Brag#590

Page 1

ISSUE NO. 590 NOVEMBER 26, 2014

FREE Now picked up at over 1,600 places across Sydney and surrounds. thebrag.com

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

INSIDE This Week

T V ON T HE R A DIO

A fifth album wasn’t a sure thing, but the Brooklyn band has returned.

ILLY FIGHTING ON THE FRONT LINE

T HE JE Z A BEL S

Was their second record all they wanted it to be?

T HE BL ACK SEEDS

The Kiwi groovers are headed on another lap of Australia.

Also

ALEX WILLIAMSON JAKOB KLO

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23.

pecia

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Plus

Page

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MIL L IONS

Democracy worked a charm in the preparation of their debut album.

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ma

26TH NOV

MILLIONS

ALBUM LAUNCH LAUNCH) + HIGH-TAILS ( ALBUM ( K K ( (K



BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14 :: 3


#LIVINGMUSICYAMAHA SALE ON NOW! SALE ON NOW! SALE ON NOW! SALE ON NOW!

MUSIC

SalE guitar sale $359 THR10 PORTABLE AMP Award-winning micro desktop amp with numerous functions and amazing sounds. Also available: THR5 $279, THR5A $279, THR10C $359, THR10X $359.

VoX SAlE

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CS40 ¾ SIZE CLASSICAL GUITAR

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GIGMAKER10 ELECTRIC GUITAR AND VOX AMP PACK

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Logans Pianos

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landersmusic.com 286 Summer St, Orange

loganspianos.com.au 250 Burwood Rd, Burwood4

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yamaha keyboard SALE

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South Coast Music

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TERMS AND CONDITIONS. All offers in this advertisement are part of a national sales program conducted by Yamaha Music Australia Pty Ltd and are valid only between 1st November 2014 and 31st December 2014 at participating Yamaha dealers. Not all products listed in this catalogue are available at all Yamaha dealers. While stocks last. The discounted prices displayed in this catalogue are only intended as a guide. The prices as set out or referred to in this catalogue apply for the duration of the program and are subject to change at any time. The Yamaha dealer participating in this promotion may not have sold these products in the past and where it has sold these products it may have sold them at more or less than the advertised price. Errors and omissions excepted. Only stands, stools and accessories outlined in the product description are included. Participating dealers may charge freight. Lifestyle images are for illustration purposes only. iPhone, iPod, are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.

BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14 :: 5


rock music news welcome to the frontline: the latest touring and music news...with Chris Martin, Tyson Wray and Lauren Gill

follow us:

like us:

@TheBrag

THE BRAG

songwriters’ secrets WITH

TIM CHAISSON In Light on ABC/Universal in Australia a few weeks ago. ’Tis the reason I’m here touring your beautiful country. The first single is called ‘Crushed’ – I never thought I’d write a song called ‘Crushed’ but it just couldn’t be anything else. It was produced by Bill Reynolds of Band Of Horses – I’m pretty pumped about it, not gonna lie. Songwriting Secrets My songwriting continues to develop as 3. I get older and learn more about life, struggle, love, how bizarre the world is, et cetera. I do a lot of co-writing these days – writing with people you respect and trust is key. Sometimes what I think is not a good idea can turn into a great song. A little wine never hurt either. The Song That Makes Me Proud 4. A song on my last record that seemed to

really stuck. Now that I think of it, I also don’t really remember the melody. Must’ve been a hit!

actually doing it when I was about 11. I certainly had a crush at the time that most of my songs were directed at, but none of them

Last Song I Released I just released a brand new album Lost 2. The

get the most profile was ‘The Healing’. It’s a sad one but it came from an honest place and seemed to hit home with a lot of people. It wasn’t released as a single (nor was it ever written to be) but I’ve gotten a flurry of messages from people who really absorbed

Swans

ADVERTISING: Georgina Pengelly - 0416 972 081 / (02) 9212 4322 georgina@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Furst Media MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr - patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 / 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATORS: Tori Bedingfield, Emily Meller, Jacob Mills, June Murtagh - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Jacob Mills, June Murtagh, Tori Bedingfield REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Ian Barr, Prudence Clark, Keiron Costello, Meg Crawford, Marissa Demetriou, Christie Eliezer, Blake Gallagher, Fergus Halliday, Cameron James, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Mina Kitsos, Emily Meller, Adam Norris, Kate Robertson, Erin Rooney, Raf Seneviratne, Leonardo Silvestrini, Rod Whitfield, Harry Windsor, Tyson Wray, Stephanie Yip, David James Young Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address 100 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9212 4322 fax - (02) 9319 2227

SUNNYBOYS SUMMER TOUR

The revitalised Sunnyboys have announced a summer tour to mark the reissue of their albums Individuals and Get Some Fun. After bouncing back from frontman Jeremy Oxley’s mental health battles, profiled in the inspirational documentary The Sunnyboy, the Sydney alt-rockers have had a great run of form over the last couple of years, culminating in a massive Sydney Opera House show. This time they’ll headline the Enmore Theatre on Saturday February 14 with help from Riptides and The New Christs.

MARMALADE SKIES POSTPONED

The crowdfunded Marmalade Skies festival has announced the indefinite postponement of its debut event in Goulburn, following a site inspection that revealed “too great a fire risk for the event to go ahead”. After Goulburn Mulwaree Council and the local police and fire departments conducted the scheduled inspection, Marmalade Skies announced on its Facebook page it had “received some devastating news” that the event could not go ahead as planned on the weekend of Friday December 12 and Saturday December 13. Organisers expect to announce a new date and will offer refunds to ticketholders no longer able

to attend. Stay tuned to thebrag.com for more details as they arrive.

NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL 2015

The first major round of lineup announcements has landed for 2015’s National Folk Festival, to be held in Canberra next April. One of Canada’s foremost folk artists, David Francey, will make the trip Down Under next year, bringing selections from his ten studio albums. Also on the bill are Heartstring Quartet, Chris While & Julie Matthews, Baka Beyond, Equus, Greshka, Bandaluzia, Flying Emus, All Our Exes Live In Texas, Lucy Wise Trio, Alanna & Alicia and the theatre piece Dead Men Talking. The National Folk Festival takes over Exhibition Park, Canberra from Thursday April 2 – Monday April 6.

PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: www.spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204

6 :: BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14

automotive events and music gigs rolled into one, and it lights up Exhibition Park in Canberra from Thursday January 1 – Sunday January 4.

JANE TYRRELL

The Herd’s Jane Tyrrell has announced a pair of shows in support of her debut solo album Echoes In The Aviary. Tyrrell made her solo live debut at Bigsound in September but has previously performed with the likes of Firekites, Claire Bowditch, Missy Higgins and Paul Kelly. She’ll be accompanied by a full live band on the upcoming tour. Tyrrell plays Newtown Social Club on Friday December 5.

SUMMERNATS

In more news from the nation’s capital, the 28th edition of the revved-up and rockin’ Summernats event has announced its music lineup. Bliss N Eso, Illy and The Radiators will perform over three of the 2015 event’s four days, loved by revheads and music fans alike. It’s one of Australia’s biggest motor retail trade shows,

The Cat Empire John Mayall

BLUESFEST SIDESHOWS

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Luke Forrester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121

DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get the BRAG? Email distribution@ furstmedia.com.au or phone 03 9428 3600

What: Lost In Light out now through ABC/ Universal Where: The Brass Monkey / Brighton Up Bar / Goodgod Small Club When: Wednesday November 26 / Thursday November 27 / Wednesday December 10 And: Also appearing with Diesel at Lizotte’s Central Coast on Friday December 5 and Saturday December 6

Already playing as part of the massive 2015 incarnation of Sugar Mountain, Swans have locked in a Sydney show. Made up of Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puleo, Thor Harris and Christopher Pravdica, over the course of their career since the early ’80s the post-punk kings have released 13 studio albums. See them on Thursday January 22 at Manning Bar.

EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG.

DEADLINES: Editorial: Friday 12pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Fishished Art: No later than 2pm Monday Ad cancellations: Friday 4pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to. Published by Furst Media P/L ACN 1112480045 All content copyrighted to Cartrage P/L / Furst Media P/L 2003-2014

him being on Oprah (I had one channel growing up and it was on every day when I got home from school) and he sang it… For some reason I remember loving it, not even knowing the meaning behind the song. To this day, Sweet Baby James is still one of my favourite records of all time – so many good songs.

SYDNEY GETS SWANS

MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ONLINE EDITOR: Tyson Wray ONLINE COORDINATOR: Emily Meller SUB-EDITOR: Emily Meller STAFF WRITERS: Adam Norris, Krissi Weiss, Augustus Welby NEWS: Tori Bedingfield, Lauren Gill, June Murtagh, Tyson Wray ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar

The Song That Changed My Life 5. ‘Fire And Rain’ by James Taylor. I remember

PARTY IN THE PARK

Live music on the North Shore of Sydney is set to get a new flagship event, with Party In The Park to make its debut in March 2015. The iconic North Sydney Oval, home to many a North Sydney Bears shemozzle over the years, will host the inaugural gig, billed as an open-air concert promoting Aussie talent and with the stage located next to the oval’s famous fig tree. The 2015 Party In The Park lineup will feature headliners The Cat Empire and The Jezabels, alongside The Paper Kites, Husky and Sons Of The East. The concert is on Saturday March 14. Early bird tickets are on sale now, with general release tickets going on sale Saturday November 29.

A host of new Bluesfest sideshows has been added to the Sydney calendar next year, led by veteran bluesman John Mayall on his 80th anniversary tour. With over 60 albums to his name, Mayall is a pioneering figure in British blues. He’ll play the Factory Theatre on Thursday April 2. Meanwhile, legendary conscious hip hop outfit Jurassic 5 make their return to our shores, playing Panthers Newcastle on Thursday March 26 and the Enmore Theatre on Saturday March 28. Three-time Grammy winner Keb’ Mo’ headlines the Factory Theatre on Monday April 6; Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin with The Guilty Ones play The Basement on Wednesday April 8; and Serena Ryder hits The Basement on Saturday April 4.

thebrag.com

xxxx

The First Song I Wrote The fiddle was my first instrument and a 1. bit awkward to write on, but I do remember

it – it affected them enough to send me a note, I guess!


1ST JANUARY 2015 - 4AM NEW YEARS MORNING SUNRISE CRUISE

SPACE DIMENSION CONTROLLER OLIVER KOLETZKI TRUS’ME NIKO SCHWIND UK

DE

UK

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FANTASTIC MAN MELB BEN FESTER & PREACHA

HEDON & JEREMIAH

MURAT KILIC JAMES GREVILLE & DECLAN ESAU

ROBBIE LOWE U-KHAN & GERRIT OLIVER

THESPICECELLAR.COM.AU BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14 :: 7


live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Chris Martin, June Murtagh and Lauren Gill

five things WITH

Jane Tyrrell

ALPHAMAMA My music is a way of communicating my philosophy, which is to live within your own integrity and be your best self. I work with lots of musicians and producers, but most recently a guy in LA named Kevin Skaggs, who produced my next two singles. Usually at my live shows I have an all-girl lineup but this time I’m all exposed on the piano! The Music You Make My last record was like 4. a tribute to all my infl uences:

Growing Up Indonesian folk songs 1. and Paul Simon. Stealing my

Inspirations Michael Jackson needs 2. no explanation. Chaka Khan, because her phrasing is always

on point. Curtis Mayfi eld, because he paints a sonic landscape and makes me melt. For me, life is pretty damn inspiring. Human beings and relationships fascinate me. Recently, my travels around the world opened up my mind to amazing things.

3.

Your Band It’s just me, Alphamama.

TLC, Erykah Badu, Boyz II Men, Janet Jackson, Tania Maria, Bob Marley… but I think I’m fi nally sounding like myself now. I can’t even describe my new stuff, ’cause it just sounds like me and I love that. Lots of vocal layers and dissonant harmonies. A lot of space in the music and stories that really changed me. I’m very interested in the physics of music so I’m studying the mental and physical reactions of musical frequencies/vibrations. I want to create music that transforms

and heals people on an energetic and cellular level. Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. To be completely honest I think it’s all quite superficial and selfcentred. Even I’m guilty of that! Mainstream music has become a big, expensive distraction from what’s actually happening in the world. We are all contributing to wars we don’t believe in but we feel we can’t do anything about. The Oz music scene is great but we have a hard time getting our stuff into the world, and that’s ridiculous in 2014. I think it’s because everyone is trying to make it alone, and it’s a shame because no revolution was ever achieved by one person. We need to build community and support each other’s art. Artists I love currently are Kirkis, MKO, Jordan Rakei, Billie McCarthy, Ngaiire, Rosie, Mariam Sawires and The Venusians. Where: Foundry616 When: Thursday November 27

LOST PARADISE

Gang Of Brothers

Slow Magic

BROTHERLY LOVE

JANE TYRRELL

Jane Tyrrell has already made a splash in the music industry through her involvement in Australian hip hop band The Herd, but she’s now ready to take her music in a different direction, developing a solo career in the electronic-indie sphere. Having just released her dynamic debut album Echoes In The Aviary, Tyrrell is making waves – she’s embarked on a national solo tour as well as being due to support Iceland’s Asgeir at his Falls Festival sideshows. Tyrrell will be hitting up Newtown Social Club on Friday December 5 to launch the album, and we have a double pass to give away. To be in the running, head to thebrag.com/ freeshit and tell us what you’d call your debut solo album.

Jane Tyrrell photo by Wiulk

older brother’s rap and new jack swing cassettes. Saving up to buy my first album: CrazySexyCool.

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

The new Glenworth Valley camping festival, Lost Paradise, has added a fresh round of acts to its already enormous New Year’s lineup. Emerging acts Slow Magic, Mansionair, Tropical Zombie and Skegss will play live, alongside DJs Shivers*, Ollie Wright, Bec Tate and more. The new names join the likes of Boy & Bear, Alunageorge, Ball Park Music and The Preatures at the three-day event on the Central Coast. Lost Paradise is on Tuesday December 30 – Thursday January 1.

ANOTHER BRUSH WITH FAME

How well do Alt-J, Chet Faker, London Grammar, Phoenix and Banks handle a paintbrush? Find out with FBi Radio’s second Brush With Fame art auction, as part of which these musicians and more have contributed their masterpieces to raise money for Sydney’s favourite independent radio station. The hand-drawn artworks show off the talents from those who’ve popped by FBi in 2014, also including the likes of Warpaint, Megan Washington and Sky Ferreira. The auction is running on eBay until Tuesday December 2 – visit fbiradio. com/brushwithfame to check it out.

YOU BEAUTY

High-velocity live act You Beauty, whose debut album Jersey Flegg is a “pub rock opera” about a ’90s rugby league legend trying to reignite his career after his heart is broken by a children’s TV starlet (now that’s a concept album), bring their show to Sydney this week. Fans will recognise the foursome from releases with Absolute Boys, Mere Women, Hira Hira and Home Travel, while Jersey Flegg earned the BRAG’s Indie Album of the Week gong upon its release this year. You Beauty play Goodgod Small Club on Saturday November 29.

BONDI BOWLING CLUB

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DALLAS FRASCA

Melbourne’s Dallas Frasca have announced a 17-date national tour to celebrate the release of their new single, ‘You Are Beautiful’. The announcement comes on the back of a big couple

of years for the three-piece, who have toured overseas four times in the past 18 months and are set to release a new album, Love Army, in early 2015. Dallas Frasca will play Brighton Up Bar on Friday December 19.

Bondi Bowling Club and its gig listings, visit bondibowlingclub.com.

SUFFOCATION AND DECAPITATED, WHY NOT BOTH?

Death metal acts Suffocation and Decapitated are teaming up for a co-headline tour next May. Known for fusing aspects of modern metal with classic death metal, New York’s Suffocation have churned out cuts like ‘Pierced From Within’, ‘As Grace Descends’ and ‘Thrones Of Blood’. They’ll share the bill with Poland’s Decapitated, who’ve just released their sixth album, Blood Mantra. Mind your head on Friday May 8 at Manning Bar. C.W. Stoneking

BOUNCING MAD

‘Cappuccino’ is the latest single from Lunatics On Pogosticks, and along with its release the guys have announced they will be making three stops around the country this January. The track comes from the band’s forthcoming EP, the follow up to this year’s Slug Cat And Snail Dog. Lunatics On Pogosticks will take over Spectrum on Friday January 16.

C.W. STONEKING

C.W. Stoneking is goin’ boogaloo all over again, with new regional and suburban tour dates announced for early 2015. After the release of Gon’ Boogaloo in October and a national run in support, Australia’s most recognisable blues singer-songwriter and banjo player is aiming high. The latest schedule includes gigs at Lizotte’s Dee Why on Sunday February 8 and Lizotte’s Central Coast on Friday February 20. xxxx

The ever-popular Bondi Bowling Club has reopened after undergoing a transformation just in time for summer. Bondi’s iconic venue has been reimagined for the warmer months as a central location for art, food, culture and live music. The establishment has been given a makeover reminiscent of a Caribbeanstyle lounge, and boasts a wide range of entertainment, food and beverages. The new music room has a capacity of 400, and will host contemporary acts alongside film and arts events and trivia nights. For more info on

Aussie soul favourites Gang Of Brothers are back this week with the launch of new single ‘Don’t Want You No More’. The Gang’s chunky groove comes via the four Martinez boys – Banel, Dauno, Fenix and Andro – and vocalist/drummer Buddy Siolo. After earlier singles ‘Going To The Pub’ and ‘She’s Gone’, catch a taste of Gang Of Brothers’ latest at Spring Street Social this Wednesday November 26.

thebrag.com


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BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14 :: 9


Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR * Which emotional vegan muso had a row with the owner of a burger joint? * Which café owner was sent a ‘please explain’ from the local council after someone wrote a message on a building wall in honour of a late radio host? * Which music scribe is back to walking after he was caught driving an unregistered car? * Which manager had to walk back home, two hours away, after being unable to get a taxi after The Age Music Victoria Awards? * Which producer (briefly) posted a Facebook rant about the lack of publicity given by a venue every time his act played there, and asked if it would help publicity along if his client had an overdose like (named a

reality show ex)? * Movie/TV streaming service Netflix will launch in Australia in March. * Hilltop Hoods met an ardent fan in Mt Gambier who got them to sign every item of Hoods memorabilia he possessed. They asked if there was any item he didn’t have. He told them there was a rare 12-inch single from some years ago. Only 20 copies of it exist in the world, but they got him one. * The Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan cut ties with Resistance Pro Wrestling, an organisation he co-founded in 2011, but found another Greek passion. He’s working on a 20-minute musical about religious rites in ancient Greece. * Both Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles of Peking Duk came down with Delhi belly during an Indian tour (Styles also got severe food poisoning on his last day), but maintain it’s a

AUSSIES HIT PLATINUM CITY Sydney DJ and producer Timmy Trumpet’s collaboration with Savage, ‘Freaks’, has gone triple platinum. The video has hit over three million views on YouTube, helped by his Bounce Bus US Tour with 40+ shows in two months. Hilltop Hoods’ Walking Under Stars has gone platinum after 14 weeks, making it their fifth album to do so. Meanwhile, their first Top Five single ‘Cosby Sweater’ is gold and speeding to platinum. They played to 50,000 on their 21-date Aussie tour, following a five-week run through North America and dates in Europe and NZ. Jimmy Barnes’ 30:30 Hindsight is also platinum. Sia’s ‘Chandelier’ picked up its fourth platinum gong, while Jessica Mauboy’s ‘Can I Get A Moment?’ went gold.

great, unique place to play. * Lewis Walsh, award-winning drummer from Perth’s The Love Junkies, has come out as transgender. The 24-year-old came out last year to the band and split from his long-time girlfriend. * Marc Canter, who co-authored the 2008 book Reckless Road: Guns N’ Roses And The Making Of Appetite For Destruction, has revealed talks are underway to turn it into a movie. As owner of LA rock hangout Canter’s Deli, he was chilling with the band when it first started out. * Angus Young has revealed brother Malcolm was on treatment for lapses of memory and concentration during the Black Ice album sessions six years ago. * When a Perth judge jailed a WA drug dealer for 23 years, it emerged that the dude sold 40,000 E tabs at two music festivals over one long weekend.

NEW MUSIC SHOW COMING TO TV

* Wollongong musician Steve Caskey had $6,000 worth of gear stolen from his car parked in a secure park at a friend’s apartment building. * Sydney music identity Phil Tripp, now living in retirement in Coffs Harbour, bought into the region’s plan to pay $25 million to $50 million for a new 650-seat performance centre by lifting taxes. Addressing Coffs Harbour City councillors, he barked it was a silly idea because promoters wouldn’t bring acts to Coffs on the weekends, which means the venue would be empty half the time. Better to make use of current facilities like C.ex Coffs Harbour and Club Coffs, Tripp advised. * Cooma in the Snowy Mountains has a new café, Beatnik, which, in the spirit of its ’60s bohemian culture name, will showcase music and poetry readings.

Look out for a new music show, Spilt Milk, on a major TV channel. Hosted by radio’s Michael O’Neill, it’s teamed with booking agencies Premier Artists and Harbour to provide two acts per episode. Locked in are joint appearances by Missy Higgins and Pete Murray, The Veronicas and Katy Perry, and Marcia Hines and 360. These collabs will be played on Southern Cross Austereo stations and sold on iTunes. A pilot shot at Brisbane’s Family Nightclub is viewable on YouTube.

One in eight Australians aged 14+ go to at least one concert of any style within an average three months, compared with 11% to a professional sports event. ‘Metrotechs’ (young, trendy, high-earning urbanites) attend more gigs and tend to support a wide variety of styles including jazz, blues or classical performances. Outer suburban young parents or multigenerational and multicultural families are each almost five times more likely to go see rock or pop gigs. Only around 10% of those surveyed attended both types of concert.

AUSSIES GO FOR LIVE MUSIC OVER SPORTS

OPERA BAR TO WIDEN MUSIC PROGRAM

A few years ago, a survey by Music Victoria found that more Victorians see live gigs than sports. New data from Roy Morgan Research has found it is a national trend.

Opera Bar at the Sydney Opera House will widen its music programming under new entertainment manager Adam Lewis. The FBi broadcaster, DJ and Secret Garden curator is available at adam.lewis@ solotel.com.au.

AMBER FERGUSON JOINS POISON THORN RECORDS FACEBOOK/THEHIFI TWITTER.COM/HIFI_SYD

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Amber Ferguson is the new label manager of Poison Thorn Records, the alt-rock, metal and rock imprint set up this year by Possum Records’ Phil Israel and distributed through Universal Music. Ferguson will source and sign new acts. Send your music via a Soundcloud link to info@poisonthornrecords.com or send CDs and bio to PO Box 1524, Bowral NSW 2576. Poison Thorn is releasing an alt-rock compilation of 11 rising acts, with a metal version next year.

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The CBAA’s Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (Amrap) has launched two new charts. The Amrap Metro Chart and Amrap Regional Chart each provides a weekly top ten of the singles most ordered for airplay from Amrap’s AirIt distribution service. Over 2,500 broadcasters from 250 stations subscribe to Amrap’s AirIt. Over 1,500 tracks are ordered for airplay each week.

LEIBOWITZ & WEINBERG BECOME KOSHER GROUP FRI 12 DEC

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Sydney EDM touring firm Leibowitz & Weinberg has widened its global services and, with it, undergone a name change to The Kosher Group. Aside from touring acts, it has expanded artist services to build up the profiles of EDM acts. These include 24 overseas and Australian acts such as Basecamp, DJ Funk, Deer, Kito & Reiia Lee, Falcons, Jubilee and NT89. See thekoshergroup.com.

ARTS LAW CENTRE OFFERS FREE LEGALS The Arts Law Centre is offering free telephone legal advice to artists and other creatives on topics such as copyright, contracts, liability, insurance, debt, social media, employment and tax. Call 1800 221 457 or visit artslaw.com.au.

INERTIA LAUNCHES MIDNIGHT FEATURE LABEL Inertia has launched a new alt-pop label called Midnight Feature. The first signing is Perth singer-songwriter Kucka, who has just released new single ‘Divinity’.

THE MUSIC NETWORK LAUNCHES SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK Trade publication The Music Network has set up Australia’s first professional and social network designed exclusively for the music industry. It aims to bring the music community together by providing industry news, charts, career information and more. TMN publisher Mark Dalgleish says he sees it as a social and music biz version of LinkedIn.

THREE MILLION AUSSIES LISTEN TO DIGITAL RADIO Three million Australians (23%) living in the five metropolitan capitals listen each week to digital radio, say figures from the Commercial Radio Australia association. Sales of DAB+ devices are over 1.7 million, rising to 1.9 million if you add the number of vehicles with digital radio installed.

QUEST TO FIND INDIGENOUS FEMALE SINGERS Alice Springs-based indigenous record label CAAMA Music is looking for the next crop of indigenous female singer-songwriters. The Alukura Music Competition allows ten artists from around the country to be flown to the Red Centre for ten days in April for masterclasses and recording under Nardi Simpson and Kaleena Briggs of The Stiff Gins. Upload at least two original songs to your triple j Unearthed profile by Thursday December 11 to enter. See caamamusic. com.au.

Lifelines Born: first child to Bodyjar singer Cam Baines and wife Regan. Married: Solange Knowles and long-term partner Alan Ferguson in New Orleans, with sister Beyoncé as a bridesmaid. Born: son Lazer Lee Louis Pentz to DJ/producer Diplo and his ex-girlfriend Kathryn Lockhart, while he has been dating Katy Perry since April. Recovering: Bono, from a fivehour surgery for an arm injury after he fell off his bike in New York’s Central Park. In Court: an Argentine judge wants Interpol to get Justin Bieber back into the country to face accusations by a photographer that he was beaten up by Bieber’s bodyguards when he took a shot of him at a nightclub. In Court: US talent scout Wendy Starland was awarded US$7.3 million for her role ten years ago in discovering Lady Gaga. She and Gaga’s now ex-manager Rob Fusari teamed up to find “a female Strokes member” and introduced him to Gaga but says she got no money. In Court: Daniel Johns of Silverchair fame was ordered by a Newcastle court to undergo a traffic offenders’ program after he pleaded guilty to driving his black Jaguar with a blood alcohol reading of 0.126. In Court: former Goo Goo Dolls drummer Michael Malinin is suing the others over monies owed to him. He says he was sacked midway through a tour when he took time to be with his wife who was delivering their twins. Died: US soul singer Jimmy Ruffin, 78, at his home in Las Vegas. The brother of The Temptations’ David Ruffin, he was best known for his 1966 Motown hit ‘What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted’. Died: Sydney singer and guitarist Terry Halliday Meaney, who was in bands such as Geeza, Speed Limit, TMC, 2112, Terrani and Swallowing Cars. Died: a man ran in front of Dropkick Murphys’ tour bus on a Dallas highway in an apparent suicide.

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T

he history of modern Western thought comprises a number of hugely constructive teacher-student relationships. For instance, cast your mind towards continental philosophy, which has basically progressed by virtue of younger thinkers learning from pre-eminent elders and subsequently positing their own novel theories. The same could be said about most major 19th and 20th century art movements, and, of course, popular music. Australian hip hop is one genre that continues to expand, thanks largely to established artists fostering rising talent and assisting in the development of new genre variations. These days, Melbourne rapper Illy (real name Al Murray) is one of the leading practitioners of the form. Illy has just set off on his biggest Australian tour yet, which brings him to the Enmore Theatre on Saturday December 6. Despite his current star status, Illy hasn’t forgotten the tremendous leg-up he got from his predecessors. “I’ve had a lot of people that have helped me and quite a few people who came before me,” he says. “Pegz and Phrase and Daniel Merriweather – I was doing shows with nobody and they helped me out, took me on the road with them. Then after that, Pegz put me on with Obese [Records] and he sort of showed me some of the ropes. Then more recently, having Drapht and the Hoods as good mates, I know that I’ve still got people that I look up to who give me advice and I’ll listen to them.”

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“It’s been such a crazy year,” he says. “To think that Cinematic came out a year ago, everything that’s happened since is nuts. It’s just been crazy, it hasn’t really stopped.” Looking at those sales fi gures, it’s no surprise that Illy’s appearances on this year’s Groovin The Moo tour were feverishly received. He also found time to jump over to Europe in July for a string of dates supporting Hilltop Hoods. This feat is especially noteworthy for Illy, who describes the Hoods as “the undisputed leaders” of Australian hip hop. “Getting to tour with the Hoods in itself is crazy,” he says. “Getting to do it in Europe is wild. For the first experiences in Europe to be with those dudes, you couldn’t really ask for a better introduction. The boys were saying it was the best response and turnout they’ve had so far, which is awesome. “They’ve always done it on their terms,” he adds. “It’s great because they should be at the top and I hope that they stay at the top for a long time. They’re doing it right and they always have had time for the people underneath them and also for the genre itself. Everyone that meets them and knows them wouldn’t have a bad word to say about them.”

Illy’s no stranger to presiding over rapturous audiences on his own terms, either. Another unforgettable moment from the rapper’s golden 12 months – one he says will be “very hard to top” – saw him headlining triple j’s One Night Stand in front a crowd of 17,000 people gathered in Victorian outback town Mildura. Performing for thousands of utterly manic punters, singing along to every word like their lives depend on it, no doubt provides the thrill of a lifetime. But looking out over all of those faces could get pretty damn intimidating. Illy’s no slouch at keeping the excitement levels turned right up, but even he’s not endowed with invincibility onstage. “I’m definitely more comfortable with it now,” he says. “In saying that, at Splendour I was pretty nervous before going on, because that was a big fucking crowd. One Night Stand – I was shook like I have not been for years before that one. For the most part I’m pretty used to it, but there’s been moments this year that have brought me back to being an up-and-comer and being kind of shook about the whole thing.” Illy’s outstanding success over the last 12 months is indicative of his overall career trajectory. With each successive release, the rapper has climbed higher up the ranks of Aussie hip hop. It’s all happened in a reasonably short amount of time, as well – his debut LP Long Story Short came out in 2009, and since then Illy has scarcely been absent from the stage or the airwaves. “I got told a long time ago that from the moment you have a hit – the moment that you have people caring about your music – it’s just a race against the clock, really,” he

says. “It’s a countdown to the day that no-one gives a fuck anymore. So I try to make hay while the sun shines and not be complacent. I try to make the most of this incredible position that I’ve been put in. “You have to keep evolving and doing different things. If you just make the same thing over and over again, you’re going to lose touch and then people won’t come back.” These days, Illy isn’t only kicking goals behind the mic. Prior to the release of Cinematic, he set up his own label, OneTwo. It’s increasingly common for artists to release music through their own labels, but OneTwo isn’t just dedicated to Illy releases. The label’s roster has grown to include Adelaide (via Melbourne) rapper Allday, who’s also had a pretty unbelievable year. “He’s worked his arse off for it,” says Illy. “It’s great to see it happening. [He’s done it] on his own terms as well. He’s never really been too involved in the Australian hip hop scene, he’s kind of created his own lane. Some people don’t really appreciate how fucking hard that is. He’s got long hair, he doesn’t make stereotypically Aussie hip hop. That’s a lot harder

to do than just follow a formula of Australian hip hop. I think what he’s done this year’s crazy.” Perhaps Illy’s decision to stretch out into label management is motivated by a desire to prolong his career by whatever means necessary. However, he suggests it’s more about taking pride in the genre and preparing the land for the next crop to rise up. “Like I said, I’ve had a lot of people that have helped me and quite a few people who came before me. So OneTwo is trying to do that with the next generation, really. I enjoy doing it and if I do get to be involved in music through that for longer than I can be as an artist, then great. But it’s more altruistic than that.” What: Cinematic out now through OneTwo With: Tkay Maidza, Jackie Onassis, Baro Where: Enmore Theatre When: Saturday December 6 And: Also appearing alongside Bliss N Eso and The Radiators at Summernats, Exhibition Park, Canberra, Thursday January 1 – Sunday January 4

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xxx

It’s been a huge 12 months for Illy, whose fourth LP Cinematic came

out in November 2013. Shortly after he released Cinematic, Illy’s 2012 record Bring It Back won the ARIA Award for Best Urban Album. Cinematic then went on to achieve gold sales and the record’s fourth single ‘Tightrope’ (featuring San Cisco’s Scarlett Stevens) went platinum.


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The Ocean Party Focusing On Home By Adam Norris and natural; their individual paths simply happened to intersect at the same place. The group’s blend of guitar pop is now gaining attention across the country, and while the press release for new album Soft Focus celebrates “distinctly Australian sounds”, Denton doesn’t find anything especially patriotic about the music. “I wouldn’t say that we have a particularly ‘Australian’ sound, other than the fact that like a lot of other Australian bands we don’t tend to shy away from being straight up with our lyrics. I guess there’s still a cultural cringe about being Australian, but really all our songs are just about where we are, what we’re doing. Though we don’t put on a fucking hammy American accent, which is really common in a lot of Australian pop music.” Perhaps the most interesting hallmark of the band’s composition is the shared songwriting duties. It is a fine notion, at least in theory; a variety of different experiences and points of view makes for a richer, more textured record. Yet the need for a diplomatic touch is high, as is the gamble of inviting others to contribute to your song’s direction.

L

achlan Denton is in a bit of a daze. Having just returned from the US the day before we speak, and already gearing up for The Ocean Party’s next run of gigs, it’s little surprise that he’s still reeling from the adventure. The band was invited to perform at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York, along with 1,300 other acts at one of the world’s biggest showcases of new music. Over 100,000 people weaved their way throughout the conference, and while Denton was simply happy to be performing, the format left something to be desired.

“America is a strange place,” he says. “Cool, but strange. CMJ was what you’d expect, just a music conference, so it was not really what we’re used to playing. It’s all really organised. You get there, you go on, you go off. It was a bit unnatural. I mean, it was fun to be in New York to play those shows, but wasn’t how I’d normally be playing them. We played some shows where we were in-store, and there were maybe five people there, and then other shows in LA that were totally packed. It’s kind of the same in the US as it is here, you just can’t really know what to expect.

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Now based in Melbourne, The Ocean Party’s roots stretch back to their upbringing in Wagga, gradually learning to play music with an eye on a future when they would all be able to start a band and take over the world. When The Ocean Party did finally form, though, Denton insists that the process was spontaneous

“I think the only time there’s ever really a problem is sometimes you’ll write a song and want it to be a certain way, but when it reaches the band it’ll turn out to be a totally different thing. But in the end, when you look back on that, it’s a positive thing; it makes the band stronger. We try to be as objective as we can about what songs make it onto the record. With so many songwriters, though, we end up with 30 or 40 songs, so it’s a matter of culling those down to what we agree are the best. Sometimes I’ll write a song for one record but it won’t quite work, so I’ll just hold onto it and try again. Like,

With the Sydney album launch just days away, Denton’s excitement for The Ocean Party to perform for a home crowd again is almost palpable (jetlag notwithstanding). But were it not for an actual ocean-themed birthday party the guys attended, it might have been a very different kind of band. “We’ve had a few people who’ve gone out wearing our T-shirt and everyone assumes it’s some kind of political party,” Denton laughs. “I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of depth to it. I actually don’t really like the name, but I think we’ve had it for long enough now it’s not worth changing. I’m indifferent to it. I think you really transcend the name after a while, anyway. Some bands have really crap names but after a while you kind of don’t even notice. There were some other pretty horrible names we thought of in the beginning. Originally we were going to call ourselves Battered Wives, which, well, sounds pretty bad when I say it now, but it was a reference to a Go-Betweens song. And then people were like, ‘Nah, that’s probably not going to be taken very well.’ So now we’re The Ocean Party. I think we probably did the right thing.” What: Soft Focus out now through Spunk With: Trust Punks, Day Ravies Where: Lansdowne Hotel When: Friday November 28

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“I found it’s a very corporate place, which is a little depressing. But I’ve only just got back, so I can’t really comprehend anything yet. The last two weeks have kind of been a bit of a blur.”

we’ve started working on the new Ocean Party record, and two of the songs I’m working on at the moment were originally meant for [Soft Focus] but didn’t really gel. But now, they’re working. The other guys in the band have side projects as well and will put their songs elsewhere if they’re a better fit. It’s cool, because nobody has to be precious about their songs, they can always just use them somewhere else.”

- AS “THETIMELESS LIKES OF CAT STEVENS, VAN MORRISON AND BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

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The Jezabels Pop Into The Park By Augustus Welby

B

illed as a “brand new annual outdoor concert for Sydney”, North Sydney Oval will host the inaugural Party In The Park in March 2015. Topping the bill are festival heavyweights The Cat Empire and Sydney’s own The Jezabels. Party In The Park is slated to provide musically astute North Shore locals with a chance to frolic in sunshine and greenery, no doubt with a colourful drink in hand. Sunshine, greenery and fizzy colour aren’t images you’d readily associate with The Jezabels. That is, until recently. The band initially attracted attention for writing stadium-sized alternative/indie rock tunes, often tied together with a decent chunk of brooding atmosphere. However, on The Jezabels’ second LP The Brink – released in early 2014 – the four-piece made a concerted effort to deliver something with a lighter touch.

songs on that record, and I also think if we had a chance to do it again we might do it a little bit differently. “I’ve never been the type to be overly confident in anything I’ve ever done in my entire life,” he adds, “so I don’t approach these things thinking I’ve ever made the best album or contributed to writing one of the best songs or anything like that. I’m pretty level-headed when it comes to these things. What I can say first and foremost is we made that record with every bit of sincerity and authenticity we had.”

“Basically we wanted to write a pop album,” says drummer Nik Kaloper. “We set out to do that quite explicitly – to make music that was a bit more clear and less moody and a bit more concise in its intention.”

Despite what certain naysayers might’ve said about The Brink, The Jezabels’ ensuing ten months have been rammed full of exceptional career achievements. Since the record landed, they’ve headlined the Laneway and Groovin The Moo festival tours, carried out dual overseas jaunts and completed a national headline tour encompassing a number of Australia’s most prestigious theatres. The hometown segment of that tour saw the band pull off a double header at Sydney Opera House, which is something Kaloper won’t be forgetting in a hurry.

Upon release, The Brink garnered mixed reviews – the response was neither overwhelmingly positive nor negative. The fluctuating feedback would suggest The Jezabels’ forthright shift into pop caught some listeners off guard. The group is known for having a fairly rocky relationship with the music press, but Kaloper says witnessing the responses from reviewers and fans hasn’t significantly altered his feelings on the record.

“Playing in such an iconic venue to people two nights in a row was just absolutely mind-blowing,” he says. “You don’t even take that kind of experience in until months later when you actually think about it, because you’re running on pure adrenaline and concentration. Even after the show I remember thinking, ‘I have no idea what just happened.’ I could’ve been playing Beatles covers on the drums for all I knew. So that was definitely a highlight.”

“I don’t know if I’ve reassessed anything, really. I think that we [executed it] to the best of our abilities. That’s still how I feel about it. I think there’s some cracking

This isn’t the only surreal experience from 2014 that sticks out in Kaloper’s mind. “We were able to sell out a reasonably big venue in Berlin called the Astra, which was really awesome.

ALSO TOURING

We got to support Depeche Mode and the Pixies this year too. Dave [Lovering], the drummer for the Pixies, said he liked my drumming, so that might be a career highlight for me. It makes some of the 17-hour drives more than worth it.” As for the band’s next move, the four members have recently returned to Sydney and they’re planning on staying put for the next few months. At this stage, a third LP is essentially only a nominal interest. Item one on the agenda is ‘regular living’. “We thought, if we’re going to do another album – which we have an intention to do and that’s about as far as we’ve gotten with that – we better get some more outside experience in the world to bring back into the band.

I’ve been focusing on recording and doing some studio work. I’ve been picking up bits of technical knowhow and production along the way in the last three or four years. It made me realise I have no qualms with sitting in front of a laptop for 14 hours a day when I’m getting to turn knobs and mess with compression and gated reverbs.” Opting to take time away from band activities shows that, even though The Brink boosted The Jezabels’ standing on the pop ladder, they’ve no urgency to immediately cash in. Rather, in order to keep making records rooted in sincerity and authenticity, a step back is necessary. “Since leading up and rehearsing

and recording [debut album] Prisoner, we’ve been either recording, touring or writing for the last four years or so. We just wanted to take the time to regroup, I guess. Otherwise we’ll sort of be drawing from an empty well. We need to fill the well up by doing some extra-curricular things and just getting our heads out there so we can get a fresh perspective when we come back to write some more music.” What: Party In The Park 2015 With: The Cat Empire, The Paper Kites, Husky, Sons Of The East Where: North Sydney Oval When: Saturday March 14 And: The Brink out now through MGM

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Trust Punks Who Else Would You Believe? By Augustus Welby

A

t times, punk rock can seem like nothing more than a forum for misbehaviour. In recent years, plenty of musicians have been christened ‘punk’ for pairing aggressive music with scribbles about juvenile depravity. However, in essence punk rock is an outlet for urgent broadcasts. In the course of punk history, it’s given rise to some of rock’s most subversive and convention-defying lyricists. Right now, Auckland quintet Trust Punks are attaching themselves to this lineage. The band’s constituents still look fresh-faced, but their debut LP Discipline isn’t an account of adolescent indiscretions. The album’s lyrics were largely informed by the work of French philosopher and social theorist Michel Foucault. “With that Foucault thing, [it’s] the idea that power relations aren’t always obvious and they aren’t always apparent to the people that play into them in the most harmful ways,” says Trust Punks guitarist and sometime vocalist Joseph Thomas. “I think we’re particularly susceptible to playing into that sort of thing because we’re middle class, white and we’re men. That was something that we were becoming more and more aware of as we got older.” Foucault’s philosophy is reasonably lucid to read, but paraphrasing his theories of social and

political import in an academic piece of writing isn’t exactly a breeze. Rearticulating these ideas within snappy punk songs seems an insurmountable task. Thomas clarifies that Discipline isn’t intended to be a precis of Foucault’s challenging theories. “When I’m called upon to talk about it I have real trouble expressing myself,” he says. “Because we’re not academics, it’s hard to justify how we feel about it. So that’s why it’s music and why we didn’t write an essay.” Trust Punks mightn’t have pretensions about being literary scholars, but including critiques of prevalent societal norms in their songs is a pretty bold move. However, they’re not the only contemporary punk rockers packing provocative content into their lyrics. “I like the Perfect Pussy album that came out earlier this year,” says Thomas. “I know [vocalist/lyricist] Meredith Graves is really interested in Roland Barthes. That was something that made us feel a little bit more comfortable about talking about that sort of thing. Obviously she has a lot more weight behind what she says because she’s actually oppressed in a lot of ways that we aren’t.” While the Perfect Pussy frontwoman has some first-hand gripes to express, Trust Punks also take cues from another bunch

of renegades whose subjective viewpoint is closer to their own. “Fugazi touch on a lot of stuff about that,” says Thomas. “The song ‘Suggestion’, that really influenced me to ask about the patriarchy. That made me feel like it was OK, you don’t necessarily have to be oppressed yourself to call out oppression. Obviously you can fall into traps a lot easier, but I think if your heart’s in the right place then you can try at least.”

Speaking of oppression, the music industry comprises all sorts of hierarchical imbalance. It’s an environment where even those with the noblest intentions can fall into commercial ennui. Trust Punks aren’t shy about expressing their opinions, but Thomas knows there’s still a lot to learn. “[Fugazi] are probably one of the only rock bands in history that were fully capable of walking the walk as much as talking the talk,” he says. “We can say we’re DIY until we’re blue in the face, but

we have a label [Spunk Records] and we have a distribution deal with Universal, apparently. Now that I know how easy it is to fall into a more commercial arrangement, I respect that band a whole lot more.” What: Discipline out now through Spunk Where: Supporting The Ocean Party at the Lansdowne Hotel When: Friday November 28

The Black Seeds Sweet Sixteen By Augustus Welby got our own sound and people will say, ‘Oh, that sounds pretty similar to your first album.’ It’s like, ‘Well, we are that same band.’ We’ve got a vibe and a certain approach.” A key thing underpinning The Black Seeds’ decade-surpassing appeal is that these six savvy musicians not only dig a similar aesthetic, but there’s also a mutually held understanding of the band’s collective strength. “I think we’re just happy with the kind of vibe that we are,” says Weir. “We all come from a similar direction, musically – or appreciate probably more your retro sounds, as opposed to club techno sounds.” One thing you can be sure of is that the flashing lights and slender figures of the latest trends aren’t going to have an impact on The Black Seeds’ next release. But even if it’s unlikely the band’s sound will undergo any major refurbishment, Weir says they’re always open to new ideas. “We do like to experiment with sounds and try to use new sounds. As long as we like what we’re doing then we’re quite happy. It’s about cutting through the crap and making it so it’s not a bore for anyone else and that it’s actually exciting.

The latter approach explains the 16-year perseverance of feel-good roots-reggae exemplars The Black 16 :: BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14

Seeds. In 2012 the New Zealanders released their fifth LP, Dust And Dirt, which was followed by a sizeable global touring campaign. Recently, however, The Black Seeds’ live shows have been few and far between. But there’s no cause for worry, as guitarist/ vocalist Barnaby Weir says record number six is well underway. “We’ve actually been working on an album for a couple of years now,” he says. “It was always going to be a less gigs and more studio, rehearsing and babies year this year.”

Hailing from New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, The Black Seeds formed in 1998. They’ve never been spotlight hogs, but since releasing their debut LP Keep On Pushing in 2001, they’ve attracted a loyal following. Each of The Black Seeds’ five albums has been met by doting applause, so it seems natural that they’d reflect on their discography when contemplating new material. But Weir says there’s no inclination to repeat a winning formula. “We don’t want to say, ‘Oh, this one sounds like that song we did.’ We’ve

Possessing a shared vision has no doubt gone a long way towards keeping the majority of The Black Seeds’ original lineup intact (a notable departure being Flight Of The Conchords’ Bret McKenzie, who left after three albums). While they’re all on the same page musically, each member’s life circumstances have altered significantly since the early days.

Along with sticking to their guns artistically, through the years The Black Seeds have hung onto an independent ethos. As has been the case in the past, Weir is occupying the producer’s seat for the new record. “I’ve taken on the production duties, in terms of having a plan and putting it together and suggesting what’s going to be on the album. [I’m] being a bit of a musical director. Before we decided that, we’d done a lot of work together just jamming and just recording lots of ideas. There was heaps of work that had been done and we decided that I’d give it a good crack this time around. I love doing that stuff.” Later this month, The Black Seeds will take a break from the studio and jump across the Tasman for an Aussie tour. The group might be old hands at this by now, but they’re still dedicated to delivering the best live shows possible. “That’s always a big priority for me,” says Weir. “Making sure that when we do a gig anywhere, no matter how big or small, that it’s fucking awesome and not like a covers band of the band that you used to be in. Sometimes it can happen if you’re not in form or if you’re tired. But most of the time, we do it with feeling. “I don’t want to brag,” he adds, “because that’s the worst. Jaded musicians are such a pain in the arse.” With: Ngaiire Where: Metro Theatre When: Friday November 28 thebrag.com

The Black Seeds photo by David James

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here aren’t that many artists who make it five albums into a recording career and still have fans eager to hear what comes next. Some manage to sustain interest through regular stylistic reinvention – the likes of David Bowie and The Bee Gees come to mind. For others, it’s the result of reliably issuing quality releases and effecting minor stylistic tweaks along the way.

“We’re certainly not going to worry about what’s fashionable and think, ‘Oh, we should really put some drum’n’bass bits in there,’ or, ‘We should put in some dubstep,’” he adds. “If you’re making stuff up to try to get on the radio or impress a certain scene, I think you’ve lost your grip.”

“Our lives are obviously a lot more complex, or depending on how you look at it, more simple,” says Weir. “We’re not flatting together anymore, we’re not all in the city anymore, we’re not free to be a poor student type of person anymore. Life’s changed, and thank God it has. At the same time, you do need to manage that friendship, that brotherhood, that desire to still want to do it together. You’ve got to have goals, you’ve got to have a plan and try to keep communication open.”


TV On The Radio Sowing Seeds By Augustus Welby

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eeds, the newly released fi fth album from TV On The Radio, comes threeand-a-half years after the band’s last effort, Nine Types Of Light. Close followers of the Brooklyn group will most likely be aware that bass player Gerard Smith succumbed to lung cancer just days after that album’s release. Smith’s death didn’t nullify the band’s immediate live commitments, but after the remaining four members wrapped up the Nine Types Of Light touring campaign, the likelihood of another TV On The Radio record was in doubt.

A promising development came in mid-2013, with the release of back-to-back singles ‘Mercy’ and ‘Million Miles’. But hopes were quietened somewhat by an accompanying announcement, which explained these tracks weren’t attached to an LP. However, regrouping without having to face the imposing task of making a whole record was effective in reviving the band’s collaborative zeal. Hence, Seeds proceeded to develop almost immediately. The album has been in the hands of TV On The Radio’s many hungry adherents for a couple of weeks now, and frontman Tunde Adebimpe isn’t afraid to voice his excitement. “When we were making it and when it was fi nished, we knew that it impressed us,” he says. “It’s a nice thing to listen to a record and almost feel like you didn’t make it because you like listening to it so much.”

Speaking during a pre-release US tour, Adebimpe reported that the new songs were “going over really well” live, causing audience members to “sing along to something they’d never heard before, which was an awesome feeling”. This immediate embrace is an indication of the melodically incisive character of several of the album’s tracks. As for whether the band felt nervous about satisfying external expectations with Seeds, that’s never a pressing concern. “It’s not that we don’t care what anyone else thinks,” Adebimpe says, “but it doesn’t really have a bearing on what we think about what we’ve done. Just the fact that we can still do it and want to do it, we’re already miles ahead of any sort of expectations that might come from the outside. “That’s not to say I hope people don’t like it. I’m really excited to share this record and to play it live. I’m really excited for people to hear the whole record – we just like the entire thing.” What: Seeds out now through EMI

POWELL

TV On The Radio began as a project for Adebimpe and guitarist/producer Dave Sitek back in 2002. The band’s major breakthrough – creatively, critically and commercially – was its second LP, 2006’s Return To Cookie Mountain, which was also the first recording to feature the complete fi ve-piece lineup.

Diagonal, UK

Since that time, there’s been no decided bandleader; multiple members receive songwriting credits on each album and the exact role of the separate individuals isn’t easily defi ned (for instance, drummer Jaleel Bunton is just as likely to contribute guitar to recordings as guitarists Sitek and Kyp Malone). “That wouldn’t work, I don’t think,” Adebimpe explains. “I feel like whoever tries to be the leader of the band would fi nd themselves alone very, very quickly. During the recording and writing process, everybody throws in what they can. Whatever sticks makes it in and whatever everyone decides, ‘That’s just not really working,’ gets tossed away.”

Friday 28 November 10pm The Imperial Hotel

Stepping forward without one-fi fth of their established personnel could’ve potentially upset TV On The Radio’s fruitful dynamic. But during the development of Seeds, the process of mutual contribution prevailed. “When you’re doing something for so long, you recognise dynamics within the band,” Adebimpe says. “Whenever I’m writing a demo, very rarely will I write a song that’s completely fl eshed out and just say, ‘OK, you play this, you play that.’ That’s not utilising our connection between each other. I’ll leave spaces that I know that Kyp’s going to put something there. I don’t know exactly what he’s going to put there, but that’s his zone and he’ll round that out. And Jaleel will do this and Dave will do that and everyone kind of knows that without me saying anything. “Collaborating with anybody on anything is going to have its moments,” he adds. “You’re not the same person. That’s the thing that makes it so great – you can bounce things off of each other and it ends up being this thing that’s representative of all of you, hopefully.” Looking through TV On The Radio’s back catalogue, on each record they’ve generated an unmistakable sonic presence, while continuing to uncover compositional variations. Something that’s been conducive to this achievement is the band members’ commitment to spurring each other on. “We always call each other out for not pushing stuff far enough,” Adebimpe says. “If somebody makes something and you know it can be better and they want to leave it the way it is, that’s when it gets a little like, ‘What are you doing?’ That’s when it gets a little big brother and little brother-ish, where you try to bully someone into being better than they’re letting themselves be.” When trying to simplify what distinguishes Seeds from its predecessors, descriptors such as ‘immediate’, ‘streamlined’ and ‘aerated’ jump out. To be more specific, the record comprises tracks like ‘Could You’, which features a jangly, Eastern-inflected guitar line and a positively infectious power-pop chorus. thebrag.com

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Millions Relax, Don’t Do It By Augustus Welby

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ands are always rabbiting on about being democracies. It’s a nice idea, but like Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, a practical assessment suggests it’s a little naïve. Take lead singers, for instance; whether they like it or not, vocalists tend to be the centre of attention. However, for Dom Haddad, the frontman of Brisbane’s Millions, there’s no hogging the limelight. “I feel like we’re a band,” he says. “It’s not like it’s me running the show or anything. Even though it’s easier to pay attention to just the vocals, I don’t really ever feel like the focus is more on me than on anybody else. I think that’s mainly also because we all try to do everything together.” This is the attitude Millions took into their debut LP, Max Relax, which came out in August. Attempting to regulate the input of individual band members is essentially futile. What’s more important is that each contributing party is committed to the music being produced. Haddad and his three bandmates – guitarist Ted Tilbrook, bass player Campbell Smith and drummer Louis Tilbrook – realised the band’s strength derives from allowing each member to do their bit. “We would like to be our own band, separate from everybody else,” Haddad says. “That’s the only way people will ever remember anything you do. You don’t want it to sound like someone else. I think what’s best for Millions is… everyone’s got their own particular style of playing. If we are able to emphasise that through our songwriting, I think that’s what will separate us from other bands. “There’s just so many guitar bands,” he adds. “I hate the term ‘indiepop’, which gets thrown around so loosely all the time, because that just really clumps so many bands together. We definitely want to try to stand clear of that term, just

because we want to have our own identity and not get clumped in with the rest.” Prior to Max Relax, the last thing we’d heard from Millions was 2012’s Cruel EP. A couple of factors necessitated the reasonably lengthy interval between releases. Firstly, the band’s original drummer James Wright exited the fold, which led to the recruitment of Ted’s brother Louis. He was actually living in the UK at the time, but it became apparent he was the most appropriate man for the job. “We didn’t want to get someone we didn’t know,” Haddad says. “We really wanted them to be a part of the band. Louis was the only [drummer we knew] that wasn’t playing in a band at the time, so we asked if he wanted to move back to Australia.” After solidifying the lineup, Millions then had to seriously assess where things were headed stylistically. “We all listen to a lot of different music, so we weren’t really sure whether the band we were starting to be pigeonholed as was the band that we actually are,” Haddad says. “We just tried to do things a little bit different. We really spent a lot more time pushing the songwriting and seeing what different ways we could take it. “A lot of the songs are quite a step away from the earlier stuff we’d released. Because there’d been such a big gap between writing and releasing music, it was kind of natural for us to not be writing the same way.” The result is a multi-faced, 11-song collection. Max Relax jumps from the jangly psych-pop of ‘Clementine’ and ‘Allure’ to the driving garage-soul of ‘Always’ and into moments of withdrawn doo-wop, such as ‘B Chill’. When it came to actually composing the album material, once again the

band refrained from appointing a commanding officer.

they’ll persevere with the existing modus operandi.

“It’s not like we have just the one songwriter. We all write together. After we looked at it as a whole, we were like, ‘We still haven’t really clearly defined who the band is.’ It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it just means that some people hear the album and they’re like, ‘I really don’t like this song but I really like this song,’ and it’s different for lots of other people. It’s interesting for us.”

“I think we’re trying to work out the best way the four of us write together and how that works. Hopefully that means we will write more and have more songs to choose from. We’re pretty happy with what we did. It was all still a learning curve, it’s the first album and we’re constantly learning.”

Now that Millions have wrapped up the record and placed these songs together as a family, perhaps contemplating what comes next will be an easier task. Haddad remains ambivalent about what the future holds, but he says

Millions make a pretty good case study for how to effectively operate as a democracy. Judging by their example, bands can work together in relative harmony while also making space for everyone’s opinion. There’s no doubt that this is made easier by the fact that Millions’ four constituents are basically best buds.

“We’re all pretty close friends,” Haddad says. “We’ve been stuck around each other long enough now to know each other pretty well. It’s obviously normal to get annoyed at each other, but we also know each other pretty well. It’s usually pretty smooth. There’s no real chance for any egos or anything.” What: Max Relax out now through Stop Start Where: Beach Road Hotel / Newtown Social Club When: Wednesday November 26 / Saturday November 29 And: Also appearing at The Lair, Metro Theatre on Sunday December 14

Jakob Sines Of Life By Augustus Welby Zealand Top Ten was certainly unexpected. “It got to number ten in the general charts and number two in the New Zealand charts,” Boyle says, “which is pretty amazing for a purely instrumental band with nothing that even resembles a hit single. That blew our lights out, to be honest. We weren’t expecting that at all.” Presumably, the commendations for Sines would be tremendously rewarding for any artist. For Jakob, it goes some way towards vindicating a lengthy and often arduous recordmaking procedure. The prolonged gap between album releases wasn’t the result of the band going under for a few years and recently reconvening. Rather, a large chunk of the time that’s elapsed since 2006’s Solace has been spent working on Sines. “‘Magna Carta’, which is probably the oldest one, was written just after we got back from the tour with Isis in Europe in 2008,” Boyle says. “The original chord progression and feel for ‘Harmonia’ was written shortly after that. ‘Emergent’ was written back in 2010. ‘Blind Them With Science’ was written in 2011.

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“I read a lot of artists that say they don’t care what the reviewers say and all that sort of stuff,” says Jakob guitarist Jeff Boyle. “But I do, of course. If you’re putting yourself out there, you’re putting yourself out there to be responded to. Otherwise you’d be sitting on an island with your guitar playing music to yourself.”

Jakob’s brand of instrumental prog isn’t an absolute anomaly, but instrumental rock outfits are something of a rare breed. The critical fervour incited by Sines shows that when bands get it right, it makes an especially resonant impact. The copious admiration for the album isn’t exactly out of the blue, but its debut in the New

“We did the initial tracking sessions at Roundhead, which is Neil Finn’s studio in Auckland, in late October, early November 2011. [Then] I went over to LA to mix it with a friend of mine, Aaron Harris, the drummer from Isis. We were a couple of days into mixing and I realised that, ‘Man, this isn’t finished. This isn’t what we’re after,’ which is pretty devastating.”

“Because I probably did thousands of hours on this album, it’s hard to remove yourself,” he says. “In the time between the actual finishing of the album and the time of release of the album, I’ve had some space from it and I can listen to it almost from an outsider’s point of view. I love it all over again.” This week, Jakob commence an Australia-wide headline tour. Having just wrapped up a sold-out tour of New Zealand, Boyle says performing the album material live has been truly revitalising. “[The songs] take on a whole new life now they’re in the realm of the connection between us three again, as opposed to sculpting them in the studio. We’re just really enjoying having the freshness to the new songs. That brings a new life to our whole set.” What: Sines out now through Valve/MGM With: We Lost The Sea, The Seaport And The Airport Where: Hermann’s Bar When: Friday November 28

thebrag.com

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ast month, New Zealand’s hard-rocking instrumental trio Jakob ended an eight-year intermission by releasing their fourth LP, Sines. The record immediately prompted several discerning critics to proclaim it a triumph. Such an outpouring of praise isn’t something the band members pretend to turn their noses up at.

From there, the band got back to work, making alterations and conducting DIY recording sessions in its private rehearsal space. Reaching a point of total satisfaction is perhaps unrealistic, but after endless laptop labour, Sines was eventually deemed complete. Now that the record’s available for listeners to sink their teeth into, Boyle can reflect on it with an air of contentment.


BRAG’s guide to film, theatre, comedy and art about town

arts in focus

alex williamson shoot ’em up also inside:

LIVING IS EASY WITH EYES CLOSED / STILL POINT TURNING / ARTS NEWS / ARTS GIVEAWAY / REVIEWS thebrag.com

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arts frontline

free stuff

arts news...what's goin' on around town...with Chris Martin, Tyson Wray and Tori Bedingfield

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

five minutes WITH

SAMANTHA YOUNG, DIRECTOR OF HUNGER

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What should audiences expect from Hunger? Hunger is a dark cabaret, an adaptation of a poem and philosophical debate. The story of Erysthicton and Mestra is one of the more obscure Greek myths that speak to the human malaise of dissatisfaction. Insatiability is a very current syndrome – we are often bored and hungry and look over the shoulder of our lovers, wondering if we are missing out on something grander, louder and more beautiful.

You’ve also worked as a music video director for the artist Loose Change – where do you see your career going from here? I have previously dabbled in film with my short film, Smokers Are People Too, a 2012 Tropfest finalist. I loved working on the Loose Change clip; we had a joyful concept and again were discussing topics I felt were personally relevant – the struggle between following your dreams and paying the bills. I would love to keep working in film and have developed a taste for long takes and one-shot clips. The idea of challenging the artifice of the medium really appeals to me. It speaks to the discipline and craft I like to see in performance. What are the other highlights on the Directors’ Productions program you’re excited about? I can’t preference one over the other as all the productions are fantastic in their own way. We are a diverse group of directors who have created a season of works that really showcase our personal voice and experiment with genres as diverse as circus, film, cabaret and opera. What: Hunger, playing during the NIDA Directors’ Productions 2014 Where: Studio Theatre, NIDA When: Wednesday November 26 – Saturday November 29

St. Vincent

ST. VINCENT

Bill Murray showing a 12-year-old the wonders of strip clubs, race tracks and pregnant showgirls wouldn’t be surprising as a headline, given Murray’s irrevocable sarcasm and general strangeness. However, it’s simply the premise for St. Vincent, a black comedy/drama by firsttime writer/director Ted Melfi. Australia’s sweetheart Naomi Watts joins the fold alongside Melissa McCarthy and Jaeden Lieberher to uncover a heartwarming relationship between young and old. When Oliver (Lieberher) is left in the care of Vincent, played by Murray, the misunderstood elder takes the youngster along on all the stops that make up his daily routine, helping him become a man in the process – for better or worse.

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unger is the culmination of your years of work at NIDA. How proud are you to be presenting it as part of this year’s Directors’ Productions? I’m extremely proud of this work. I have taken a lot of risks in devising a completely new work and have demanded a lot from my team in the effort to try and create an essential piece of theatre. I asked myself, “In a world of internet, TV and film, what makes theatre necessary?” I believe the answer is scale, theatricality, humanity and magic. Hunger celebrates these traits. Prior to the NIDA’s directors’ course, I would have never taken such a risk – in fact, I barely had a language for the theatre I desired to make. It may seem antithetical to expose yourself when you are supposed to be showcasing your strengths, but I’m less interested in easy wins than I am in growth.

St. Vincent opens in cinemas on Thursday December 26, and we’ve got ten in-season double passes to give away. To be in the running, head to thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us what lesson you’d want Bill Murray to teach you.

MOONLIGHT CINEMA 2014/15 RADIANCE

Following the highly acclaimed 1998 film adaptation of the classic production, Radiance returns to the Aussie spotlight in 2015, this time taking the stage and bringing the reincarnated classic to a fresh theatre audience. After the death of their mother, three sisters separated by age, distance and time are reunited in their Queenslander family home in the tropics. Emotions run high as huge personalities are thrust under the one roof, and it’s not long before the spirited trio unearth some family skeletons. Taking on the role of both actor and director, theatre veteran Leah Purcell steers the story, along with co-stars Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell (The Sapphires), through moments of lust, rage and sadness. The show will run from Saturday January 3 – Sunday February 8 at Belvoir Street Theatre.

Miranda Tapsell in Radiance

Grab a beanbag and pack your picnic blanket – Moonlight Cinema is returning for 2014/15. The organisers have confirmed their program, locking in a summer of advance screenings, new releases and cult favourites. Some highlights include Dumb And Dumber To, Into The Woods, Birdman, The Interview, American Sniper and Foxcatcher. A new LA-style food truck will be serving up tantalising street fare, and the ever-popular Doggie Nights are making a return. Moonlight Cinema will be on in Sydney from Thursday December 11 – Sunday March 29 at the Belvedere Amphitheatre in Centennial Park.

Bill Burr

One of the biggest comedians of our generation has locked in his first-ever Australian tour. A favourite on talk shows with David Letterman, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon, Bill Burr first rose to success through his recurring role on the second season of Chappelle’s Show. In more recent times, Burr has played the character Kuby on Breaking Bad, starred in The Heat, Stand Up Guys and Date Night, and in 2015 will co-star with Kevin Costner in the movie Black Or White. Burr will hit the Sydney Opera House on Sunday February 1.

BOEING BOEING TAKES OFF Take your seats and buckle up – things are about to get turbulent with UTS Backstage’s latest production. Set in 1960s Paris, Marc Camoletti’s classic farce Boeing Boeing follows the misadventures of bachelor Bernard as he attempts to juggle his three airhostess fiancés, ultimately resulting in an avalanche of ridiculousness, slapstick comedy and sidesplitting moments. Tickets back to the swinging ’60s will be sold on the door from Thursday November 27 – Saturday November 29 at the Bon Marche Studio at the University of Technology, Sydney.

BILL BURR

STEALING THE SHOW

Young artists are set to investigate identity and creativity in a graduate exhibition. Graduating students from the Design Centre Enmore will be showcasing their work in an exhibition titled Wanted: Who Stole The

Show? Illustrations will be available to the public in a display of picture-making, creative thinking and storytelling. Wanted: Who Stole The Show? is on Wednesday November 26 in the Exhibition Space at Design Centre Enmore.

Frida People

Walking With Dinosaurs

WALKING WITH DINOSAURS

Lonely hearts and sociable souls alike are set to jump on board the Speed Dating Express on Saturday December 6. If you’ve ever dreamt of falling in love with the handsome gal or gent across the other side of the train carriage, this is the perfect chance: six stops and six dates from Central Station to Circular Quay. To register, visit cityswoon.com. 20 :: BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14

FRIDA PEOPLE

After being diagnosed with ovarian cancer midway through a national tour earlier this year, Candy Royalle is in recovery and making her return to the stage in Frida People. Driven by a newfound appreciation for the fragility of life, Royalle has teamed up with improv-funk trio Sloppy Joe and the “grotesque burlesque” showgirl Betty Grumble. Together, they have sought to create a multi-sensory performance that explores the unpredictability and arbitrary nature of the human condition. It’s a mish-mash of performance, poetry, dance and experimental funk. Catch Frida People at the Seymour Centre on Thursday November 27 and Thursday December 4.

thebrag.com

Radiance photo by Ellis Parrinder

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

The biggest stars on earth are coming to Australia next year – it’s Walking With Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular, based on the awardwinning BBC television series. It’ll be a new generation of species after what’s visited these shores before, as the latest production is up to date with recent scientific discoveries about the creatures that still fascinate us. Walking With Dinosaurs covers the whole 200-million year period when the dinosaurs roamed, and arrives at Allphones Arena on Wednesday March 18 – Sunday March 22.


Alex Williamson

Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed

[COMEDY] Letting Loose By Kate Robertson

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umb Things I’ve Done is pretty selfexplanatory – I’m a young, stupid person,” explains Alex ‘Shooter’ Williamson (AKA The Loosest Aussie Bloke Ever). In this live show, the new-gen comedian showcases the candid, swear-filled humour that has garnered him a huge social media presence and followers around the world. Williamson’s stand-up is full of personal, relatable and often embarrassing anecdotes. “I put myself in all sorts of awkward and horrible situations because I’m a bit of a yes man,” he admits. “I don’t have great decisionmaking skills, I just go with the flow. That ends up in some horrible situations where I’ve had to find my way out of, and I discuss this onstage. They go as private and personal as me showing a few text messages that I’ve tried to send to girls in an attempt to court them late at night, and it went horribly wrong – I’ll show their responses onscreen.”

Williamson’s live show differs significantly from his YouTube videos. “When you come and see me onstage, it’s very clear – I’m very honest,” he says. “It is more personal, you get to know me, and that’s the big difference: if you want to know who I am and what I’m about as a person, come to the live show.”

Does that mean he is not actually The Loosest Aussie Bloke Ever? “That’s true. I have nightmares about people coming up to me at music festivals going, ‘Oi, ya loose, I’ma scull a beer, nah, right.’ I’m actually quiet – I play with my bunnies and I’m quite reserved, but I can switch it on.” With close to a million subscribers across his social media platforms, Williamson says he gets recognised “all the time. One day when it [his YouTube series] first started to take off I got recognised by a group of 12-year-old little giggling school girls at a train station … I moseyed on up the platform and there was the opposite end of the spectrum, some 50-yearold junkie-looking fella who looked like he’d had a rough life going, ‘Oi, you’re that loose bloke.’ “When people travel, especially, they like showing other people my stuff – you know, ‘You gotta see this Aussie bloke’ – I start dropping C-bombs and all the Americans are like ‘Yeah, he’s really funny.’” However, Williamson has with his exaggerated ocker found issues w Edinburgh there was a heckler accent. “In Edin understand me because of my who couldn’t un accent, but he had a strong Scottish Australian acce was the worst heckle fight you’ve accent and it w No-one could understand what me ever seen. No-o were saying.” orr the heckler w became interested in filmmaking at Williamson bec an early age. “I just started watching films as parents have a video camera in a kid. If your pa the house, you can just film yourself doing your urinating on the cat and stuff like videos, like urin that when I was a kid. They weren’t too popular. developed those skills a bit more, Then I develop because I did media studies at high school and then ffurthered that with a Bachelor Creative Arts degree at university of Creat where I learnt editing skills … and [watched] a shitload of Curb Your [wat Enthusiasm and Family Guy.” Ent In keeping with the title of his current show, Williamson confesses one particularly dumb thing he’s done recently. “I was having to mail a whole lot of letters and I had the envelopes I thought you were en supposed to lick, but it wasn’t – it su was in fact the envelopes that wa just stick on. You haven’t had jus to lick envelopes for ten years, apparently.” app What: Dumb Things I’ve Done Where: The Comedy Store When: Friday November 28 and Friday December 5

Still Point Turning

Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed [FILM] Ticket To Ride By Travis Johnson et in Spain in 1966 at the height of the Franco regime, Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed follows a Beatles-loving teacher, Antonio (Javier Cámara), who embarks on a road trip in an attempt to meet John Lennon while he is filming How I Won The War. Sometimes it’s easy to forget, but Spain was under fascist rule up until the middle of the ’70s. While the rest of the Western world had the Summer of Love, Spain had Franco’s dictatorship. Thus, director David Trueba’s film is, to our eyes, an odd beast, combining the realities of life under Franco with one of the most powerful symbols of the ’60s in Lennon.

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“I think it’s a very simple character,” he says. “A very idealistic character, but at the same time it’s quite mysterious, because we don’t know a lot of this character – why he is single, why he is living alone. I love when a character is not all written; part of the character is made by you, and I love that. I love that sensation. David, the director, left a lot of information to the actors. We didn’t talk too much about the characters. He knew that I was going to put a lot of energy into him. But I love this kind of mystery – a lot of little details are open to build during the process, and I love that.”

“The most interesting thing was because the director was the same age as me,” Cámara explains in charmingly broken English. “We have the same age. We have the same experience in our childhood – I’m talking about the end of the dictatorship – the same fathers that were trying to make the best for their children and were concerned about education and freedom. And above all this, the central character was a teacher. I love that, because for my father, the teachers were the example of freedom because they know the knowledges, you know?”

Ironically, Cámara was not much of a Beatles fan as a boy, thanks to the off-key renditions of their songs that his sister subjected him to. “My sister was a fan, and she passed her adolescence playing the guitar really, really bad, and so I hated The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for years. Now I love The Beatles, but my sister played guitar as a devil, as a bad devil. She plays awfully! My father was a musician and he played, all his life, the saxophone, and my mother sings, but my sister, she didn’t have a very good hand with the guitar. It was the time of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and she destroyed my childhood with this guitar!”

For his efforts, Cámara was awarded the Goya (a ‘Spanish Oscar’) for Best Actor – in fact, the film picked up a total of six Goyas, including Best Picture and Best Director. His effort is even more impressive when he reveals that he had to bring much of the character to the screen himself, with very little being revealed in the script.

What: Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed (dir. David Trueba) Where: In cinemas now

Linda Luke in Still Point Turning

[DANCE] A Matter Of Time By Tegan Jones

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Still Point Turning photo by Mayu Kanamori

he concept of stillness may seem odd in relation to the art of dance. Choreographer and performer Linda Luke will be challenging this idea, as well as exploring the concept of time in contemporary culture, in her latest piece, Still Point Turning. Presented by Form Dance Projects, the production will be hitting Riverside Parramatta later this week, and we caught up with Luke for a preview. “I’d also call it an immersive installation, because it has a multimedia platform of videos, lighting, a rich textural soundscape and myself,” she explains. “The piece is fundamentally about time in contemporary culture, and the way we respond to how time has affected our lives. It also refl ects on stillness. In juxtaposition to the fragmented, crazy culture that we live, it looks at that place of stillness that’s inside us.” One of the initial inspirations for the piece was T.S. Eliot’s Burnt Norton, in which the poet explores similar themes to Luke. “It’s one of those poems that I’ve sat and pondered about,” says Luke. “It is very much about the internal self and refl ections on life. So I started working on the fl oor with it; extracting the images and developing dance in response to them. “To quote Eliot, ‘At the still point, there

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the dance is’. I was really interested in that opposition between dance, which we perceive as movement, and still point. As a dancer, I move kinetically and I can move fast, but also in our practice, we look a lot at very minimal movement and unfolding it to see how that affects us in time and space,” Luke says. “The multimedia platform came much later and by then the poem was sitting deep down underneath [the piece]. The audience won’t see T.S. Eliot in it at all; it’s far more my own point of departure. What they see more of is what time is for us in our contemporary culture. The feedback that I’ve gotten from the Melbourne Festival is that it made people refl ect on how time affects us now. “People have also said that it was a deeply immersive performance and they felt like they had gone on a journey. I think the piece does invite contemplation, rather than just being entertained.”

not just about the body showing these kind of ideas. The aim is that the whole space gives the feeling of this world.”

I can’t help but wonder if the utilisation of multimedia in the piece is a metaphor for our modern-day obsession with multitasking. I ask Luke about this.

Seeing as stillness and time are the central themes of the performance, it begs the question whether Luke is also commenting on how people are often too busy documenting their experiences and projecting them to be still and truly live life.

“Yes, exactly. When we were looking at a space in the theatre we asked how the video, lighting and sound intercept with the dance to create an environment that’s

“I hadn’t quite thought about it in exactly those terms, but I think that’s really interesting what you say about documenting. We seem to want to always

capture, but you can’t capture performance. That’s the special thing about it; it’s so ephemeral. You can only capture it in the experience and in your memory. The theatre creates a space where you can’t take the camera in. You have to put all of that aside for that little bit of time. And I think it’s more challenging for audiences now, because we’re so easily distracted.” What: Still Point Turning Where: Riverside Theatre When: Friday November 28

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Film & Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and bareboards around town ■ Film

LET’S BE COPS

Let's Be Cops

■ Film

FOLIES BERGÈRE

In cinemas now Let’s Be Cops (or for New Girl fans, Nick Miller And Coach Go Wild) is an action comedy following Ryan (Jake Johnson) and Justin (Damon Wayans, Jr.), who find themselves dressing up as police officers after a post-fancy-dress-party encounter sees the pair develop a taste for the power and prestige the job endows. It’s not long before things get out of hand, with Justin eager to put things behind them after a quick Google search reveals the penalties for impersonating police and Ryan’s ego pushes them into conflict with a local crime syndicate. In terms of tone, substance and style, Let’s Be Cops is very much a film that follows on the trail blazed by 21 Jump Street, though it does occasionally run out of steam and throw out some more crass humour based on racism and homophobia. Johnson and Wayans make strong leads here, not only selling you on the pair’s friendship but also setting up fun dynamics between them. There’s also a fun subplot involving Justin’s

■ Theatre

stalled career as a games designer that’s enjoyable but doesn’t always mesh with the rest of the story. The big draw here is the premise – and for the most part, it works. It’s probably not the funniest film you’ll see this year, but it’s a wild ride watching the buddies push their flimsy facade. Let’s Be Cops is a funny film, but it never really crosses over into tell-your-friends-tosee-it territory. That said, the refreshing premise and strong casting make it easy to recommend. Fergus Halliday

Switzerland

SWITZERLAND

Patricia Highsmith was one of the most intriguing authors of the 21st century. What wasn’t known about her life was often left to public speculation, even about her twilight years in Switzerland. This part of her life has offered both its name and mystery to the Sydney Theatre Company’s latest piece, Switzerland. Well before the play begins the audience is immediately transported to the Alps. Designer Michael Scott-Mitchell has done a breathtaking job with the space, which is equally beautiful and scrupulous in its execution. Enter Sarah Peirse as Highsmith, a now reclusive author in the 1990s who receives an expected but arguably unwanted visit from Edward Ridgeway (Eamon Farren). This unfortunate chap has been given the difficult task of getting Highsmith to commit to a fi nal book about her star character, Tom Ripley. What ensues is a game of cat and mouse with the young man, who is equal parts starstruck, nervous and determined to prove himself. Although the concept of fi ctionalising a real person can be morally difficult, it feels right in Joanna Murray-Smith’s

play. Perhaps this is because like many of her characters, Highsmith suits the role of the ambivalent antihero who you can’t help but love. Peirse does a truly stunning job at portraying the writer, balancing the tightrope between prickly recluse and a dying woman who is starved for intellectual stimulation. Her delivery of Murray-Smith’s witty and razor-sharp dialogue provides both laugher and moral refl ection.

In cinemas Thursday December 11 Folies Bergère is a comedy that looks at the marriage of cattle breeders Brigitte and Xavier Lecanu, living in rural France. As their last child moves out of home, Brigitte and Xavier’s relationship seems to be undergoing a period of adjustment. So when a bunch of early-20s partygoers rent the house next door, Brigitte decides to go along on the invitation of a handsome young Parisian. After a night of successful fl irting, Brigitte heads to Paris, under the guise of a doctor’s appointment, in order to pursue her young man.

While at first the fi lm seems to be about Brigitte’s quest to regain her youth, it instead becomes something else, exploring Brigitte and Xavier’s relationship, and the question of fi delity within their marriage. The fi lm also manages to remain unbiased in examining Brigitte and Xavier’s marriage, refusing to judge either party for the decisions they make, and sharing narrative perspective between the two characters. I’m yet to see Isabelle Huppert put in a disappointing performance, and her role as Brigitte in Folies Bergère is no exception. Jean-Pierre

Darroussin is equally outstanding as Xavier, with the two actors playing the ageing married couple so comfortably that it seems impossible they haven’t worked together before. Folies Bergère is very much a light comedy. Huppert plays the comedienne with ease, and Darroussin is equally loveable and hilarious in his role as the fuddyduddy husband. That being said, the fi lm is also a very tender portrait of a marriage, and manages to retain sincerity through all of the quirky hijinks. Louisa Bulley

Watching Farren portray the fictional Ridgeway is also a thrill. Everything down to his mannerisms is delightfully awkward, and seeing his interaction with Peirse, and his character evolve before our eyes, is a privilege. I haven’t been so engrossed in 100 minutes of two people talking since Louis Malle’s My Dinner With Andre. Director Sarah Goodes has done an incredible job, and I can personally see Switzerland becoming a smash hit. Tegan Jones

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

The Nutcracker Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Friday November 28 – Wednesday December 17

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The charm, joy and magic of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker will be brought to life this November and December by The Australian Ballet. Set on a cool Christmas Eve, The Nutcracker follows the story of Clara, a young ballet student who is presented with a nutcracker doll by a magician. As with all classic tales, as soon as the clock strikes midnight, the enchantment begins and Clara is whisked away into a world of fantasy.

The Nutcracker

For more information, visit sydneyoperahouse.com.

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Switzerland photo by BrettBoardman

Playing at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House until Saturday December 20

Folies Bergère


THE BRAG ♥s MARKETS GUIDE

Hunting for a bargain this summer? Getting started early (or late) on the Christmas shopping? The BRAG is heading to the markets, and we want to take you with us. We caught five with some of our favourite markets around Sydney to find out what goodies we’ll find and where – and hopefully pick up a bargain-hunting tip along the way. Time to get shopping!

ROZELLE MARKETS

REGGAE CARNIVAL Speciality: The main goal of the Reggae Carnival is to showcase reggae music with a family-friendly approach. The festival goes from 10am till 6pm, with non-stop live sound system performances, dancers, jumping castle, face painting, free workshops and more!

good music, lots of activities for the kids and positivity all round. Come one, come all. No pets please, as there will be large crowds and small children present.

music

Find a bargain: $10 will get you in the carnival, but if you have kids under 12, they won’t pay a thing. $5 will get you unlimited jumping castle access. There will be record stalls for those who love digging through old classics.

What’s the fuel? The food stall will offer a variety from Caribbean-influenced cuisine to a range of healthy options and Belgian waffles. There will be soft drink and alcohol available onsite. Look out for the range of organic ice blocks. No BYO please.

What’s the vibe? Reggae vibes all the way! Good food,

Stallholder info: You can email reggaemarkets@gmail.com

with your request. You will be sent a form to complete.

Where: Rat Park, Narrabeen. As the park is located on Pittwater Road there is easy access to public transport with buses that set down outside Rat Park. When: Saturday December 13 from 10am to 6pm. This is our first Reggae Carnival in the Northern Beaches after several events in the Inner West. Expect more to come! Presented by Foreigndub, FBi Radio and 4 Pines. Web: reggaecarnival.com.au Speciality: Rozelle Markets is known as Sydney’s favourite antique, collectable and second-hand market. There are up to 100 stallholders each Saturday and Sunday selling all things second-hand, from casual stallholders having garage sales to regular stallholders selling antiques, bric-à-brac, furniture and pre-loved designer wear. Some of our unique stallholders would be… Irish John on a Saturday selling treasures and old furniture pieces which he has brought back from Britain; LJ, Cathy and Evelyn, who have great ranges of pre-loved designer wear at a fraction of the retail price on their stalls both Saturday and Sunday; Lesley has hard-

LIVERPOOL NIGHT MARKETS Speciality: This is a community night market with a focus on great local food, live entertainment and activities to suit all tastes. Each month there’s different feature acts, yet you can rely on the delicious food and market stalls being there month on month. Better yet – it’s completely free! Find a bargain: Feast till your stomach’s content on the delicious fresh food including Jamaican jerk chicken, Argentinean BBQ, French crepes and homemade pickles. This month, pick up a unique, handmade Christmas gift or

go on a food safari around Liverpool with the Taste Food Trails that leave on the hour at a cost of $5. What’s the vibe? A community markets that’s more than just stalls, it’s a celebration of all things local. There’s fantastic live music and entertainment and opportunities to get handson with a variety of activities including bag-making, claymaking and a petting zoo for the young and young at heart. What’s the fuel? There’s a huge range of delicious food and drink options for

What’s the vibe? The vibe at Rozelle Markets is oldschool, family-friendly with a playground, live music in two areas and a place to find hidden treasures and meet up with friends. What’s the fuel? There is a food stall area on Saturdays with Thai, Mediterranean, juices and fruit salad, bacon and egg rolls, Vietnamese, vegetarian, and Reuben sandwiches, plus coffee. Sunday food stalls are the best gozleme, dumplings, juice and fruit salad, Himalayan, bacon and egg rolls, Russian and Japanese plus coffee. Stallholder info: To become a casual stallholder selling secondhand things call the Tuesday before for the coming Saturday or the Wednesday before for the coming Sunday, 11am-2pm, on 9818 5373. There is also a pre-booking option. For all the details go to rozellemarkets.com.au and click on FAQs. Where: Rozelle School, 663 Darling Street, Rozelle. Rozelle Markets is open every Saturday and Sunday, 9am-4pm. Parking is limited so it is best to get public transport – buses 440, 443, 445 and 500s, or park a short distance away and stroll through the Rozelle shopping strip.

vintage

to-find old books on both days; Yuki has fabulous kimonos on a Sunday; Steven sells quality preloved menswear both days.

Find a bargain: Garage sales have great bargains. The really good ones have a crowd around them in the morning even before they are set up. It’s a good idea to get there around 8:30am for those. If I had $10 to spend I would probably go for a bacon and egg roll with lettuce, tomato, American mustard and tomato sauce, and a DVD. Alternatively, some potted herbs, flowers or a piece of clothing. Or maybe a quirky old vase, or household item… there’s too much to choose from for $10.

PADDINGTON MARKETS all tastes – you’ll never go hungry at the Liverpool Night Markets! Stallholder info: Contact the Night Markets Coordinator on 1300 36 2170 or email nightmarkets@liverpool.nsw. gov.au Where: Macquarie Street, Liverpool When: Saturday December 6 from 4-9:30pm. The Markets are the first Saturday of every month.

Speciality: Paddington Market specialises in quality Australian-made designs. With over 160 stalls, you are sure to find a unique gift for any occasion. Speciality stalls include Bob Window’s retro cushions, Samantha Robinson’s beautifully crafted ceramics and Souvenir’s original women’s clothing. Our handmade jewellery is amazing – check out Stannard-Inc, Anthaus and Six D. Find a bargain: If I had $10 in my pocket I would check out the retro clothing stall in

the Hall, and also have a look at the bric-à-brac stall.

café) and coffee bar. There are also fresh bread stalls from Grumpy the Baker and Paddy’s Irish Bread.

design

What’s the vibe? There are so many treasures at Paddington Markets, new and used. We cover all tastes and styles. With great live music and food selections, it is the perfect shopping destination. What’s the fuel? Choose from Belly Bao (Vietnamese food fusion), Jackaroos (Aussie BBQ and grill), Himalayan cuisine, juice bar, Spuntinella (our gourmet

Where: 395 Oxford Street, Paddington – around the Paddington Uniting Church and Paddington Public School. When: We are open every Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Web: paddingtonmarkets. com.au Phone: 9331 2923

Web: liverpool.nsw.gov.au/ nightmarkets

night

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THE BRAG ♥s MARKETS GUIDE BONDI MARKETS

FINDERS KEEPERS

gifts

Speciality: Bondi Markets specialises in original designer clothing, exotic imports, handmade jewellery, arts and crafts, homewares, retro furniture, vintage clothing… and that’s just the start of it.

Where: Bondi Beach Public School, Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach When: Every Sunday, 10am-4pm Web: bondimarkets.com.au

Speciality: The Finders Keepers market has a diverse collection of curated stalls. We have over 200 art and design stallholders, ranging from fashion designers to silversmith jewellers, ceramicists, furniture makers, illustrators and crafty creative folk! We also have a curated collection of sellers in our Vintage Emporium and a wonderful selection of local artisanal food and beverages, all made and crafted locally.

market, and not just in terms of what our stallholders are selling. There is a lineup of live music, food trucks, bars by Stone & Wood and coffee stalls. Sew Make Create are hosting workshops over the weekend and are offering softie owl making classes for the little ones too!

design

Find a bargain: The Finders Keepers market is less about nabbing a bargain, and more about finding beautifully handcrafted items – and buying them directly from their makers. You will be able to find a unique gift for someone special this Christmas or something for yourself! That said, $10 can still nab you something sweet to share from Farmers Lane and a variety of smaller items across many stalls. What’s the vibe? We have things that cater for the whole family at our

What’s the fuel? We have five amazing local food trucks as well as a Farmers Lane which is full to the brim with tasty treats and delights! As mentioned, we also have two bars by Stone & Wood, serving craft beer and a selection of wine, and two coffee stations by Allpress. Stallholder info: The application process involves filling out our online form with all your details. Keep an eye on our website – applications for our AW15 events will be opening soon! thefinderskeepers.com/apply. php Price: $2 entry fee, children under 12 free.

Where: Australian Technology Park, Exhibition Hall, Locomotive Street, Eveleigh. Entry Henderson Road via Bay 8 When: We hold two events in each state per year. The next Sydney market is on Friday December 12 (evening) and Saturday December 13. Our 2015 dates are: autumn/ winter – Friday (evening) May 8 and Saturday May 9; spring/summer – Friday (evening) December 11 and Saturday December 12 Web: thefinderskeepers.com

Find a bargain: The appeal of Bondi Markets is the opportunity for up-and-coming designers, artists and craftspeople to sell their work direct to the public. Local residents also offer their wares from a spring clean or garage sale. Finders Keepers photos by Bec Taylor

What’s the vibe? Local markets on the beachfront every weekend – what’s not to love? What’s the fuel? The school canteen is open at every market day, raising funds for the school and other community groups with a sausage sizzle, light meals and cold drinks. Stallholder info: Email office@ bondimarkets.com.au to get involved.

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Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...

ALBUM OF THE WEEK ARCHER

xxx

Old Time Sing Song Man Pound

The Melbourne artist takes on Xxxx the simple truths of life, and does it without any fanfare.

There are very few musicians who’ll submit themselves to the final judgement of stripping back their recordings to the very basic elements and laying all of their faults and flaws in the open. There’s an honesty and truth in the process that rings through on such records, as the artist puts on show all they’ve got to offer without any glamorous production. It’s the philosophy Melbourne’s Pound Records has built its company on,

and this latest release is the greatest example to date. Archer’s first album couldn’t have been stripped back much further, containing only his voice, guitar and stories, like it was pulled from a decades-old time capsule. His music rolls around folk, country and blues with a tinge of gospel, and feels like the tales of a travelling vagrant hitchhiking through the American Deep South during the ’50s. Simplicity in music leaves a lot of space for the mind to wander, with the artist acting as a guide or anchor for the listener to latch onto during their short period of escapism.

While Archer’s music may leave some pining for music with more content and more production, the importance of this record is its testimony to the

simple, honest truths of life, love and death. Rhys McRae

KLO

SINCERELY, GRIZZLY

PINK FLOYD

BLACK VEIL BRIDES

DEPTFORD GOTH

Cusp Dot Dash/Remote Control

Halves Black Night Crash/MGM

The Endless River Sony

IV Lava/Republic

Songs 37 Adventures/PIAS

Melbourne electronic pop duo Klo made waves in the blogosphere earlier this year when BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe picked up their single ‘Make Me Wonder’, a small taste of what was to come from a future EP.

Establishing themselves as primarily a live act with only a few singles and an EP behind them, Adelaide’s self-proclaimed ‘literature rock’ three-piece Sincerely, Grizzly have delivered their debut album Halves.

The Endless River isn’t an album of new Pink Floyd material per se, but rather a reimagining of jams recorded in 1993 during The Division Bell sessions. Keeping the original keyboards, the record is something of a tribute to Rick Wright, who passed away in 2008. His playing is as stripped-back and haunting as ever, with spaced-out organ riffs that float and hover and land with the weight of falling mountains when he finally changes chords.

If you’re not into the scene, glam metal isn’t a genre you hear about often. The fact is, it’s far from dead. Californian shock rockers Black Veil Brides are renowned for their trademark appearance as much as their music – they’re rarely seen without full face paint, long hair and tight black clothing, the kind you’d typically associate with ‘80s icons like KISS or Mötley Crüe. That’s not to say their music doesn’t rock, either.

And then there’s David Gilmour’s guitar. His playing towers over the record, as it’s done, really, since he replaced Syd Barrett in the band. His guitar remains the melodic heart of Pink Floyd, ensuring The Endless River isn’t diminished by its largely instrumental nature.

IV hits the ground running with ‘Heart Of Fire’. It’s got everything you’d want: roaring vocals from frontman Andy Biersack, thumping percussion and wailing guitar licks. The extended intro of ‘Faithless’ is impressive, using church bells and intense guitar rhythms to full effect. The chanting chorus is reminiscent of 30 Seconds To Mars, and the same dynamic continues through ‘Devil In The Mirror’.

Daniel Woolhouse’s follow-up to last year’s Life After Defo catches him in a new phase of his life, but the honeymoon bliss of a new marriage is not easily detected on new album Songs. Joy simply doesn’t fit with Deptford Goth’s aesthetic. ‘The Lovers’ is the one song that embraces this subject, but its glassy-eyed observations are hardly revealing: “We make babies, watch them grow, teach them what we know and then let them go / Love your mother, love your father, one position is another”.

Well, now it’s here. Klo have delivered their debut, Cusp, full of the same heart-warming beats laced with silky smooth vocals that won over first-time listeners. A collection of their first three singles plus two new tracks, the whole EP is glossed in a sort of hip hop and R&B brush that when mixed with singer Chloe Kaul’s excellent vocals gives us an interesting and layered soundscape. It’s definitely a different take on the chillwave/electronic producer genre as made famous by Flume and the like. It’s a slower, downbeat and more chilled-out affair, riddled with calculated R&B beats that don’t get too overwhelming by the time the last track rolls around. While the five-track duration doesn’t provide that much room to explore, Klo have given it their best to mix up their sound a little bit. ‘Take Us To The Grave’ is fun track that has a distinct Disclosure vibe about it, while ‘False Calls’ is one of the more hip-hopinfused songs on the album.

By ‘literature rock’, Sincerely, Grizzly mean that they’ve attempted to give some narrative flow to Halves in terms of more than just their lyrics. Random static radio waves and inaudible voices dot the album here and there, and in the middle of the album there’s a 41-second track of mostly guitar looping and noise. Why? Because narrative. That aside, the album’s a fairly strong debut that delves into grungy, angsty territory without getting too emo, despite a few lengthy titles such as ‘I’m Nucky Thompson. This Is Atlantic City’ suggesting otherwise. Given this is Sincerely, Grizzly’s first full-length release, they’ve allowed themselves plenty of wriggle room. They don’t particularly stick to one sound, and instead explore the various subgenres of rock from hardcore to post-rock, the latter especially present on nine-minute closer ‘Kafkaesque’.

If Cusp is anything to go by, then expect to be hearing a lot more from this exciting Melbourne duo in the future.

However, for fans of early Fall Out Boy and Anberlin, there are those emo vibes here as well.

Roger Ma

Roger Ma

In a way it’s fitting that the final Pink Floyd album, save for the closer ‘Louder Than Words’, is without vocals. Like the changing faces of the moon, it marks the final phase of a band whose entire career has been marked by transformation – from the pop-psychedelia of the Barrett years, through to the grandiose space-rock storytelling of Roger Waters, through to the Gilmour-led later years. If The Endless River really is the end, it’s an absolutely fitting finale for one of the greatest bands of all time.

Later, ‘Drag Me To The Grave’ is a head-banging riot, as is ‘The Shattered God’, which gets back to the chanting-style choruses they began with. ‘Crown Of Thorns’ is a nice finish, utilising some varied guitar effects to end on a high. Black Veil Brides’ latest album is certainly polished, and you can only imagine with their signature appearance and stage theatrics, it would be even better live. Chris Bright

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK

SCOTDRAKULA ScotDrakula Independent

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Lead single and opener ‘O’Clock’ exhibits a sort of naïveté, but that’s offset by frontman Matt Neumann’s unhinged yet tuneful yelp. ‘Kill What You Love’ feels a little Hunx And His Punx; the doo-wop refrain, “There’s nothing to it, just go and do it,” sounds like encouragement for everyone to

Towards the end of the album, we get a less forlorn turn in the delicately romantic ‘Two Hearts’ – it offers a glimmer of hope that things might turn out alright in the end, after all. Chris Girdler

Wayne Marshall

The frequency with which something is produced and in turn consumed impacts greatly on the product in question. Quality can drop when a product starts to get ‘churned out’. Despite their six-year lifespan as a band, ScotDrakula are definitely not churning out albums. This selftitled release is their first full-length, although they’ve been spruiking samples of their wares with two previous EPs and a seven-inch under their belt.

The music of Deptford Goth is slow-burning minimalism and it’s pared back even further for the songcraft focus of this particular album, but there are some quietly effective shifts in tone and pace. Percussion drags its heels behind everything else in ‘The Lovers’ and ‘The Circle’, adding to their sluggish, sedated effect; in contrast, sharply plucked harp attempts to quicken the anxious circular motions of ‘The Loop’. Meanwhile, Woolhouse’s hypnotic murmur of a vocal is pushed to the forefront, ensuring maximum intimacy.

OFFICE MIXTAPE

learn a hip new dance move, but we assume it’s a gentle nudge to ‘kill what you love’.

And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week...

Those in search of a summer anthem may just have found it in ‘Shazon’. ‘Pig Eyes’ oozes cool, its extended intro setting the scene effectively. ‘Starter Humanism’ is feel-good pop, brimming with classic chord changes, while follower ‘Idlewild’ burns with a desperate energy.

PUBLIC ENEMY - Fear Of A Black Planet DIE ANTWOORD - $O$ THE NATIONAL - High Violet

It’s illusively simple garage that’s occasionally epic, with ’50s chord progressions disguised under distortion and snarl, but repackaged into something far less predictable. ScotDrakula have nailed it on their debut album.

CLIENT LIAISON - Client Liaison THE STROKES - Is This It

Krystal Maynard thebrag.com


snap sn ap

live reviews

up all night out all week . . .

What we've been out to see...

Various Newtown and Enmore venues Sunday November 23 With over 70 artists across seven venues, Rock The Gate was a powerful and diverse demonstration of the Australian entertainment industry uniting to support the anti-fracking movement. From electronica and hip hop to altcountry, blues, roots and jazz, the street festival delivered a eclectic mix of music, arts and performance. Each venue showcased a killer lineup of Aussie and international acts, community activists and industry speakers, all supporting rural communities in protecting their farmlands and livelihoods from fracking and unconventional gas mining. With so much talent packed into the afternoon, decisions had to be made. Schedule clashes had patrons choosing between Maatzi and Leah Flanagan, Pete Murray and a drag show; tough choices indeed, but the level of talent made sure there were no bad options. Little blues bar The Midnight Special took us to the Dirty South with the deep, smooth sound of Groove Depot. Standout guitar, bass and drum solos and an infallible frontman delivered

blues to rival New Orleans’ greatest, and it was a challenge to peel ourselves away to check out the rest of the festival. Town Hall AKA La Townie had things swinging with alternative country, featuring the banjos and syncosonic sounds of The Rusty Spring Syncopators, while electronica was pumping across the road at Zanzibar with the likes of Bumble, Ginger And The Ghost and Dakini on the decks all night. Acoustic sets dominated The Green Room Lounge while The Warren View Hotel housed the Art Party, featuring a plethora of local talent including Son Of Sun, Nic Cassey and Kallidad. Powerful words were brought to the stage at The Sly Fox with conscious hip hop, while the Enmore Theatre was an absolute powerhouse of Australian and international talent including indigenous group the Black Cockatoo Dance Company, The Herd, Ash Grunwald, Natalie Pa’apa’a and US roots legend Nahko Bear. All up, it was non-violent community activism at its fi nest. Julienne Gilet

katy perry

PICS :: AM

ROCK THE GATE

jimmy eat world PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

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PICS :: KC

21:11:14 :: Allphones Arena :: Sydney Olympic Park 8765 4321

22:11:14 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666 BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14 :: 27


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live reviews

up all night out all week . . .

What we've been out to see...

THE STIFFYS, DIVIDERS, BAD BITCH CHOIR

STEP-PANTHER, BEARHUG, POINT BEING

Factory Floor Friday November 21

Goodgod Small Club Friday November 21

As the Bad Bitch Choir file onto the stage they hum the melody to Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’, starting the night with soul. Originally the backup singers for Twincest, this group has evolved into a collaborative project where artists from a variety of backgrounds cover their favourite songs. The passion of the choir brings new life to classic hits by the likes of TLC, Arctic Monkeys and Salt-N-Pepa.

Two of Sydney’s best indie bands launched their second albums at Goodgod Small Club in front of a healthy-sized crowd on Friday – proof of a thriving local scene for those looking to fi nd it.

The next band, Dividers, blister through their opening salvo of songs, as drummer Mitch Johnson beautifully segues between tracks with a level of control that belies the Christmas party he’s been drinking at all day. Incorporating elements of hardcore, metal and rock into their music, they possess an easy charm, as suitable at the pub as it is onstage. Frontman/ guitarist Koby Geddes effortlessly flirts with the Bad Bitch Choir before launching into another tune. Paul Anderson on bass matches Geddes’ enthusiasm in the title track from their latest EP, A Long Winter, stomping around the stage like a kid in a playground as they bring their set to a close. By the time The Stiffys walk onto the stage the crowd has packed the front half of the Factory Floor. Slogans scribbled across handmade posters encourage the onlookers to “Have a great time!”, a sentiment the band reminds us of loudly the minute lead singer/bassist Jason Leigh and drummer Adam Stagg get to their microphones. The two-piece outfit from Melbourne deliver a highoctane message of positivity in their songs, and it pays off as the fans throw themselves with vigour into the bouncing rhythm of Leigh’s bassline.

portugal. the man

PICS :: AM

Clad in jumpsuits and crash helmets, The Stiffys sing about space blogs, cocoa puffs and how all the ladies love to say ‘hi’ to them. The crowd eats it up, enthusiastically screaming back when Leigh initiates a call-and-response. “Wombat,” yells Leigh. “Stiffys!” yells the audience. It’s silly stuff that makes for excellent banter.

23:11:14 :: Coogee Bay Hotel :: 253 Coogee Bay Rd, Coogee 9665 0000

Lampooning the stereotypes of rock icons, the duo creates hyper-virile personas obsessed with girls and enjoying themselves. Fortunately they never lapse into male chauvinism and kick off their encore with a parody of Redfoo’s ‘Literally I Can’t’ – “We respect girls / We know heaps of girls!” – before their finale with a frenetic rendition of ‘I’m Really Good At Sex Because I’m Always Doing It’.

After Point Being opened, Bearhug were up, officially launching the excellent So Gone. They present the material on the fuzztastic new album in slightly altered form live – it’s not as harsh to a live audience, making it more accessible. Those who have heard the album know it makes sense, as it would be almost impossible to make the songs even noisier. Bearhug made their setlist up as they went because of amp difficulties, which hurt any chances of momentum. But the set didn’t suffer too much; there are so many quality layers of guitar in their new songs that even if you strip some of them away the songs sound incredibly strong all the same (see ‘Habit Wave’). And with the guitar pared back, you can hear just how catchy the melodies are, something that often gets lost in the shuffle when talking indie rock. While Bearhug tone down the noise when playing live, StepPanther amped everything up, turning their slacker tunes into heavy psychedelia. As with most trios, the rhythm guitar heard in the studio isn’t a luxury they have live, which made singer/guitarist Steve Bourke’s inspired guitar solos sound all the more woozy on their lonesome. Focusing on their charming album Strange But Nice, Step-Penther’s songs in a live setting really highlight their own weirdness; an odd chord here, an out-of-left-fi eld tempo change there, and the jam section shoved into the middle of ‘Namor’. If these guys aren’t fans of Ween I’d be very surprised. While there are some lacking elements in the vocals, the sheer power behind the guitar and especially the technical prowess of drummer Daniel Radburn more than make up for it. Goodgod on Friday was a haven for music fans hooked on ’90s-style indie guitar. Do yourself a favour and see Bearhug and Step-Panther live when you have a chance. They deserve your time and money. Leonardo Silvestrini

20:11:14 :: Brighton Up Bar :: 1/77 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9361 3379 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

28 :: BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14

MAR :: S :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

frankie’s pizza

PICS :: KC

del barber

PICS :: AM

James Ross

22:11:14 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney thebrag.com


snap sn ap up all night out all week . . .

Metro Theatre Thursday November 20

A more timid presence in person than on recording, Banoffee was inviting, but could have wowed the audience with a little more confidence in her execution. She really brought it, though, with her closing track ‘Let’s Go To The Beach’, sure to be a summer jam for many this year. If anyone was anxious to see whether Kimbra could pull off the brilliant ambition of her new album The Golden Echo in a live setting, all doubt was blown away when she strode onto stage engulfed in a huge, feathered cape and opened with perfect control on album-starter ‘Teen Heat’. As soon as you witness Kimbra perform, you know that she is where she belongs – in the spotlight. She is a natural, not only in vocal performance, but in her movements, which carry her frenetically and gracefully

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

While big tracks like ‘90s Music’ and ‘Settle Down’ were sing-along favourites, the show hit full swing somewhere around ‘Something In The Way You Are’ from 2011’s Vows. A special energy possessed the excellently weird ‘Everlovin’ Ya’, where the new album’s complex instrumentation was allowed to breathe, and ‘Rescue Him’ showcased an incendiary groove and vocal performance reminiscent of Amy Winehouse. Some interesting change-ups, including hard rock interludes and vocal ad-libs, were evidence that Kimbra is continuing to make decisions that push the boundaries of pop.

homeground

22:11:14 :: Sydney Opera House :: Bennelong Point, Sydney 9250 7111

A beautiful, stripped-back delivery of the ballad ‘As You Are’ was the proclaimed “something special” to round out the night, and was ideally placed between the sugary pop of ‘Madhouse’ (à la Prince), ‘Miracle’ (with the energy and sound of The Jackson 5) and a truly stadiumworthy performance of ‘Come Into My Head’ to close. You can only see an even brighter future for Kimbra. Indre McGlinn

sydney rock ‘n’ roll & alternative market

PICS :: AM

Pop music makes us happy. There’s no better way to understand this than to see a great pop performance. First up, Banoffee played heartstrings with a lush one-woman set to start the night, synth and laptop at her fingertips.

PICS :: KC

across the stage, and in her undeniable warmness. Her sweet stage banter and broad smile are infectious signs that she takes great joy in making live music.

KIMBRA, BANOFFEE

23:11:14 :: Manning Bar :: Manning Rd, Camperdown 9563 6000 thebrag.com

BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14 :: 29


g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week The Black Seeds

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28

Metro Theatre

The Black Seeds + Ngaiire 8pm. $43.90. WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 26 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Songsonstage - feat: Phil Gray Olympic Hotel, Paddington. 7:30pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Lionel Cole Imperial Hotel, Paddington. 8pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Andy Mammers Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. free. Brad Johns Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 7:30pm. free. C.R. Avery + Archer The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $18.80. Captain Cook Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 8pm. free. Elana Stone + Alyx Dennison + Brendan McLean Lansdowne Hotel,

30 :: BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14

Chippendale. 8pm. free. Fat Bubba’s Chicken Wednesdays Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. Furious Penguins - feat: Kopi Luwak + Sick Pitch + Pixels And Sound Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Greg Byrne Ettamogah Hotel, Rouse Hill. 6:30pm. free. Mark Travers Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. free. Millions Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free. Steve Tonge Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill. 7pm. free.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

200k The Wild Rover, Surry Hills. 7pm. free. Little May + Winterbourne Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $12. Songsonstage - feat: Mick Hambly Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 7:30pm. free.

Born Jovi - The Bon Jovi Show Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 9:30pm. free. Castlecomer Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.40. Dave Stephens Penrith RSL, Penrith. 11am. free. Dave White Duo Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. free. Evie Dean Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 7:30pm. free. Glenn Esmond Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 7pm. free. Greg Agar Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10pm. free. Greg Hooper Band + Dee Donavon Penrith RSL, Penrith. 11am. free. Jack Carty + Playwrite + Bec Sandridge Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $15. Kaleidoscope Lo-Fi, Darlinghurst. 5pm. free. Las Tetas - feat: Destiny 3000 + The Friendsters Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 8pm. free. Mark Broughton Mounties, Mount Pritchard. 7pm. free. Matt Price Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill. 7pm. free. Rachel Laing Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 7:30pm. free. Red Alert Pendle Inn, Pendle Hill. 7:30pm. free. Sarah Paton Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 7:30pm. free. Songsonstage Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale. 7:30pm. free. The Late Night Soda Social Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. Tony Williams Pioneer Tavern, Penrith. 12pm. free. Victoria Avenue Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney. 9:30pm. free.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28 Songwriter Sessions - feat: John Chesher Mars Hill Cafe, Parramatta. 7pm. free. Tim Chaisson Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 7pm. free. Tim Walker Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale. 8pm. free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

10 O’Clock Rock Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 10pm. free. Absent Hours + Ego Monkey + Hopelesstown + Honey Glow + Slick Moller Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Alex Hopkins Open Mic Night Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 8pm. free. Andy Mammers Dee Why Hotel, Dee Why. 7pm. free. Angela Ayres Penrith RSL, Penrith. 11am. free. Bandsonstage - feat: Andrew Denniston + Kylie Adams-Collier + Kite + Starr Witness + Cigarette Hampshire Hotel, Camperdown. 7:30pm. free. Black Diamond Hearts Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 10pm. free.

Little May + I Know Leopard Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $12. Songjam Rosehill Hotel, Clyde. 7:30pm. free.

Jazz Hip Hop Freestyle Sessions Foundry616, Ultimo. 11:30pm. $5.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Alex Hopkins Wenty Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm. free. Bandsonstage - feat: Phil Gray + Cherokee Rose + Fmbs: Funky Organ Trio + Trash Jacket Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale. 8:30pm. free. Bandsonstage - feat: Andrew Denniston + Young Fellas + Sinsonnix + HawkKestrel Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 8pm. free. Ben Finn PJ Gallagher’s, Enfield. 9pm. free.

Black Diamond Hearts Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 10:30pm. free. Blake Tailor Emu Sports Club, Leonay. 7:30pm. free. Bowles Bros Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8pm. free. Brad Johns The Grand Hotel, Rockdale. 5:30pm. free. Brothers 3 Bankstown Sports Club, Bankstown. 8pm. free. Captives Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Carl Fidler Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 6pm. free. David Agius Wests Ashfield, Ashfield . 6:30pm. free. Drew Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 8pm. free. Evie Dean Greystanes Inn, Greystanes Inn. 8pm. free. Glenn Esmond Golden Sheaf Hotel, Double Bay. 6pm. free. Glenn Esmond Duo Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 12am. free. Greg Agar Campbelltown Rsl Club, Campbelltown. 6pm. free. Greg Byrne Duo The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 6:30pm. free. Heath Burdell Family Inn Hotel, Rydalmere. 6:30pm. free. Jakob Hermann’s Bar, Sydney. 8pm. $23.50. Joe Echo Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. free. Joe Echo Duo PJ Gallagher’s, Leichhardt. 10pm. free. Joseph Gatehau Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 5pm. free. Leon Fallon Parramatta RSL, Parramatta. 5pm. free. Live Music At The Royal The Royal, Leichhardt. 9:30pm. free. Luke Dolahenty Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 9pm. free. Mandi Jarry PJ Gallagher’s Whisky Bar, Jacksons On George, Sydney. 5:30pm. free. Matt Jones Duo Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why. 7:30pm. free. Melody Rhymes Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 7pm. free. Mid Nyt Sun Ramsgate RSL, Sans Souci. 7:30pm. free. Nathan Cole Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 5pm. free. Noel Mcdonald Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill. 6pm. free. Planet Groove Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. free. Rachael Fahim Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 6pm. free. Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. free. Red Alert Panthers, Penrith. 8:30pm. free. Saving June Colonial Hotel, Werrington. 8:30pm. free. Soulganic Duo Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point. 8pm. free. Soundproofed Engadine Tavern, Engadine. 9pm. free. Steve Crocker Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 4:30pm. free. That Other Band Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard. 9:30pm. free.

The Black Seeds Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $43.90. The Ocean Party + Day Ravies + Trust Punks + The Laurels DJs Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 9pm. free. The Quarters - feat: Captives + Dividers + Ebolagoldfish + Everything I Own Is Broken Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. They Call Me Bruce Quakers Inn, Quakers Hill. 8pm. free. Tom And Dave Show Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill. 8pm. free. Tori Darke Stacks Taverna, Sydney. 5pm. free. Triple Shot Harbord Beach Hotel, Harbord. 8pm. free. Vanessa Heinitz Mill Hill Hotel, Bondi Junction. 7:30pm. free. Zoltan Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill. 9:30pm. free.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

The Chosen Few Penrith RSL, Penrith. 9pm. free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Songsonstage - feat: Andrew Denniston + Warren Munce Petersham Inn, Petersham. 8pm. free. Stormcellar Royal Hotel, Bondi. 6pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Abbalanche - Abba Show South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club, Kingsford. 7pm. free. Alex Hopkins Cronulla Leagues Club Sharkies, Woolooware. 7pm. free. Angie Dean Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill. 6:30pm. free. Bandsonstage - feat: Daniel Keating + String Fiction + Brynn Luker + The Petrodollars Hampshire Hotel, Camperdown. 8pm. free. Ben Finn Trio The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 10pm. free. Blake Tailor Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. free. Bob Gillespie Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. free. Cara Kavanagh & Mark Oats Duo PJ Gallagher’s, Leichhardt. 10pm. free. Carl Fidler Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 5:30pm. free. Clive Hay Plough & Harrow, Camden. 8pm. free. Craig Thommo Sir Joseph Banks Hotel, Botany. 8pm. free. Dave White Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 7pm. free. David Agius Moorebank Hotel, Moorebank. 9pm. free. Dirty Deeds - The AC/DC Show The Beach Club, Collaroy.

thebrag.com


g g guide gig g

Xxx

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com 8pm. $15. DJ Alana Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 10pm. free. Dragon Smithfield RSL, Smithfield. 7:30pm. $30. Dusty The Concert Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8pm. $35. Everyday People Band Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. free. Fab Four Ramsgate RSL, Sans Souci. 7:30pm. free. Geoff Rana Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill. 9pm. free. Harbour Master Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 8pm. free. Idol Threats Huskisson Hotel, Huskisson. 8pm. free. Iron Bark Rock Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. free. Jackson Holt Harbord Beach Hotel, Harbord. 8pm. free. James Englund New Brighton Hotel, Manly. 10pm. free. Jamie Lindsay PJ Gallagher’s, Moore Park. 7:30pm. free. Jed Zarb Henry Lawson Club, Werrington. 7:30pm. free. Jess Dunbar Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 7pm. free. John Milligan Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point. 8pm. free. Las Tetas + Low Life + Housewives + Orion Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10. Last Stand Cold Chisel Show

Kareela Golf Club, Kareela. 8pm. free. Lawrence Baker Greystanes Inn, Greystanes Inn. 8pm. free. Leon Fallon Le Pub, Sydney. 9pm. free. Luke Dolahenty Duo The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 6pm. free. Matt Jones Duo Panthers, Penrith. 9pm. free. Max Power Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 9pm. free. Melody Rhymes Panthers, Penrith. 5:30pm. free. Metal United Down Under - feat: Fenrir + Flaming Wrekage + War Rages Within + Before Ciada + Edenfall The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt. 8pm. $12. Millions Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $18. Palms Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 9pm. free. Panorama Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. free. Pop Fiction Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill. 10:30pm. free. Reckless Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 9pm. free. Rick Fensom Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 4pm. free. Sarah Paton Brewhouse Marayong, Kings Park. 8pm. free. Sons Of Mercury Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 10:30pm. free. Soundproofed Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 9pm. free.

Spank Campbelltown RSL Club, Campbelltown. 9:30pm. free. Steely Dan & The Best Of The West Coast - feat: The Kites + One Foot In The Groove Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $20. Stellar Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills. 9:30pm. free. The White Brothers Ettamogah Hotel, Rouse Hill. 7pm. free. They Call Me Bruce PJ Gallagher’s, Enfield. 9pm. free. Tim Conlon Duo St George Rowing Club, Wolli Creek. 7:30pm. free. Tim Shaw Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why. 7:30pm. free. Tom And Dave Show Horse & Jockey Hotel, Homebush. 7:30pm. free. Totall Addiction Roxbury Hotel, Glebe. 7:30pm. $12. Zoltan Adria Restaurant, Darling Harbour. 5pm. free.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 30

“ A BOUNCING BASS-HEAVY BLEND OF RAP, HIP-HOP, BAILE FUNK AND AFROBRAZILIAN BEATS” ROLLING STONE

KAROL CONKA BRAZIL | AUSTRALIAN EXCLUSIVE

FESTIVAL VILLAGE, HYDE PARK 9 JAN

BRAZIL’S BEST-LOVED MUSICAL EXPORT

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Aleyce Simmonds The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. free. Jack Bloak Mistrel Show - feat: Russell Neal + Jack Bloak Jug Scullers + Carissa Lee + Lawrence Osborn

SEU JORGE BRAZIL

NOVEMBER 2014 MONDAYS FROM 9PM

TRIUMPHANT TUESDAYS FROM 8PM

WEDNESDAY FROM 9PM

THURSDAY

10’O’CLOCK ROCK FROM 10PM

SUNDAY

SABBATH SESSIONS FROM 6PM

FRANKIE’S WORLD FAMOUS HOUSE BAND DAVE EASTGATE’S ROCK&ROLL KARAOKE 5 TH 12 TH 19 TH 26 TH

LILLYE, ROYAL ARTILLERY (QLD) HEY LADY, AXE GIRL THE SOLICITORS (MELB) THE SWEET JELLY ROLLS

6 TH 13 TH 20 TH 27 TH

STORMCELLAR SINGLES (MELB) SLOW CHASE (MELB) SHERIFF (MELB)

2 ND

GLASS OCEAN, JOVA, ICE ON MERCURY

9 TH

ARCHAIC REVIVAL, KING OF THE NORTH (SA)

23 RD 26 TH

WAXHEAD, BORNEO, THE NICE FOLK 30TH KENTCORE METALFEST

THE DOMAIN 10 JAN THE STAR EVENT CENTRE 11 JAN FEATURING GOTYE SINKANE MONEY MARK LUKE JENNER (THE RAPTURE) ALEXIS TAYLOR (HOT CHIP) PAT MAHONEY (LCD SOUNDSYSTEM) AND THE MAHOTELLA QUEENS

“SO BRILLIANT AND MAGICAL … I WISH I COULD MAKE MUSIC LIKE HIM ” DAMON ALBARN

ATOMIC BOMB! THE MUSIC OF WILLIAM ONYEABOR AUSTRALIAN EXCLUSIVE | USA/SOUTH AFRICA/NIGERIA/UK/AUSTRALIA

ENMORE THEATRE 16 & 17 JAN

FULL PROGRAM AT SYDNEYFESTIVAL.ORG.AU TICKETS ON SALE NOW

frankiespizzabytheslice.com • facebook.com/stcfrankiespizza 50 HUNTER STREET, SYDNEY thebrag.com

BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14 :: 31


g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

Old Fitzroy Hotel, Woolloomooloo. 6:30pm. free. Jordan Millar The Wild Rover, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. Peach’s Sunday Jam feat: Peach Montgomery Garry Owen Hotel, Rozelle. 3pm. free. Songsonstage - feat: Stuart Jammin + Guests Harlequin Inn, Pyrmont. 3pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Alex Hopkins Buena Vista Hotel, Mosman. 2pm. free. Andy Brown + Kirrakamere + Kim Wempe + Susanna Carter Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. free. Beatville Boys Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. free. Blake Tailor Westmead Tavern, Westmead. 4pm. free. Brian King Ramsgate RSL, Sans Souci. 2pm. free. Cath & Him Cronulla Leagues Club - Sharkies, Woolooware. 2:30pm. free. Clive Hay St Marys Rugby Leagues Club, St Marys. 1pm. free. Dead End Girl’s Spring Break Up Party - feat: Mixtape For The Drive + Spectral Fires + Rooftops + Young World + Divide & Conquer Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 1pm. $10. Drew

Henry Lawson Club, Werrington. 1pm. free. Jconnexion Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard. 11am. free. Joe Echo Duo Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 4pm. free. Josh McIvor Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 2pm. free. Leon Fallon Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 8pm. free. Leon Fallon Pritchards Hotel, Mount Pritchard. 1pm. free. Luke Dixon Duo Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 6pm. free. Mark Travers Ettamogah Hotel, Rouse Hill. 1pm. free. Matt Jones Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 8:30pm. free. Matt Jones For Reels The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 1pm. free. Matt Price And Jess Dunbar Duo Moorebank Sports Club, Hammondville. 1:30pm. free. Melody Rhymes St George Rowing Club, Wolli Creek. 1pm. free. Outlier Trio Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. free. Rob Henry Family Inn Hotel, Rydalmere. 2pm. free. Roy Mackonkey - feat: Kids Of Yesterday + Sons Of Morning + Piperlain + Good Griefs Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 4pm. $10. Sam Newton Yardarm Taphouse, Manly. 2:30pm. free.

wed

Sydney Blues Society Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. free. Ted Nash Moorebank Hotel, Moorebank. 2pm. free. Tezza & The Twistops Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. free. The Divas Return... And They’ve Got Friends Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. free. The Lemurettes Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm. free. Three Wise Men Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 4pm. free. Tori Darke Summer Hills Hotel, Summer Hill. 3pm. free. Vicky Turner Band Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why. 2pm. free. Zoltan Harbord Beach Hotel, Harbord. 4pm. free.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 1

Adam Gorecki Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. free. Cambo Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 7:30pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Daniel Romeo Duo Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. free. Greg Agar Cock & Bull, Bondi. 7pm. free. Steve Tonge Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

gig picks

up all night out all week...

Little May

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 26

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28

C.R. Avery + Archer The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $18.80.

Little May + I Know Leopard Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $12.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27

Jakob Hermann’s Bar, Sydney. 8pm. $23.50.

Little May + Winterbourne Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $12. Castlecomer Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.40. Jack Carty + Playwrite + Bec Sandridge Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $15.

28 Nov

sat

(9:30PM - 1:30AM)

29

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

Nov

30

01 Dec

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

Las Tetas + Low Life + Housewives + Orion Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

Palms Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 9pm. free.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 30

tue

Dead End Girl’s Spring Break Up Party - Feat: Mixtape For The Drive + Spectral Fires + Rooftops + Young World + Divide & Conquer Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 1pm. $10.

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Jack Carty

32 :: BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29

Millions Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $18.

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

02 Dec

The Ocean Party + Day Ravies + Trust Punks + The Laurels DJs Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 9pm. free.

Metal United Down Under - feat: Fenrir + Flaming Wrekage + War Rages Within + Before Ciada + Edenfall The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt. 8pm. $12.

Nov

(9:30PM - 1:15AM)

mon

C.R. Avery

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

sun

Blues Tuesdays Spring Street Social, Bondi. 7:30pm. free. Innersoul Live Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. free.

Latin & Jazz Jam Open Mic Night

fri

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

(9:00PM - 1:00AM)

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

7:30pm. free. Triumphant Tuesdays - feat: Dave Eastgate Karaoke Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 8:30pm. free.

Songsonstage - feat: Stuart Jammin + Massimo Presti + Chris Brookes Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 7:30pm. free.

27 Nov (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 2

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

thu

26 Nov

World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm. free.

Roy Mackonkey - feat: Kids Of Yesterday + Sons Of Morning + Piperlain + Good Griefs Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 4pm. $10.

thebrag.com


BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14 :: 33


brag beats

BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Martin, Tori Bedingfield and Tyson Wray

five things WITH

The Goldfish is turning six, and what better way to celebrate than with a night of good oldfashioned house music? Coming Down Under for the first time, European producer David Penn will be playing one of only two shows in Australia at the event. Joining him will be a cast of Goldfish favourites including Summit DJs, Frankie Romano, Ramon ‘Balearic Soul’ Lopez and Tom Kelly. Goldfish’s sixth birthday bash is on Saturday December 6.

TRUS’ME

CHOP UP THE WEEKEND

The semi-regular new night at Surry Hills’ Play Bar, The Chop, makes its return this weekend to celebrate the talents of local beatmakers and producers. There’ll be no hiding behind technology, either – the beats are made entirely live, and ‘chopped’ up into something fierce and dancefloor-friendly. Scotty B, AKA The Digital Assassin, will be cutting loose this time around, showing off 15 years’ experience producing hip hop, dubstep and DnB. Joining him is the very gifted Prolifik The Gifted, who trades in gritty boom bap and bass-tastic trap. House DJs Raine Supreme and Benny Hinn will tie it all together. The Chop returns this Saturday November 29.

Growing Up The short answer is [nothing about] 1. my parents or childhood got me into music. [It was] pure chance and general interest in music growing up in the UK. I thank the BBC, I really do – it’s the thing I’m most proud of as a British man. Inspirations Jay Dee, Q-Tip and D’Angelo’s 2. productions got me heavily into jazz, chasing the samples. From there I found Detroit: Juan, Kenny, Craig and Theo. That music was a culmination of all those genres I was listening to back then – that’s how I fell in love with house and techno. Your Crew The label Prime Numbers, which I set 3. up back in 2007, was primarily set up to be a platform for music that I believed in, and to release material freely without any sort of external pressure. From its beginnings, Prime Numbers pushed new acts such as Linkwood, Fudge Fingas and more if I felt their music fitted the direction of the label. It’s all about discovery and sharing fresh music. Right now we are pushing acts I’m really digging like Nick Sinna, Modini and Vril. The label will always keep evolving and in turn, I guess, that keeps you guessing.

4.

The Music You Make Those who have had the chance to hear me play will know I’ve always bridged

Sohn photo by Amelia Troubridge

GOLDFISH TURNS SIX

the gaps between genres. I’ve never thought about being just a house, techno or electro DJ. I just play what I’m feeling at the time and the music that speaks to me. In my earlier days Detroit and disco were thick with me, and they still are today. Right now the best music around I’m hearing has a more electro to techno tinge and I guess this reflects in my sets. I can adapt my style to any party I play; I’m there to make people dance and hopefully educate along the way.

5.

Music, Right Here, Right Now The UK is booming, let’s face it. They have been doing parties since the infamous Haçienda in Manchester, my hometown, hosting the first house/techno events out of the USA, so the audience – whether they are young or old – are educated in a wealth of electronica. Yes, Europe is hot too with Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin, but you just have to look at an events listing site like Resident Advisor in London and the north of England for your jaw to drop. Manchester alone has every Friday and Saturday night seeing 7,000 people dancing to about ten acts at The Warehouse Project. Really it’s insane how much the scene has grown just since I started back in the mid-’00s.

Powell

POWELL AT THE IMPERIAL

UK experimental techno dude Powell is set to make his Australian debut this month with shows in Sydney and Melbourne. The man born Oscar Powell has only been in the game since 2011, but already he’s ascended to tastemaking heights by setting up the label Diagonal, which has put out beats by the likes of Bronze Teeth, Beau Wanzer and Shit And Shine. Powell’s party trick? He regularly plays a Lenka Clayton record sampling a George W. Bush speech, with all the words rearranged into alphabetical order. Powell heads up the Demiurge party at the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville on Friday November 28.

BRITS DO LAUNDRY M.A.N.D.Y

RETURN TO RIO… AGAIN

Return To Rio will be back ahead of schedule in 2015, with an endof-summer reprise of the festival announced for a weekend in March. The news comes out of Return To Rio’s 2014 event, held this month at the Del Rio Riverside Resort on the Hawkesbury River. Already Get Physical’s M.A.N.D.Y has been locked in to headline the March dance festival, joined by LTJ Bukem, Brandon Block and Guti, who’ll perform a live set. Return To Rio’s Ultimate Summer Closing Party takes over Del Rio from Friday March 20 – Sunday March 22.

It’s an all-British double header at Chinese Laundry this weekend, as Maribou State and Pedestrian join forces for a night of new sounds. Chris Davids and Liam Ivory came together as Maribou State in Hertfordshire before packing their bags and moving to the big smoke of London, releasing their debut EP Olivia on Fat! Records in 2011. They do ethereal bass in the style of Disclosure. Meanwhile, Pedestrian is a bass master of the highest order, promising a multi-layered experience in the club this Saturday November 29.

A BIT MORE KLPARTY

Triple j personality KLP is bringing her KLParty extravaganza back to Sydney this week. Young Sydney producer Kilter will join the House Party host to play his always impressive live show, with support from the likes of Spenda C, Set Mo and Robustt, plus DnB in the Cave room by Capture, Open-Eye, Ncrypt, Rit Locus and Hanabi. It all goes down at Chinese Laundry this Friday November 28.

What: S.A.S.H Sundays Where: Home Nightclub When: Sunday November 30

KAZ JAMES

Kaz James Fourward

FOURWARD THINKING

The awesome foursome that is Fourward make the trip Down Under next month. The Austrian DnB group came together in 2007 and soon got to work crafting an attentiongrabbing sound, leading all the way through to this year’s EP release, Countdown. Following in the sonic footsteps of Bad Company, Noisia and Ed Rush & Optical, Fourward have locked in seven dates across Australia and New Zealand. They’ll play Hermann’s Bar on Sunday December 14.

34 :: BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14

thebrag.com

Royksopp & Robyn photo by Kacper Kasprzyk

Summer is officially on our doorstep, and so is Marquee’s popular Summer Series, kicking off this weekend with Melbourne singer/DJ Kaz James. The former BodyRockers man collaborated with David Guetta this year on ‘Blast Off’, capping off a solo career that’s been on the rise since his debut album, If They Knew, was released in 2008. James’ ‘Show Me All Your Love’ has been ubiquitous in clubland this year, so you can be sure he’ll be getting plenty of love from the dancefloor this Friday November 28.


Klo On The Cusp By Erin Rooney compositions. Recently, he has dedicated almost all his time to music by taking time off uni and work, allowing him to juggle his commitments as drummer and vocalist for electronic pop band I’lls in addition to forming half of Klo. Whereas in I’lls he can sink more into the background, Lam has taken more of a driving role in Klo. The duo formed on a suggestion from Kaul’s mother that she collaborate with her cousin. As Lam was interested in sound engineering, he had already recorded some of her acoustic music. One day, he sampled a bit of it, edited it, and sent back what’s now become ‘False Calls’ on Klo’s debut EP, Cusp. While the duo started making music together in this vein – sending bits and pieces to each other and adding to them over the internet – since then they’ve taken on a more personal approach to songwriting.

I

t’s probably unusual for a musician to attribute the inspiration for their career to collecting labels from Coke bottles. But for Simon Lam of electronic duo Klo (in which he performs with cousin Chloe Kaul), winning a Discman from a Coke competition when he was ten years old was just the start of something bigger. From the moment his older brother lent him his copy of Radiohead’s OK Computer, he just couldn’t get enough.

Coming from a musical family, with his big brother Nicholas playing guitar for

acts like Lisa Mitchell and his older sister Eliza playing bass for Oh Mercy, becoming a musician seemed like a natural choice for Simon. He got his start playing in rock bands all the way through high school, until at the age of 20 he decided it was time to start writing his own tunes. The way Lam consumes and creates music has evolved greatly since the technology of the ’90s. Though he is a drummer by trade, and also plays the piano and guitar, Lam says he felt more comfortable producing

electronic music because of the solace and secrecy it provided him. “I was super, super self-conscious about my own music – I didn’t really like putting myself out there. I liked electronic music because I could sit on my computer with headphones on and no-one would know. I was the type of person that uploaded a whole bunch of stuff onto triple j Unearthed and didn’t tell a soul!” Since then, however, Lam has come out into the open with his

“We really need to be in the same room kind of vibing off each other,” says Lam. “A lot of the time it will just start off with me playing chords on the synth or piano and Chloe improvising over the top. We really need sounds to get us going, whether it’s samples or a drum beat, but once we get going, then we focus on the song and make sure that’s as solid as it can be before we go and add all the twinkly bits.” Cusp certainly shows off the magic that happens in their recording room. Tracks like ‘Ride Carry On’ were recorded almost from a single take and improvisation with the synth, with Kaul adding in lyrics afterwards. Kaul stresses that this attention to structure is really what drives their songwriting. “We try to use a lot of the samples that relate to the song, and we always try to stick to a structure in

the song as well,” she says. Though the market for electronic music is competitive at the moment and it can be difficult to stand out, Lam and Kaul don’t really believe in chasing the latest sound to attract an audience. While there are artists trying to imitate the styles that are ‘big’ at the moment, Klo prefer to draw inspiration from artists like Oscar Key Sung, who are aware of the trends making waves but do their own thing anyway. “I just have to stick to what I like,” says Lam, “because I know that if I play to my strengths, the music will probably sound unique. For me and Chloe, our strengths are in the shape of the song rather than making a big drum beat or a Flume-style drop.” And while Kaul initially channelled more of an acoustic sound before teaming up with Lam to form an electronic act, she hasn’t looked back from the genre since. Booked for festivals such as Strawberry Fields and Beyond The Valley at the end of the year, the duo has started to gain attention for a swirling electronic sound. Alongside exploring her passion for acting, which Kaul had been pursuing for a while at university, she’s realised since working with Lam that her music is something really worth focusing on. And she says that making music with a family member has been a large part of what makes their act so special to her. “I don’t see him as someone that I should feel intimidated by or worry about what he’s going to say that I’m doing,” she says. “It’s easy – it’s really easy, working with someone that you love.”

What: Cusp out now through Dot Dash/Remote Control

Kölsch In The Balance By Augustus Welby

O

ver the last 20 years, Danish DJ and producer Rune Reilly Kölsch has gone about his business using a stack of different monikers. Since stepping out from Artificial Funk – the production duo founded with his half-brother, Johannes Torpe – the Copenhagen native has varyingly gone by Rune RK, Rune, Enur and Ink & Needle. Recently, he’s been experimenting with sprightly, melodic techno, which resulted in last year’s 1977 LP, credited to Kölsch. In addition to his production pursuits, Kölsch spends his weekends crossing borders for the purpose of DJing. No matter what name he’s wearing, when Kölsch gets behind the decks he knows what to do. “It’s supposed to be a party, it’s supposed to be fun and it’s supposed to be an emotional experience as well,” he says. “I think it’s personally extremely boring to listen to a DJ set for two hours that is similar or the same.” Kölsch heads our way this week for the Stereosonic festival tour. Stereosonic features acts from all across the spectrum, including contemporary electronic stars Skrillex and Calvin Harris, as well as underground crossover success stories Booka Shade and Markus Schulz. Kölsch is something of an underground mainstay, but he’s certainly not an unknown. In the early 2000s, Rune’s single ‘Calabria’ was a hit on the European and US charts, while Kölsch’s notoriety as a DJ led to a sold-out Australian club tour this May. Despite these achievements, Kölsch has never been hell-bent on celebrity. “For me it’s all about what feels right and what’s the right thing to do,” he says. “I completely understand why DJs are so popular, but I think it’s not really the DJ that is the star. It’s always the music and the show. It seems a lot of DJs get a lot of superstardom, which isn’t really theirs. Essentially we’re all just playing other people’s records.” To coincide with his return to Australia, Melbourne’s Balance Music asked Kölsch to put together an 80-minute DJ mix. Balance Presents Kölsch is a journey through thebrag.com

the maestro’s diverse taste, featuring the likes of Galaxy 2 Galaxy, Radiohead and Caribou. Shortly before the mix concludes, it unexpectedly detours into a remix of Coldplay’s ‘A Sky Full Of Stars’, which Kölsch transforms into a minimal, melancholic creeper. This sort of genre-bending is indicative of Kölsch’s attitude towards DJing. “I think it’s important that when you DJ you use the tools that you have to actually create something that is going somewhere, that is constantly moving and that has different dynamics at different times. It’s all about balance. I think it’s important for a DJ to manipulate the moods, and something has to happen. “I need the vocals, I need the melodies, I need the moods and the different intensities. Singing is super-important. You get that feeling that something’s happening. My ambition is to bring that back to the table. I think it’s been lacking for a while.” Kölsch spent a fair chunk of time preparing the Balance Presents mix, but when he’s in front of a live audience, he stays attuned to the whims of the moment. “It’s all about the vibe of the people and what feels right in that second, and nothing else,” he says. “That’s the purity and that’s the beauty of a DJ set. You can actually be flexible to accommodate what the situation demands of you and of the crowd. I think it’s so important that people indulge in the moment and let that moment be now and nothing else. That’s the beauty of life, and for me, that’s the beauty of DJing as well.” What: Stereosonic 2014 With: Tiësto, Scuba, Duke Dumont, Skrillex, Alesso, Steve Aoki and many more Where: Sydney Showgrounds When: Saturday November 29 – Sunday November 30 And: Balance Presents Kölsch out now through Balance

BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14 :: 35


club guide g send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week The Pharcyde

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29 Manning House

OutsideIn 2014 The Pharcyde + Seekae + Pantha Du Prince + Giraffage + Roy Davis Jr + Cut Copy (DJ Set) + More

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 26 CLUB NIGHTS

Beat Street 30th Anniversary Screening Play Bar, Surry Hills. 7pm. $5. DJ Tom Kelly Goldfish, Kings Cross. 9pm. free. The Wall - feat: Various Local And International Acts World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $5. Wet Wednesdays - feat: Aurora Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 10pm. free. Whip It Wednesdays - feat: Various DJs Whaat Club, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27 HIP HOP & R&B

Joyride Lo-Fi, Darlinghurst. 6pm. free.

CLUB NIGHTS

Goldfish And Friends - feat: Regular Rotating Residents Goldfish, Kings Cross. 10pm. free. Pool Club Thursdays - feat: Resident DJs Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 5pm. free. Red Bull Music Academy - feat: Lone + Alba + Ben Fester 36 :: BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28 HIP HOP & R&B

Citizen Kay The Roller Den, Erskineville. 7pm. $18.90. Hustler Fridays - feat: MC Shaba Hustle & Flow, Redfern. 7pm. free.

KLParty - feat: KLP + Kilter + Spenda C + Set Mo + Robustt + Capture + OpenEye + Ncrypt + Rit Locus + Hanabi Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. free. Loco Friday - feat: Various Live Bands And DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 5pm. free. Soul Control 28.11 - feat: Ben Sun + Ben Fester + Preacha The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 7pm. $15. Summer Series Launch Party - feat: Kaz James Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $18.40. Thank Funk It’s Friday The Ranch, Eastwood. 9:30pm. free. Wax Wars Round 4 - feat: Dameza + Nan Tablist + Speedracer + Subway Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. $5.

CLUB NIGHTS

As Paradise Falls + Enfield Liverpool PCYC, Sydney. 6pm. $10. Champain Lyf - feat: Adrian E + Drongo + Danny Banger + Jon Watts + Swerve + FM Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $10. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 10pm. free. Factory Fridays - feat: Resident DJs Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. Feel Good Fridays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free. Frisky Fridays Scubar, Sydney. 5pm. free.

Cakes - feat: 4 Rooms Of Live Music + DJs And International Guests World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 10pm. free. El’ Circo - feat: Resident Circus Act Performers Slide Lounge, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $109. Frat Saturdays - feat: DJ Jonski Side Bar, Sydney. 6pm. free. KLP - feat: ISLND + Okenyo Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $11.30. LNDRY - feat: Maribou State + Pedestrian + Dave Winnel + Offtapia + Fingers + DJ Just 1 + Tyson Bruun + Here’s Trouble + Clueless DJs + Monday Morning Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.60. Masif Saturdays Space, Sydney. 10pm. $25. OutsideIn 2014 - feat: The Pharcyde + Seekae + Pantha Du Prince + Giraffage + Roy Davis Jr + Cut Copy (DJ Set) + More Manning House, University Of Sydney. 2pm. $87.60. OutsideIn After Party feat: Cut Copy (DJ Set) + Tornado Wallace + The Pharcyde + Seekae + Pantha Du Prince + Giraffage + Roy Davis Jr + Brenmar Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $15. Pacha Sydney - feat: The Only + Glover + Natnoiz + Ben Morris + Danny Lang + Fingers + Nanna Does + Just 1 + Samrai + Sushi + Nad + Stu Turner + Dylan

Sanders + Pro/Gram + Heke + Skoob + Trent Rackus Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $32.80. Sienna Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs The Establishment, Sydney. 9pm. free. Soda Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs Playing Disco And Funk Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. Something Else Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $20. Spice 29.11 - feat: Murat Kilic + Aaron Andrew + Dean Relf + Cassette + Guests The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 7pm. $25. Stereosonic 2014 - Feat: Skrillex + Alesso + Steve Aoki + Showtek + Dash Berlin + Carl Cox + More Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park. 1pm. $234.95. The Chop Round VIII feat: Scotty B The Digital Assassin + Prolifik The Gifted + Raine Supreme + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. free. UNDR Ctrl Summer Rooftop Series - feat: Canyons + Marcus King + Adi Toohey Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 10pm. $15.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 30 HIP HOP & R&B

One Day Sundays Vic On The Park, Sydney. 1pm. free.

CLUB NIGHTS

La Fiesta - feat: Samantha Fox + Agee Ortiz + Av El Cubano + Resident DJ Willie Sabor The Establishment, Sydney. 8pm. free. S.A.S.H Sundays Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 2pm. $10. Stereosonic 2014 - Feat: Calvin Harris + Tiesto + Diplo + Disclosure (DJ Set) + W&W + DJ Snake + More Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park. 1pm. $234.95. Sunday Sessions - feat: Cadell + Tom Kelly + Ocky Goldfish, Kings Cross. 4pm. free. Sunday Spice 30.11 The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 9pm. free. Sundays In The City - feat: Various DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 12pm. free.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 1 CLUB NIGHTS

Crab Racing Scubar, Sydney. 7pm. free. Mashup Monday - feat: Resident DJs Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. free.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 2 CLUB NIGHTS

Chu World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

2pm. $87.60. Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. free. The Spice Cellar 3rd B’Day - feat: Matthias Meyer + Murat Kilic + Robbie Lowe + More The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 7pm. $20. The World Bar Thursdays World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

CLUB NIGHTS

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29 HIP HOP & R&B

Vent - feat: Internal Rot + Black Jesus + Ether Rag + Tortured + Dark Horse + Michael Crafter + Vile Specimen + Viscera + Ivan & The Backpackers + Morbid Anal + Wounded Pig + Alf Stewart + Powerxchuck + Disparo + Hacked To Chunks + Frame 313 Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 1pm. $20.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27 Red Bull Music Academy - Feat: Lone + Alba + Ben Fester Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. free. The Spice Cellar 3rd B’Day - Feat: Matthias Meyer + Murat Kilic + Robbie Lowe + More The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 7pm. $20.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28 Citizen Kay The Roller Den, Erskineville. 7pm. $18.90. KLParty - Feat: KLP + Kilter + Spenda C + Set Mo + Robustt + Capture + Open-Eye + Ncrypt + Rit Locus + Hanabi Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. free. Soul Control 28.11 - Feat: Ben Sun + Ben Fester + Preacha The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 7pm. $15. Summer Series Launch Party - Feat: Kaz James Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $18.40.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29 LNDRY - Feat: Maribou State + Pedestrian + Dave Winnel + Offtapia + Fingers + DJ Just 1 + Tyson Bruun + Here’s Trouble + Clueless DJs + Monday Morning Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.60.

OutsideIn After Party - Feat: Cut Copy (DJ Set) + Tornado Wallace + The Pharcyde + Seekae + Pantha Du Prince + Giraffage + Roy Davis Jr + Brenmar Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $15. Pacha Sydney - Feat: The Only + Glover + Natnoiz + Ben Morris + Danny Lang + Fingers + Nanna Does + Just 1 + Samrai + Sushi + Nad + Stu Turner + Dylan Sanders + Pro/Gram + Heke + Skoob + Trent Rackus Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $32.80. Spice 29.11 - Feat: Murat Kilic + Aaron Andrew + Dean Relf + Cassette The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 7pm. $25. Stereosonic 2014 - Feat: Skrillex + Alesso + Steve Aoki + Showtek + Dash Berlin + Carl Cox + More Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park. 1pm. $234.95. UNDR ctrl Summer Rooftop Series Feat: Canyons + Marcus King + Adi Toohey Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 10pm. $15.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 30 S.A.S.H Sundays Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 2pm. $10. Stereosonic 2014 - Feat: Calvin Harris + Tiesto + Diplo + Disclosure (DJ Set) + W&W + DJ Snake + More Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park. 1pm. $234.95.

thebrag.com


Off The Record Dance And Electronica With Tyson Wray

I MAG I N E BE I NG MAD E TO

Tim Sweeney

FEEL LIKE CRAP JUST FOR

T

im Sweeney will return to Sydney next month. An Australian favourite and three-time Meredith alumni, Sweeney is celebrating the 15-year anniversary of his groundbreaking radio show Beats In Space, for which he’s just released a compilation of old and new favourites. Catch him at Goodgod on Friday December 19. Rising ghetto house star Kolombo has locked in a return to Sydney. Real name Olivier Grégoire, the Belgium producer first rose to prominence in 2012 with the release of his EP My Own Business, one that featured straight-up the filthiest basslines I’ve ever heard. In the past few years he’s only gone from strength to strength, releasing on labels such as Kompakt, 2DIY4, Warung, Noir Music, Turbo, Eskimo and our very own Future Classic. He’ll hit Chinese Laundry on Saturday February 7. Vancouver’s burgeoning purveyors of jazz-laden house, Liam Butler and Jack J, AKA Pender Street Steppers, will hit Sydney early next year. The duo debuted last year with a release on Mood Hut Cassettes titled Life In The Zone – a killer mixtape that contained 90 minutes of alloriginal productions spanning everything from Riviera disco to deep jazz-funk. They followed that up this year with their killer debut EP Bubble Up. They’ll hit Sydney on Saturday January 10. Venue TBA. Last here in February, Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets, AKA Detroit Swindle, will make a swift return to Sydney early next year. Favourites at seminal clubs such as Panorama Bar and Fabric, and with releases on labels of the ilk of Dirt Crew, Freerange and Tsuba, earlier this year they also released their sublime debut full-length,

Boxed Out. They’ll bring their deep-tinged house to Chinese Laundry on Saturday February 21. Where the hell did this Tom Trago tour come from? Out of goddamn nowhere, it seems. If you went out to any nightclub in Sydney during 2012 you’d no doubt be familiar with the Dutchman’s ubiquitous smash hit ‘Use Me Again’ (and the topnotch Carl Craig remix). Catch him this Saturday November 29 when he hits The Imperial Hotel. Other recommend tours that have just been announced: Pantha Du Prince at Oxford Art Factory on Saturday December 6, James Holden at Oxford Art Factory on Saturday December 13, and Daniel Avery on Saturday January 10 at a secret venue that will be revealed closer to the date.

BEING

LEFT

H A N D E D.

Okay, that’s hard to imagine? But being gay, lesbian, bi, trans or intersex is no different to being born left handed, it’s just who you are. So stop and think because the things we say are likely to cause depression and anxiety. And that really is pretty crap. GO TO LEFTHAND.ORG.AU TO WATCH THE VIDEO

STOP t THINK t RESPECT

Sad news: HNNY has cancelled his upcoming Australian tour. He was meant to be one of the headliners of OutsideIn (and playing at the after party), but took to Facebook to tell his fans that he was “burnt out” and that “something [about touring] didn’t feel right”. OutsideIn announced it’s locked in Cut Copy to perform their first DJ sets in Sydney in two years both at the festival and the after party. Best releases this week: holy moly, Mura Oka has just dropped Auftakt (on Latency) and it is legit one of the best things I’ve heard all year. Other highlights include The Cyclist’s Flourish (All City), Reagenz’s The Periodic Table (The Bunker New York), Session Victim’s See You When You Get There (Delusions of Grandeur), Cassegrain’s Centres Of Distraction (Prologue) and Imugem Orihasam’s Things For Laborers (Semantica).

RECOMMENDED FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28 Powell The Imperial Hotel Mike Huckaby Burdekin Hotel

James Holden Oxford Art Factory

SUNDAY DECEMBER 14 Vakula National Art School

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29 FRIDAY DECEMBER 19 OutsideIn: Pantha Du Prince, Seekae, Client Liaison Manning House, Sydney University

Tim Sweeney Goodgod Small Club

Tom Trago The Imperial Hotel

Lido, Sophie, Nadus, QT Metro Theatre

FRIDAY DECEMBER 5

Dubfire Greenwood Hotel

Move D The Spice Cellar

SATURDAY DECEMBER 6 Pantha Du Prince Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY DECEMBER 13 Robag Wruhme The Spice Cellar

SATURDAY DECEMBER 20

SUNDAY DECEMBER 21 House Shoes Sydney’s National Art School

THURSDAY JANUARY 1

Spice Afloat: Space Dimension Controller, Trus’Me, Oliver Koletzki, Niko Schwind Sydney Harbour

Got any tip-offs, hate mail, praise or cat photos? Email hey@tysonwray.com or contact me via carrier pigeon. thebrag.com

BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14 :: 37


snap

live review

up all night out all week . . .

What we've been out to see...

FLIGHT FACILITIES, CLIENT LIAISON Enmore Theatre Friday November 21 Since their highly anticipated debut LP Down To Earth dropped in late October, Flight Facilities have been on everybody’s radar. Sydney duo Hugo Gruzman and James Lyell staggered months of silence in between chart-crushing cuts, culminating in an album tour that sent Gumtree mad with back-to-back shows at the Enmore having sold out in a heartbeat. The final show for the tour, back on Sydney home turf, saw the jittery room packed out by the time Client Liaison sharpened the stage knives, heightening the buzz with their take on ’80s pop. Groove-ridden synth lines had the crowd bopping contently, mesmerised by the pair’s Flashdance-esque dancefloor tips. As soon as Flight Facilities took to the stage in full pilot attire, it was evident that the sudden expansion of their catalogue from a handful of songs to a beat-pushing lineup was in no way a deterring factor. This reviewer sends her deepest sympathies out to repeat buttons everywhere, their abuse resulting in the unfailing ability for the crowd (now jammed into every corner of the room) to sing along from the first bar of stellar opener ‘Two Bodies’.

golden features

An air host voiceover rang through a venue that temporarily felt like a plane on a runway, and ‘Down To Earth’ collaborator Owl Eyes took centre stage, her stunning chops gliding over the beat. Known to her ’rents as Brooke Addamo, Owl Eyes proved she has left her Australian Idol days in the dust, leading the bangers from well-loved FF track ‘Stand Still’ to the name-making ‘Crave You’. The patrons were taken for an emotional run, pounding the ground with dance at some points and swaying in a subdued rhythm-surrendering lull at others. A remix of Hermitude’s ‘Get Free’ cover sent the crowd wild, with FF’s ability to seamlessly transition from song to song – complete with a palette of intricately mixed sounds and samples – a blaring testament of their electronic mastery. The boys rounded off their hits with a half-hour DJ set, transforming the room into a killer warehouse party. However, they weren’t done yet, promising one more “special guest” surprise up their sleeve. Their ‘Love Is In The Air’ encore with John Paul Young – yes, it was actually him – added an extra air of authenticity to their last show that made you both love FF even more and fear the magnitude of their awesomeness all the same. Mina Kitsos

PICS :: AM

All this, of course, took place after a brief silence as the audience required a communal moment to absorb the astounding set-up before it – a huge LED

screen that spanned the back of the stage, fronted by monstrous decks with a neon-lit FF band logo on the front that illuminated the crowd alongside a blazing row of stadium lights.

23:11:14 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999

It’s called: Demiurge presents Powell It sounds like: Post-punk, techno, EBM, indus trial, no wave, experimental Acts: Powell (Diagonal, London), Moopie (Jealo us God, Melbourne), Noise In My Head (NTS Radio), fourtwo Three songs you’ll hear on the night: Powe ll – ‘So We Went Electric’; Einsturzende Neubauten – ‘Abfackeln!’; Nitzer Ebb – ‘Let Your Body Learn’ And one you definitely won’t: Marsen Jules Trio – ‘Coeur Saignant’ Sell it to us: Powell’s DJ sets are fast, unpre dictab few records off-limits. He prides himself in mergi le and surprising, with ng disparate references into something intense, coherent and unexpected . Summary: club shit innit! The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Having too much fun and meeting loads of cool people while dancing to visceral music all night long. Crowd specs: Adventurous music lovers of all forms. Wallet damage: Tickets $15 on Resident Advis or, $25 on the door. Where: The Imperial Hotel, 35 Erskineville Road, Erskineville When: Friday November 28, 10pm-6am. No lockout!

38 :: BRAG :: 590 :: 26:11:14

goldfish saturday

PICS :: AM

party profile

demiurge presents powell

22:11:14 :: The Goldfish :: 111 Darlinghurst Rd Potts Point 8354 6630 MAR S :: KATR INA CLA RKE :: ASH LEY OUR LOV ELY PHO TOG RAP HER

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c i s u m f o e t u t i t s n i N A I L A AUSTR aim.edu.au @ 5 1 0 2 r o f w o n enrol

For more information visit aim.edu.au or call Sydney: 02 9219 5444, Melbourne: 03 8610 4222


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