VERY UNSTRUCTURED.”- PHOTOGRAPHER MICHELLE GRACE HUNDER TALKS US THROUGH HER VISUAL OZ HIP HOP BOOK, RISE (P18)

“DON’T GET ME WRONG, IT’S LIKE SUPER INTERESTING – I HAD TO SPEND A DAY RESEARCHING HANDSHAKES!”- HILLTOP HOODS TAKE US WALKING UNDER STARS (P19)

REVIEW AND GALLERY FROM WACKEN – ONE OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST METAL FESITVALS.ONLY ON THEMUSIC.COM.AU

“THERE’S NO REASON TO SETTLE FOR COOKIE CUTTER POP WHEN THIS DELICIOUS ARTY SHIT IS ON OFFER. EXPERIENCE LP1 ONCE; IDEALLY SPIN IT PLENTY MORE THAN THAT.”- BENNY DOYLE REVIEWS FKA TWIGS HUMBLING DEBUT (P20)

track-by-track

review

WHAT NEW SONGS WILL BE ADDED TO TRIPLE J’S PLAYLIST?FIND OUT AT THEMUSIC.COM.AU

NEW LABEL TO RELEASE BRIDEZILLA SINGER’S SOLO SINGLE.BREAKING NEWS AT THEMUSIC.COM.AU


JONSON STREETBYRON BAY

FRI 8 AUGTHE STIFFYS

THE BADLANDSJOSHUA SWAN

SAT 9 AUGLIKE THIEVES, AERIALS,

GUARDS OF MAY

FRI 15 AUG THIS OLD SUNN, MOSK

SAT 16 AUGTHE DARK HAWKS

THE LOATHING, FRANKIE

FRI 22 AUGTHE FLOATING BRIDGES

SAT 23 AUGJIMMY THE SAINT

& THE SINNERS, WAXHEAD

FRI 29 AUG LYALL MOLONEY

SAT 30 AUG DEAD BEAT BAND

THURS 4 SEPT KING GIZZARD

& THE LIZARD WIZARD

FRI 5 SEP DALLAS JAMES & THE GRAINS

SAT 6 SEP MESA COSA

FRI 12 SEPTTHE PIERCE BROS

SAT 13 SEPTTHE OWLS

SUN 14 SEPTJOHN GARCIA

TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE

WWW.THENORTHERN.COM.AU

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 6 AUG - 12 AUG 2014THIS WEEK

This Saturday night marks the three-year anniversary of the opening of iconic Valley venue Black Bear Lodge, and they’re having a party to celebrate! The beautiful space (which housed bands as The Troubadour for many moons before the re-launch) is going to be rocked by The John Steel Singers, Babaganouj and Tempura Nights – as always supporting the cream of local music – so get along and join in the frivolity!

In the early-‘90s a group of like-minded Brisbane bands formed a collective to help take their music to the world, and the SPARK project was born. This Saturday they celebrate the 21-year anniversary of the release of the Spark

Compilation album, and five of the bands involved – Chalk, pictured, Dream Poppies, Pale, The Gilberts and Crop Circles – are hitting The Zoo to celebrate an awesome era of Brisvegas music. We rule!

The vinyl resurgence may be a boon for record nerds, but there comes a time where it’s hard to find cool platters locally to add to your collection that aren’t already in your greedy little mitts. That’s why the monthly West End Record Fair (second Saturday of each month at The Hi-Fi, Rumpus Room and Boundary Hotel) is always worth checking out, especially this weekend when there’s a swag of new sellers. And as always it’s free!

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BRISBANE

CREDITSPUBLISHER

Street Press Australia Pty Ltd

GROUP MANAGING EDITORAndrew Mast

EDITORSteve Bell

ASSISTANT EDITORBenny Doyle

ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Cassandra Fumi

MUSO EDITORMichael Smith

GIG GUIDE EDITORJustine Lynch

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CONTRIBUTORSAlice Bopf, Amorina

Fitzgerald-Hood, Anthony Carew, Baz McAlister, Ben

Marnane, Ben Preece, Benny Doyle, Bradley Armstrong,

Brendan Telford, Brie Jorgensen, Carley Hall, Chris Yates, Cyclone, Dan Condon,

Daniel Johnson, Dave Drayton, Guy Davis, Helen Stringer, Jake Sun, Jazmine O’Sullivan, Lochlan Watt, Madeleine Laing, Mandy

McAlister, Mitch Knox, Paul Mulkearns, Roshan Clerkea, Sam Hobson, Sky Kirkham,

Sophie Blackhall-Cain, Tessa Fox, Tom Hersey, Tony McMahon, Tyler

McLoughlan

PHOTOGRAPHERSFreya Lamont, John Stubbs, John Taylor, Kane Hibberd,

Markus Ravik, Rick Cliff ord, Sky Kirkham, Stephen Booth,

Terry Soo, Tessa Fox

QLD SALESJuliet Brooks, Madeleine

Budd

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BRINGING THE BEAT BACKAustralia’s largest dance festival Stereosonic has unveiled their first list of artists for 2014 and it’s perhaps the biggest EDM bill to ever hit this country. The likes of Calvin Harris, Tiesto, Diplo, Skrillex, Alesso, Steve Aoki, Disclosure (DJ set), Duke Dumont, Will Sparks, RL Grimes, Peking Duk, Nervo, Showtek, Dash Berlin, Carl Cox, Porter Robinson, Laidback Luke, Booka Shade, The Ashton Shuffle and tons more will alternate performances in capital cities across two days, 29 & 30 Nov, Sydney Showgrounds and Claremont Showgrounds, Perth, and 6 & 7 Dec, Melbourne Showgrounds and Brisbane Showgrounds. For the full first announcement, videos, ticket information and more, head to theMusic.com.au.

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MICROPHONE SCENESRemi, Briggs, Mantra, Grey Ghost, Dylan Joel and Flagrant are heading out on tour to celebrate the launch of Rise, a photography book by Michelle Grace Hunder chronicling the local hip hop scene. Catch this all-star bill and get your hands on a piece of Aussie musical history when the Rise tour hits The Espy, Melbourne, 21 Aug; Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, 22 Aug; New Globe Theatre, Brisbane, 23 Aug; Karova Lounge, Ballarat, 28 Aug; and Rosemount Hotel, Perth, 29 Aug. Proudly presented by The Music.

SKRILLEX

BLUEJUICE

THE TEA PARTY

BRIGGS

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHTHard-partying Canadian five-piece Comeback Kid are back with their fifth studio full-length Die Knowing, and will head out on a national tour with Californians Rotting Out and Sydney’s Relentless. Catch the bands 16 Oct, Amplifier Bar, Perth (Rotting Out not performing); 18 Oct, The Central Club, Melbourne; 23 Oct (all ages) & 24 Oct (18+), Bald Faced Stag, Sydney; and 25 Oct, The Brightside, Brisbane, with plenty more dates on The Guide at theMusic.com.au.

AMP IT UPRemi, Chet Faker and Ball Park Music are amongst the first artists added to the long list of candidates for the prestigious $30,000 Coopers AMP Australian album award, which was taken out last year by Big Scary for their stunning second LP Not Art. DZ Deathrays, Teeth & Tongue, Straight Arrows, Total Control, Blank Realm, East Brunswick All Girls Choir and HTRK round out 2014’s first list of acts, with more to be confirmed soon.

CREATURES OF BEYONDGet your King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard on when the band return home after a triumphant first run around North America, the expansive psych outfit playing national dates including 22 Aug, Goodgod Small Club, Sydney; 5 Sep, Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane; 17 Sep, The Workers Club, Melbourne; and 26 Sep, The Bakery, Perth. For full tour dates head to theMusic.com.au, with The Murlocs supporting everywhere except WA (apologies as always guys).

HIGH IMPACT FUNWA punk pals The Decline are back on the road for their national Man Gets Hit By Football tour, and will be demanding a good-spirited pitting session when they support The Bennies at The Lab, 13 Sep and The Time Machine, Nambour, 14 Sep, before headlining Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, 17 Sep; Valve @ Agincourt, Sydney, 18 Sep; Reverence Hotel, Melbourne, 20 Sep; and Amplifier Bar, Perth, 27 Sep, where they’ll be recording for a live album. All dates presented by The Music app.

“WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T GO FULL JADEN SMITH.”MARK SHANNON [@MKSHFT] AGREES: SHROOMS AT COMIC-CON – BAD CHOICE.

LAST CHANCE TO PARTYGet set to sweat when lovable pop larrikins Bluejuice hit the road for a final time, the band announcing their imminent break-up after 13 years together. Jake, Stav and the lads play Capitol, Perth, 26 Sep; The Hi-Fi, Brisbane, 2 Oct; Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, 3 Oct; The Hi-Fi, Melbourne, 10 Oct (18+) & 11 Oct (under-18 matinee); ANU Bar, Canberra, 18 Oct; Metro Theatre, Sydney, 24 Oct (all ages), plus loads more dates. Head to theMusic.com.au for full details, with the national tour proudly presented by The Music.

MYSTERIOUS BREWVeteran Canadian rock outfit The Tea Party celebrate their first record in a decade, The Ocean At The End, when they bring the alchemy with stalwart ARIA winners The Superjesus at Crown Perth, 9 Oct; Palais Theatre, Melbourne, 12 Oct; Enmore Theatre, Sydney, 15 Oct; ANU Bar, Canberra, 17 Oct; Towradgi Beach Hotel, Wollongong, 18 Oct; Panthers, Newcastle, 20 Oct; Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, 21 Oct; and The Tivoli, Brisbane, 23 Oct.

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AUGUST

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WEDNESDAY 3RD

BOYCE AVENUE THURSDAY 4TH

BIFFY CLYROFRIDAY 5TH

SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS

SATURDAY13TH

BOY & BEARTUESDAY 16TH

JASON BYRNETHURSDAY 18TH & FRIDAY 19TH

ANGUS & JULIA STONE

FRIDAY 8TH

ELVIS TO THE MAX SATURDAY 9TH

JAMES REYNE SATURDAY 23RD

THE BLOODLUST BALL

THURSDAY 28TH

PENTATONIX SATURDAY 30TH

THE DANDY WARHOLS

ELBOWTHE TEA PARTY WITH VERY SPECIAL

GUESTS THE SUPERJESUS

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TWO SHOWS!


CLEAN BEFORE YOU LEAVEThey go by Northeast Party House, and if that isn’t an expression of their electrifying dance-meets-rock style, we don’t know what is. They’ve built a cult following since their triple j big-ups back in 2010, and now the Party is bringing the party back to stages nationally this spring, with special guest Wax Witches. They hit Alhambra Lounge on 4 Oct.

NOTHING TO DESPAIRStomping US four Pity Sex are hitting Aussie shores for the first time as part of Poison City’s annual Weekender Fest down south, but they’re making their visit worthwhile, with headline shows and new dates announced. In addition to their Crowbar show, 29 Aug, with Postblue, Tape/Off and Low Season, they’ll also front up for some Saturday riffs at Tym Guitars, 30 Aug.

local news

NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE

ENTER THE AVERYThe gravel-voiced lead man of The Growl, and one part of party machine Pond, Cameron Avery, is set to show his solo wares with a headline gig at Black Bear Lodge, 4 Sep.

STREETWISE SPECTACULARFrom the favelas of Brazil comes the explosive dance energy of Brazouka, who will hit the stage at Jupiters Theatre, 4 Dec – 18 Jan. Featuring some of Brazil’s finest freestyle dancers, this lambazouk crew, led by the legendary Braz Dos Santos, combine sensuality with bounce, cheek and just a hint of danger in a must-see performance that will electrify your senses.

HOT & HEAVYMonths on since their opening and things don’t seem to be letting up at The Brightside. Make it a long and loud one this weekend, and get in early Thursday night for the in-your-face warfare of Tomb Of Doom. Friday welcomes with it a performance from extremists 4 Dead In 5 Seconds, while Saturday night is a big one, with Melbourne’s Dream On Dreamer bringing their accomplished metal sounds to the venue.

FIND YOUR INNER ANIMALWe’re thrilled to announce the newest member of the Queensland festival fraternity – Jungle Love Music, Arts And Camping Festival – a multi-day event to be held at Lake Moogerah, 21 & 22 Nov, featuring the likes of Dubmarine, Bec Laughton, LeSuits, The Mouldy Lovers, Michelle Xen + The Neon Wild, Rhythm Hunters, Twin Haus, Moses Gunn Collective and many, many more. Head to theMusic.com.au for full details.

DESERT NIGHTSIn support of his bumping new mixtape, Nervada, rapper Ry is heading out on his first headline tour of the east coast. Promising a mix of fresh jams, old favourites, and some taste testers from an upcoming EP, he plays alongside Mind Over Matter at Tatts Hotel, Lismore, 29 Aug and Beetle Bar, 30 Aug.

SHINE ON, LADSPsychedelic dream-poppers TSUN have made a red-hot go of it over the last year, with their first national tour and a bunch of solid support slots attesting to the fact. Now, the GC group have snagged a residency at Black Bear Lodge, holding court at the venue on 6, 13 & 27 Sep.

“I LOVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT MUSIC, WHICH EXPLAINS MY ‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ TATTOO.”BEING HIP AND VANILLA WITH @KARLCHANDLER.

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MIA DYSON

LIL JON

EVERYBODY SAY YEEEEAH! The king of crunk himself Lil Jon is going to be raising a glass with his Australian party monsters when he arrives in our parts for his first DJ sets Down Under. Having seamlessly switched from rapping to rocking the decks, the EDM-siding superstar is excited to bring his ridiculous high energy show to Eatons Hill Hotel, 18 Oct for a special all ages day gig.

WILD AND WONDERFULMia Dyson continues her streak of success after the May release of her latest record, with a video dropping for new single and album title track Idyllwild, a song which explores the grey-area between youth and fully fledged adulthood. Hear the track live when Dyson headlines at New Globe Theatre, 21 Nov.

FLYING SOLOJay Whalley, frontman and chief agitator for Frenzal Rhomb, is stepping away from his band of drunken brothers for a string of solo acoustic shows. Expect Whalley’s standard sharp wit to be on display, and no pig worms in a one kilometre radius! He plays The Loft, Gold Coast, 24 Oct and Crowbar, 25 Oct.

CALLING ON THE BIG RIGGSLadish Brit rockers Kasabian have called on the services of Melbourne’s The Delta Riggs to support the band when they perform at Eatons Hill Hotel, Tuesday. Fresh from a Sunday headline slot at Glastonbury, Leicester’s finest are arriving in the country to promote their hot (pink) new record, 48:13.

CAN’T RESISTAfter the revelation that was Nils Frahm at VIVID Live, the prodigious piano player is returning for a second 2014 visit. Marvell at the German’s skills when he takes command of the stage at Old Museum, 8 Oct.



And if inspiration strikes when Pizzorno is off-site? Sor’ed: “I’ve go’ a dictaphone that I carry everywhere with me so, you know, I’m in supermarkets singing into it – honestly, any time I hear something, ah, it’s recorded; whether that’s an insect or, you know wha’ I mean? Or a tube station, like, the sound coomin’ from the toonnel – bang! I’m recordin’ it. Or a lyric or a melody, so, you know, I’m constantly collectin’ things. Constantly have my ears and eyes open for inspiration.

“I see myself – well, I am a producer as much as a songwriter, like, I’m not really a traditional

Shadow, which he pronounces ‘Introducing’] and that was it. I was like, ‘Right. Bang!’” Although softly spoken, Pizzorno often punctuates our conversation with a “Bang!” More on Endtroducing: “It was combining the two: great production, great sound but then this hip hop flavour and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s huge!’ And that made me rethink what rock music could be.” Digesting DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing then led Pizzorno on to discover “other incredible music”. “It’s impor’ant because it was a gateway,” he acknowledges of the album. “Through that you go: Aphex Twin, Boards Of Canada, you know wha’ I mean? And then into sort of more hip hop, like, Blackalicious.” He was also a voracious crate digger: “Me and my friend, we’d spend hours just diggin’… You had to take time and there wasn’t loads, like, if you were looking for a break, you’d probably find two if you’re lucky, you know wha’ I mean? Whereas now, you can just go and find someone’s compilated all the breaks you’d ever need, you know – it’s crazy!”

Pizzorno marvels at “the access and the library on YouTube”, but then he concludes: “But, you know what? It can almost desensitise you a bit, because when you have all this access it’s almost – your brain can’t handle it. It’s, like, ‘I’ll have that-that-that.’ Whereas growing up it was in a record store… Record

Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy sketch television series. Eez-Eh calls to mind House Of Fun by Madness with complementary pogo stick. “Okay, nice. I don’t know the song, though,” Pizzorno confesses. He promises to give the track a whirl and then explains, “I s’pose, like, there’s 12 notes in a scale so… we’re all using what’s there in front of us, you know.”

Pizzorno’s enthusiasm when discussing music, his own or otherwise, cannot be curtailed – like an excited kid who can’t spit his words out fast enough to keep pace with his thoughts. And when inspiration strikes, Pizzorno is never far away from the recording studio. “That’s the great thing about a studio at home – I mean, sometimes I don’t like having a studio at home, because, you know, it’s always there. But I like it always there and I like how inspiration hits at strange times,” he enthuses, “and I like the opportunity to just go, ‘Right, I’ve got it! I’ll be back in a minute.’ And I sort of get the idea down and I loove that.” Pizzorno describes his home studio as “a museum”. “I mean, it’s hilarious. Like, it’s certainly not a converted barn. It’s a glorified bedroom, you know? And it’s full of vintage synths and it’s just got old stooff in there, like, it would make a better museum than a studio, and I’ve got a big old desk in there. And I hate studios, I hate clinical kinda places. I hate places of work, you know. It’s just, um, yeah! It’s just a room full of very old stooff. It’s amazin’.”

songwriter in the sense that all the songs are on acoustic. A lot of the times I almost – similar to paintings where they can take six months – I’ll have a sort of beat going or, like, a loop goin’ or a bassline goin’ and over time I build on that and, you know, make a song out of it. So I’d say that that’s kinda where I start: I’ve got sampler first before guitar.

“I sort of started with the rave scene in the Midlands: started with a sampler, then the explosion of Britpop introduced me to guitar music,” he shares. “Through guitar music you get into more experimental stuff and then I heard Endtroducing [by DJ

stores are definitely havin’ a second coming, though. Like, I mean, in England especially, there’s definitely a want for vinyl and there’s definitely a scene, you know; there are people that still buzz off that.”

He’s a father to two young sons, Ennio and Lucio (aged four and one respectively), and this has made Pizzorno acutely aware of how much we, as a society, have come to rely on portable devices. “I walked through a train carriage, like, nine or ten carriages, and I’d say 90% of the people were on their phone playin’ a game, or lookin’ at a film – in front of a screen, though. And it worried me. I was like, ‘Where’s everyone’s imagination?’ Like, where’s that: ‘I’m bored, I’m gonna look out the window and think or imagine or create an idea from nothing?’ Everyone’s catching up on watchin’ 24 or somethin’. It’s like, I get it and I understand it, but it just is like, ‘WOW!’ We’re in danger of forgetting to imagine on our own, you know? And I suppose what’s great about our record is you can let your mind race, like, you can be in the moment, but you can be in your own moment and it can mean whatever you want it to mean to you, you know? That’s what I love about records.”

After agreeing wholeheartedly that each artist album should have a completely different identity, Pizzorno considers, “Each record should be a different moment, a different inspiration”. “They’re photographs of a time – the legacy you leave behind, you know… We even get,

“WE EVEN GET, ‘OH, IT’S NOT LIKE THE LAST,’ IT’S LIKE, ‘YEAH, BUT, SO LISTEN TO THE LAST ONE,’ YOU KNOW WHA’ I MEAN?’”

As soon as Eez-Eh – the lead single from

Kasabian’s latest 48:13 set – dropped, it

immediately suggested the band had diverted

down a glowstick-littered alley. This makes more

sense if you’re familiar with guitarist/songwriter Serge

Pizzorno’s Loose Tapestries work – the project he

took up with that master of surrealist comedy, Noel

Fielding. That’s correct; Pizzorno collaborated with

his shaggy-haired lookalike mate on the music for

Kasabian’s guitarist/songwriter Sergio Pizzorno reckons a constantly evolving sound is the mark of a genius band, “Because in ten, 20 years, you look back and you listen to each record and you go, ‘Wow, this is where they were at then,’” he informs Bryget Chrisfield.

RETHINKING ROCK MUSIC

music


WHAT: 48:13 (Sony)

WHEN & WHERE: 12 Aug, Eatons Hill Hotel

‘Oh, it’s not like the last,’ it’s like, ‘Yeah, but, so listen to the last one,’ you know wha’ I mean?’” He goes so far as to say that “the best bands”, “the ones that are amazin’”, “the ones that last forever” constantly change up their sound. “Because in ten, 20 years, you look back and you listen to each record and you go, ‘Wow, this is where they were at then.’ It’s not like, ‘Oh, this could be any one of the ones they released,’ you know.”

Discussing their new album 48:13 has made Pizzorno reflect on Kasabian’s longevity. “Looking back, I had no idea we’d ever make it past one record, you know? Let alone, this’ll be the fifth.” Not that Pizzorno has forgotten how much the band targeted success. “I mean, we lived it, we lived it so hard,” he stresses. “Like, no stone was left unturned, do you know wha’ I mean? We, oh man, yeah! We had the best time, we had the best time ever, you know?” We go on to discuss how the general populace usually imagine a band as an overnight success when they have a hit single just because that’s the first they’ve heard of the group. “Mmm, that’s true,” he allows. “Whole sections are missed out, because you’re a nobody and then, bang! All of a sudden – it can happen that fast. So they don’t see the climb it took to get there, you know?”

ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK Prior to release, Kasabian’s 48:13 was available to stream via iTunes. Trainspotters quickly identified that when they added up the album’s individual track lengths, as listed on iTunes, they added up to 48.06. The remaining seven seconds were eventually identified as pauses between songs, and the track lengths specified on the album’s neon pink cover do add up to equal 48:13.

Composing individual songs to equal a predetermined total running time of 48.13 (“the number came before I finished the record”) was a mission the band’s guitarist/songwriter Serge Pizzorno describes as “insane but also quite exciting”. “Everything about this record, from the start, [we were] wanting to keep everything direct and it’s like, ‘Right. The name should be direct, like, what’s a better way of calling it but the sum of all its parts? It’s like, BANG!’… Gets to the length, it’s only that, like, to the pinpoint. It was like a sign, but then this number became magic and I literally engineered an album that fit to this time period, which could’ve been anything… It was a really different way of workin’, it’s like, ‘Well, you can’t have another chorus because you’ll go over your limit.’ It was weird, but amazin’.”

So did Pizzorno have to speed up any bits to make the finished result exactly 48:13 in duration? “Oh loads, yeah. And then in certain places, in the end, I ‘ad to add. It was amazin’, like I say. I recommend it, ‘cause you’re creatively givin’ yourself a bit of order. ‘Cause music can be anything you want, like, you can do anything, you know? It could be 48 minutes of silence and so, every now and again, to give you, um, parameters to work in is quite interesting.”


The tour is in support of Kuepper’s latest release, Return Of The Mail Order Bridegroom, which finds him revisiting songs from his career (plus some choice covers) in acoustic mode, inspired by what fans requested on last year’s run.

“All of the songs that are on the album – with the exception of [The Walker Brothers’] No Regrets – were songs that were requested,” he explains. “I didn’t pick them in terms of what was most requested, they were just ones that stood out to me. The shows were recorded, and I was initially going to release a couple of volumes in my live bootleg series, but I had this idea that it might be better addressed as a more cohesive studio statement, because it is part of a series of albums that I’m in the process of doing – it’s the second in the series, the first one being Second Winter [2012] – and there will be another one maybe at the end of this year, depending on how things go. But I wanted something that was really cohesive as an actual album and presented with a bit more gravity than a live release might have done, showing what I took out of that batch of shows. The arrangements are all pretty different to any version that’s been done before.”

Kuepper has become expert at performing solo in recent times, but does he find it difficult being so evocative up there on his lonesome?

“From my own perspective, I kind of think that bands are good when you’re in high school,” he offers. “I think that if you can make it work on your own you’re doing something quite significant in a way. It’s been a long time since I’ve been a fan of bands – although I’ll qualify that by saying that there’s a lot of bands that I like, but the idea of ‘the gang’ kind of thing I moved on from a long time ago. And I do think that’s

Long considered a national treasure, legendary singer-songwriter Ed Kuepper is showing no signs of slowing down. Steve Bell gets schooled in the fine art of reinterpretation and the mysterious power of one.

The prospect of playing a show where the audience can request on the spot what songs you’re going to tackle would be daunting

for any musician, but for iconic Brisbane singer-songwriter Ed Kuepper – whose near four-decade career includes The Saints’ seminal early stanza, his more avant-garde stint fronting The Laughing Clowns and also an exhaustive solo repertoire, along with other detours along the journey – the trepidation of facing such a feat must be verging on seismic.

Or so you’d imagine. The unflappable Kuepper has recently completed a run of similar affairs down south – following a similar tour last year – so is completely unbothered by the impending undertaking, to the point where he even seems genuinely excited about revisiting the concept.

“It went really well,” he recalls of the recently competed ‘Solo And By Request’ foray. “It did what I hoped it would do, which was get the audience involved and instigate a way of looking at songs in a fairly spontaneous way. One of the conditions on the request aspect is that I’m not going to play the recorded versions, I’m going to play the song in a way that seems appropriate for the evening. So they’re always a bit different, and it doesn’t always work as an exercise in nostalgia – it actually makes it like an interactive art experience rather than a nostalgic night down at the RSL club.”

Kuepper hasn’t cribbed by working up new arrangements of his massive repertoire beforehand either; he’s genuinely reinterpreting his own material spontaneously each evening.

“There’s too many songs to have new versions worked out [beforehand],” he smiles. “I’d probably say that I’ve never played the same song twice. There might be some that were a little closer to a version that I might have played a few nights ago to others, but they can vary quite substantially sometimes, not just for the sake of doing it, but for what feels right in the mood of the

overall performance. For instance, if I played a song which has gone a particular way and has a particular atmosphere or rhythm or something to it then someone calls out something else, then I might want to extend that mood that had just been established, or I might want to break away entirely and move onto something else because the overall thing has still got to work as a show, so there’s got to be a certain dynamic to the way that songs interact.

“I wanted people to request what they wanted to hear rather than necessarily call out something they thought was the most obscure song, or the most well known song, so the range of requests was pretty phenomenal. It veered from songs that I was impressed that anybody actually knew – things that were maybe B-sides to singles which never ended up on albums, those kind of things – to the reasonably well known songs.”

ETERNALLY OURS

WHAT: Return Of The Mail-Order Bridegroom (Valve)

WHEN & WHERE: 9 Aug, Old Museum;

22 Aug, Soundlounge, Gold Coast; 23 &

24 Aug, Imperial Hotel, Eumundi

“IT’S LIKE AN INTERACTIVE ART EXPERIENCE RATHER THAN A NOSTALGIC NIGHT DOWN AT THE RSL CLUB.”

a high school thing really, and there’s nothing wrong with that but I’m not in high school anymore.

“I like the flexibility of playing either solo or with a very small ensemble. It’s not like I don’t like playing with other people or won’t ever involve other people in what I do, but there’s just something really direct about it and at the same time I’ve never gone out and made the solo performance really small – the way that I play, the way that I use ambient effects and things like that, makes the experience more orchestral than some guy sitting in a corner playing an acoustic guitar,” he pauses before laughing. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I might do that at some stage too.”

music



After a four-year break from recording, Spoon are revitalised and back with a vengeance. Frontman Britt Daniels tells Steve Bell about bringing the band (and a fave old character) back from the dead.

When Austin-bred indie rockers Spoon’s seventh album Transference went gangbusters at the start of 2010 – debuting at number

four on the Billboard 200 album chart – you’d be excused for imaging that this would usher in an era of industry for the already hard-working outfit.

What actually transpired, however, was that it pre-empted a mini-hiatus for the band. Frontman Britt Daniels started new project Divine Fits who released an album, A Thing Called Divine Fits (2012), and toured globally, while the other members also took a break to recharge their batteries, eventually hooking up again earlier this year to start work on their eighth studio effort, They Want My Soul.

“I was very excited to play with Divine Fits, and I’m finding myself just as excited to work with my old band now,” Daniels enthuses. “We were a bit burnt out – just at the end of the Transference touring. I loved making the record and I loved how the record came out and it started out great – we were playing the biggest shows we’ve ever played, we filled out Radio City Music Hall in New York which I never, ever thought would have happened – but then we toured it a bit too long and we all got a little sick of it. That’s why we had that break, plus I’d wanted to be in a band with Dan [Boeckner –

Wolf Parade] for a long time, so the combination of those things just seemed to make sense.”

Did the band know in advance what they were seeking from the new album?

“Generally I wanted to make a record that would sound good coming out of a car stereo and that you could sing along to,” Daniels continues. “We always react against the record we made before, and the record before Transference was Ga

Ga Ga Ga Ga [2007] which had all kinds of crazy R&B-tinged songs and very much singalong songs, then for some reason we felt like self-producing

and making a weird record next, and now I kinda feel like singing again, you know?”

Interestingly, the title track to They Want My Soul (which according to Daniels is about “religious pretenders or holy rollers or soul suckers”) contains the line, “Jonathan Fisk,

still he wants my soul,” referencing the titular character from Jonathan Fisk off 2002’s Kill The Moonlight.

“It’s a lost art,” the singer smiles. “We’ve done that before – not a lot – when I’ve mentioned past lyrics in a new song, I just think it’s a cool thing to do. John Lennon would do that kind of thing, among others, and I just think it’s cool. There’s a song Lines In The Suit [from 2001’s Girls Can Tell] which mentions Mountain To Sound [from 1997 EP Soft Effects], and we’ve done it a couple of other times. That character exists, and it just seems like he fit in with this song about people who are soul suckers, so I thought it would be fun to bring him back.”

SOUL REVIVAL

WHAT: They Want My Soul (Spunk)

music

James Reyne is turning back the clock to revisit the classic Australian Crawl songs which defined his youth. He tells Steve Bell why he’s no longer indisposed when it comes to the Crawl.

Australian Crawl were one of the preeminent bands of the fertile Oz rock boom of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, selling millions of records

and playing to massive crowds who connected with their laconic, surfer boy image and quintessentially Aussie charm. After their split in 1986 a series of events – including band members passing away, acrimony within the ranks plus a fruitful solo career for frontman James Reyne – transpired to make a full-scale reunion impossible, so fans have had to rely on listening to the old records and dwindling classic radio support

to keep Crawl’s music alive and kicking.

Until now. The recent acquisition of EMI – who owned the Aussie Crawl catalogue – by Universal has meant that the band’s music has finally been made available online, and the resultant surge in popularity has meant that after years of pressure to revisit the era, Reyne has acquiesced and is embarking on The

Crawl Files Live tour. The songs still sound both fresh and sonically unique – were any bands in particular inspiring them when they set out?

“We had bands that we liked, but I don’t think we were trying to be like anybody,” he ponders. “In the era

when Australian Crawl started it was a very different music scene, and you built your reputation and your following initially on live performance. There were a lot of bands at that time – a lot of whom became very big bands – so you’d go out there and you’d work a lot. You could work ten or 11 months of the year, six days a week, all over the country and you’d build up these big live followings, then when you released records radio was very supportive so your new single would get added to radio – assuming it was good enough – and that fed into more people being aware of the band, and they’d go out and buy the records too.

“So all we’d do is try to be competitive live. You wanted the songs to make people go off when you were playing them live, because you were always playing these packed, sweaty pubs and you wanted people to go nuts. You needed big, beefy songs and that’s why a lot of songs from that era ended up sounding like that. We’d be on bills with bands like Midnight Oil and Cold Chisel and The Angels and Split Enz – incredible live bands, seriously great bands – so when you’re sharing stages with them it really raises the bar.”

It must be nice for Reyne to keep the Australian Crawl legacy alive, and in doing so sustain the memory of sadly deceased guitarists Guy McDonough and Brad Robinson.

“Yeah, I think so,” Reyne reflects. “It keeps it alive and revitalises it, I hope, and we’re doing it with respect. We’ll do it properly and how people remember it. I hope it does keep it in people’s minds – so many people tell me that these songs have legs, maybe they’re right. If they’re worthwhile songs then they should stay in the zeitgeist.”

SONS OF BEACHES

WHEN & WHERE: 8 Aug, Eatons

Hill Hotel; 9 Aug, The Tivoli

music


With a superb new album and sold out gigs everywhere indie legends Spiderbait have proven themselves as relevant as ever. Mark Hebblewhite talks to drummer/vocalist Mark Maher (aka Kram) about the band’s phenomenal return.

Out of all the bands that came to national prominence in the indie explosion of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Spiderbait were perhaps the

most unlikely success story. For one, they didn’t come from the fertile scenes brewing in both Sydney and Melbourne – their home was the tiny Riverina town of Finley. Second, and perhaps most importantly, their sound was utterly unique. Part-pop, part-punk with a healthy dose of electronica and hard rock to boot, the trio was

the most original act of their age not named Primus. Maher is quick to admit that although Spiderbait’s path wasn’t an easy one – isolation did help them develop their unique sound.

“Growing up where we did there was nothing in terms of a scene. We actually pre-date triple j so there wasn’t even that to keep us connected. All we actually had at the beginning was Rage... It wasn’t until we got to Melbourne and discovered bands like The Hard-Ons and The Meanies – this whole alternative punk rock scene. At least now country Australia has triple j and can be plugged into the

different things going on in the big cities. But in a sense our isolation made us what we are. Because there was no triple j, for example, there was no emphasis on ‘We need to get played on this station.’ We had no aspirations beyond playing a few gigs because we simply didn’t think we were going to go anywhere. On top of this, as a country town band you are forced to hack together what you can to entertain yourself. Elsewhere people think of themselves as a ‘New York kid’ or a ‘Fitzroy kid’ – wherever they may be they identify with what’s going on around them musically. Because we came from Finley, the back end of nowhere, we had a clean canvas to do whatever we wanted. When we finally ended up in a big city we just kept that attitude instead of trying to emulate other bands from the past. We figured if people like it they like it – and that was it.”

Late last year, Spiderbait returned from a long period of inactivity with a brand new LP simply titled Spiderbait; it was nothing short of a statement of intent. “As lazy as we can be sometimes we didn’t put out a self-titled record just because we couldn’t think up a name,” laughs Maher. “I’ve got to say our producer François [Tetaz] had a lot to do with the decision to call the record Spiderbait. That name was always up there but when we asked François what he thought, he pointed out that the album was like a retrospective of the band – but in the form of all new material. This is a record about our band and nothing says it better than the band’s name. We’ve been known in the past for all these long album and song titles but for this one, because it represented a creative rejuvenation for us, the simple title works really well. Musically, there’s no real bells or whistles here – it’s just about us and being honest about who we are.”

THE SPIDER’S RETURN

WHEN & WHERE: 9 Aug, The Hi-Fi

music


CAPTURING A LEGACYbook

MICHELLE GRACE HUNDER

Chanteuse Clare Bowditch wants you to perform with her, but as she tells Ben Preece, there’s no pressure.

A living, breathing part of the musical furniture for over 15 years, Clare Bowditch has, in that time, snared Best Female Artist ARIA Awards,

International Songwriting Competition attention and no less than Rolling Stone’s 2010 Woman of the Year. Of late, however, she’s been a bit quiet, on the musical front at least, but, as she explains, for very good reason.

“My life got taken over by my little love project Big Hearted Business,” she laughs affectionately. “I launched that in March last year and it’s basically a website teaching creative people about business and business people about creativity and how it makes sense. It just took off – it went through the fucking roof. It’s been fantastic – we put on two conferences – it’s been very

non-traditional – and we’ve been getting people in to talk about things no one talks about through fear, death and shame.”

Bowditch reveals she is working on material for a new album, her ninth, but first plans to get out onto the nation’s stages and road-test some new songs as part of her fourth Winter Secrets tour.

“My audiences are incredibly creative – [they] sing [lines] automatically [and] they’re always up for a bit of fun. One year I decided to do a solo tour and we thought we’d make the audience my back-up band. And it worked. I got to bring people from every city up onto stage to sing spontaneously – it was

something I had always wished someone would do for me when I was in their audiences before I was a so-called pro. It’s really about playing with that idea, having some fun and mixing it up between the traditional show and other performances where the audience is here and the performer is there.”

But those with potential stagefright shouldn’t be apprehensive; Bowditch isn’t about to drag you up onstage and make you confess your deepest, darkest and naughtiest secrets. “Not unless they want to,” she giggles slyly.

Something not so secret, if you’ve seen the gorgeous tour poster pasted around town, is that Adalita will be joining Bowditch on this tour, something bound to be more than a simple support slot. “What you might find out [is that] Adalita is an incredible jazz dancer,” she laughs. “Who knew that I was a noise musician? You might find that out too. Who knows?”

With eight albums under her belt and a heart full of spontaneity, how exactly does Bowditch put together a night’s setlist? “It’s getting increasingly challenging actually,” she confesses. “We choose them basically on the feeling on the show. There’s probably five or six songs that we’d get murdered for if we didn’t play every time, and the rest is just lady’s choice on the night. There will be some newies, hopefully, if I get my courage up.”

But as Bowditch explains, the new album isn’t that close. “It’s always really near and far away at the same time. I have about a hundred songs, but there’s only four I’m vaguely happy with, [so] I won’t have a new album out until next year.”

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

WHEN & WHERE: 8 Aug, Brisbane Powerhouse

music

Photographer Michelle Grace Hunder talks to Cyclone about trying to consciously seek out femcees and what it was like getting Oz hip hop’s big names in front of her lens in her new book RISE.

Melbourne photographer Michelle Grace

Hunder has documented Australia’s surging

hip hop culture in RISE, the first book

of its kind, presenting 360, Hilltop Hoods, Bliss N

Eso and many more. Hip hop is inherently DIY and

Hunder, too, lives by that creed. She only lately became

a professional photographer – and is self-taught.

Hunder turned to Pozible when nearly halfway through

the ambitious RISE project. “I realised it was gonna

cost about 20 grand. I’m like, ‘Okay, as a creative person,

we don’t have just $20,000 lying around,’” she laughs.

The site allowed her to engage with the wider hip hop

community. “In the first hour we’d raised $1000.”

RISE depicts Aussie hip hoppers both pioneering and

emerging – yet some were more comfortable in front of

the lens than others. “You’ve got seasoned campaigners like

Bliss N Eso. I had about a 20-minute window with those

guys and they’re professionals – they just bring it. Within

20 minutes, you’ve got 50 shots that are usable. Whereas

some guys might be newer or just haven’t been in front of

the camera – it takes a little bit more to draw that out of

them. But I’ve a very relaxed style when I shoot. My style

is literally to just hang out and have a chat, walk around

– it’s very unstructured.” Snapping REMI, with producers

Sensible J and Dutch, was social. “REMI’s one of my closest friends. he’s almost a muse – we shoot so often.” 360 was enjoyable too. “He’s very easy to work with – a very down-to-earth guy, super lovely.” Allday, with his romantic flowing locks, provided a fun contrast. “We call it the ‘Nirvana shot’ – it’s very rock star!”

RISE debunks negative connotations of ‘skip hop’ with its diversity. And significantly, it celebrates Australia’s oft-neglected femcees – including Queenslander Chelsea Jane. “I did make a very conscious effort to try to seek out as many as possible – and

it was difficult. There are not a huge number who are active. I think the reason is it’s kinda a catch-22 – because there’s not a lot active, then there’s no one for other women to look up to, to say, ‘That’s what I wanna be…’ It’s one of those scenes where it’s male-dominated, but my experience with it has been incredibly friendly. I’ve never had an issue with being a woman around the hip hop scene in Australia at all. I’ve always been judged purely for my work so, from that aspect, it’s been incredibly positive.”

Mistress Of Ceremony will join this month’s national RISE launch tour, alongside the likes of REMI and Briggs. Punters can purchase RISE and have copies signed. And Hunder will photograph her performers. “I’m excited about being on tour finally, because it’s my dream!”

WHAT: RISE tour [to support book release]

WHEN & WHERE: 23 Aug, New Globe Theatre


Celebrating the tenth anniversary of A Song Is A City, Kav Temperley takes Michael Smith through Eskimo Joe’s second album track by track before heading out on an intimate and extensive solo acoustic tour.

From The Sea...I’ve always been a massive Police fan so there was a bit of that going on but really, thematically, as a song, like, it really captured that whole album because it’s about

that oncoming anxiety,

like you feel a tidal wave

of something is about to

hit you and you can feel

it coming towards you,

and I would do this walk

into Fremantle every day

and I would see these big

storm clouds that would

be pushed in across

the ocean and then the

storms would hit, and I

always felt that was this

great kind of metaphor

for how it feels as the

shit storm’s approaching

you [chuckles].

Older Than YouI know this sounds like

a weird thing to reflect

on but the whole Girl

[album] for me was, like, a falling in love record and it was my first big, proper relationship in my life, and basically A Song Is A City was the break-up record – a lot of it documents that – and Older Than You was this kind of me feeling I was so much older [laughs] than, I’m so much more evolved than my poor girlfriend at the time who I’d just basically broken up with…

Smoke...The whole album is this real kind of me struggling with my relationship and trying to justify to myself why I want to leave this lovely girl who I’m with. That’s the weird thing about writing records is it gets preserved in history [chuckles] forever, so again Smoke is self-explanatory. Obviously I’ve got a bit of a cold when I’m writing the song and I’m prone to smoking the sneaky joint here and there, so I’ve obviously been smoking too much weed...

Car Crash...We basically got on the road and went up and down the east coast between Adelaide and north Queensland continuously, and a lot of those late night trips I would just be… I didn’t get my license until I was 24, just before A Song Is A City came out, so I would always be in the passenger seat, and if you haven’t driven a car before your fear of it all going horribly wrong is pretty strong. So it was literally, ‘I don’t really wanna die in a car crash tonight… with my bandmates.’

Read the full track-by-track on theMusic.com.au.

A SONG IS A CITY REVISITED

WHEN & WHERE: 13 Aug, Black Bear

Lodge; 14 Aug, SoundLounge, Gold Coast

music

Hilltop Hoods’ Suffa aka Matt Lambert talks about being well versed in handshakes and using boxing as a metaphor for rhyming as he runs us through their seventh studio album, Walking Under Stars.

The Art Of The HandshakeIt’s a bit different for us. It was inspired by a lyric from

a group called Notes To Self, and their track All Of

The Above, and they’ve got a lyric in there, “20-second

handshake”, and it just made me think back to being a

kid and all the ridiculous handshakes we had. I liked

the idea of doing a song so earnest about something so

stupid as a handshake! Don’t get me wrong, it’s like super

interesting – I had to spend a day researching handshakes!

I learnt in Switzerland, you should shake the ladies’ hand

first when you enter a room. In India, you shouldn’t have

a tight grip; it’s considered offensive. We got a voiceover

guy, we wanted to give it sort of a theatrical feel, so we

reached out to this guy from Vancouver, Dave Pettitt,

and funnily enough he’d been to our last Vancouver

show, so he was like, “Man, I’ll do it for a real good

price and I’ll flip it in 24 hours,” and we were like, “Shit,

Dave Pettitt, you big-voiced, badass motherfucker!”

Through The DarkThrough The Dark is Pressure’s solo track. It’s hard for

me to comment on it because it’s such a personal track.

His son, when he was nine years old, was diagnosed

with leukaemia, and that track’s just, you know, his

conversation with his son. I think it’s the best thing he’s

ever written, personally. Originally he laid that hook as a placeholder to get someone else to sing, and everyone around him, especially me, was like, “Nah, man, that’s your hook, that’s your story, that’s your kid; you do it,” so he took himself out of his comfort zone to do that. The result is a really beautiful track. It just punches your heart straight in its face. I was really proud of him for the way he dealt with the whole situation with his son and I was really proud of him for what he created with this song. And his son’s in remission now, which is amazing.

Rumble, Young Man, Rumble (ft Dan Sultan)

This track is a track about using boxing as a metaphor for rhyming. There’s a lot of analogies within that track – rhyming for the sport of it, but using boxing as a device to tell the story sort of thing. We’ve got Dan Sultan on the hook. I had a hook written for it and it was completely out of my register... [laughs] Getting [Sultan] in made that track come to life – it was amazing to watch him sing. He’s just such a gifted dude and we love him as a person as well.

I’m A GhostI’m A Ghost is a track about eventually hanging up the mic. It’s by no means announcing a subtle retirement – it’s hypothetical, which of course one day will be a reality. The right place for that was at the end of the album.

Read the full track-by-track on theMusic.com.au.

STAR GAZER

WHAT: Walking Under Stars

(Golden Era Records/Universal)

music

PIC: COLE BENNETTS


album reviews

FKA TWIGSLP1Young Turks/Remote Control

First listen: ‘Didn’t Grimes make this record a couple of years ago?’ Second listen: ‘Grimes who?’ Third listen: ‘I’m submerged here – let me drown.’

Switch off the lights, lay your speakers down and turn your stereo up. Tahliah ‘FKA Twigs’ Barnett lives up to all the hype with a complex, breathtaking debut record that seems to share your air, your skin, and haunt your soul like only true love can.

The opening trio of songs are standout, the 26-year-old Brit serving up hypnotic choral mantras and post-dub/trip hop collisions (Preface), and reflective leftfield R&B romance (Lights

On), before dropping Two Weeks, a disarmingly sensual song to lay arms to, even if it does briefly use a note progression from Air Supply’s All Out Of Love. From there the album unwinds with this concentrated grace: nothing is rushed, no moments are deemed meaningless. AL

BUM

OF

THE

WEE

KDOT HACKERHow’s Your Process? (Work)Smack Face

Dot Hacker is Josh Klinghoffer’s other band. As staunch as Red Hot Chili Peppers’ music might be to some, Klinghoffer’s entry into the group following John Frusciante’s departure was big news. It thankfully brought new fans to Dot Hacker from the Chili Peppers’ huge fanbase, but the effect was short-lived, and it led to delays for debut album Inhibition. Follow-up How’s Your Process? (Work) is an album from a band now trying to prove their own identity, and the results show that struggle.

The fact that this is a band made up of uniquely talented musicians is clear from the diversity of styles and arrangements on show. Nineties-aping industrial beats clash against twangy reverb in First In Forever; Sermon Of Sorts is classic British rock in a New York café. The fact that bands like Gnarls Barkley, Hella, The Motels and even El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez

HILLTOP HOODSWalking Under StarsGolden Era/Universal

For anyone who’s been asleep for the past decade, Hilltop Hoods not only led Australian hip hop’s assault on the mainstream, but have remained at the top of the heap as others continue to make a play for the pinnacle of the genre.

Walking Under Stars is a curious album. The distance from this, the Hoods’ seventh studio album, to their earlier albums, is significant and represents the clear maturation of the trio over the years. Whereas Left Foot,

Right Foot and The Calling were full of aggressive delivery and party anthems, what Walking

Under Stars offers – for the most part – is a little more subdued.

The main component of this is DJ Debris’ reliance on strings and piano, while MCs Suffa and Pressure have also mellowed in their vocal delivery. Maybe this is a result of the pair growing older and wiser, or a reflection of the genre in general; on the

PORTER ROBINSONWorldsEMI

It’s hard being famous, apparently. After suffering from an acute identity crisis as a famous DJ, Porter Robinson has sat down to create something unique and new, something that won’t neatly slot on your superstar DJ playlists. While it’s easy and often tempting to confuse pretension with ambition, the soundscapes and emotions on Worlds sound sincere if nothing else.

Worlds is a fitting title – Robinson explores faraway places with this release, island-hopping from one influence to another. Sad Machine and Flicker sound distinctly influenced by Asian electronic music with their robotic lilt, while Sea Of Voices is more at home in the foothills of Icelandic mountains. Despite this adventure into ambience, however, Worlds often feels shrouded and distant. Robinson often manages to successfully avoid formulation, but doesn’t always achieve a real

And whether dramatic (Video Girls) or futuristic (Closer), it’s all-consuming.

Left on its own, Barnett’s vocal is magnificent – and you just know she’d deliver these songs note perfect live. But she puts it on the pedestal it deserves by surrounding it with these cavernous sonic structures, space in which she hides earthy beats and instrumentation, the discovery of which is left to the listener.

There’s no reason to settle for cookie cutter pop when this delicious arty shit is on offer. Experience LP1 once; ideally spin it plenty more than that.

Benny Doyle

Lopez fill up these muso’s

resumes means that there’s equal

weight given to different styles,

with neo-soul and new wave

tinges playing off jazz drum

sections and arena-rock guitar

leads. It all gets a bit washed-out

in heavy tone at points, which

drags down the high points.

How’s Your Process? (Work) is what

happens when a bunch of guys

who are all talented in different

waves of the musical spectrum

get together and embrace those

differences. The album does

come off sounding The Bends-ish,

and with a follow-up in (Play)

coming later this year, we’ll see

if it pays off in the long run.

Cam Findlay

surface, it’s difficult to know.

Some of the songs for Walking

Under Stars were created at the same time as those for their last album, 2012’s Drinking From

The Sun, and with both albums bookended by The Thirst Pts

1-5, there is definitely significant cohesion between the two.

If Walking Under Stars was the first Hilltop Hoods album you heard, though, you’d be impressed with the crystal-clear production and consistent approach brought by all three members. An intelligent record is on offer for those willing to set aside their expectations of another Aussie hip hop paint-by-numbers record.

Dylan Stewart

sense of purpose. Lionhearted

and Hear The Bells, both with

guest vocals, leave a more solid

impression, the latter balancing

the orchestral overtones of the

instrumental songs to great effect.

Gapping rifts and hanging

chasms invade what seems to be

a concept album that built its

house on the sands of confusion.

It’s obviously a labour of love,

but it’s a shame that Robinson

hasn’t focused the textual forays

and songwriting into a body of

songs that play well together. At

its enigmatic best, we’re left with

an album that sounds terrible

on laptop speakers, but suitably

mountainous on a large system.

Roshan Clerke

★★★½

★★★★ ★★★

★★

★★

½


albums/singles/eps

AZEALIA BANKSHeavy Metal And ReflectiveAzealia Banks

First new single for Banks for her new record label ie. – herself. It’s a blast of Lil Internet-produced rap shit, with Banks doing the deadpan mumble rap that made her famous on 212.

ALEX CAMERONTake Care Of BusinessSiberia

From the dark (fictitious?) mind of Alex Cameron comes another tale of despair about the perils of the entertainment business, told over a minimal layer of organ, drums and synth pads.

ICE CUBEDrop GirlLench Mob/Caroline

This is essentially a RedFoo track with an Ice Cube sample. Cube does an eight-bar rap, and then 2 Chainz talks about sex workers for a bit. RIP gangsta rap.

EMPERORSShooting From The Bell TowerIndependent

The video for this solid rocker includes three of my personal heroes expressing disgust for the song they are listening to, so what am I supposed to think?!

HUDSON MOHAWKEChimes Warp

Amazing to think it’s only been a few years since HudMo went from a kid making beats in his room to hanging out with Kanye etc, but it happened fast. This slow jam is some more of his hip hop stuff, with some glittering edges.

Chris Yates

BEAR HANDSDistractionWarner

Bear Hands’ smart little name might draw to comparisons to Animal Collective, and that wouldn’t be too far off the mark. Dillon Rau’s drawn-out drawl compares well to Panda Bear, but Bear Hands take a much more earnest lean on Distraction. It’s smart, edgy and eclectic, and is even more of a medal on their chests due to its DIY creation, major label support coming only after. Single Giants fuses hooky guitar leads with electro synth while songs like Violet Iowa pack MGMT-level electro-psych into three-minute gems. A balance of powerful pop tracks and mellow, guitar-driven moments work smoothly.

Cam Findlay

WILDCAT! WILDCAT!No Moon At AllDowntown/Create Control

No Moon At All is a mix of synth-drenched, somewhat tiresome dance-pop tracks and delightful indie gems. Opener Tower //

W.O.H.L., is slow to begin, but ends nice and loudly. Holloway

(Hey Love) offers much the same, culminating in a moving crescendo and harmonised vocals. However, following tracks Circuit

Breaker and Nothing Below aren’t really worth the fifth of the record they occupy. Pick your favourites on this one and add them to a playlist with some Passion Pit and Temper Trap.

Ash Goldberg

#1 DADSAbout FacePieater/Inertia

This is the second solo record by Tom Iansek from Big Scary, and carries on the polished, vaguely detached vibe of their last record, Not Art, although it’s low-key and beautiful in a more touchable way. However, it could do without the songs featuring guest vocals. Iansek fits his sound around their voices, particularly on the bluesy, boring So Soldier with Ainslie Wills, and it’s kind of a bummer as his own voice, with its magic balance of sexy vulnerability, works so well with his music’s cold intimacy. You miss that when someone else takes the spotlight.

Madeleine Laing

JOE HENRYInvisible HourPlanet Company/MGMIn a career spanning over two decades there isn’t much Joe Henry hasn’t accomplished – a world-renowned artist and Grammy-winning producer, Henry even wrote the score for Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up. Having literally “been there and done that” he’s taken the liberty of making an intricate, emotive record in Invisible Hour,

his 13th solo album. A soft and delicate hour-long listen, it’s designed to be coupled with a quiet afternoon. However, some might lack the patience to give the album the multiple listens required to adequately understand its character and depth.

Ash Goldberg

BEAR IN HEAVENTime Is Over One Day OldDead Oceans/Inertia

Four albums in and Brooklyn’s Bear In Heaven have taken their synth-laden tunes to new hypnotic heights. Where their previous efforts were all bombast and big electronic noise, there’s a slow build to each song, from the smooth reverb-drenched Autumn to the frenetic energy of Demon. The unifying factor is Jon Philpot’s sometimes nasal, yet always intriguing vocals, weaving strong imagery over grooving bass lines and thrumming percussion. This album hasn’t the standout “hit factor” Beast Rest Forth Mouth

did, but there’s enough disco-flecked sound here to please.

Sevana Ohandjanian

★★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★½

★★★

MORE REVIEWSthemusic.com.au/reviews/album

The Dead Love – Transitions

coldrain – The Revelation

Belphegor – Conjuring The Dead


and are slightly out of time. This settles eventually though, and the final two songs of the set harbour some great ideas. These have a more R&B-influenced sound, and make further use of the vocals with samples. Future exploration of effects on the vocals beyond looping could be a great avenue for the group. Wafia are a band of astounding talent, finding moments of haunting beauty, but still looking for themselves in amongst the ideas of folktronic R&B.

Husky’s debut album was released in 2011 and a new one is set for release later this year. And yet, enthusiasm for the Melbourne four-piece has not waned, tonight’s show selling out days earlier. Opener Dark Sea begins a run of high-energy, up-tempo numbers, and lead vocalist Husky Gawenda

Watching a skilled band play is seeing something created that is greater than the sum of its parts. This is demonstrated by Husky, most particularly in their use of harmonies. It is impossible to discuss the brilliance of their performance without constantly making reference to what is their greatest asset. The songs themselves are artfully written, with a sense of timelessness about them. However, it is the thoughtful arrangement and tasteful adornment of harmonies that takes it to the next level.

After an amusing exit-less encore (“There’s nowhere to go! Just clap a bit more and we’ll pretend we walked off and back on.”), it is the final song – tentatively titled Heartbeat – that is the cherry on top of what is a polished and energetic performance.

up some wonderful surprises. Per Purpose kicked off the night at the criminally early time of 7.30pm. Approaching the venue the band were sounding quite hot into it as the sound of the group spilled out into the street, and inside was a more warranted version. The set showed the group’s usual musical flair, switching from pulsating rhythm-heavy wall-of-sound numbers to moments of early Modest Mouse space-driven guitar meandering with an Aussie flair. Glen Schenau threw up a solo-style number towards the end of the set and it was a notable side dish in the overall delicious serving of Purpose on offer this evening.

The line-up tonight seemed

to have been drawn from

multiple elements of the

the crowd enthusiastic for the Brooklyn pseudo-supergroup’s chops. There was a certain air of scepticism as to what the band could bring that would differ from the last time, as Rick Froberg and the crew have been on our shores in varying capacities on a regular basis over the last few years. Things kicked off quite kraut rock as the rhythm section locked into a notable groove while Froberg and Sohrab Habibion frantically noodled their way over the top. The set was, as expected, largely drawn from the group’s last two records, Moody, Standard

And Poor and the slightly less engaging Bed and Bugs, and it’s the Moody tracks that shone tonight as the grimey riffs of Everything

Looks Better In The Sun

HUSKY, WAFIABlack Bear Lodge1 Aug

Featuring electric guitar, electronics and a beautiful vocalist whose voice is situated somewhere between Sarah Blasko and Lorde, duo Wafia have a lot of potential. An early track’s melody sounds like a long-lost Irish folk tune that winds itself around the ribcage: “Your voice lingers in

the hallway/Your voice lingers

in my heart.” The electronics add a layer of atmosphere, but could integrate better with delicacy of the songwriting and singing. There are technical glitches and an unbalanced mix where the beats aggressively overpower

looks positively gleeful to be performing. A warmth emanates from the performers, as well as a clear, consistent musical chemistry. There is a move to slower, moodier numbers, like Tidal Wave, Hunter and newie Deep Sky Diving, echoing the sound of The Decemberists or Augie March in their quieter moments. The progressions are surprising, eerie and immersive. A jammed-out, psychedelic feel is present in their new tracks, and keys player Gideon Priess shows his considerable talent on an instrumental track. History’s Door gets a loud cheer, as does latest single I’m

Not Coming Back. It powers ahead with its syncopated Nick Drake-style guitar and the driving drums opening up to the shimmering chorus.

Huddled around two mics,

it is an Americana-inspired

track, each member singing

a duet with lead vocalist

Gawenda at various points.

Freshly written and heartfelt,

it shows a further maturation

of their songwriting.

Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood

OBITS, SIXFTHICK, PER PURPOSE Crowbar3 Aug

Sunday night shows are

often a weird anomaly on

the Brisbane live music

calendar, though when they

do happen they often throw

rock landscape and it was

a change of pace when

swampsters SixFtHick took the stage. They were

their usual selves with loud

fuzz-driven guitars playing

second fiddle to the brothers

Corbett’s animated yet over-

the-top stage antics. They

drew a notable crowd for the

early time and were all quite

enthusiastic, notably during

“Groove is in the Heart”,

better known as Bitemarks.

The problem is that coming

to see the band perform

now is slightly an expected

experience, like watching an

old episode of The Simpsons,

which is always good, but

never anything new.

The venue saw its peak as

Obits took to the stage,

live reviews

HUSKY @ BLACK BEAR LODGE. PIC: MARKUS RAVIK OBITS @ CROWBAR. PIC: AIMEE CATTROSE WINTERGREEN @ BRISBANE POWERHOUSE.

PIC: TERRY SOO


proved an early highlight. Taking the group out before a deserved encore, I Want

Results spun things well into garage punk territory, simply straight-up catchy rawk. By the end of the set the band had easily won over all the hungover, beaten bodies’ acclaim and owned Brisbane on this Sunday night.

Bradley Amstrong

ROSE WINTERGREEN, CYPHERBrisbane Powerhouse3 Aug

Dreamy and soothing, Cypher, in duo mode, layers electric guitar, keys, beats and the earthy vocals of songwriter Faith Ty. She sounds far older than her 16 years, and was a finalist of a triple j Unearthed High competition last year for good reason. She knows her way around a hook, like in Child – “Little do they

know I'm not afraid of the

dark” – and new song Pretend

shows a strong groove. Her

inexperience shows only in

the unfinished feel some

songs have, with a hook

and beautiful texture but

without further exploration.

This will no doubt come

with time. There is talent

aplenty here, and Cypher

is definitely one to watch.

Artist Rose Wintergreen

(yes, her actual name) has

been based in Melbourne

of late, but returns to her

hometown Brisbane for

the final date in her tour.

Leaving her band behind and

nursing a busted guitar from

the flight, she plays on a

borrowed six-string, and with

accompaniment from local

lass Kathryn Mckee on keys

and cello, a percussionist also

jumps on stage a few times.

Opening her set solo with

a loop pedal, Wintergreen

showcases the highlight of

the afternoon: her voice.

A simple eerie vocal bed is

created, and she silences the

room with the first few notes.

The loops don’t appear much

for the rest of the set, which

is a shame, as there is a

freshness to the performance

when she uses them. Instead

she sticks to her folk roots

– minimally-played guitar

and ukulele, confessional

and conversational

lyrics and an earnest,

eccentric stage manner.

At one point Wintergreen

reminds us to breathe, and

gets the audience to stand

in a ‘power pose’ with hands

on hips, a surreal and fun

moment. The pacing of the

show is a little awkward and

slow-moving at times, but

this doesn’t detract from its

high points. Pillow is a sweet

love song about inhaling a

lover’s scent, aptly exploiting

the cello in the arrangement,

whereas Lonely Planet is more

sultry and hypnotic in its

declaration of love. A looped

version of Massive Attack’s

Teardrop slowly unfolds

and in the final moments

we see the full power of

Wintergreen’s voice – and it raises goosebumps. Newly-launched single This City closes the set and shows a new writing direction. It boasts samples and electronic production, lending a lightness that helps balance the darker subject matter.

Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood

live reviews

arts reviews

LUCY

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

LUCYFilmIn cinemas

Writer-director Luc Besson is

well and truly in his element

with the completely nonsensical

but thoroughly entertaining

sci-fi action-thriller Lucy. Okay,

perhaps not completely nonsensical.

There are some scientific and

philosophical ideas in here that

could merit further discussion,

but its main notion – the theory

that we only use ten per cent of

our brain’s capabilities – is one

that has been debunked time and

again. Still, having someone able to

utilise 100 per cent of their brain is a pretty nifty hook for a story, not a mention a pretty nifty way for Scarlett Johansson’s Lucy to gain some superhuman abilities.

After an unauthorised operation by the ruthless Mr Jang (Choi Min-sik), Lucy is an unwilling drug mule, transporting a bag full of an experimental new narcotic in her belly. But when the bag starts leaking after she is brutally assaulted, she starts changing in some unexpected ways. As her brain power escalates, Lucy’s seemingly able to do everything from manipulate energy to travel through time. She has to avoid Jang and his bloodthirsty gang but how much trouble can a pack of guys with guns cause a woman who’s rapidly evolving into some kind of god?

You have to give Besson his due: he throws a lot of stuff against the wall with Lucy and a surprising amount of it not only sticks but forms something compelling and captivating. His trump card is Johansson, an actress of incredible control and precision.

Guy Davis

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXYFilmIn cinemas 7 Aug

Superhero movies tend to end the same way: with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, two men in silly costumes have a fistfight. But in Guardians Of

The Galaxy, when Lee Pace’s glowering, face-painted uber-villain is about to raze an entire civilisation by the mighty power of his phallic hammer, Chris Pratt responds by dancing. Badly. To his own half-mumbled version of the Five Stairsteps’ O-o-h Child.

Pratt is the star of the piece, but he’s no singular hero. Instead, once he lands in a hellish space prison his rivals for the space-orb bounty turn unlikely allies. Bradley Cooper voices a wise-crackin’ raccoon like a Joisey guido; Vin Diesel is a shape-shifting, idiot-savant plant-man; Dave Bautista is a killing machine; and Zoe Saldana as sexy warrior woman Gamora is the colour of used green play-

doh. These lovable losers band together at the opportune time, but Gunn never loses sight of the joke: when they do the classic The

Right Stuff slow-mo-strut to meet their fate, the raccoon is pulling at his jocks and Gamora is yawning.

Guardians Of The Galaxy lacks the self-appointed ‘seriousness’ that turn most superhero sagas into unconvincing political parables or tasteless riffs on real-life terrorist attacks. Here, Marvel leaves such baggage back on Terra Firma, abandons gravity for levity, alighting into space with a silliness that’s as breathtaking as the special effects.

Anthony Carew


BREE DE ROME

the guide

Name/instrument played: Bree De Rome – I play guitar and I sing

How long have you been performing? I’ve been playing music for about eight years now.

You’re on tour in the van – which band or artist is going to keep you happy if we throw them on the stereo? I’m currently driving around Europe and I’m listening to a lot of Steely Dan, Fleet Foxes and my brother and I are enjoying Andy Bull’s new album too!

Would you rather be a busted broke-but-revered Hank Williams figure or some kind of Metallica monster? It’s no secret that I’m a lover of heartbreak country songs. Hank Williams.

Which Brisbane bands before you have been an inspiration (musically or otherwise)? I guess I grew up with an idea that to make music you had to move far away. It wasn’t until I was about 16 or 17 that I started listening to bands like Ball Park Music and Hungry Kids Of Hungary and it was so cool to me to realise that people are making music so close to home!

What part do you think Brisbane plays in the music you make? The Brisbane music scene is really community-based. And I think it plays its part in the way that everyone is so supportive and willing to help out wherever they can!

What’s in the pipeline for you musically in the short term? I’m so excited about music at the moment! I just recorded my latest single Easy To Forget with Sean Cook, which is being released in August. I’m playing a few shows at the Gympie Muster this year and then I have some more new stuff in the works!

Bree De Rome plays Janaka Photography Studio, Gold Coast on Friday 15 Aug, The Treehouse, Byron Bay on Saturday 16 Aug (free), The Scratch on Sunday 17 Aug (free) and Gympie Music Muster on Thursday 28 Aug.

Pic: TERRY SOO


eat/drink

RAMEN OKONOMIYAKI

RAMEN @ ICHIRAN, SHIBUYA (VARIOUS BRANCHES)/ANYWHERE, REALLYEven the chain restaurants are excellent. Ichiran is a little different: they focus exclusively on tonkotsu (pork-based) broth, and the ordering system requires you to buy tickets for your menu items from a vending machine and then fill in a form detailing your tastes (broth richness, hot sauce spice level, noodle density and so on). The result is a beautifully balanced bowl of ramen tailored just the way you like it.

GYOZA @ HARAJUKU GYOZARO, HARAJUKU ¥290 (roughly AU$3-3.50) will get you a plate of six of the best dumplings to ever grace your taste buds. They only have two kinds of gyoza (that’s all you need), which come steamed or pan-fried, and a few other

small side dishes like

cucumber with miso

sauce and bean sprouts

with a meat sauce.

TAIYAKI @ FUSHIMI INARI SHRINE MARKETS, KYOTOFish-shaped waffles,

made right before

your eyes, with a

squirt of hot custard

in the middle and

stuffed with things

like red bean paste

and matcha cream

or fruit, and topped

with whipped cream,

icing sugar and

caramel or chocolate

sauce. Surprisingly

it’s only mildly sweet

(no sugar headaches),

and the fish-cone is

fluffy with a slight

crisp on the outside.

OKONOMIYAKI @ DOTONBORI/ANYWHERE IN OSAKAOsaka (and the Kansai region in general) is famous for its ‘savoury pancakes’ consisting of cabbage, meat, flour, eggs and other ingredients. Often restaurants have a hot plate on the table, which the waiters use to either cook the okonomiyaki or just to serve it up. If you’re lucky they even draw on it with sauce and mayonnaise.

YAKINIKU @ SUSUMU, OSAKACharcoal-barbecued meats served with dipping sauce and sides of pickled and seasoned vegies. This particular yakiniku place is a tiny, standing-only bar. They have a huge selection of meat cuts: tongue, rump, third stomach, intestine, diaphragm... And the staff have a great time trying to communicate the body part by gesturing to it on themselves. Each cut of meat has its own distinctive texture and flavour, complemented by a superb smokiness.

To read an extended list, head to theMusic.com.au.

Eat/drink editor Stephanie Liew ate her way around Tokyo and Osaka. Here are some of the foods she dreamt about for days afterwards.

FOOD TRIPPING IN JAPAN



the [email protected]

FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU

FRONTLASHWE EXIST!The initial longlist for the 10th Coopers AMP has three Queensland bands! Out of ten! Thirty percent! Well done to DZ, Ball Park and Blank Realm, hope there’s many more!

KYLIE BOMBWell done to Gold Coast athlete Genevieve LaCaze for upstaging Kylie during the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony – let the world mentally prepare for 2018!

TO THE MAX!We were initially nonplussed to be revisiting the Mad Max franchise (Beyond Beyond

Thunderdome?) but the trailer to Mad Max: Fury Road looks freaking amazing!

BACKLASHSCORE BOREDGreat the Commonwealth Games are over, not so great getting beaten by Poms in the medal count for first time since 1986. Bring on Gold Coast in 2018!

INNOCENCE LOSTAussie bogans flock to Bali but the photo of Todd Carney with Schapelle and Mercedes Corby there together boggles the mind. Is there some secret freak society we don’t know about?

SMELL FISHY?We get that the popularity of the Sharknado franchise liberally drips with irony, but the Sharknado perfume fragrance is a bridge too far.

THE BAD BOYS ARE BACKLive party animals La Bastard are coming to Queensland, and have lined up four shows at Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall, 8, 9, 22 & 23 Aug, plus an afternoon show 24 Aug at The Bearded Lady, with free entry to all gigs.

HEAVY EMOTIONLocal lads Harlequin are giving new weigh to the Brisbane scene with their intense and inspired brand of experimental rock. Embarking on tour in support of debut EP Univers

Parallèle, they kick things off at Black Bear Lodge, 5 Sep.

STRINGING US ALONGFormer Middle East frontman Jordan Ireland keeps the love-in strong with latest project Stolen Violin. Hear some new tunes off his forthcoming 2015 album, as well as tracks from 2013’s Temperate Touch, Tropical Tears at Black Bear Lodge, 21 Aug.

MAKING A SPLASHHannah Macklin is taking her MKO project to new and exciting territories with downtempo jam Puddles. The band launch Friday, Miami Marketta; Tuesday, Black Bear Lodge; 15 Aug, Solbar, Maroochydore; and 31 Aug, Depo.

NEW WORLD ORDERIn between recording her new record, Grace Barbe has also found the time to put together a bumper Aussie tour. Experience Creole music firsthand 9 Sep, Nambour Civic Centre; 10 Sep, Empire Theatre, Toowoomba; and 13 Sep, BEMAC.

ON THE COMPASSAdelaide’s Tom West heeds The

Call to head on a national tour this month in honour of his single of the same name. The budding singer-songwriter plays The Treehouse, Byron Bay, 4 Sep; The Loft, Gold Coast, 5 Sep; and New Globe Theatre, 7 Sep.

HOP TO ITCelebrate two years of GC indie station Rabbit Radio at Swingin’ Safari, Saturday, with CLN, Salvadarlings, Street 66, Sixties Sarah and Dead Books providing tunes, and plenty of tasty street eats to keep you drinking all night.

THE POWER OF FOURExperience the raw power of local two-piece Marville, garage-surf geniuses Some Jerks, extra special interstate guests The Loveless, and the maiden voyage of La Mancha (ex-Lords Of Wong) at Beetle Bar, 15 Aug.

EKKA HUNGOVER?You know it makes sense. Party before the Ekka party at Crowbar, Tuesday night, with a rocking bill featuring Columbia Buffet, Alibrandi, Burning Brooklyn and the all-conquering Violent Soho playing a special DJ set.

HEAR THE CHANGEWA five-piece Surroundings are touring their latest release, Of Bane, Burden & Change, and they’re making a trip across our land to show it off. Catch them at The Lab, 17 Aug (all ages) and a TBC Brisbane venue, 18 Aug.

HOME & HOSEDLefty’s Old Time Music Hall house band The Empresarios have been bringing life to the venue for a while now, but if you haven’t already caught them live it’s about time you did. The band will toast their new record with a few jams, Tuesday.

SHINE A LIGHT DOWNGet ready for a sloppy night of hard psych, punk and indie-rock when Kaleidoscope hit the stage Saturday at Trainspotters, Grand Central Hotel, joined by Dead Wolves, Roth and Royal Chant. Doors at 9pm, free entry.

INDIE NEWS

MEETING OF MINDS


the guide

ALBUM FOCUS

SINGLE FOCUS

THE EMPRESARIOSMember answering: Jason Castle

Album title: Live At Lefty’s

Where did the title of your new album come from? The venue.

How many releases do you have now? This is our first.

How long did it take to write/record? We recorded a gig and took it to the studio to just tweeked it and adjusted a few mic levels... Around 70 hours I reckon.

Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? The venue inspired the inception of the band so we thought we’d dedicate our

first release to the venue... I suppose Lefty’s is the inspiration! It’s certainly brought me back as a muso.

What’s your favourite song on it? Soul Divided... It crosses a number of genres and was written specifically for the venue.

Will you do anything differently next time? Next album will be a studio effort but we would like to maybe release a Live At

Lefty’s 2 with the remainder of the songs recorded.

The Empresarios play Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall on Tuesday 12 Aug.

IN ASHES WE LIEMember answering: Nate Rose

Single title: Daydreamer

What’s the song about? It’s

about staying true to yourself

and chasing your dream no

matter what stands in the way.

How long did it take to write/record? We went into the

studio with Troy Brady with a

demo for the song and we did

pre-production on it for a day

then tracked it over three days.

Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? It will feature on

our debut album which

will be out early-2015.

What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? Lyrically

I wrote this for my nieces

E’lora and Macie, just to let

them know [that]whatever

it is you want in life don’t

ever give up on that dream.

No matter what dream big.

We’ll like this song if we like... a big epic song with

a meaningful message.

Do you play it differently live?

No not really, the only parts

missing when we play it live

would be the little piano parts,

other than that it is the same.

In Ashes We Lie play Crowbar on Saturday 9 Aug.

CLNAnswered by: Callan Alexander

How did you get together? Well,

I was born I guess. If you mean

how did I start making music I

pretty much just found this dodgy

computer program and started

mucking around with it really.

Sum up your musical sound in four words? Synths,

beats, weird vocals.

If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? I think if I got to

support Daft Punk I would die.

You’re being sent into space, no iPod, you can only bring one album – what would it be?

Demon Days – Gorillaz. I think

that would be a good space vibe.

Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? I don’t

think I’m very rock’n’roll at

all really. I’m more a sit-in-

front-of-the-computer-and-

tweak-knobs kinda guy.

Why should people come and see your band? I play a heap of

unreleased material, so people

should come to hear my stuff

that they haven’t heard before.

cln plays Black Bear Lodge on Friday 8 Aug (supporting Willow Beats) and Swingin’ Safari, Surfers Paradise on Saturday 9 Aug (Rabbit Radio Birthday Party).

DRAWCARDMember answering: Paul Durkin

Single title: Kids

What’s the song about? Reminiscing about how life

was far less complicated

when we were kids.

How long did it take to write/record? I wrote this in my

bedroom early last year, and

we headed down on a road

trip to Central Coast NSW

to record it. It took about

a day-and-a-half all up.

Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? This track is from

our forthcoming release which will be out later this year.

What was inspiring you during the songs writing and recording? Life, and the hills and valleys that come with it.

We’ll like this song if we like... Good times, good friends, good food, good booze, good treats (I think I’ve covered everyone)... and good ol’ rock and punk I guess.

Do you play it differently live? Pretty much the same, might be a little bit longer sometimes... depends what flavoured brain I have at the show really.

Drawcard play The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba on Friday 8 Aug, Solbar, Maroochydore on Saturday 9 Aug, The Zoo on Friday 15 Aug and Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast on Saturday 16 Aug.

HAVE YOU HEARD

SINGLE FOCUS

[email protected]


Melody Pool & Marlon Williams: Black Bear Lodge 7 Aug, St Martin’s Parish Hall 8 Aug

Emperors: The Waiting Room 15 Aug

Rise book launch: New Globe Theatre 23 Aug

UBERfest Winter 2014: Jubilee Hotel 30 Aug

Noosa Jazz Festival: Noosa 4-7 Sep

Urthboy: The Spiegeltent 6 Sep

Andy Bull: The Spiegeltent 7 Sep

Phil Jamieson: The Spiegeltent 9 Sep

Steve Nieve: The Spiegeltent 10 Sep

BIGSOUND 2014: Fortitude Valley 10-12 Sep

Com Truise: The Spiegeltent 11 Sep

Ronny Chieng: The Spiegeltent 12 Sep

Vancouver Sleep Clinic: The Spiegeltent 13 Sep

John Henry: The Spiegeltent 14 Sep

Miami Horror: The Spiegeltent 16 Sep

The Kite String Tangle: The Spiegeltent 17 Sep

HTRK: The Spiegeltent 19 Sep

Dune Rats: The Spiegeltent 20 Sep

Damien Jurado: The Spiegeltent 21 Sep

Gareth Liddiard: The Spiegeltent 23 Sep

The Bombay Royale: The Spiegeltent 24 Sep

Juana Molina: The Spiegeltent 25 Sep

Midnight Juggernauts: The Spiegeltent 26 Sep

DMA’s: The Brightside 2 Oct

Bonjah: The Zoo 10 Oct, Racecourse Hotel 11 Oct, Surfers Paradise Beer Garden 12 Oct

Courtney Barnett: The Zoo 11 Oct

Blurst Of Times Festival: The Brightside, The Zoo 18 Oct

Ball Park Music: The Tivoli 18 Oct, Alhambra Lounge 2 Nov (U18)

Airlie Beach Music Festival: 7-9 Nov, The Whitsundays

Gorguts: Crowbar 16 Nov

Jungle Love Festival: Lake Moogerah 21-22 Nov

The War On Drugs: The Zoo 10 Dec

Thy Art Is Murder: Crowbar 20 Dec & 21 Dec (U18)

SAT 09 Surecut Kids: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley

Harmony + Keep On Dancin’s + Woolpit: Beetle Bar, Brisbane

The John Steel Singers + Babaganouj + Tempura Nights: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley

Kilter: Coniston Lane (Bowler Bar), Fortitude Valley

In Ashes We Lie + Dire Wolf + Breakaway + Malice + Siberian Hell Hounds: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley

Trainspotters feat. + Kaleidoscope + Dead Wolves + Roth + Royal Chant: Grand Central Hotel, Brisbane

Ed Kuepper: Old Museum, Bowen Hills

Elvis Got Fat + Interim + DJ Valdis: Ric’s (Downstairs), Fortitude Valley

Rabbit Radio Birthday Party with cln + Salvadarlings + Street 66 + Sixties Sarah + Dead Books: Swingin’ Safari, Surfers Paradise

Dream On Dreamer + Never Lose Sight + First Sight + When Heroes Fall: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley

Spiderbait + guests: The Hi-Fi, West End

tyDi: Wharf Tavern, Mooloolaba

SUN 10 Amy Shark: Broadbeach Tavern, Broadbeach

Shannon Carroll: Dragon Bull, Noosa Heads

Sahara Beck + Phil Smith + Tim Hulsman: The Bearded Lady (4pm), West End

The Lyrical: The Elephant Hotel, Fortitude Valley

Schoolfight + Le Murd + Forward Beast + Big & The Bangs + Eagle Junction: The Underdog Pub Co (12pm), Fortitude Valley

Twenty One Pilots + D At Sea: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley

MON 11 Uncle Bob’s Music Club: Prince of Wales Hotel, Nundah

TUE 12 MKO + Noah Slee + Georgia Potter: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley

Coolio: Coniston Lane, Fortitude Valley

Alibrandi + Columbia Buffet + Burning Brooklyn + Minus Nine + Violent Soho (DJ Set): Crowbar, Fortitude Valley

Kasabian + The Delta Riggs: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill

The Empresarios: Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall, Brisbane

Peking Duk + Yeo: The Met, Fortitude Valley

Seekae + Jonti + Tincture: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley

GIG OF THE WEEKTHE ANGELS: 8 AUG, QLD LIONS CLUB, RICHLANDS

1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU

WED 06 Hanson + Adam Martin: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta

Campfire Test feat. Tim Hulsman + The Urban Chiefs: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley

The Con & The Liar + Bad Vibes + DJ Redbeard: Ric’s, Fortitude Valley

Wax On, Wax Off - Vinyl Record Party + Various DJs: The Bearded Lady, West End

I Am Giant + The Grand Scheme + Mass Sky Raid: The Rev, Fortitude Valley

November Thirst + Midnight Snow + For The Animals: The Underdog Pub, Fortitude Valley

THU 07 Without Myth + The Cities + 6 O’Clock Knock + These Rare & Beautiful Seekers: Beetle Bar, Brisbane

Melody Pool + Marlon Williams + Sleepy Tea: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley

Coolio: East 88, Broadbeach

Kate Miller-Heidke + Ryan Keen: Empire Theatre, Toowoomba

Low + Skye Staniford: Junk Bar, Ashgrove

Mary Handsome + The Mercy Project + DJ Valdis: Ric’s, Fortitude Valley

Tomb Of Doom + I Exalt + The Strategem + Enfield: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley

Bodyjar + Samiam + Blueline Medic + Clowns: The Hi-Fi, West End

Midnight Son & The Crime Scene: The Underdog Pub Co, Fortitude Valley

Flynn Effect + Hyde & The Hitcher + The Vices: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley

FRI 08 The Good Sports + Hockey Dad: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley

Little Lightning + Pack Animals + Junior Arcade + Chinatown Car Park: Beetle Bar, Brisbane

Willow Beats + cln + Tincture: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley

Clare Bowditch + Adalita: Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm

We All Want To: Cardigan Bar, Sandgate

James Reyne: Eatons Hill Hotel (Grand Ballroom), Eatons Hill

Like Thieves + Aerials + Guards Of May: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley

Kate Miller-Heidke + Ryan Keen: QPAC (Concert Hall), Southbank

Broods + Jarryd James + East: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley

THE MUSIC PRESENTS

the [email protected]


NTERNATIONALHanson: Coolangatta Hotel 6 Aug

I Am Giant: The Rev 6 Aug

Coolio: East 88 7 Aug, Coniston Lane 12 Aug

Broods: The Zoo 8 Aug

Twenty One Pilots: The Zoo 10 Aug

Sigma: Arena 16 Aug

Candyland: Family 16 Aug, Club Liv 17 Aug

Jake Clemons: Old Museum 16 Aug, Byron Theatre 17 Aug

Vincent Cross: New Farm Bowls Club 19 Aug, Dowse Bar 20 Aug, The Treehouse 22 Aug

Courtney Love: Eatons Hill Hotel 20 Aug

Anathema: The Hi-Fi 21 Aug

David Grubbs: IMA 21 Aug

Forever Came Calling: Snitch 21 Aug, The Lab 22 Aug (AA)

Kid Ink: The Hi-Fi 22 Aug

Taking Back Sunday, The Used: Eatons Hill Hotel 22 Aug

Knapsack: Crowbar 23 Aug

Declan O’Rourke: Mick O’Malley’s 23 Aug

King Buzzo: Black Bear Lodge 24 Aug

Bob Dylan: BCEC 25 Aug

Lady Gaga: BEC 26 Aug

La Coka Nostra: Coniston Lane 27 Aug

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: Coolangatta Hotel 27 Aug, Arena 28 Aug

Pentatonix: The Tivoli 28 Aug

Pity Sex: Crowbar 29 Aug, Tym Guitars 30 Aug

The Dandy Warhols: The Tivoli 30 Aug

Kids In Glass Houses: The Brightside 30 Aug, The Lab 31 Aug (AA)

Boyce Avenue: The Tivoli 3 Sep

Biffy Clyro: The Tivoli 4 Sep

Protest The Hero: The Hi-Fi 4 Sep

DevilDriver, Whitechapel: The Hi-Fi 5 Sep

You Me At Six: Eatons Hill Hotel 5 Sep

Pop Will Eat Itself: The Zoo 5 Sep

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: The Tivoli 5 Sep

Conan: Crowbar 6 Sep

Anberlin: The Hi-Fi 6 Sep

The Ghost Inside: Byron YAC 9 Sep, Kontraband 10 Sep, Coolangatta Hotel 11 Sep

Steve Nieve: The Spiegeltent 10 Sep

Com Truise: The Spiegeltent 11 Sep

The Wonder Years: The Hi-Fi 11 Sep, The Lab 12 Sep (AA)

Cannibal Corpse: The Hi-Fi 13 Sep

John Garcia: The Zoo 13 Sep, The Northern 14 Sep

Joe Henry: The Spiegeltent 14 Sep

El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico: The Hi-Fi 14 Sep

Kanye West: BEC 15 Sep

Night Beats: The Brightside 18 Sep, Elsewhere 19 Sep

American Authors: The Hi-Fi 19 Sep

Damien Jurado: The Spiegeltent 21 Sep

Ingrid Michaelson: New Globe Theatre 21 Sep

Robbie Williams: BEC 22 Sep

Veruca Salt: The Zoo 24 Sep

Sara Bareilles: The Tivoli 24 Sep

Juana Molina: The Spiegeltent 25 Sep

Justin Timberlake: BEC 26, 27 Sep

Bombay Bicycle Club: The Tivoli 27 Sep

Maybeshewill: Crowbar 28 Sep

Dead Kennedys: The Hi-Fi 3 Oct, Coolangatta Hotel 4 Oct

Sepultura: The Hi-Fi 4 Oct

Hardwell: Riverstage 5 Oct

Nils Frahm: Old Museum 8 Oct

Dire Straits Experience: QPAC 8 Oct

Rick Springfield: Eatons Hill Hotel 9 Oct, Twin Towns 10 Oct

Slaves: The Brightside 15 Oct

Miley Cyrus: BEC 15 Oct

Torche: Crowbar 16 Oct

The Selecter: The Zoo 16 Oct

Lil Jon: Eatons Hill Hotel 18 Oct (day, all ages)

Dwarves: Crowbar 19 Oct

Say Anything: The Hi-Fi 19 Oct

Pat Metheny Unity Group: QPAC 20 Oct

The Tea Party: Coolangatta

Hotel 21 Oct, The Tivoli 23 Oct

Jillian Michaels: QPAC 24 Oct

Comeback Kid: The Brightside 25 Oct, Byron Bay YAC 26 Oct (AA)

Elbow: The Tivoli 30 Oct

NATIONALBodyjar: The Hi-Fi 7 Aug

Kate Miller-Heidke: Empire Church Theatre 7 Aug, QPAC 8 Aug

Melody Pool & Marlon Williams: Black Bear Lodge 7 Aug, St Martin’s Parish Hall 8 Aug

Clare Bowditch, Adalita: Powerhouse Theatre 8 Aug

Willow Beats: Black Bear Lodge 8 Aug

Tydi: Wharf Tavern 9 Aug

Royal Chant: Grand Central Hotel 9 Aug

The Angels: Queensland Lions Club 8 Aug, North Leagues & Services Club 9 Aug

James Reyne plays Australian Crawl: Eatons Hill Hotel 8 Aug, The Tivoli 9 Aug

Captives: Crowbar 8 Aug, Southern Cross Tavern 9 Aug

Spiderbait: The Hi-Fi 9 Aug

Kilter: Coniston Lane 9 Aug

Little Sea: Old Museum 9 Aug (AA)

Ed Kuepper: Old Museum 9 Aug, Soundlounge 22 Aug

Seekae, Jonti: The Zoo 12 Aug

Peking Duk: The Met 12 Aug

Kav Temperley: Black Bear Lodge 13 Aug, Soundlounge 14 Aug

Spender: Black Bear Lodge 14 Aug

Guerre: Alhambra Lounge 15 Aug

Emperors: The Waiting Room 15 Aug

Freedman Does Nilsson: Soundlounge 15 Aug, Old Museum 16 Aug

Palms: Crowbar 16 Aug

Harmony: Beetle Bar 16 Aug

Ash Grunwald: Springwood Hotel 16 Aug, Blue Mountain Hotel 17 Aug, Soundlounge 12 Sep, Bramble Bay Bowls Club 26 Sep

The New Christs: Beetle Bar 22 Aug, Lismore Italo Club 23 Aug

Fishing: The Factory 22 Aug, Coniston Lane 23 Aug

Bam Bam: Coniston Lane 22 Aug, Solbar 23 Aug

Michelle Xen & The Neon Wild: The Loft 22 Aug, The Bearded Lady 29 Aug, Woombye Pub 30 Aug

Tina Arena: Jupiters 23 Aug, BCEC 24 Aug

Rise book launch ft Remi, Briggs, Mantra: New Globe Theatre 23 Aug

Jonathan Boulet: Black Bear Lodge 28 Aug

Wil Wagner: Crowbar 28 Aug

Rob Snarski: Junk Bar 29 Aug

Miracle: East 29 Aug

The Aston Shuffle: The Zoo 29 Aug

Busby Marou: Soundlounge 29 Aug, Eatons Hill Hotel 30 Aug (AA)

Mind Over Matter: Tatts Hotel 29 Aug, Beetle Bar 30 Aug

Velociraptor: The Brightside 29 Aug, Coolangatta Hotel 30 Aug

Megan Washington: The Zoo 30 Aug

Cameron Avery: Black Bear Lodge 4 Sep

Dead Letter Circus: New Globe Theatre 4 Sep

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: The Northern 4 Sep, Alhambra Lounge 5 Sep, Soundlounge 6 Sep

The Amity Affliction: Riverstage 5 Sep

True Vibenation: The Motor Room 5 Sep, Solbar 6 Sep

360: Arena 6 Sep (U18 matinee/18+ evening)

Urthboy: The Spiegeltent 6 Sep

Andy Bull: The Spiegeltent 7 Sep

Phil Jamieson: The Spiegeltent 9 Sep

I Killed The Prom Queen: Byron YAC 9 Sep, Kontraband 10 Sep, Coolangatta Hotel 11 Sep

The Bennies: The Spotted Cow 12 Sep, The Lab 13 Sep (AA), Crowbar 13 Sep, The Time Machine 14 Sep

Sticky Fingers: The Hi-Fi 12 Sep

Boy & Bear: The Arts Centre Gold Coast 12 Sep,

The Tivoli 13 Sep

Kingswood: Ric’s Big Backyard 12 Sep

Russell Morris: Kedron Wavell Services Club 13 Sep

Vancouver Sleep Clinic: The Spiegeltent 13 Sep

Luca Brasi: The Lab 13 Sep (2pm AA), Crowbar 13 Sep

Miami Horror: The Spiegeltent 16 Sep

The Kite String Tangle: The Spiegeltent 17 Sep

Angus & Julia Stone: The Tivoli 18, 19 Sep The Arts Centre Gold Coast 21 Sep

HTRK: The Spiegeltent 19 Sep

Hands Like Houses: Crowbar 19 Sep

One Day: The Hi-Fi 20 Sep

Dune Rats: The Spiegeltent 20 Sep

Icehouse: SEQ Outdoor Concert 20 Sep, Twin Towns 21 Sep

Gareth Liddiard: The Spiegeltent 23 Sep

The Bombay Royale: The Spiegeltent 24 Sep

Meg Mac: Black Bear Lodge 25 Sep

Patrick James: Old Museum 26 Sep

Midnight Juggernauts: The Spiegeltent 26 Sep

DMA’s: The Brightside 2 Oct

Allday: The Zoo 3 Oct, The Lab 4 Oct (U18)

Tijuana Cartel: Beetle Bar 4 Oct, Verrierdale Hall 8 Nov, Buddha Bar 31 Dec

FESTIVALSValley Fiesta: Fortitude Valley 23-24 Aug

Gympie Music Muster: Gympie 28-31 Aug

UBERfest: Jubilee Hotel 30 Aug

Noosa Jazz Festival: Lions Park 4-7 Sep

Brisbane Festival: Brisbane 6-27 Sep

BIGSOUND: Fortitude Valley Entertainment Precinct 10-12 Sep

Originals Music Festival: Noosa AFL Grounds 13 Sep

Mitchell Creek Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest: Mary Valley 19–21 Sep

Doomsday Festival: Crowbar 2 Oct

Listen Out: Brisbane Showgrounds 5 Oct

Caloundra Music Festival: Kings Beach 3-6 Oct

Soulfest: Riverstage 25 Oct

Island Vibe: Stradbroke Island 31 Oct-2 Nov

Jungle Love: Lake Moogerah 21-22 Nov

Stereosonic: Brisbane Showgrounds 6 & 7 Dec

1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU

COURTNEY LOVE: 20 AUG, EATONS HILL HOTEL

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C A F É - B A RWED AUGUST 6TH

CON AND THE LIAR (10PM) + BAD VIBES (9:00PM)THU AUGUST 7TH

STUDENT NIGHT: MARY HANDSOME (10:30PM) + THE MERCY PROJECT (9:30PM)

FRI AUGUST 8TH JAY HOAD (8:00PM) + (9:00PM)

SAT AUGUST 9THELVIS GOT FAT (9:00PM) + GUEST (8:00PM))

SUN AUGUST 10THCOMMON DEERS (9:30PM) + ATRIPWITHSID (8:30PM)

MON AUGUST 11TH DONNELLE BROOKS (9:30PM)

+ MICHAEL BLUNDELL (8:30PM)

TUE AUGUST 12THSTEVE P (9:00PM)

+ SAMUEL DYLAN COOPER (8:00PM)FREE LIVE MUSIC AND INDIE DJS WANT TO PLAY? EMAIL [email protected]

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The Music (Brisbane) Issue #50