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(Formerly known as AICM)

BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14 :: 3

rock music news welcome to the frontline: the latest touring and music news...with Chris Martin and Gloria Brancatisano

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MICK GALLOWAY FROM THE BROKEN NEEDLES old-fashioned listen on your MiniDisc player and making up your own mind. We hate genre music as a rule, so we try not to tether ourselves sonically to anything that is going to sink and drown us anytime soon if we can help it. We are forever. Like MiniDisc players.

2.

Keeping Busy We just finished recording our second album at the start of the year. We started working on it way back in mid-2012 at our studio in Townsville, and then relocated the whole operation down to Melbourne in late 2012 to finish it off. Since then it’s been playing shows around Melbourne, mixing, mastering and waiting for the vinyl to come back from the pressing plant. The record is called Holy Coast and it’s out now – we couldn’t wait for all of our mums to hear it. Your Profile We’re from North Queensland but we 1. are based in Melbourne these days because North Queensland is hot as hell and they don’t allow music there. We don’t really fit in too well in either place, but we get by. We play some sort of ungodly chimera of noise,

country and soul music, I guess, but that’s only half the story and it’s constantly changing. Sometimes it’s really noisy and violent or dangerous, and sometimes it’s really quiet and tender or soulful, and that’s the way we like it. Everyone has a different way of describing us, though, so your best bet is having a good

Best Gig Ever Let’s not dwell on the past. The Holy 3. Coast album launch on Saturday June 28 at FBi Social with Devotional and Joseph Liddy & The Skeleton Horse is going to break the Guinness World Record for the Best Gig of All Time. We will have official judges from

NICK CAVE SOLO

MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ONLINE EDITOR: Tyson Wray ONLINE COORDINATOR: Emily Meller SUB-EDITOR: Georgia Booth STAFF WRITERS: Alasdair Duncan, Jody Macgregor, Krissi Weiss, Augustus Welby NEWS: Gloria Brancatisano, Chris Honnery, Amie Mulhearn, Erin Rooney ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Belinda Dipolo, Katrina Clarke, Luke Lotty, Ashley Mar, Ben Symons 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: Emily Meller, Erin Rooney - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Erin Rooney, Amie Mulhearn, Nic Liney REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Ian Barr, Keiron Costello, Marissa Demetriou, Rachel Eddie, Christie Eliezer, Blake Gallagher, Chris Honnery, Cameron James, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Pamela Lee, Alicia Malone, Adam Norris, Daniel Prior, Kate Robertson, Amy Theodore, Leonardo Silvestrini, David Wild, Harry Windsor, 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 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Luke Forrester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Thursday 12pm (no extensions) Artwork/ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Ad cancellations: Tuesday 4pm Published by Furst Media P/L ACN 1112480045 All content copyrighted to Cartrage P/L / Furst Media P/L 2003-2014 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get the BRAG? Email distribution@ furstmedia.com.au or phone 03 9428 3600 PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: www.spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204

4 :: BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:64

Bob Dylan

DYLAN AT THE OPERA HOUSE

It’s an iconic venue for an iconic songwriter. Bob Dylan’s recently announced Australian tour now includes a date at the Sydney Opera House, following three shows at the State Theatre. While the Opera House will file this one under its contemporary music banner, Dylan’s career comfortably predates even the building itself – it was opened in 1973, when the US folk singer born Robert Allen Zimmerman had been on the scene for more than a decade already. In any case, two 20th century icons meet when Dylan arrives at the Concert Hall on Sunday September 7. Tickets go on sale 8am Friday July 4.

YOU ME AT SIX + TONIGHT ALIVE

You Me At Six and Tonight Alive are joining forces to tour Australia this September. Britain’s You Me At Six have had a dizzying 12 months, including a sold-out show at London’s Wembley Arena, their latest studio album Cavalier Youth scoring top spot in the UK charts, and upcoming appearances at Reading and Leeds Festival. Meanwhile, local heroes Tonight Alive have been killing it overseas, and recently had a single on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack. UNSW Roundhouse is the venue on Saturday September 6 – tickets go on sale this Friday June 27.

Guinness there with clipboards and Geiger counters and stopwatches and everything. Current Playlist Van Morrison’s Veedon Fleece pretty 4. much lives on my turntable; I don’t even bother putting it back in its sleeve anymore. The War On Drugs’ new record has been getting a few spins lately. A bit of Funkadelic and Townes Van Zandt as well. Swans’ new record is pretty good too but I’m not allowed to play it because my girlfriend said no. Your Ultimate Rider Unfortunately we don’t get to file rider 5. requests because none of us are Mariah Carey. However, if we did: Kyle and Nestor would want Nintendos, Cahill would want a banana, and Matt and I would want a couple of cold beers. What: Holy Coast out now With: Devotional, Joseph Liddy & The Skeleton Horse Where: FBi Social When: Saturday June 28

Nick Cave

Nick Cave will embark on a rare solo tour of Australia later this year. Supported by a small ensemble of musicians, Cave will perform a career-spanning setlist, which most recently includes 2013’s Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ release Push The Sky Away. The album went gold in Australia and scored two ARIA Awards (for Best Independent Release and Best Adult Contemporary Album). Cave will hit the State Theatre on Thursday December 11 and Friday December 12. Tickets go on sale Thursday July 3.

BIGSOUND 2014

BIGSOUND has pulled out the big guns with its first live lineup announcement for 2014. Dropping more than 80 acts, and with dozens still to come, this year is set to be one of its best yet. Leading the way are Gold Fields, DMA’s, Holy Holy, Bad//Dreems, Client Liaison, Kingswood and Remi. They will be joined at the festival by Seekae, Deep Sea Arcade, Thelma Plum, HITS, Sampology ft Tom Thum & Jordan Rakei, Blank Realm, D.D Dumbo and many more, over two nights in 14 venues. BIGSOUND takes place Wednesday September 10 and Thursday September 11 across Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley precinct.

DAMIEN JURADO

Seattle’s Damien Jurado is heading Australia’s way to play Brisbane Festival in September, and he’s now added a Sydney sideshow to his schedule. The tour follows the release of Jurado’s 11th studio album, Brothers And Sisters Of The Eternal Son, his third record with producer

Richard Swift (The Shins, Foxygen). The concept album returns Jurado to the fictional surrounds of Maraqopa (like the 2013 album of the same name), where he fills his songs with experimental folk songs and vivid lyricism. Jurado plays the Factory Theatre on Saturday September 20 with Summer Flake and Julia Jacklin in support.

THE RISE OF BROTALITY

It seems Aussie metalcore purveyors I Killed The Prom Queen are fans of How I Met Your Mother. The quintet has borrowed a Barney Stinsonism to announce its Rise Of Brotality tour – geddit? – alongside fellow Epitaph bros The Ghost Inside. The bromance sees the bands co-headlining an extensive run of Septembro dates, including Newcastle’s Cambridge Hotel on Sunday September 9, Wyong’s Oasis Youth Centre on Saturday September 13 and UNSW Roundhouse on Sunday September 14. Joining the fraternity are support acts In Hearts Wake, Bury Tomorrow and Hellions. Tickets go on sale Thursday June 19.

Husky

JOE SATRIANI

For the first time since 2008, guitar professor Joe Satriani will be returning to Australia for a run of headline shows this November. With a career spanning almost three decades, a string of Grammy Award nominations and a discography as long as your arm (including the first instrumental guitar album to break into the US top 40), Satriani has earned himself a reputation as one of rock’s most talented guitarists. Now, off the back of his 14th studio album, Unstoppable Momentum, he will be returning to Australian stages. Joining him onstage is Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai) on keyboards, bassist Bryan Beller (Dethklok, Dweezil Zappa) and drummer Marco Minnemann (Adrian Belew, Steve Wilson). Be there when they take over the State Theatre on Thursday November 6. Tickets go on sale Friday June 27.

HUSKY RETURN

With news of their new single ‘I’m Not Coming Back’ due out later this month – turns out they’re back after all – Husky have announced they will be heading around the country this July to support it. Playing songs from their 2012 debut release, Forever So, as well as giving the audience a taste of their forthcoming LP, Husky will play intimate venues in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Fremantle, Sydney and Brisbane. It’ll be their first run of shows since 2012. See them at Newtown Social Club on Thursday July 31.

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BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14 :: 5

live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Chris Martin and Amie Mulhearn

on the record WITH

The First Thing I Recorded My aunty and I had our own radio show 3. and we regularly made cassette tapes of our

months. KISS, Dragon, Cold Chisel, Sherbet and AC/DC were all my heroes. Bon Scott and Angus Young were my heroes. They were the first forces to rock my little world. I was six years old. I still play that single and it makes me feel the same as it did back in 1977.

fave songs with hysterical impersonations and reviews about each artist and the music. She was my most influential confidant throughout my childhood. I would try and sing like everybody. We regularly played ABBA at full volume and scared the cows away from the house. It was the happiest time of my early life. The Last Thing I Recorded Lovelife. The new album features the title 4. track I wrote for my wife about our journey, and a co-write with the album producer Paul Gray called ‘We Danced All Night’. We had a cuppa and created a list of all the covers we had played over the past 20 years together and as soon as we started demoing them

we stopped writing because we realised my audience were going to fall in love with these fresh interpretations of some classic songs. The Record That Changed My Life Shine by Daniel Lanois. I had a year 5. off in 2003 and moved into a house on the beach and got up every day and painted whatever I wanted to paint and wrote songs about anything I was feeling. It was an incredible experience. I didn’t listen to many vocal albums but I was very busy finding classical music and traditional Indian music to accompany my artistic endeavours. Shine was the album I played every sunset when I opened a bottle of something. It is one of the most beautiful and powerful collections of original songs I have ever heard. The production is sublime and the performances are mesmerising. It is very important to me. I can hear the opening track ‘I Love You’ and I am covered in goosebumps. What: Lovelife out now through Pelican Dreaming/MGM Where: The Studio, Sydney Opera House / Hunter Theatre, Newcastle When: Friday June 27 / Saturday June 28

Duan, Slam and Mondo, collectively known as ManaLion, are the band about town this week. Dirty roots is their game, and they’ll be getting it on at Manly’s Sugar Lounge on Friday June 27, the Metro Theatre on Sunday June 29 (opening for Katchafire), and at Beach Road Hotel next Friday July 4. ManaLion are looking forward to their debut album release this September and a national tour with Rebel Souljahz, but get the inside running on them now, while you have the chance.

HEAVY ARTILLERY

Sydney five-piece A Girl’s A Gun have added a new raft of tunes to their arsenal, collected under the title of new EP Head Up, Above The Clouds. The rock’n’rollers count the Stones and The Black Crowes amongst their main influences, and prove just that on new single ‘More Than A Wink’. They’ll be launching the EP at Lewisham Hotel on Saturday June 28, with support from Narla.

Having already released a contender for album of the year in Love Letters, Brit fourpiece Metronomy are coming our way for Splendour In The Grass 2014 and a Sydney sideshow. Despite pushing a distinctly modern sound, Metronomy’s bandleader Joseph Mount told the BRAG in a recent interview that recording in the vintagefocused Toe Rag Studios in London gave Love Letters a clear direction: “When you are recording in a studio like that with such limitations, you’ve got no choice but to have the vocal perfect … I think in the past I might have tried to hide behind the effects a lot more.” There’ll be no hiding when Metronomy play the Metro Theatre on Monday July 28 with support from Circa Waves, and we’ve got a prize pack to give away including a double pass and a copy of Love Letters on vinyl. To be in the running, head to thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us why you like things vintage.

xxx

MANALION

Enerate

METRONOMY

GREENE’S GOLD

Paul Greene & The Other Colours’ One Lap Of The Sun national tour continues through the east coast, with rescheduled dates confirmed from this week. Following on from their 2012 ARIA Award-nominated album Behind The Stars, Paul Greene & The Other Colours have returned with an eighth studio album and a tour to go with it. After years of extensive touring and performances with Ani DiFranco, Patty Griffin and Alvin Youngblood Hart, Greene has earned a reputation as being one of the most hardworking musicians in Australia. He’ll bring his band to Venue 505 on Friday June 27, Newcastle’s Stag & Hunter Hotel on Saturday June 28, and The Brass Monkey on Thursday July 24. Leroy Lee will play in support.

Timomatic

OUCH, THAT HURST

Sydney locals Hurst are set to unload their melting pot of hard rock, gospel and blues onto a hometown audience. The band is celebrating the launch of forthcoming debut single ‘Whine’ with a free headlining show, having already toured nationally with Glass Towers. Hurst play Captain Cook Hotel on Friday June 27.

GET FUNKED UP

SWEET TUNES

Marble Bar’s Sweet Tunes lineup this week – Wednesday June 25 – features Green Mohair Suits, an all-star collective of local performers (Brian Campeau, Richie Cuthbert, Jason Mannell and Ben Romalis) getting their country on. Also on the bill are sprightly local foursome Enerate, whose good looks are matched only by the catchy synthpop of latest single ‘I Think I Love’. Vanessa Caspersz will open proceedings – she’s a singular Blue Mountains beatboxing and singing phenomenon who does things with the microphone that most of us couldn’t do with three laptops and a loop pedal.

We’re going down, down, down to funky town. The only way is funk at Frankie’s Pizza this Sunday June 29, when the Funked Up extravaganza hits stage with an impressive bill featuring Gang Of Brothers, Bonez, Darryl Beaton Band, Lepers And Crooks, The SideTracked Fiasco, Bootleg Rascal, Shamanic and Blaq. Expect hot pizza, cold beer and groovin’ good times, and it’s all for free. Funk yeah!

THE CRIMSON PROJEKCT

They’ve kept us waiting, but at last The Crimson ProjeKCt’s rescheduled tour dates arrive this week. Friday June 27 sees them hit The Hi-Fi, and it’ll be a special event indeed – a chance for fans of King Crimson to see Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto in cahoots with Markus Reuter, Julie Slick and Tobias Ralph for three hours of post-prog mayhem. Over a long career, the Crimsonites between them have collaborated with the likes of Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, John Lennon, Nine Inch Nails and plenty more, so their latest ProjeKCt – two trios in one – will be quite the show.

6 :: BRAG :: 567 :: 18:06:14

JMC ACADEMY

The Crimson ProjeKCt

Xxxx

Last Record I Bought High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen. My 2. The

Metronomy

DARREN PERCIVAL

wife Amanda and I are huge Bruce fans and we managed to see him a few times on the last few tours. There is something indescribable about The Boss and his live shows. I opened for him in Mahalia Barnes’ band in NZ in March. I stood in the wings and watched the whole show from the foldback desk. Insane. Best songwriter alive today and still touring.

The First Record I Bought T.N.T. by AC/DC in Parramatta with my 1. pocket money that I had saved for several

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

JMC Academy officially launches its new Ultimo campus this Friday June 27 with an alumni awards night hosted by Angela Bishop and featuring a live performance from James Reyne, who teaches songwriting at the school. The creative industries institution was established in 1982, and over its 22 years has not only expanded to campuses in Melbourne and Brisbane, it’s also produced an impressive list of talent including ARIA Award nominee and Australia’s Got Talent judge Timomatic, Edge 96.1 personality Emma Chow, Happy Feet Two audio engineer Daniel Brown and many more to be recognised on the night.

thebrag.com

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BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14 :: 7

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR * AC/DC’s Brian Johnson says they’re “likely� to tour before the end of the year. * Ian Haug of Powderfinger has stepped into the ranks of The Church after original guitarist Marty Willson-Piper was not available for their new album (Further Deep, due in September) and live work around it. * A man who went online and claimed his two babies were named after Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon and Ghostface Killah says the story is a hoax. * The Wanted and Justin Bieber manager Scooter Braun has signed on Sheppard for the US, convinced that their triple platinum ‘Geronimo’ could hit number one there. * Another live music showcasing hotel has changed hands: The Cambridge Tavern in Fairfield is said to have sold for over

$20 million by TWL Hotels. * Rapper 360 broke down during a radio interview while recounting how he talked a Facebook friend out of suicide by warning her mother. * LA-based Australian R&B pioneer and humanitarian Alston Koch was honoured at the United Nations in New York last week before global dignitaries and ambassadors. The event was the Humanitarian Summit with The 2nd Annual Global Officials of Dignity (G.O.D.) Awards, presented by We Care For Humanity. Koch was honoured as the World Artist of the Year. * NSW Central Coast outfit Little Earthquake had their ‘Brightside’ video removed by YouTube because of a scene involving a dead fish. The storyline shows singer Matt Hyland discovering the fish is dead and hallucinating about taking it on a drinking bout. Hyland said, “At no time did we harm a fish,� explaining they used a dead fish from a local aquarium.

VANCE JOY, SIA WIN AT APRA AWARDS Vance Joy and Sia were among the major winners at Monday’s APRA awards in Brisbane. Joy’s ‘Riptide’ took Song of the Year and Pop Work of the Year. Sia was named Songwriter of the Year for the second consecutive year after last year writing for superstars as JLo, Beyonce, Rihanna and Katy Perry. She also made APRA history by winning the category for two years in a row. New Zealand APRA members Ella Yelich-O’Connor (Lorde) and Joel Little took the inaugural Outstanding International Achievement Award.

* Four Foo Fighters fans in Richmond, Virginia (Dave Grohl’s home state) crowdfunded an imaginary concert and raised $70,000 to address the fact the band hadn’t played there since 1998. As a result, the Foos agreed to play. * Melbourne DJ and 360 Agency owner Grant Smillie opens his restaurant, EP, with adjoining rooftop bar Long Play in Los Angeles in November. He’s teamed up with Swedish House Mafia, David Combes, and models Ashley Hart and Buck Palmer. * Following on from the chart success of his EP, Launceston DJ Akouo AKA Ryan Farrington plans to move to either Melbourne or Sydney. * Drummer Mike Byrne has left The Smashing Pumpkins. * Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson, Jr., will play his dad in the new N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton.

Birds Of Tokyo’s ‘Lanterns’ won two awards: Most Played Australian Work of 2013 and Rock Work of the Year. Breakthrough Songwriter went to Louis Schoorl who wrote or co-wrote 88 songs in 2013, including with 360, Daniel Johns, Taylor Henderson, Jessica Mauboy and Jai Waetford’s ‘Your Eyes’. The collaboration of Bliss N Eso and Bluejuice (with Alexander Burnett) took Urban Work for ‘Act Your Age’. Lee Kernaghan, Colin Buchanan and Garth Porter won the Country Work category for Kernaghan’s tribute to Slim Dusty, ‘Flying With The King’. Flume took Dance for ‘Holdin’ On’ and John Butler had his fourth

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First Soundz feat. DJ Maveriq, Sequel, URKii + More

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Fri 11 Jul

Wed 23 Jul

Wed 13 Aug

Tankard (GER)

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win in Blues & Roots with ‘Only One’. Wally De Backer and Luiz Bonfa again scooped Most Performed Australian Work Overseas for ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’. Pharell Williams, Robin Thicke and Clifford Harris got International Work for ‘Blurred Lines’. Lindy Morrison OAM was presented the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music by fellow Go-Between, Amanda Brown. Sheppard performed Thorpie’s ‘Most People I Know (‘Think That I’m Crazy’). Colin Hay and Gossling did The Preatures’ ‘Is This How You Feel?’. Melody Pool and Ben Salter covered ‘Lanterns’. Megan Washington redid ‘Riptide’ and Kirin J Callinan took on The Drones’ ‘A Moat You Can Stand In’. Jarryd Klapper and 5THS from TZU did Matt Corby’s ‘Resolution’. Lindy Morrison, Amanda Brown and Robert Vickers were joined by Big Scary for ‘People Say’. In a tribute to Jim Keays, Carol Lloyd and band did ‘Because I Love You’.

LIVE PERFORMANCE MAKES $586.5M FOR NSW NSW’s live performance industry makes $586.5 million for the state economy, says a new report by music association Live Performance Australia. The Size And Scope Of The Live Performance Industry is based on 2012 figures. The national industry generated $2.55 billion and contributed over $1.5 billion to the Australian economy. It has 34,131 employees, more than the 20,439 people employed in film and video. NSW and Victoria comprise 65% of the value of the industry. NSW has the highest value add per capita at $79.79. Contemporary music is the largest area of the sector, generating an output of $830.9 million and contributing $564.0 million to the Australian economy.

INDIES LASH BACK AT YOUTUBE Indie labels are lashing back at YouTube, which plans to block content from indies which refuse to license its upcoming ad-free subscription service. They say the terms are unfair and lower than those offered to acts on majors Universal, Sony and Warner. Alison Wenham, CEO of the London-based Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), said, “By refusing to engage with and listen to the concerns of the independent music sector, YouTube is making a grave error of commercial judgment in misreading the market.� Stu Watters of the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) told AAP, “What you have here is a large corporate that is using its overwhelming market power to offer a substandard deal to the independent sector that is out of kilter with market agreements that are already in place with other streaming services.�

DAN ZILBER COLLABORATES ON MUSICAL STORE APP Dan Zilber, outgoing general manager of music at FBi Radio, has collaborated with cultural and lifestyle retail destination The Galeries on the first Musical Store Directory app. It allows customers to browse and interact with retailers by mood or genre through audio spotlight technology. Zilber said the app tracks include commercial hits, obscurities, uptempo and slow, and influential jazz and blues songs that some might not have heard. “Given my love of home-grown artists, there are a few emerging acts who are on the rise and are building a solid fan base such as Movement and Elizabeth Rose.�

QUICK RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM OPENS MusicNSW has announced its 2014 Quick Response Grant Program. It supports artists and artist managers in developing export opportunities while attending Aussie industry conferences and trade fairs such as BIGSOUND, Face The Music and AWME this year. Artists and artist managers are invited to apply for one-off funding of up to $650 per member of the touring party up to a limit of $5,500. See musicnsw. com/2012/08/quick-response-funding-2014.

NATIVE TONGUE CELEBRATES TEN YEARS Sat 6 Sep

Fri 12 Sep

Sat 27 Sep

Sat 22 Nov

DevilDriver

El Gran Combo

Rebel Souljahz (USA)

Toxic Holocaust & Iron Reagan

Independent publisher Native Tongue plans to celebrate its tenth year with “special events and further big announcements�. Some of this has to do with the expansion of the two-year old Native Tongue America, set up as a joint venture with its US sync agency Sugaroo! to represent its catalogue

after successfully landing Australian and NZ tracks there. Set up by Chris Gough in 2004, Native Tongue is helmed by his son Jaime. Its roster includes Cut Copy, The Waifs, The Amity Affliction, Oh Mercy, Calling All Cars, Gossling, Clairy Browne and the Bangin’ Rackettes, Gin Wigmore, Dialectrix, Wagons, Plutonic Lab, Black Seeds and Phoenix Foundation.

LIVE NATION PARTNERS WITH QANTAS Concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment Australia and New Zealand has partnered with Qantas in a multi-year agreement. Qantas will fly its international touring acts around the region. The promoter and the airline will collaborate on integrated marketing opportunities across Live Nation’s online platforms, content, concerts, hospitality and ticketing operations. For Qantas, it means more international sales and benefits for its frequent flyers with preferential ticket offers. The deal was brokered by Sydney entertainment partnership agency mixitup.

Lifelines Engaged: Lorde’s parents, civil engineer Vic O’Connor and poet Sonja Yelich, at Niagara Falls after 30 years together and five children. Hospitalised: Melbourne nightclub promoter Michael Harris, 30, needed reconstructive surgery after he was attacked and kicked in the face by two men while walking alone in South Melbourne. He was left with a broken nose and jaw. He is a promoter for the Emerson and Baroq House clubs. Hospitalised: Sydney DJ and Hed Kandi global ambassador Jack McCord remains in a coma in a Darwin hospital after a motorbike accident in Bali last Friday. The 46-year-old broke most of the bones in the left side of his body and needed an eight-hour operation. The Australian dance community raised $65,000 by the weekend to get him to Darwin; fundraising continues. Injured: Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe took to Instagram to report he burned his penis while driving with a cup of hot coffee between his legs. Injured: Nova 100 online content producer Brad Guy cheated death in a tandem skydiving accident. Just before jumping out of a plane at 14,000 feet he yelled, “I hope my parachute opens!� It didn’t. In Court: a US judge has dismissed a plagiarism lawsuit against Lady Gaga that claimed her hit single ‘Judas’ ripped off parts of Chicago musician Rebecca Francescatti’s 1999 track ‘Juda’. He found the two “not substantially similar�. Died: one of the world’s greatest songwriters and “poet laureate of teen pop,� Gerry Goffin, at 75. He and his one-time wife Carole King wrote classics like ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?’, ‘The Loco-Motion’, ‘Up On The Roof’, ‘It Might As Well Rain Until September’ and ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’. He later co-wrote Whitney Houston’s ‘Saving All My Love For You’ and Diana Ross’ ‘Theme From Mahogany’. Died: US jazz pianist Horace Silver, a pioneer of hard bop, 85. Hard bop was bebop mixed with gospel and R&B, which he utilised in his spiritual journey. The piano riff in 1965’s ‘Song for My Father’ was used by Steely Dan for ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’; the opening horn riff by Stevie Wonder for ‘Don’t You Worry ’Bout A Thing’; the opening basslines by Earth Wind & Fire for ‘Clover’; while the chords were used in The Style Council’s ‘Me Ship Came In!’ Died: Christian Houllemare, Sydney bassist (Happy Hate Me Nots, New Christs, Someloves). After playing in punk bands in France, he moved to Australia in the ’80s. He was a long-time employee of APRA.

ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, BUILDING 220, 122 LANG RD, MOORE PARK, SYDNEY

8 :: BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14

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I M A G I N E B E I N G M A D E TO

FE EL L IKE CRAP JU ST FOR

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

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KASABIAN

THE MAKING OF

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY

T

he media tends to project a simplified image of Kasabian as a group of lairy hedonists with a messiah complex. This conception isn’t unfounded, but the discussion wouldn’t linger if the band’s creative output weren’t capable of sustaining interest. When the BRAG catches up with guitarist and creative leader Serge Pizzorno, he’s quick to clarify that these peripheral details aren’t particularly interesting to him. “I don’t care about any of the success, money, fame – all that nonsense. The only thing I care about is the making of stuff. That’s why I get up every morning buzzing to get into the studio.” Earlier this month Kasabian released their fifth LP, 48:13. In the lead-up to the record’s release, UK publications like ShortList and The Guardian again drew attention to the Leicester lads’ bravado-laden self-appraisal. Indeed, during our conversation, Pizzorno doesn’t shy away from statements elevating his group’s significance. However, it becomes apparent that this estimation stems from his fierce determination, which goes hand-inhand with the compulsive creative tendency. “We have this element that makes us unique – [we’re] trying to push rock music forward, make new rock music. I so love the late ’60s. I love all the music that was created there – the avant-garde stuff like Silver Apples and obviously the Stones and The Who and all that stuff. We know what they used to sound like and we know how amazing that was, but let’s figure out what they would sound like if they were making music now.”

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“I’ve always loved exploring,” he says. “That’s why on each record I sort of go off. I get bored. If a formula’s working, artistically it doesn’t do anything for me. I love just trying things and moving around.” Nevertheless, he’s also in tune with the critical task of making music with popular accessibility. “What’s amazing about our band is we bring loads of people together from all walks of life, from all angles,” he says. “There’s a huge part of me that’s like, ‘Let’s go so experimental and so insane and blow people’s minds,’ but then you’d lose a lot of that element of what we are. When you listen carefully there’s a lot of avant-garde, there’s a lot of experimentation going on, but there’s also a great hook or great melody that people can connect to and relate to. And that’s amazing. I’ve realised over time that that’s what makes us unique.” Pizzorno isn’t the type of songwriter who commences work on an album purely for the sake of it. Before immersing himself in the gruelling process he needs to decipher the chief creative objective. For 48:13, reaching an understanding of what constitutes Kasabian’s essential appeal had a major influence on the record’s framework. “[Albums] always start with a kind of vision, where you’re like, ‘Right, this is where my head’s at, this is where I want to explore.’ This one was to make everything direct – like distilled Kasabian.” For a band so commonly associated with a fixed image, Kasabian have never been guilty of releasing the same record twice. The formal act of stylistic divergence is one thing, but continually progressing whilst maintaining quality and pleasing a massive fan base is something else entirely. Kasabian’s music grabs widely from the past, but the band doesn’t exclusively mimic one artist or genre. For instance, even though they still get tagged as Oasis descendants, they’re just as likely to reference Kraftwerk or trip hop.

“ROCK MUSIC’S FALLEN BEHIND – DEFINITELY [BEHIND] HIP HOP AND ELECTRONIC MUSIC – BECAUSE IT’S JUST NOT MOVED ON. SO WE’RE TRYING TO MOVE IT ON, TO MAKE THE NEW ROCK’N’ROLL.” “The combination of electronic music, hip hop and late ’60s rock’n’roll – [I try] to take elements from all those three things and rearrange them, put them back together and create a new sound,” Pizzorno explains. “Rock music’s fallen behind – definitely [behind] hip hop and electronic music – because it’s just not moved on. So we’re trying to move it on, to make the new rock’n’roll.” There’s a big difference between paying homage to the past and making an innovative statement, communicating a strong sense of right now. “I buzzed off the Kanye record [Yeezus] for that reason,” says Pizzorno. “Not necessarily all the songs or as a piece of work, but he just did something with hip hop. He’s dropped a massive move. I want this record to have that with rock music – for kids in bands to listen to it and go, ‘Oh, we don’t have to just use these guitars,’ and, ‘We’ve got a great song, it doesn’t have to stop there.’ “That’s why I love Tame Impala. The techniques [Kevin Parker] uses and his taste, it sounds like it’s made now, although you can hear where it’s coming from, which I buzz on. They’re truly an incredible band and I think he’s massively, massively talented. It’s about grabbing little pieces from things you love and then rearranging it and stitching it back together in a different order. Then it starts to be new.” Similar to Tame Impala’s Parker – who’s often stressed that his songwriting procedure has more in common with electronic production than jam band psychedelia – for 48:13, Pizzorno adopted a rather methodical approach to the melding and reapplication of those aforementioned stylistic touchstones.

“I don’t really turn up with an acoustic and go, ‘Oh, here’s a song.’ I’ll start with a beat or a loop or a bassline. The techniques are really modern. ‘Treat’ – that whole song started with a tiny loop, same as ‘Glass’. It’s sort of engineered that way; that’s just how I’ve always worked and what I’m into.” While hip hop-affiliated producer Dan The Automator (Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School) produced Kasabian’s last two records, Pizzorno decided to produce this one himself. It’s easy to give credit to Dan The Automator for keeping the rock riffs on 2009’s West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum from sounding pedestrian or stopping the intricate string sections on 2011’s Velociraptor! from becoming overblown, but Pizzorno says the songs’ defining characteristics have always originated with him. “I’ve learnt a lot from working with other people, but it’s always been my sound. It’s not like I’ve ever needed help with creating a sound. That’s just how I write. These ideas and these sounds, that’s how they all begin.” The fact that Pizzorno – Kasabian’s sole creative force – was now sitting in the producer’s chair meant the outcome of 48:13 was entirely up to him. Did the concertedly ambitious songwriter shudder under the gravity of this responsibility? Unlikely. “I’m conscious of always being free and I enjoy the risk more than anything, really,” he says. “I love the feeling where you’re not sure what’s going to happen. I always think the more you feel that way, the better the work. All the best records ever made, they must have all had that moment.” What: 48:13 out now through Columbia/ Sony Where: Hordern Pavilion When: Sunday August 10

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What’s particularly striking about Pizzorno’s immodest statements of intent is the sober manner with which they’re conveyed. He gives off the impression of merely rummaging through facts, rather than trying to prove a point. Then again, perhaps the songwriter’s considered disposition shouldn’t come as a

surprise. It’s his loutish sideman, vocalist Tom Meighan, who’s the more outspoken member of Kasabian. Pizzorno, on the other hand, is the thinker, the man committed to an artistic agenda.

Jack White Alone In His Home By Jaymz Clements

J

ack White’s position in pop culture is a complicated one. Few artists are as feted, yet so strangely opaque and confusingly contradictory, as the man born John Gillis in Detroit, Michigan. Since taking on the name – and persona – of Jack White, he’s steadily worked his way through the levels of rock stardom’s crust, and burned not a few bridges (and relationships) behind him. Depending on your view of him, he’s either the man keeping the creative spirit of rock alive as its be-hatted, guitar-toting saviour, or a gimmickpushing entrepreneurial charlatan; rock’n’roll’s version of Willy Wonka. Having successfully reinvented himself as a solo artist on Blunderbuss – “I think I’ve been sort of like… not allowing myself to call an album ‘Jack White’ [from] when we started,” he says – White toured his debut outing with two bands (the all-female Peacocks and the all-male Buzzards) for the next two years. Eventually he settled back into Nashville to write and record, all the while dealing with a divorce from then-wife Karen Elson.

Jack White photo by Mary Ellen Matthews

As a result, Lazaretto (an old term for quarantine hospitals) is a very different record – bigger, more unrelentingly in your face. Moments like ‘Alone In My Home’ feel like the downer side to The White Stripes’ ‘My Doorbell’ from Get Behind Me Satan, while ‘That Black Bat Licorice’ is delightfully bonkers and ‘High Ball Stepper’ is a brutal stomper. But the overall feeling is one of deeper, darker reflection, if not resentment. It also sounds

“These were ideas for something like a oneact play. A one-act play or a poem. They had nothing to do with music at all. [The idea was] to take that, rip it apart and change”.

thebrag.com

far more expansive than the characteristic, somewhat sparse, Jack White we’ve come to know. This approach came about through the use of something White had never had before: time. Lazaretto is the record that the 38-year-old father of two has spent the longest working on – 18 months – in his entire career; a move he made, he says, for family reasons. “When we fi nished touring at the end of the last record, I wanted to take a whole year off to be with my kids … a couple of years before that, I did take ten or 11 months off when my son was born to be with him as much as I could. “And I thought, ‘Well, since I’m doing that anyway, why don’t I – for the first time in my life – work at an album for a really long time? What would that be like?’ I’ve never done that. But this, I was working on it for a whole year. Sometimes I really liked it, sometimes I didn’t like it at all. It was a lot of new things I’ve learned by doing [it that way]. I’m glad about that and I’m glad I’ve learned so many good things.” No stranger to taking odd approaches to writing, White’s material on Lazaretto stems directly from his finding and using stories, poems and the like written by his 19-year-old self. While most of us would blanch at such an experience, it gave White a much-needed sense of perspective. “I thought about my younger self, and to be an experienced person now and an inexperienced person then – what can I tell myself, or where can I take myself to turn into something new? You know, I wrote a lot of things back then,” he says. “It wasn’t a scenario like, ‘Oh, I don’t have any ideas… thank God I found all these ideas!’” he laughs. “It wasn’t like that. These were ideas for something like a one-act play. A one-act play or a poem. They had nothing to do with music at all. To take that, rip it apart, and change into some other new things, or new songs – that was the idea. The music was all completely brand new as well. So it was interesting.”

He’s also adamant he’s not revealing as much as about himself on Lazaretto as people might believe. “I don’t think it says too much about me, personally, but it does say a lot about me as a songwriter and a producer. Because there’s definitely things I’ve never done before. So when I look at it or when I hear it, I go, ‘Wow! That’s not Jack White from The Raconteurs or that’s not Jack White from The White Stripes.’ This is Jack White from 2014, and I feel good about that. You know, in some ways, if I’m feeling, ‘Oh, it just sounds like I made another White Stripes record’ – I wouldn’t release it if I felt that way about it.” Even with his recent, since-apologised-for remarks about former collaborator Meg and

his bagging of The Black Keys, there’s no denying that being Jack White suits Jack White. His success has meant he’s been able to do things most artists would give their left arm for. Holographic vinyl releases; reissues of lost 1920s music; producing Neil Young at his Third Man studios; doing vinyl singles collections with artists from around the world – no matter what you make of him now, White is doing what he loves. So how does he feel about 19-year-old Jack today? “I just feel like he’s very lucky because he has got a whole world ahead of him,” he laughs. What: Lazaretto out now through Third Man/ Columbia

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Bell X1 Got Chops By Adam Norris

Sex On Toast Breakfast Of Champions By Dan Watt

A

dark horse, a diamond in the rough, a hidden gem – choose whatever analogous framing for ‘underrated’ you like, and apply it to Sex On Toast. This Melbourne band is an inexplicably talented nine-headed soul machine that is about to burst out from the unknown. Headed by enigmatic frontman Angus Leslie, Sex On Toast have been doing music for music’s sake for so long that their recent sold-out album launches came as a complete surprise. “It was great,” Leslie says. “We’ve really just done what we’ve always enjoyed doing and it’s great that people are enjoying [it] and coming to our shows. The Northcote Social Club show reached capacity so early that half our door list couldn’t get in.” Despite the recent attention, Sex On Toast have been working at their instrumentally diverse experimental music for some time, eventuating in the debut self-titled album that came out earlier this year. Going in a Quincy Jones and Prince-inspired neo-soul direction, the band is right in the mix of a booming Melbourne soul trend alongside Hiatus Kaiyote, Cactus Channel and Saskwatch – though Leslie stops short of saying Sex On Toast are part of a ‘scene’. “We kind of are and we kind of aren’t. There’s definitely some stylistic things that we’re doing that have absolutely nothing to do with that – the kind of Mr. Bungle-y, absurd Frank Zappa stuff we have been doing for years. There is bit more of soul and funk in our sound that I guess sees us grouped in with those groups; however, it is very specific.” The second single from Sex On Toast’s debut album is called ‘Hold My Love’; a sultry, smooth soul track dressed with Leslie’s baritone as he

pleads with an unseen lover. So drenched in romance is this tune, it drips with irony. “I would never want to get rid of that – I think that it is important to overtly have a sense of humour about what you’re doing,” says Leslie. “I don’t really like going to see stuff that is completely serious all the time. It’s great to see something that is fun and funny.” Leslie insists Sex On Toast comprise nine very serious musicians, but his tongue remains firmly in cheek as he introduces them. “Currently we have the Starr brothers, Alan [keys] and Philip [bass]. They reunited after a ten-year feud – they did a lot of sessions in the mid-’80s but the feud began when a hot chocolate was spilled. Well, Alan spilt a hot chocolate on Philip’s leg and he didn’t want to say sorry. “Then we have Bovril [Harrison], who is a trumpet player and singer, then James Bowers, who is a terrific keyboard player and talkboxer, [and] Zak Pidd, kind of a studly backing singer. There’s Louis King, the guitar virtuoso from Fairfield. Geez, there’s a lot of them – I hope I remember them… then there’s Johnny Bassoon, who is a pretty unique individual – he’s a classical bassoon player who is quite a wild improviser – he plays bassoon for the ladies. And then there’s Gary T, but he sells PCP so I shouldn’t really talk about him. Gary T plays the drums … I think the PCP confuses him and he doesn’t know if he’s onstage or offstage.” What: Sex On Toast out now independently With: Okenyo Where: The Vanguard When: Wednesday July 2

L

ord knows, I tried. And for the most part I like to think I succeeded. But then, midway through my interview with Paul Noonan from Bell X1, the unthinkable happened. I started slipping into an Irish accent. I tried to reign it back – keep it together, man, you’re a professional! – but it had suddenly become St. Patrick’s Day in my mouth, and in the end it was the best I could do not to invite the poor guy over for a Guinness and potato pie. Turns out that wouldn’t have been a ridiculous notion, given that pies are one of Noonan’s most enduring memories of his first experience in Australia. “I’d been over there before about 15 years ago,” he recalls on an early overcast morning in Ireland. “Our first record was produced by Nick Seymour of Crowded House. We went to visit him shortly after we wrote that record, so he was sort of our introduction to all things Australia. I remember that man made a mean meat pie. He used to brag about how important the white pepper content was.” Of crucial importance, I assure him. Still, 15 years is a long time between visits, especially when Bell X1 have developed into one of the most successful Irish bands around. In the last four years alone they have toured North America 11 times, and at home their success is only surpassed by a little group you may have heard of called U2. Yet they have held off on touring Australia, electing to wait until the timing was right. “I think we just reached a tipping point where we felt our records had percolated through enough,” says Noonan. “The last couple of releases had been well received, and I think with the amount of Irish people down there now it means you have an audience who knows you from back home, who will help spread the word … [But] we wanted to reach beyond the Irish community who already know us.” It will be an exciting, albeit brief opportunity for Australian audiences to catch a band renowned for its live performance. The entire

national tour will last just a week, which hardly seems like an ideal opportunity for the guys to get a sense of local colour or character. But frantic tour schedules are something Bell X1 have long grown accustomed to. “We’ve been together so long we’ve become a family, and so we hold each other in the familiar contempt that you hold your family in,” Noonan laughs. “So you’re comfortable sitting in a van grunting at each other occasionally to pass a magazine or whatever. Making music together can be a very intimate and vulnerable thing, especially the songwriter, where you’re revealing things that you wouldn’t ordinarily say. So you tap into quite a deep place with who you make music with. We’ve often gone through the process of writing a song together that’s pretty heavy, and don’t actually talk about it until we find ourselves doing interviews. Having played together for so long we don’t generally have to pause and explain everything as we go; we can communicate through the music more than anything else. There’s a great intuition there. “The thing about touring is – and it’s changed over the years – when we first started playing we were in our teens, and there’s an incredible wide-eyed wonder about it. The act of getting in the van and going somewhere, playing a show in front of people you don’t actually know, all of that is incredibly exciting. To be honest, we still get that, especially with places we’ve never been. We feel like we’re starting from the ground up; we’re starting back in small clubs, being able to look people in the eye. Being a musician, there’s something very primal about that, and there’s no substitute for it.” Where: Chop Chop out now through BellyUp With: The Phoncurves Where: The Hi-Fi When: Saturday July 5

Katchafire Light The Flame By Erin Rooney

I

t’s always nice to come home after a long day of work. And in the case of New Zealand reggae band Katchafire, returning home after a run of shows in Europe and the US is just part of the job description. But for lead singer and rhythm guitarist Logan Bell, touring is the best way to bring love to fans, to spread the ‘fire’. So this month, it’s Australia’s turn to share some of that love, with the seven-piece bringing its chilled vibes to our shores ahead of a new album due for release by the end of the year. The constant touring, says Bell, also gives Katchafire creative inspiration. “Definitely the boys have broadened our musical vocabulary travelling around the world and you’ll see a few of those styles coming through – maybe like some South American, you know, little hints of places and cultures and music that we’ve picked up along our travels.” Starting off their musical journey studying and playing music of the classic ’70s and ’80s era of reggae, the members of what is now Katchafire were initially a Bob Marley tribute band. Bell says that while they’ve taken plenty of influence from past reggae stars about how to write great songs –

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listening to them, he says, represents Katchafire’s “deep school of learning” – they’ve come to develop a sound of their own. “We get a lot of people asking us why we don’t have any females in the band, and we say, ‘Because we can still hit those high notes!’ But we take pride in that – the harmony is definitely, I would say, our point of difference in the genre of reggae music.” He’s not wrong, either. Since 1997, when the group formed, Bell and co. have really grown to perfect the warm sound that makes reggae such a peaceful genre to listen to. Last year, Katchafire released a Best So Far compilation. And though Bell says he’s always trying to better his past work, he still values Katchafire’s earlier material highly.

“There’s really something to be said about artists’ first albums,” he says. “They have the whole of their life to prepare for this first album, and then every one after that, they’ve only got a couple of years or however long it takes to put their album out – so it’s usually some of the artist’s best work that comes from that first album.” But part of being an artist for Bell is also about listening to what other people see in his work. “I still love other people’s interpretations of my songs, [and] not only with my old songs. When I wrote them, and my mindset, and my mood – everything comes back to me.” Katchafire’s Australian setlist will be tailored to the audience, showcasing a mixture of old crowd-pleasers and some tracks that

have seldom been performed live – but Bell also hints at the possible appearance of a new single currently being mixed in Jamaica. While he remains tight-lipped about the collaborators that have signed on for the band’s next studio album, the one thing we can be sure of ahead of Katchafire’s Sydney date is a mighty good time. “I think anyone who’s been to our gigs will know that we absolutely love getting the crowd to sing and getting them involved, you know, giving incentive at our gigs. It’s always good to have that exchange, and we love to get the crowd amped.” Where: Metro Theatre When: Sunday June 29 thebrag.com

King Buzzo Rough Democracy By Patrick Emery politics out of my music because I don’t want someone to be offended by something that’s got nothing to do with my music. I don’t make political statements with my music – I think the fact that I’m doing what I’m doing speaks for itself.” In that subjective context, Osborne explains his decision to write and release an acoustic record as simply a continuation of the artistic journey he commenced over 30 years ago. “There’s not a lot of stones unturned in my world,” he says. “I did an EP last year and then I realised I could do a full-length album. My tendency is to start things rolling, and then keep them rolling. Playing acoustic guitar live was always something that I had in the back of my mind. I’ve written a lot of our songs on acoustic guitar but on paper it didn’t sound like it would work – but it does.”

I

n the ’40s, folk singer Woody Guthrie adorned his battered acoustic guitar with the slogan that reflected both his philosophical position and his belief in the power of music as a political weapon: “This Machine Kills Fascists”. Buzz Osborne (AKA King Buzzo), lead singer of legendary scuzzpunk band Melvins, murmurs in appreciation when I locate the title of his new acoustic solo album, This

Machine Kills Artists, in the context of Guthrie’s famous rhetorical assertion. Osborne demurs, however, when asked to explain the meaning of his own skewed manipulation of the slogan. “I’d prefer to leave the intended meaning of the quotation open to interpretation,” Osborne says. “I think that’s important.” And while Osborne has made

the odd observation on politics in the past – including decrying both conservatism and classical liberalism – Osborne doesn’t see the inclusion of songs such as ‘Instrument Of God’, ‘How I Became Offensive’ and ‘Rough Democracy’ as reflecting a political aspect.

“I believe every guitar has its own songs in it,” Osborne says. “I will write a different song on acoustic guitar to an electric guitar. If you write a song on a cheap junk guitar, it’ll be different to a song written on a Les Paul – that’s just how it works. I don’t know why.”

“I try not to be associated with something as trivial as politics,” Osborne says. “I tend to leave

Not long before he died, Memphis musician Jay Reatard took to playing acoustic guitar in his live

age of nine, which may seem quite young, but he was a late bloomer in comparison to his brothers. “I struggled as a reader when I was six or seven years old,” he admits. “But at the same time, when I was three years old, I was sitting in my high chair or in my car seat and humming songs to my family members. Everybody’s born a certain way and with a certain set of skills, and for those of us who are musically inclined, it starts off relatively early.”

beer, Hanson invite fellow artists to join them in writers’ workshops: a week of creating, songwriting and recording. Since 2005, they have collaborated with a stream of big-name artists like Ben Kweller, Jason Mraz and even Weird Al Yankovic. Some of the songs recorded on the musical retreat form an annual fan club EP, which contains music that is often left of centre compared to their other material. According to Isaac, the retreat helps the artists to stretch their musical muscles.

When they’re not touring the world, recording albums and brewing

“The primary purpose of the event is to create, without preconceived

“I’ve never seen it that way. Bob Dylan was pretty punk rock back in the day – he wasn’t writing greasy pop tunes. He had a pretty dim view of the world, and I don’t think that’s changed. I’m not doing it to piss anyone off – I like what I’m doing. And I apologise for none of it.” King Buzzo’s initial acoustic EP included covers of a couple of Melvins tracks; his live set includes both tracks from the new record and a sampling of Melvins songs transposed to the acoustic format. But even with his revisiting of his past, Osborne is looking to move on and observe the public’s reaction to his latest artistic foray. “My favourite director is John Huston. He used to finish his movies, watch them in the editing suite and never watch them again,” Osborne says. “And I love that – by the time I put a record out I’m ready to move on. It’s already old news to me. It’s in the hands of the public now – I’m done. I can’t censor any of it now. Let the process begin.” What: This Machine Kills Artists out now through Ipecac With: Peter Black Where: The Small Ballroom, Newcastle / Newtown Social Club When: Wednesday August 20 / Thursday August 21

Hanson Sticking Around By Jacquie Congues

Y

ou might laugh at the memory, but it’s been more than 17 years since Hanson burst onto the ’90s pop scene and took over the world with the infectious single ‘MMMBop’ from their breakthrough album, Middle Of Nowhere. Since then, the three brothers from Tulsa, Oklahoma, have garnered an immense fan base – and no, it’s not just screaming pre-teen girls – released seven further studio albums, and even launched their own beer company, appropriately named Mmmhops. “It’s defi nitely full-bodied, high alcohol content pale ale,” laughs the eldest of the Hanson tribe, Isaac. “It has a lot of malt and has a nice hoppy mellow fi nish. We’re not sure whether we’re going to be able to bring it down to Australia or not, but we’re working on it.”

Hanson’s approaching foray Down Under comes off the back off their latest album, Anthem; a record heavily inspired by the energy of their live shows. “It’s the kind of music that might scare away certain people,” Isaac jokes. “But luckily, we have a really great connection with our fan base. I think they understand the eclecticness of who we are. On our records, even on Anthem, there are a lot of variations from the beginning to the end, stylistically speaking. I think we’re never afraid to be who we are, no matter what that entails.” Being true to themselves has been an imperative factor in Hanson’s lengthy career. The fresh-faced youngsters exploded onto the scene in 1997, when Isaac was only 16 and his brothers Taylor and Zac were 14 and 11 respectively. Given their subsequent departure from the colossal limelight cast upon them, it would be easy to assume the group must’ve experienced the same falling off the rails that so many young people within the thebrag.com

entertainment industries suffer. But they didn’t – according to Isaac, Hanson worked hard to ensure they didn’t become another clichéd tale of washed-up pop stars. “We’ve made a point to always take responsibility for what we’re doing,” he says. “I think we’ve been lucky that in the process, we kept our heads down and moved forward. Because the managers, the labels, the merchandise companies… they can go on to do other things, but forever and ever your name is on that thing you’re creating, and you’ve got to own it. “You can’t control what other people feel and what other people say,” he continues, “but you can control who you are and how you respond to things.” It’s this mature outlook that has helped Hanson maintain a strong connection with their diehard fans for the past 17 years, which sees them continue to sell out concert halls worldwide. And while he can’t pinpoint why their fans have maintained such loyalty, Isaac hopes their dedication toward the band is purely based on the music and nothing else. “I don’t know [why] for absolute sure. I’d like to think it’s because we write good pop songs, or because we put on a good show. It has to be on some level, at least, that the fans feel excited about the shows they saw, or an album they heard. Otherwise they wouldn’t come back again. But it’s hard to know for certain. I think we have always been unabashedly ourselves, from the very beginning until now. Nothing about who we are is either over-calculated or pretentious. We are who we are and maybe that’s why they stay.” Isaac’s history with music has been extensive, to say the least. He began writing songs from the

notion, without concern if it’s the right song for a record,” he says. “We are songwriters first, we are music fans first and we very rarely say we can’t do something, at least on a creative level. A good hook is a good hook – we’re just not afraid to chase that down, and it’s a lot of fun to do that.” What: Anthem out now through 3CG Where: Enmore Theatre / The Hi-Fi When: Friday August 8 / Wednesday August 13 BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14 :: 13

King Buzzo photo by Mackie Osborne

Osborne concedes that the acoustic format lends itself to a different style of songwriting, but says the songs on This Machine Kills Artists are more about the type of guitar he used than anything about the acoustic genre as a whole.

set – partly, Reatard claimed, to confront those members of the punk rock community who saw acoustic guitar as anathema to punk. Osborne, however, isn’t making such a provocative statement.

arts frontline

free stuff

arts news...what's goin' on around town...with Chris Martin, Amie Mulhearn and Erin Rooney

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

WITH

A Doll’s House

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five minutes KERRI GLASSCOCK FROM SYDNEY FRINGE FESTIVAL

Kerri Glasscock

What does Sydney Fringe Festival mean to Sydney? If asked to describe what the

What’s your vision for the future of the festival in 2014 and beyond? In the past four years the festival has been finding its feet as an event. The project is now at the stage where it can step up and stake its claim on the annual

#FOMO SHOW

events calendar of Sydney. This festival is unique to other fringe festivals around the world in that it is not attached to a main stage arts festival like Adelaide or Edinburgh, and it is so spread out geographically, which can be a challenge. I would like to see it embrace the natural cultural identity of the suburbs of Sydney and really celebrate the local artists, existing venues and cultural heart of the city. What are the highlights on the program announced so far? Much of our program is still super secret, but some of the most exciting new developments this year are our free public events. We will be hosting a roaming festival laneway bar that will move around the city from Darlinghurst to Sydenham with free music, films and art-based experiences. There will be a number of free family park day events and a new public forums program at the beautiful Eternity

Playhouse. Some of the most exciting developments this year are our partnerships with some terrific local arts organisations. How can people get involved with Sydney Fringe Festival this year? Come and enjoy what’s on offer – that’s the best way to get involved. Early bird ticket vouchers will go on sale in July, which give people exclusive first release tickets to our 350-odd events. Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date with free events and pop-up activity throughout the festival, or if you want to lend a hand we’re always in need of volunteers during the festival, so hop online and get in contact with us. What: Sydney Fringe Festival When: Monday September 1 – Tuesday September 30 More: sydneyfringe.com

A Doll’s House, by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, arrives in Sydney this winter under the direction of Adam Cook, former artistic director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia. The play has been causing controversy since its 1879 debut – at the time, for its criticism of 19th century marriage practices, and today for its bold commentary on feminist identity. Matilda Ridgway leads the cast in Sport For Jove’s production, joined by Doug Hansell, Barry French, Francesca Savige, Annie Byron and Anthony Gooley. A Doll’s House plays at the Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre from Thursday July 17 – Saturday August 2, as part of the Reginald Season 2014. We’ve got a double pass up for grabs to the Wednesday July 23 performance – for your chance to win it, head to thebrag. com/freeshit and tell us about your childhood doll’s house.

SEX, LOVE, INFIDELITY IN THE ROUND

Lonely Sculpture by Tully Arnot

La Ronde, featuring ten couples performing a round dance of love, sex and infidelity in ten scenes, will be performed next month by Sydney inner west theatre company Enigma. Written in 1897, Arthur Schnitzler’s psychological exploration of sex was met with uproar as copies were confiscated and performances banned. Until his death in 1931 he refused productions of the show following the public’s fiery reaction. From the 1950s onwards there have been numerous adaptations, and now Enigma will be bringing their own version of the stunning original text to the fold. La Ronde is playing at Coronation Hall (formerly the Australian Theatre) in Newtown from Wednesday July 2 – Saturday July 12.

Artereal Gallery will next month present a new group show, #FOMO, in which four artists explore that social phenomenon governing our 21st century lives. Tully Arnot’s Tinder-themed Lonely Sculpture will feature at the exhibit, depicting an automated finger going through the same mindless gesture as so many of the dating app’s users do every day. Also involved are Liam Benson and emerging artists Louise Zhang and Criena Court. #FOMO is on show at Artereal, Rozelle from Thursday July 3 – Saturday August 2.

Photo by Alicia Fox

A DOLL’S HOUSE

A Doll’s House phloto by Takaya Honda

A

s the Sydney Fringe Festival announces the first highlights from its 2014 program, we caught up with new Festival Director Kerri Glasscock about her vision.

independent arts mean to Sydney, I would find it very hard to put into words, but all of us Sydneysiders would feel an enormous loss if we no longer had that bubbling away underneath. This festival aims to once a year bring that activity to the surface to highlight the incredible work our independent artists are doing. It celebrates the cultural heart of Sydney, which is produced and created by the independent artists. It highlights the small venues that nurture and cultivate new works; it promotes artists to new audiences; it puts people back in touch with their community to show them what’s hiding just around the corner.

SYDNEY FRINGE FESTIVAL 2014

Martha Marlow

This year’s edition of Sydney Fringe Festival will run from Monday September 1 – Tuesday September 30, and a teaser program of festival highlights has just been announced. Running at more than 60 venues across the city, with over 300 ticketed productions and a free program alongside, the festival’s first week will open with a Live and Local program on Crown Street in Surry Hills, as the Fringe collaborates with the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA). Laneway bars will operate everywhere from Darlinghurst to Newtown and Sydenham, while younger festivalgoers are invited to the Family Picnic and Kids Program, including a special Father’s Day event on Sunday September 7. Martha Marlow and The Strides are among the initial announcements on the music lineup. The full Sydney Fringe Festival program will be announced in July – keep an eye on the BRAG and thebrag.com for details.

RICHARD III

PACHAMAMA

The Sydney Latin American Film Festival will present a collection of art, films, healing, talks, music and workshops in collaboration with Addison Rd Community Centre for the Pachamama Festival this week, as part of Open Marrickville. Attendees will enjoy premieres of some of the most exciting documentaries to come out of Latin America, celebrating Latin American stories of cultural connections to the land. In addition, panel discussions will be held discussing resilience and the impact that environmental threats such as mining can have on a community. Pachamama will take place from Thursday June 26 to Saturday June 28.

OUR LAND, MY EYES

Emerging Sydney artist Dylan Cooper presents his first solo art show next month, exhibiting a body of work that represents an abstraction of our land through his eyes. Raised along the northern coastline of NSW, Cooper draws inspiration from the everchanging natural environment of his youth and his fascination with humankind’s involvement in the land. Our Land, My Eyes is the result of years sketching and recording the east coast of Australia, detailing scenes from Queensland’s national parks down to the depths of Tasmania. It’s showing at Incinerator Art Space, Willoughby, from Sunday July 20 – Sunday August 3.

BEAMS Arts Festival

BEAMS LIGHTS UP CHIPPENDALE

The streets and laneways of Chippendale will again be taken over this year by the colours and lights of the Beams Arts Festival. Last time around, the inner city suburb was almost unrecognisable at festival time; a kaleidoscope of extraordinary sights on central Sydney’s doorstep. This year, for the festival’s third edition, the theme is ‘Utopia’. As many as 10,000 visitors are expected to attend this one-of-a-kind street party on Saturday September 20. xxx

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The Ensemble Theatre’s production of William Shakespeare’s famous play Richard III will feature encore performances at Riverside Theatres. To think it was only 450 years ago that Shakespeare graced the world with his presence. Mark Kilmurry and Patrick Dickson have adapted the 422-year-old Richard III in a way that holds true to the original whilst wildly reimagining it for modern theatre audiences. The production is brought to life by a talented cast including Danielle Carter, Patrick Dickson, Matt Edgerton, an onscreen appearance from Georgie Parker and Kilmurry himself as Richard III. The production runs at Ensemble Theatre until Saturday July 19 and at Riverside in Parramatta from Tuesday July 22 – Saturday July 26.

thebrag.com

Road Trip

Calvary

[COMEDY] Places Of Interest By Tegan Jones

C

omedians Damian Callinan and Mickey D will be visiting Sydney’s west this week for Road Trip, their new travelling comedy show. The only problem is, they haven’t written it yet. As unconventional as it seems, this is Road Trip’s raison d’être – to base an entire show on a town as they arrive. The concept makes sense for Callinan, who’s accustomed to travelling the land telling his jokes. “There are certain kinds of comedians who really take note of where they are when they’re touring and turn that into the material, and Mickey was one of those and so was I,” Callinan says from Ballarat, another of the tour stops. “We’re fairly competitive beasts so it turned into a competition to see who could do what we called ‘local colour’ for as long as possible, so that’s kind of how it started. I think we were on [the Melbourne Comedy Festival’s] Roadshow in Bathurst and we said, ‘What if we did a whole show just about the town?’ When we came up with the idea of a camera crew following us we really thought, ‘OK, this could be a thing.’”

Calvary [FILM] Doing God’s Work By Travis Johnson

I

n the follow-up to his universally acclaimed feature debut, The Guard, writer/director John Michael McDonagh shifts his focus from the police force to another institution deeply rooted in Irish society and culture: the Catholic Church.

Unlike the age-old comedian’s tactic of injecting titbits of local knowledge into their stand-up – for example, ripping on the local shithole – Road Show promises to delve well beyond the surface level of a place and find the hidden gems that lie beneath. The results are filmed, making up a large section of the finished product.

Brendan Gleeson – who also starred in The Guard – plays Father James Lavelle, a small town priest who, as both he and we are told in Calvary’s opening confessional scene, has been targeted for murder. Not because he is a bad man, mind you, but because he is a good one. Lavelle is to be sacrificed for the institutional sins of the church.

“The show is pretty much entirely based on surveys that we send out to the community,” explains Callinan. “Rather than just flicking through tourist brochures, we ask the real locals questions, which can involve anything from tourist sites to actual local issues. “We also ask people to set us challenges. For instance [in Ballarat], a couple of challenges that we’ve achieved, most locals would never have done, which makes them curious about their own town I suppose. Ballarat is famous for its beautiful historic towers so they asked us to try and get into as many as possible, and we cracked nearly all of them, even though it took getting through a lot of red tape. For one of them, our poor tour coordinator had to sit in the car for 50 minutes doing an online safety induction on our behalf.”

Don’t be fooled by the hastiness of the planning and production, though. An astounding amount of care and quality goes into each show. “About 40% of the show is live clips and they’re quite extraordinary,” says Callinan. “Our cameraman was up until 4am last night editing. The production value is probably what blows people away the most. They’re expecting us to just talk about the town but when we reveal the extent that we’ve gone to with filming and editing they’re really impressed.” What: Road Trip With: Damian Callinan and Mickey D Where: Riverside Theatre, Parramatta When: Saturday June 28

McDonagh worked up a first draft of the screenplay, which he then sent to Gleeson, who had been earmarked for the lead role from the get-go. “I’ve had such a good relationship with Brendan. We became friends and I trusted his instincts. When I wrote the first draft and sent it to him I was happy to get his notes, and his main note was to make it all a bit more emotional. So I developed more the relationship with the daughter [Kelly Reilly], that kind of thing.”

“Even towards the end when he meets him and he doesn’t know what turn his life is gonna take when he goes down to the beach, up to the last moment he’s still trying to help people. And he’s not a saint – he’s almost broken and he has his own addictions to deal with, but he is ultimately good and his faith is a true one.” Moran isn’t the only comedian in the film, which although bleakly funny, deals with heady themes and dramatic situations. Chris O’Dowd, best known from The IT Crowd, also features in a key role. Says McDonagh, “I’ve always enjoyed working with comedy actors. I find that they’re underrated as dramatic actors and they feel that they are, so they’re looking to do meaty, dramatic roles. They’re always really focused and professional and they’re there for you – and they appreciate that you’ve got faith in them. I’ve never had one who has let me down. “And just on a pragmatic level, they’re enjoyable to be around on the set. When you’re done with your week’s shooting and you’re out on a Friday or Saturday night, it’s good fun to be out with them.” What: Calvary (dir. John Michael McDonagh) When: In cinemas Thursday July 3 xxx

Callinan is excited by the scope for improvisation. “Because of the nature of the show, we’re pretty much doing it as we roll up into town, so it has a real sense of immediacy to it. We have to constantly explain ourselves to people and ask questions like, ‘Can we just come in and be idiots in your shop?’” He laughs. “Most people are really good about it, though. In the bigger towns there’s a lot more red tape, but in a tiny two-horse town, if you want to get into the historic museum you ask Barry if he’s got the key and he’ll finish his cuppa and come and open it for you.”

Damian Callinan and Mickey D

The idea first came to McDonagh during the filming of The Guard. “I was saying, ‘I bet they’re gonna be making plenty of po-faced, boring movies about scandals in the church,’ and that we should get in ahead of the game and do the exact opposite and make a film about a good priest, just to wrong-foot people. I thought, ‘Well, they don’t really make movies about genuinely good people.’ Usually the protagonists of films are anti-heroes or are conflicted in some way, or it’s the villain – usually it’s the villain, in these big budget movies, that drives the story forward. So, ‘OK, let’s make it an unironic movie about a sincerely good man who just wants to do good things but is, basically, surrounded by this cast of eccentric, strange, confrontational characters who try to crush him.’”

The heart of the matter, though, remains Gleeson’s Father Lavelle, a man of conviction and faith. “He is very smart and he is a good man but that doesn’t stop him from being acerbic and sarcastic at times when he has to keep dealing with these fools that surround him. But let’s say the scene with Dylan Moran’s financier: no matter how angry he gets by the way he’s treated, he still wants to help him, ultimately, and is willing to do that.

The Magic Hour [THEATRE] Fairytales Revisited By Adam Norris

W

hen I talk to Ursula Yovich, she is wandering through a shopping mall and the sounds of screaming children is, at first, kind of amusing. That quickly sours as one child in particular seems to be stuck on an endless wailing loop, and amusement cycles through distraction, annoyance, until finally reaching a point of fascinated fear; just how long can this kid hold his breath? What is he screaming at? The answer may possibly lie with Yovich herself, poised as she is to inhabit some rather dark reinterpretations of overlooked fairytale figures in The Magic Hour.

what The Magic Hour is. Even the title is somewhat ominous; the twilight hour, the witching hour. There’s an anticipation of what’s about to happen.”

The notion of fractured fairytales – taking a classic story and twisting it in some new and unexpected fashion – is a familiar one. There have been several prominent forays into the field – Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber springs to mind – but the majority tend to focus on the ridiculous and absurd. Not so The Magic Hour, which, though not without humour, is very much an adult retelling.

“I don’t think there’s too much of the original there,” says Yovich. “These stories are told through the eyes of other characters, so it’s very much their version of events. You kind of get a reminder of what the story is, but I think what it’s really about are the voices that never get heard, that are finally getting an outlet. You’ll come across these kind of characters in everyday life. They’re very real, they’re very much set in our present time and in our country. They are the forgotten voices, and [playwright] Vanessa Bates has written these characters so beautifully, they’re completely full of flaws and have a lot of humour, a lot of sadness and anger. They’re very complex. I think that’s the thing that has been injected into the story, while trying to keep the moral of the original still present.

thebrag.com

The Magic Hour “Even though it has an urban setting, there’s still a kind of magic, an unknown quality to this piece that I really loved. Vanessa Bates has such an amazing style and rhythm in her writing; I was just really fortunate to be around at the right time to have the chance to play these roles. The allure was that they are really complex characters. One of the things that I find myself falling into are a lot of stereotyped roles, and I got a bit tired. I felt I wasn’t getting the chance to stretch myself as a performer; I

wasn’t going to learn anything new always doing the same thing. So when this came up, it felt like something really different, to be able to have these wonderfully chunky roles, to have characters of this calibre…” She laughs. “There was no way I wasn’t going to do it!” What: The Magic Hour Where: Riverside Theatre, Parramatta When: Thursday June 26 – Saturday June 28 BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14 :: 15

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“It’s such a natural thing to find yourself sitting around at home and one of your friends begins telling a scary story,” Yovich says. “Soon everyone starts to jump in and tell their own strange experiences, and you find yourself getting dragged in. Even though you’re terrified, you still want to hear more. I’m not sure what the draw is exactly, but that’s

That anticipation will be running high throughout the production, as even though audiences will be familiar with much of the source material – Cinderella, Rapunzel and the like – they will experience the stories from the perspective of characters who have been largely overlooked; characters who tend to have a very different interpretation of what these stories are about. Cinderella’s stepsister. Rapunzel’s elderly captor.

Film Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen around town

■ Film

Frank

FRANK

In cinemas now The roots of Frank lie in a newspaper article penned by writer Jon Ronson, who spent time as a keyboard player in Frank Sidebottom’s Oh Blimey Big Band. Sidebottom was the comedic alter ego of musician Chris Sievey but the film is far from a tired tribute to Sidebottom’s aloof persona and gigantic papier-mâché head. Instead it forms the basis for a charming narrative that sees the strident resolve of an indie group tested as it tries to find its identity and cast aside self-doubt. The dorkish naivety of wannabe pop star Jon Burroughs (Domhnall Gleeson) provides the film’s only link to ‘reality’. A chance encounter results in him joining indie group The Soronprfbs after the previous keyboard incumbent drowns at sea. Keen for any excuse to leave his meandering office job, Burroughs is summoned to Ireland where he and the band spend 12 difficult months bunkered down in a cabin in the Irish countryside trying to find the creative spark necessary for their new album. Jon plays the squeaky-clean, naive pawn in the new group and is immediately set upon by the band’s French-speaking bassist and difficult theremin player Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal), all in the name of artistic integrity. When the band is offered a lucrative slot to play at the SXSW festival – a springboard towards indie stardom – the sacrifices for success are soon apparent.

Michael Fassbender as Frank is strangely liberated by his unwieldy mask. Forced to speak with his body and strangely enough through music (he plays guitar and sings surprisingly well throughout), Fassbender is convincing as the band’s spiritual and songwriting guru. Frank tiptoes the fine line between genius and sanity that at once evokes thoughts of music luminaries such as Captain Beefheart, yet tests our oftrepeated clichés about troubled minds. For all its whimsy, the film has a dark and brooding undercurrent that brilliantly captures the anxiety, narcissism and inertia involved in creating and maintaining an indie band. Director Lenny Abrahamson has done a great job of wrangling a series of disparate, quirky characters that never quite cross the border into ridiculousness. While the film is certainly an acquired taste, Frank’s tune is worth listening to. Tim Armitage

■ Film

YVES SAINT LAURENT In cinemas Thursday June 26 The fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (played here by Pierre Niney) led a fascinating life. A young protégé of Christian Dior, he became head designer at the famous fashion house at the age of only 21. Conscripted to the French Army in 1960 to fight in the Algerian War, Laurent was exposed to harsh hazing by fellow soldiers. After less than a month in the services he checked into a military hospital where he was not only heavily sedated but also received electroshock therapy. It was at this time he received word he’d been fired by Dior. After his release from hospital, Laurent and partner Peter Bergé (Guillaume Gallienne) successfully sued Dior for breach of contract and launched their own fashion house, ultimately making Laurent an international fashion icon. With a reputation for partying and drug-taking, he frequented the hedonistic landmarks of the time including New York’s Studio 54. Not only this, but Laurent was both a homosexual and suffering manic depression at a time when these matters were poorly understood and harshly treated. Presumably the life described above would make for a compelling and fascinating film.

Pierre Niney in Yves Saint Laurent Sadly, though, this is not the case. The players are solid in their roles, but there’s only so much to do with this very shallow script. And while a substantial portion of Laurent’s life is documented here, the minimal mention of his famously influential women’s suit collections is a glaring omission. Further, the period in which Laurent thrived is still relatively recent. As such, it’s difficult to see the clothes without a modern lens that leaves the looks feeling dated and almost tacky. Impeccably produced yet with minimal character development, this is a disappointing portrayal of an innovative era brought to the screen too soon. Lee Hutchison

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

Game Of Thrones: The Exhibition Museum of Contemporary Art, Tuesday July 1 – Saturday July 5

WA

Game Of Thrones

Are you and all your friends suffering Game Of Thrones withdrawals? What, already? HBO and Google Play are here to help, bringing Game Of Thrones: The Exhibition to Sydney next week. Fans can step into the world of Westeros to view interactive installations and nearly 100 original artefacts taken from the show’s first four seasons. Just make sure you stay clear of White Walkers, weddings, Lannisters and dragons. Note: if you’ve taught yourself to speak High Valyrian, you’re trying too hard. Entry is free, daily 10am-8pm (except on Tuesday July 1; 11am-8pm).

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bread&thread Food & Fashion News...with Chris Martin and Amie Mulhearn

Pete Evans

RUB DENIM WITH THE STARS

To celebrate Jeans For Genes Day’s 21st birthday, a slew of celebrities will be showing us their pants. The Jeans For Genes Day Denim Exhibition will feature an exclusive selection of denim artwork and personally signed jeans from the likes of Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers), the Kardashian sisters, James Franco, Maroon 5, Eric Bana, Gene Simmons and many more. All jeans will be auctioned off for the charity later in the year. Sneak a peek on Saturday July 12 at the Grounds of Alexandria roastery.

THE PALEO WAY

Healthy body, healthy mind, healthy life. That’s the idea behind The Paleo Way, My Kitchen Rules judge Pete Evans’ national talking tour next month. He’ll be telling audiences about the traditional ways of living that have transformed his health, and are detailed in his cookbook, Healthy Every Day. Joining Evans onstage is paleo expert Nora Gedgaudas and Clean Living author Luke Hines, plus musician Wes Carr. The Sydney event is at The Westin on Sunday July 13.

FLORIADE 2014

If the winter chills are getting you down, remember that a brighter season is around the corner. With the spring comes Floriade, Canberra’s colourful annual festival – and it’s not just about fl owers. The Sydney activation of Floriade begins in August, but from Saturday September 13 – Sunday October 12 is when the nation’s capital transforms into a hub of arts and fi ne food. Each week of the festival is split into themed weeks, with food and wine the focus from Monday September 22 – Sunday September 28. That means cocktail and tapas-making classes, plus wine, beer and cider tasting, while the popular Floriade NightFest comprises lighting shows, entertainment and night markets from Wednesday September 24 – Sunday September 28.

THE AUSTRALIAN TURNS YANKEE

Howdy, pardner. The Australian Heritage Hotel is Sydney’s favourite spot for all things Aussie when it comes to food and drink. So why has it come over all American? Don’t worry, it’s just for the one day – the fourth of July, of course – when The Australian will have American beer on tap, cheesy fries, hot dogs and a special Uncle Sam pepperoni pizza. That’s

Friday July 4, and you can be sure it’ll beat that time the pub went all English after the owner lost a bet to Sir Richard Branson over The Ashes cricket contest. That’s just not on.

WINTER MENUS

This time of year gives us the munchies. Actually, what time of year doesn’t? Winter menus are in full swing across the city, with chefs like Ellen Young from The Cottage Bar & Kitchen in

Balmain promising the best kind of wholesome comfort food. The Botanist Kirribilli has introduced new dishes including sticky duck with cucumber and herbs, and beef empanadas with chimichurri. Meanwhile, the CBD’s Rabbit Hole Bar & Dining executive chef Jeremy Metivier is indulging his French influences – mahi-mahi, olive sphere, eggplant cream, crisp lemon, lime leaf and potato; duck confit cylinder, red cabbage, butternut cubes and pistachio; and

David Beaumont and Sean Ryan

UNDERGROUND COOKING IN HYDE PARK

The City of Sydney will temporarily install two large underground earth ovens in Hyde Park for a taste of traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander food. The celebration comes as part of the NAIDOC in the City event during NAIDOC Week 2014. It’ll be a hearty traditional lunch for Sydneysiders on Monday July 7 from 1pm, when all are invited to try freshly cooked delicacies like crocodile, kangaroo, emu, chicken, fish and vegetables. Also happening on the day are live music, entertainment, dance and elders’ storytelling at a pop-up lawn library.

F A S H I O N

& MUSIC thebrag.com

THE ROCKS AROMA FESTIVAL Sydneysiders love their coffee. And if you’re wondering who’s got the roast with the most, there’s no better place to be each year than The Rocks Aroma Festival, which is steaming its way back to town on Sunday July 27. Bean fanatics will be enthralled in a program of workshops that covers everything from coffee

appreciation to alternative slow brew methods, Cupping 101, latte art and chocolate. Anyone in the precinct last year will remember the stunning popularity of the event, and those gorgeous aromas that floated south through the city for the whole afternoon. Who’ll take out the Aroma Cup for the festival’s best coffee experience this year? There’s only one way to find out.

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ISSUE 137 - JUNE 2014

MELBOURNE - SYDNEY - BRISBANE - ADELAIDE - PERTH

MELBOURNE - SYDNEY - BRISBANE - ADELAIDE - PERTH

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& LIFESTYLE

much more. It’s a good time for taste buds, no matter where you are in Sydney.

FASHION JOURNAL WEBSITE...

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WWW.FASHIONJOURNAL.COM.AU

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK MASTODON

Once More ’Round The Sun Reprise/Warner While many band’s discographies go through peaks and valleys, it’s more like one towering mountaintop after the next when it comes to Atlanta’s woolliest beasts, Mastodon.

Nearly 15 years into their career, there’s still plenty left in the tank for Mastodon. As a matter of fact, the trip we take ’Round The Sun might as well be a victory lap. David James Young

xxx

Mastodon return with an album Xxxx of customary quality and two superb singles.

It’s hard to think of many other contemporary metal bands that have remained this consistently excellent for this long – six albums deep and they’re yet to release anything that could be deemed even remotely sub-par. Naturally, this extends into Once More ’Round The Sun – another fresh batch of expansive, dynamic and throat-tearing metal tinged with psychedelia and prog-rock.

Tracks like ‘High Road’ and ‘Chimes At Midnight’ rank among the best singles the band has ever released, while songs such as the title track and ‘Ember City’ keep the fire in the proverbial belly aflame. If that weren’t enough, guest spots from the likes of Neurosis’ Scott Kelly, Valient Thorr frontman Valient Himself and The Mars Volta/Jack White keys man Ikey Owens add some spice to what is already a very tasty brew indeed.

ED SHEERAN

MARTYN

THE ACID

LITTLE DRAGON

TRASH TALK

X Atlantic/Warner

The Air Between Words Ninja Tune/Inertia

Liminal Infectious/Liberator

Nabuma Rubberband Because Music/Warner

No Peace Odd Future/Sony

He’s the prodigious wunderkind who has served the last few years as perhaps pop’s most unlikely champion. It’s a lot to take in at such a young age, and X (say it “multiply”, like on a calculator, see) attempts to not only make sense of this whirlwind, but to also prove that Sheeran’s debut, 2011’s + (say it “plus”... yeah, you get it), was more than a mere six-string fluke.

Dutch producer Martyn has never been one to prescribe himself to any particular genre. His earlier efforts saw him lean toward the ominous basslines borrowed from UK bass, followed by successful dabbling in house, techno and electronica. What’s in a name, indeed.

Liminal is a shape-shifting meditation on loneliness and disconnection. Dense, raw and clean, it almost sounds like something produced by Sohn’s evil twin. Almost – while this album similarly draws on electronica, post-dub and gritty post-rock, it doesn’t quite sound like anything else.

Of all the furious, blink-and-you’llmiss-them hardcore bands doing the rounds, who’d ever have guessed that little old Trash Talk would become the hippest? The band’s link to the Odd Future collective boosted its profile exponentially, and has given it a crossover coolness to kill for.

The Air Between Words shows even more impressive progression from an effortless musical chameleon. Ever the innovator, Martyn’s third LP is a sonically rewarding effort – if occasionally an exhausting one.

Formed by Grammy-nominated producer and DJ Adam Freeland, Steve Nalepa (an artist, composer and professor) and Australia’s own Ry X, the collaboration’s debut is, as expected, musically ambitious. But rather than crowding out the sound with their respective talents, The Acid keep everything minimalistic. It is seamlessly cohesive, if a little ambiguous.

When looking at the stylistic jump that Swedish electropop adventurers Little Dragon have taken between their previous LP (2011’s breakthrough Ritual Union) and this, their fourth album, it might best be explained in cinematic terms. Whereas the former is a widescreen, technicolour affair, Nabuma Rubberband is a pristine black-and-white, shot in 4:3.

Mostly, he succeeds. It does, however, come at a cost – while tracks like ‘Sing’ and ‘Thinking Out Loud’ are sharp and vocally dynamic pop, they are both overtly indebted to Justin Timberlake and John Mayer, respectively. The A-team (pardon the pun) of producers, including Pharrell Williams and Rick Rubin, ripens and shines the songwriting as best it can, and it’s a completely fi ne effort on Sheeran’s behalf. One does ponder, however, where the record may have ended up if he had stuck with the striking vocalsand-guitar roots of tracks like the opening sequence of ‘One’ and ‘I’m A Mess’. The defining, all-encompassing Ed Sheeran record is still yet to come. Of course, that doesn’t mean there isn’t fun to be had with X. Now, sing.

Tracks such as ‘Two Leads And A Computer’ are about as stripped back as you can go. Analogue drums and a gentle synth melody mean that the song title may well be a literal reference to the production. The album oscillates between tight, on-point production geared toward the dancefloor and what seems to be freestyle noodling in the studio. ‘Forgiveness Step 2’ harks back to a bassier past, but it only serves as testament to a producer with an ear to the ground and firm belief in his roots. Elsewhere, cuts like ‘Glassbeadgames’ are purely addictive listening. Martyn has tapped into a whole other level of sounds and moods for this record, but a lack of consistency between those sounds and moods can make for disjointed listening.

‘Creeper’ is a dark and chilling track that explores obsessive and addictive tendencies of infatuation. With lyrics delivered at a near whisper, complete with heavy breathing, it feels as though Ry X is standing right behind you. Recently released ‘Basic Instinct’ is filled out with acoustic guitar, as the lyric “Coming up for air” repeats delicately – sparse, indie electronica at its best. The soft, slicing vocals on ‘Clean’ are opposite to distorted ‘Red’. Other tracks like ‘Veda’ and ‘Tumbling Lights’ are harder to get into. Liminal creates an aesthetic The Acid clearly thrive in. Listeners have to meet them halfway – but it’s worth it.

David James Young

In the present day and age, Australian heavy music never fails to impress. Legendary Perth outfit Voyager have been plying their world-class trade since the late ’90s, and this is their fifth album. Talk about a band with an absolute grasp of its craft – it’s like all of Voyager’s previous releases were leading up to this moment in time. The planets have aligned for Voyager on this record, and they have created their masterwork.

18 :: BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14

Think of No Peace as less of a reinvention of the wheel and more as adding some trickedout rims to it. Same ride with a different spin.

The songs are meticulously crafted pieces of melodic, progressive metal, set up beautifully by opener ‘Hyperventilating’. The slightly more direct ‘Breaking Down’ follows, then the magnificent ‘A Beautiful Mistake’, featuring the guest vocals of Zemyna Kuliukas.

David James Young

Emily Meller

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK

V IAV

Although some parts drag and there is certainly room for improvement, Nabuma Rubberband excels on the back of its effort and its boldness. A worthwhile investment. David James Young

Marissa Demetriou

VOYAGER

It’s by no means a lesser effort, but it’s certainly darker and more focused in on the grittier aspects of what the band does. Lead single ‘Klapp Klapp’ may be an infectious alt-pop gem – not to mention one of the year’s best tracks – but it’s admittedly somewhat of a misnomer if you’re attempting to understand the greater ideas and sonic environment of the album. For that, it’s best you look into ‘Paris’ or the album’s title track, where the downtempo beats and the buzzing low-end synthesiser provide a different take on Little Dragon’s established sound. It’s a move that will keep old fans interested and provide just enough room for new fans to investigate.

Of course, if Trash Talk’s most recent output is anything to go by – 2012’s 119 and this – they might have new proverbial sheep’s clothing, but they’re still the bloodhungry wolves they always were. Sure, the production has stepped up, and the guestlist might be sporting some more out-there names (the album is topped and tailed by collaborations with The Alchemist, King Krule and Wiki), but at their core Trash Talk remain violent and abrasive in their stylistic approach to hardcore punk. The rage is maintained throughout the brief running time, with the occasional hip hop-flavoured detour serving as a moment to catch your breath. It balances out quite nicely, and Trash Talk themselves are a better band for the progression they’ve made.

An unbelievably strong opening, which in the hands of a less consistent band might have been a problem, may have been rather difficult to better. But not for these guys. The album fairly goes from strength to strength – driving verses cascade into sublime, uplifting choruses; beautifully constructed and delivered melodies abound. International attention has certainly come their way with their previous few releases, but if there is any justice in the musical world, this should be the album that confirms Voyager as one of the premiere melodic/progressive heavy acts on the planet.

OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... THE NATIONAL - Alligator THE ROOTS - ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin EURYTHMICS - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

DEADMAU5 - while(1<2) PEACHES - Fatherfucker

Rod Whitfi eld

thebrag.com

live reviews What we've been out to see...

BLOODS, MAJOR LEAGUES, HOCKEY DAD Newtown Social Club Thursday June 19 Fresh out of Wollongong and barely out of high school, Hockey Dad are gaining signifi cant traction less than a year into their lifespan. This continued here, as they previewed tracks from their forthcoming debut EP, Dreamin’. Highlights included the irrepressible single ‘I Need A Woman’ and the boppy ‘Beach House’, the latter of which may well be an illegitimate lovechild of Wavves’ Nathan Williams and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. As the latest discovery from the so-called ‘leisure coast’, don’t be surprised if you start seeing a lot more of Hockey Dad in 2014.

bloods

Bloods were in high spirits by the time they made their way to the stage – and why not? Their debut album is officially in the can, they’re on tour with a delightful band and they managed to assemble an enthusiastic crowd in Newtown on the same night the biggest band in the world happened to be playing down the road. It was hard to keep the smiles away throughout the set as Bloods ripped through it in rapid-fire succession, from tried-and-tested singles ‘Into My Arms’ and ‘Goodnight’ to some album cuts fresh from the oven. Regardless of where the band took us, it kept things loud, jaunty and rowdily fun. Not to be outdone in the covers department, Bloods finished things up with a trashy run-through of The Romantics’ ‘What I Like About You’. Really, what’s not to like about that? David James Young

PICS :: AM

As if it wasn’t bad enough that their State of Origin side was defeated (as pointed out repeatedly by Hockey Dad), Queensland’s Major Leagues were down a player of their own – vocalist/guitarist Anna Davidson, who was too sick to perform. Thankfully, the band wasn’t prepared to throw in the towel just yet – the remaining members continued on for the show as a trio, and it managed to work. Although their set was relatively short given their personnel restraints, they still made their

time onstage count, rolling through some brand new tracks and some established favourites. Bonus points go to bassist Vlada Edirippulige, who not only provided some of the funniest banter of the night but absolutely nailed the lead vocals on a cover of All Saints’ ‘Pure Shores’. Major Leagues may have been a three-legged dog tonight, but even three-legged dogs are still fun to play with.

19:06:14 :: Newtown Social Club :: 387 King St Newtown 1300 724 876

SAFIA, TWIN CAVERNS, AKOUO Spectrum Saturday June 14 It seems like Safia have gained win after win on the Australian indie/electronic scene this year, from securing their place in triple j’s Hottest 100 to earning the support slot on Lorde’s upcoming Australian tour. So it was no shock, really, when they packed out Spectrum for a single release show on Saturday for their eerie track ‘Paranoia, Ghosts & Other Sounds’. The spooky sounds of Sydney band Twin Caverns opened the show, with vocal effects splitting octaves on Louise Millar’s melodies. The duo made for an ambient atmosphere, though sometimes it was a little vague when lyrics got lost in the echoey effects. Akouo was, without a doubt, the most pleasant surprise of the night – a ‘warmup act’ in every sense of the words. Easing into the performance, Tasmania’s Ryan Farrington bounced ecstatically at each touch of his dials and slowly but surely his energy became contagious. He dropped remixes of favourites from Drake and Flume, mixed in with tracks from his

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EP Mesa, spinning and jumping as the music transported him and the audience to another place, where the party reigned supreme. Riding on the high that Akouo had created proved to be the perfect introduction for Safia. They opened strong with the title single of the tour. It was clear that most of the room was filled with fans, as everyone mouthed along to the lyrics. Weaving in and out of tracks new and old, recorded and not recorded, Safia produced a refined set, with lead Ben Woolner integrating snippets of husky vocals in the quieter moments to maintain the audience’s attention. There were some issues with the lighting and smoke that engulfed the stage and made the band members completely disappear at points, yet moments of beauty such as the airy notes in their cover of James Vincent McMorrow’s ‘Cavalier’ managed to break through. Safia are starting to demand attention as they develop their stage presence and following. And with the year still young, we look forward to what lies in store. Erin Rooney

BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14 :: 19

snap sn ap

nova heart

PICS :: KC

up all night out all week . . .

sosueme ft. the cairos

PICS :: LL

21:06:14 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587

the bohicas

PICS :: AM

dune rats

18:06:14 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711 20 :: BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14

PICS :: KC

18:06:14 :: Beach Road Hotel :: 71 Beach Rd Bondi Beach 9130 7247

21:06:14 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711 S :: BELINDA OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER LOTT Y :: ASHLEY MAR ::

DIPALO :: BEN SYMONS :: KATR

INA CLARKE :: LUKE

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snap sn ap

earth

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

coldplay

PICS :: BD PICS :: BS

19:06:14 :: Manning Bar :: Manning Rd, Camperdown 9563 6000

20:06:14 :: The Hi-Fi :: 122 Lang Rd Moore Park 1300THEHIFI OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER LOTT Y :: ASHLEY MAR ::

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S :: BELINDA DIPALO :: BEN SYM

ONS :: KATRINA CLARKE :: LUKE

the deep end

PICS :: AM

band of skulls

PICS :: AM

21:06:14 :: The Star Event Centre :: 80 Pyrmont St, Pyrmont 9777 9000

22:06:14 :: Frankie's Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14 :: 21

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week

SUNDAY JUNE 29

Katchafire

Metro Theatre

Katchafire 8pm. $49.70.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 25 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Mitch Anderson & His Organic Orchestra Coopers Hotel, Newtown. 8:45pm. free. Pulp Kitchen And Folk Club - feat: Live Rotating Folk Bands Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. The King’s Singers City Recital Hall, Sydney. 7:30pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Lionel Cole Imperial Hotel, Paddington. 8pm. free. Musos Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. free. The Avgenicos Brothers Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $16.50.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Andy Mammers Duo

Northeast Party House

22 :: BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14

Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. free. Brad Johns Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. free. City Slickers Band Competition Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $15. Concert On The Park - feat: Warren Williams Campsie RSL, Campsie. 1pm. free. Fat Bubba’s Chicken Wednesdays Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. Gang Of Brothers Spring Street Social, Bondi. 9pm. free. Gary Johns Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill. 7:30pm. free. Happy Hippies Ettamogah Hotel, Kelly Ridge. 6:30pm. free. Northeast Party House + The Babe Rainbow Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free. Party Central Three Wise Monkeys, Sydney. 10pm. free. Sweet Tunes - feat: Green Mohair Suits + Enerate + Vanessa Caspersz Marble Bar, Sydney. 7:30pm. free. Ted Nash Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 7pm. free. The Good Stuff

Three Wise Monkeys, Sydney. 10pm. free. The Happy Hippies Ettamogah Hotel, Kelly Ridge. 6:30pm. free.

THURSDAY JUNE 26 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Live Music Thursdays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free. Melanie Lizotte’s, Newcastle. 8pm. $126. Sons Of The East + Gypsies And Gentlemen Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 9pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Cole Soul And Emotion feat: Lionel Cole The White Horse, Surry Hills. 8pm. free. Live Latin Sessions Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 6:30pm. $5.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS 10 O’Clock Rock Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 10pm. free. A Team Duo Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 9pm. free. Black Diamond Hearts Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 10pm. free. Carl Fidler Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 4pm. free. Chet Faker + Yumi Zouma Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:30pm. $35. Christie Lamb Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 7:30pm. free. Dave White Duo

Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney. 9:30pm. free. Evie Dean Dee Why Hotel, Dee Why. 7pm. free. Graveyard Train Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15. Greg Agar Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 7:30pm. free. Jamie Lindsay Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill. 8pm. free. Pat Brady Pioneer Tavern, Penrith. 12pm. free. Quake Machine + JD Mo + Upside Down Miss Jane Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Ted Nash Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 10pm. free. The Babe Rainbow + The Grease Arrestor + The Dandelions Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8am. $10. The Late Night Soda Social Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free. The Upskirts Standard Bowl, Surry Hills. 6pm. free. White Knuckle Fever Hotel Hollywood, Sydney. 8pm. free. Zoltan New Brighton Hotel, Manly. 10pm. free.

FRIDAY JUNE 27 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Live Music Fridays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free. Paul Greene & The Other Colours + Leroy Lee Venue 505, Surry Hills. 6pm. $21. Red Slim Spring Street Social, Bondi. 10:30pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Jazz Hip-Hop Freestyle Sessions Foundry616, Ultimo. 11:30pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Andy Mammers Duo Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point. 8pm. free. Ange Ettalong Bowling Club, Ettalong. 7:30pm. free. Anthony Warlow + Faith Prince Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8pm. $99. Bede Kennedy Parramatta RSL, Parramatta. 5pm. free. Black Diamond Hearts Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 10:30pm. free. Blake Tailor Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 7pm. free. Boney M Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8pm. $65. Bootleg Rascal The Roller Den, Erskineville. 7:30pm. free. Brad Johns Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 6pm. free. Brad Johns Duo Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why. 7:30pm. free. Carrie Phillis & The Down Town Three + Hey Baby + Flipped Out Kicks Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $10. Chet Faker + Yumi Zouma

Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:30pm. $35. Craig Thommo Duo Courthouse Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. free. Dave Mac Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm. free. Dave Phillips The Grand Hotel, Rockdale. 5:30pm. free. David Agius Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill. 9:30pm. free. Double Jeopardy Duo North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray. 9:30pm. free. Eclypse Ramsgate RSL, Sans Souci. 8pm. free. Five Decade Faint Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. free. Franky Valentyn Trio Club Five Dock, Five Dock. 8pm. free. Geoff Rana Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 9pm. free. Glenn Esmond Trio Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 10:30pm. free. Greg Agar Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 8:30pm. free. Heath Burdell Ingleburn RSL, Ingleburn. 9pm. free. Hooray For Everything Windsor Leagues Club, Windsor South. 9:15pm. free. Hurst + Octavian + Wolves In Fashion Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 8pm. free. James Englund Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 9pm. free. James Fox Higgins Duo Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill. 8pm. free. Jed Zarb The Oriental Hotel, Springwood. 8pm. free. JJ Duo Club Windang, Windang. 7:30pm. free. Kevin Griffiths + Adam Proctor + Dyson + Rickstar + Ross Ashman + Tommy Rutherford Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. free. Liam Gale & The Ponytails + The Double Shadows + Charlie Gradon FBi Social, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10. Live Music At The Royal The Royal, Leichhardt. 9:30pm. free. Melody Rhymes Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 5pm. free. Mesa Groove Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 8:30pm. free. Mondo Rock State Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $139.50. Q Sound Quakers Inn, Quakers Hill. 8pm. free. Red Gazelle + 2010 + Crossing Red Lines + Five Decade Faint Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $10. Sound City Penrith RSL, Penrith. 8:30pm. free. Spirit Faces + Norachi + Visuals From Sally Reynolds And Jon Key The Corner Co-op, Chippendale. 8pm. $10. Steve Crocker Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 5pm. free. Stormcellar Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 9pm. free. Story Of The Year Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $52. Ted Nash Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 8pm. free. The Crimson ProjeKCt feat: Stickmen + Adrian Belew Power Trio The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 8pm.

$87.65. The Mondays Trio PJ Gallagher’s, Leichhardt. 9pm. free. The Vibrators Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 7:45pm. $27. Triple Shot Duo Harbord Beach Hotel, Harbord. 7pm. free.

SATURDAY JUNE 28 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Australian Burlesque Festival - feat: Bella De Jac + Lada Redstar + Dolores Daiquiri + Coco Lectric + Gypsy Wood + Memphis Mae + Miss Satine + Lila Luxx + Peachey Dream + Bonita Danger Doll + Honey B Goode + Miss La Vida Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $75.70.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

50...! - feat: DJ’s S.H.E. + Earazerhead + Kat + Xerstorkitte Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. A Band Named Trevor Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills. 9:30pm. free. A Team Duo The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 6pm. free. Altitude Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 9pm. free. AM 2 PM Ingleburn RSL, Ingleburn. 9pm. free. Amodeus Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 12pm. $10. Anthony Warlow + Faith Prince Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8pm. $99. Antoine Greystanes Inn, Greystanes Inn. 8pm. free. Armchair Travellers Duo North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray. 9:30pm. free. Ben Finn Trio The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 9pm. free. Black Diamond Hearts Rock Lily, Pyrmont. 9:30pm. free. Cara Kavanagh + Mark Oats Duo PJ Gallagher’s, Leichhardt. 9pm. free. Carl Fidler Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 4pm. free. Cath & Him Crown Hotel, Camden. 8pm. free. Christie Lamb Duo Ettamogah Hotel, Kelly Ridge. 7pm. free. Craig Laird The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 8:15pm. free. Craig Thommo Panthers, Penrith. 10pm. free. Dave White Experience Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 10:30pm. free. David Agius New Brighton Hotel, Manly. 10pm. free. DJ Marty Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm. free. Drew Penrith RSL, Penrith. 5:30pm. free. Evie Dean Sir Joseph Banks Hotel, Botany. 8pm. free. Forever Jackson + All Star Duo Penrith RSL, Penrith. 7:30pm. $31.50. Frenzal Rhomb Collector Hotel, Parramatta.

thebrag.com

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Sharon Bowman Collingwood Hotel, Liverpool. 3pm. free. Sydney Blues Society Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. free.

The Broken Needles

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Brackets And Jam Spring Street Social, Bondi. 6pm. $10. Carribean Soul Harbord Beach Hotel, Harbord. 6pm. free. Funked Up Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. free. Katchafire Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $49.70. Yuki & John Illawarra Master Builders Club, Wollongong. 2:30pm. free.

Xxx

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS 8pm. $31.15. Get The Party Started - The Pink Show Easts Kingswood Sports Club, Kingswood. 9:20pm. free. Glenn Esmond Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 3pm. free. Greg Poppleton’s Bakelite Dance Band Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. free. Heath Burdell Brewhouse Marayong, Kings Park. 8pm. free. Holy Holy Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.30. Institutionalised Fest feat: Party Vibez + Corpus + Dark Order + Thrashed + Head In A Jar + Arteries + Speedball + Fat Chance + Ncotw + Bombs Are Falling + Our Past Days + The Great Awake + Steel Swarm Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 2pm. $12. James Englund Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, Woolloomooloo. 9pm. free. James Fox Higgins Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point. 8pm. free. Jamie Lindsay Adria, Sydney. 4pm. free. Jess Dunbar Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 7pm. free. Jump On Board The Kylie Minogue And Robbie Williams Double Ettalong Bowling Club, Ettalong. 8pm. free. Kasey Chambers + Foggy Mountain Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 7:30pm. $50. Keep The Faith - Bon Jovi Show Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 10pm. free. King Tide + Castlecomer + Avivaa + DJ Bobby Gray Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills. 6pm. free. Lauren Azar Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill. 6:30pm. free. Left. + Swirls Standard Bowl, Surry Hills. 6pm. free. Luke Dixon Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill. 9pm. free. Matt Price PJ Gallagher’s, Moore Park. 7:30pm. free. Northeast Party House Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $20. Not Like Horse Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Oliver Goss

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Australian Hotel And Brewery, Rouse Hill. 10pm. free. One Hit Wonders Ramsgate RSL, Sans Souci. 8pm. free. Panorama Duo Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 10pm. free. Party Central Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. free. Pop Fiction Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill. 10:30pm. free. Reckless Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 10pm. free. Redlight Ruby Harbord Beach Hotel, Harbord. 7pm. free. Rob Henry Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 5:30pm. free. Saturday Night Divas Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. free. Stormcellar Royal Hotel, Bondi. 8:30pm. free. The Broken Needles + Devotional + Joseph Liddy & The Skeleton Horse FBi Social, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10. Tim Shaw Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why. 7:30pm. free. Trilogy The Macquarie Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. free.

ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK 50 Million Beers Spring Street Social, Bondi. 10:30pm. free.

SUNDAY JUNE 29 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Chill Out Sundays Scubar, Sydney. 7:30pm. free. Country At The Bowlo Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 4:30pm. free. Intimate Sessions Paragon Hotel, Sydney. 6pm. free. Live Music Sundays Bar100, The Rocks. 1pm. free. Menagerie - feat: Jackson McLaren + Hannah Marjorie + Cara Hine The Welcome Hotel, Rozelle. 4pm. free.

2 Shots Of Classic Rock Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why. 1pm. free. Ange Waverley Bowling Club, Waverley. 2pm. free. Cath & Him Crossroads Hotel, Casula. 1pm. free. Chet Faker + Yumi Zouma Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:30pm. $35. Dave White Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, Woolloomooloo. 3pm. free. Fourkicks Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 4pm. $10. Geoff Rana Pritchards Hotel, Mount Pritchard. 1pm. free. Glenn Esmond Duo Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 6pm. free. Heath Burdell Family Inn Hotel, Rydalmere. 6pm. free. JJ Duo Ettalong Bowling Club, Ettalong. 2pm. free. Joe Echo Duo The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 1:30pm. free. Matt Price Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 8:30pm. free. Mick Aquilina Ramsgate RSL, Sans Souci. 2pm. free. Northeast Party House Metro Theatre, Sydney. 4:45pm. $12. Reckless Ettamogah Hotel, Kelly Ridge. 1pm. free. Rob Henry Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 8pm. free. Ryan Thomas Western Suburbs Leagues Club, Leumeah. 2pm. free. School Of Rock Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 12pm. $10. Three Wise Men Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 4pm. free. Tori Darke Campbelltown Catholic Club, Campbelltown. 6pm. free. Vanessa Heinitz Panthers, Penrith. 2pm. free. Victoria Avenue Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 4pm. free. Vintage 4 Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. free.

wed

thu

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June

(9:30PM - 12:30AM)

(9:30PM - 12:30AM)

fri

27 June

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

(9:30PM - 1:30AM)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON (4:30PM - 7:30PM)

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28 June

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

sun

29 June (8:30PM - 12:00AM)

(9:30PM - 1:15PM)

mon

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

30 June

tue

01 July (9:30PM - 12:30AM)

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BONNIE ANDERSON

MONDAY JUNE 30 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Latin & Jazz Jam Open Mic

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g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Night World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm. free. Mambo Mondays Bar100, The Rocks. 5:30pm. free. Motown Mondays - feat: Soulgroove The White Horse, Surry Hills. 8pm. free. Reggae Monday Civic Underground, Sydney. 10pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Jess Dunbar Duo

Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 7:30pm. free. Steve Tonge Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. free.

TUESDAY JULY 1 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

8:30pm. free. Swingtime Tuesdays The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $9.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Kishi Bashi Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7:30pm. $35. Steve Tonge Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 5pm. free.

Old School Funk And Groove Night Venue 505, Surry Hills.

gig picks

up all night out all week...

The Babe Rainbow

WEDNESDAY JUNE 25 Northeast Party House + The Babe Rainbow Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free. Sweet Tunes - feat: Green Mohair Suits + Enerate + Vanessa Caspersz Marble Bar, Sydney. 7:30pm. Free.

THURSDAY JUNE 26 Chet Faker + Yumi Zouma Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:30pm. $35. The Babe Rainbow + The Grease Arrestor + The Dandelions Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8am. $10.

FRIDAY JUNE 27 Hurst + Octavian + Wolves In Fashion Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 8pm. Free. Liam Gale & The Ponytails + The Double Shadows + Charlie Gradon FBi Social, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10. Mondo Rock State Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $139.50. Paul Greene & The Other Colours + Leroy Lee Venue 505, Surry Hills. 6pm. $21.

Story Of The Year Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $52. The Crimson ProjeKCt - feat: Stickmen + Adrian Belew Power Trio The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 8pm. $87.65.

SATURDAY JUNE 28 Frenzal Rhomb Collector Hotel, Parramatta. 8pm. $31.15. Holy Holy Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.30. King Tide + Castlecomer + Avivaa + DJ Bobby Gray Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. Left. + Swirls Standard Bowl, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. The Broken Needles + Devotional + Joseph Liddy & The Skeleton Horse FBi Social, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10.

SUNDAY JUNE 29 Funked Up Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

TUESDAY JULY 1 Kishi Bashi Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7:30pm. $35.

Kishi Bashi

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thebrag.com

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

brag beats

inside:

hercules & love affair

p-money rate of exchange

also: + club guide + club snaps + weekly column

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14 :: 25

brag beats

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

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery

five things WITH

Flume

Grandtheft

SHIVERS*

GRANDTHEFT

Growing Up Ours was a musical household and 1. one of my most succinct memories was the moment that Paul Simon’s 1986 classic album Graceland was introduced to me by my mum. I would have been about nine at the time and I remember feeling like a switch had been fl icked in my head and it totally sparked my obsession with music.

Hakan Henry photo courtesy of AXLImaging.com.au

Inspirations I’m lucky enough to have amassed 2. something in the region of 12 or 13,000 records since I stared collecting in the early 1990s. I don’t collect much anymore, but I’m still hugely inspired by my collection and specifi cally by unearthing sounds that I have completely forgotten about over the last 20 years! Your Crew I focus most of my energies on 3. production, so I’m mostly affiliated with the overseas labels that release my sounds and support me as an artist. Mother Recordings, Neim, Dance Till Death, Exotic Refreshment, Escapism Musique and others… I work solo as Shivers* but have various other guises and collaborative projects happening too. The Music You Make And Play As Shivers* my production is 4. all about exploring the spectrum of underground house music: raw, deep, jacking, techy, garage-inspired or otherwise. I’m lucky to have my releases supported by Deetron, Alex Niggemann, Uner, Kiki, Gregor Tresher, DJ Sneak, Fur Coat, Rodriguez Jr., Guy J, Luna City Express, Karotte and more. When it comes to my club sets, I tend to be a bit more eclectic and am not restricted by genre, so I’m often playing in spaces around house music: techno, disco, minimal, acid, electronica and everything in between. Music, Right Here, Right Now Traditionally, Sydney (and the 5. Australian scene) has mostly been dominated by fl ashy transient overseas trends (think dubstep, American EDM, deep house, et cetera). But in more recent years I have to say that I’m proud and super inspired to see that there are more and more healthy pockets of underground resistance (pardon the pun) forming around the country. It is a fact that these ridiculous draconian lockout laws are clearly hurting everyone, but we shall eventually overcome! What: SlowBlow, Spacejunk, Cassette Where: The Spice Cellar When: Saturday June 28

26 :: BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14

LISTEN OUT

Tickets are now on sale for Listen Out, Fuzzy’s replacement for Parklife to fill the start-ofspring festival void on Saturday September 27. The lineup features Kieran Hebden, AKA Four Tet, a man with a formidable discography that includes the classic albums There Is Love In You and Rounds, remixes of the xx and Radiohead and a Fabric compilation. He’ll be joined by one of the most recognisable figures in Australian electronic music, Flume, in his only 2014 Sydney show, along with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Chet Faker, Zhu, Shlohmo and Bondax with plenty more to come.

KALI AT FREDA’S

Kali will spin at Freda’s this Friday June 27 alongside Lux Comms. Kali has built a solid reputation as one of Sydney’s leading DJs through her company Picnic, which has toured international heavyweights such as DJ Harvey, Andrew Weatherall, Darshan Jesrani and Daniel Wang over the years. The beats will commence at 8pm and entry is free.

DEADMAU5

One of the posterboys of EDM, Joel Zimmerman – best known as Deadmau5 – has just released a new album, While(1<2). Consisting of 25 tracks recorded in Zimmerman’s Toronto studio, While(1<2) is eloquently self-described as “a good mix of shit I want to do versus shit people want to hear … I was working on some live stuff, set lists for shows and stuff like that, and it just must have been a couple of tracks that sounded pretty good stitched together end to start and I thought, ‘Well, if I ever do an album or compile this into some kind of album this has got to be that part of the order for that.’” While(1<2) is out now via EMI.

PARADISE LOST

The Paradise Lost crew will be hosting an ‘Original Sin’ themed party this Saturday at a secret inner city warehouse location. Sydney disco queen Madame B will be spinning along with Paradise Lost regulars Eagleman, Manky, Mr Webster, JB, Harry Sounds and Long John Saliva. There’s also the tantalising promise of a “very special guest”. Entry is $20, with further information and location details available via paradiselost.net.au.

DUB IS IN THE AIR

2SER’s Dub Is In The Air and the Inner West Reggae Disco Machine are joining forces for a night of dub delivered via a custom-built sound system at Marrickville Bowling Club on Saturday July 5. The sonic selection will be served up by Inner West Reggae Disco Machine, MIKE WHO and Madame B, Rik Sonic, Mooch, Stevie Dub and 2SER’s Dub Is In The Air host Gonz AKA Gunjo, with MCs Ibojah, Phattmatt and Kamauri also featuring. The party will run from 9pm ’til 3am, with presale tickets a mere $10.

TUNNEL SIGNS

Ash Moses, AKA Tunnel Signs, will throw down at Soft & Slow at The Spice Cellar on Friday July 4. Moses first made a name for himself DJing around Sydney before turning his attention to production under the Tunnel Signs moniker. Moses is also a co-founder of the Death Strobe label, through which he released his debut Sun EP that featured a remix from Daniel Avery and gave Moses an international profile. He’s since followed it up with the EP Have A Killer Time.

ASTRAL PEOPLE

LA beatsmith Jason Chung, AKA Nosaj Thing, and his Timetable records protégé D Tiberio headline Astral People’s next event at The Basement on Saturday July 5. D Tiberio will be making his first Australian performance on the back of the debut album 304, which showcased a bass-streaked sound full of soul. Chung, by comparison, released his maiden LP

Jimmy Edgar

Grandtheft commands top billing at Oxford Art Factory on Friday July 25. The producer has notched up remixes of Major Lazer, Borgore + Waka Flocka, Steve Aoki, Grouplove and Drake. His Keys N Krates ‘Treat Me Right’ remix for Dim Mak hit the top spot on the Beatport electronic chart, while he’s also climbed to the apex of Hype Machine’s blog charts. In recent times, Grandtheft and fellow Canadian trio Keys N Krates released their anticipated collaboration Keep It 100 via Mad Decent’s Jeffree’s imprint at the end of last month. DJs Spenda C, A-Tonez, Hydraulix, GG Magree and Nemo will also be playing once the party kicks off at 11pm.

Drift back in 2009, which he followed up with reworks of Jon Hopkins and the xx along with his second album Home last year. Alba and Modern Fairytale will also be spinning.

JUST:WAX

The vinyl fest that is Just:Wax will roll on at The Upperdeck on top of The Greenwood Plaza on Saturday July 19 with sets from two of Sydney’s most respected veteran selectors, Jimi Polar and Robbie Lowe. Polar is one of Sydney’s more talented producers and DJs who is a natural behind the decks and keys, and has released some memorable cuts on the Future Classic label. Lowe also commands a lofty status with Sydney clubbers, having peddled beats for 20 years and provided strong support for many of the heavyweight DJs who have toured Australia, such as Digweed and Hernan Cattaneo. The party kicks off at 3pm and runs until midnight. Entry is $10 before 7pm.

JIMMY EDGAR

Following his headline slot at last year’s Terminal Projekt Vivid Sydney soiree, multi-talented Detroit-bred producer Jimmy Edgar will return Down Under and perform a DJ set at Jam Gallery in Bondi Junction on Friday August 8. Edgar’s sonic palette melds elements of electro, R&B, jazz and soul, with plenty of creative enterprise, which has led to him remixing the likes of Detroit electro duo Aux 88 and Machinedrum. Edgar has also chalked up solo releases on labels like Warp, Hotfl ush, Pokerfl at and !K7 over the course of what is a hugely impressive discography. Edgar recently launched his own label Ultramajic, releasing music from Danny Daze, Sophie and buddy Travis Stewart, AKA Machinedrum. The label is also home to his musical side projects Creepy Autograph and Her Bad Habit.

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P-Money Cashing In By Augustus Welby

“It’s never hard work – I love what I do. I was hoping to showcase a little bit of versatility within my production skills.”

“He would come around to where I was staying in New York at the time and we would record together,” says Wadams. “We would throw ideas back and forth about what tracks to use and stuff like that, so it was fairly collaborative.

Mission accomplished. Not only do the two records diverge from one another stylistically, The Baddest EP stands apart from all previous P-Money releases. Wadams hasn’t dabbled with dancehall production before now, but he’s no stranger to the genre.

“I definitely took Buck’s lead on the sound that he wanted to go for. I had to take some time to get to know what type of tracks he likes to rhyme to, what beats he’s looking for and make some things to fit that style. The end result is my production, but tailored to Buckshot. It suits his vibe.”

“I’ve been a low-key fan of a lot of dancehall records,” he says. “I keep a playlist on my iTunes of certain records – people like Beenie Man and Shabba Ranks. When I was kid I had Shabba’s stuff.”

BackPack Travels features guest spots from several younger hip hop artists, including Joey Bada$$, Raz Fresco, CJ Fly and fellow New Zealander David Dallas. Wadams, a lifelong hip hop fanatic, has been particularly impressed by the rise of New York teenager Bada$$.

dishing out such an abundance of material, Wadams sounds exceptionally relaxed.

The EP’s co-pilot, London’s Gappy Ranks, has captured the attention of the world’s dancehall community over the past fi ve years. Intrigued, Wadams made contact via email to suggest collaboration, but he didn’t have any major expectations. “I just sent him a beat that I thought was cool. I didn’t hear much for a number of weeks and then I got this email, he was like, ‘Hey man, I did this.’ Gappy just did whatever he wanted to do. I wasn’t there to critique him, I just left him to interpret the music.” This method proved successful and the track developed into the EP’s ostentatious lead single, ‘Baddest’. Excited by the effortless songwriting dynamic, Wadams and Ranks fi nally met in person to carve out four more tracks – in one day.

A

fter a turn towards dance-pop on 2010’s Everything, last year New Zealand producer P-Money returned to his hip hop roots with a fourth solo LP, Gratitude. The record’s vintage, street hip hop production was complemented by guest appearances from the likes of Talib Kweli, M.O.P. and Mobb Deep’s Havoc. See, when it comes to P-Money – otherwise known as Peter Wadams – the ‘solo’ tag reflects only what’s printed on the album spine, not the number of on-record contributors. “With Gratitude, [there’s] a cast of thousands singing and rapping on it,” he says. “I take the

lead, I pick the music that I think is cool, then I think, ‘This vocalist will fit,’ so I contact them.” It’s now 12 months since the album’s release and two brand new P-Money records have hit the shelves. Earlier this month, Wadams and UK sensation Gappy Ranks dropped The Baddest EP, which features fi ve tracks of bouncing dancehall. Meanwhile, Gratitude’s boom-bap recapitulation is taken one step further on the new LP BackPack Travels – credited to P-Money and New York underground luminary Buckshot (of Black Moon and Boot Camp Clik fame). Despite

“He doesn’t take much time to write,” Wadams explains. “He just comes up with the rhymes and then, rather than write down the ideas, we record the ideas. It’s a great way of composing songs – go with the fl ow and don’t dwell on things or mull over it too much. Just get it down, record it and then listen to it a day or so later and see if it stands up.” Compared to the recordings with Gappy, the Buckshot collaboration was considerably more organised. P-Money signed to Buckshot’s Duck Down record label in 2012 and has spent the bulk of the last two years living and working in New York. After teaming up on Gratitude highlight ‘Killuminati’, a longform collaborative work beckoned.

“Dudes like Joey are a great example [of] kids that I’ve been excited to see come through and bring a little bit of balance back to the American rap scene and showcase that you can have this underground sound, you can have the more commercial sound and all of it can coexist. And all of it has merit.” When it comes to admiring the people that he’s worked with, Buckshot could sit at the top of the pile for Wadams. The New York guru has been a personal favourite since his formative musical years in the early ’90s. “When I discovered Black Moon and Buckshot, they were a big deal to me back then. That first album Enta Da Stage was the soundtrack to my life for maybe a whole year in high school, so it subconsciously influenced a lot of my beatmaking.” P-Money’s prior career achievements aren’t anything to sneeze at, but the significance of BackPack Travels isn’t lost on him. “All these years later, to be collaborating on an album and producing tracks for this guy – it’s pretty cool, man. I used to record his videos off TV. Now we have a video together! These things are pretty special to me. I’m crossing them off the bucket list, so to speak.” What: BackPack Travels out now through Dirty Records/Duck Down And: The Baddest EP out now through Dirty Records

Hercules & Love Affair Broken Hearted By Simon Donnes

A

ndy Butler is the virtuoso behind the disco-house revival band Hercules & Love Affair. Featuring an ever-changing lineup, male falsetto and a box full of analogue synths, Hercules are a distinct voice in a club landscape that threatens to become homogenous. Now entering their tenth year as a project, Hercules have released their third studio album, The Feast Of The Broken Heart, and Butler says the creative process was as energetic as ever. “I started the same way I always do, experimentation and exploration with the gear in front of me,” he says. “I was working with this Austrian co-producer who had this really beautiful private studio; so private that the only thing this place had been used for before was their own stuff.” The Feast Of The Broken Heart is a dark, tumultuous house experience – a direction that wasn’t initially clear to Butler. “I toyed with all these modular analogue synths, making these arty ambient soundscapes for three months and then went the other way and made this very direct track, ‘That’s Not Me’. So we got a local vocalist [Gustaph] in. Her sound just set us on a really different course again. It clicked that we could craft these very poppy, structured songs but with a tough, gritty house backing. “It sounds like I’m very self-aware about my process,” Butler continues, “but really I’m not removed enough to say, ‘I’m going to do a new spin on this famous house track or copycat this.’ It all starts with a simple chord progression and flows on, and it taps into a personal memory bank, which is where a lot of the sounds come from. I started writing and playing music from a very young age, and having left the world of learning the piano and

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‘higher art’, I wanted to prove that electronic music – particularly house music – was worthwhile.” Listening to Hercules, it’s clear more is going on than simple homage to the heyday of disco. “It’s been something of an agenda for me,” says Butler, “because disco and house are almost treated like throwaway music, something for a very specific time and place, but I think it stretches far beyond that and has a real lifestyle and is legitimate.” At the festivals they’re invited to, Hercules tend to get shoved in with more mainstream club producers – their last Australian tour was for Future Music Festival in 2012. When it comes to the EDM craze, Butler has some strong words to offer. “The nicest way to put it is, I’m not a fan. I think the best composers know how to challenge themselves, and while we all have a toolbox to draw on now and then, this is just the same cheap tricks repeated – all about the drop, the over-compression and the peaking. I’ve got nothing against aggressive music but it makes me feel like I’m insane, listening to it. “As much as Skrillex might be a nice person, I don’t understand his musical mission.”

“Disco and house are almost treated like throwaway music, something for a very specific time and place, but I think it stretches far beyond that and has a real lifestyle and is legitimate.”

What: The Feast Of The Broken Heart out now through Moshi Moshi/[PIAS]

BRAG :: 568 :: 25:06:14 :: 27

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

club pick of the week DJ Spen

SATURDAY JUNE 28

SATURDAY JUNE 28 HIP HOP & R&B

Haters Club - feat: Shantan Wantan Ichiban + Joyride + Bad Ezzy + Nacho Pop Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $5. Remi Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $21.

CLUB NIGHTS

Goldfish

DJ Spen 9pm. $10. WEDNESDAY JUNE 25 CLUB NIGHTS

DJ Tom Kelly Goldfish, Kings Cross. 9pm. free. The Wall - feat: Various Local And International Acts World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $5. Whip It Wednesdays - feat: Various DJs Whaat Club, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

THURSDAY JUNE 26 HIP HOP & R&B

David Dallas Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $28.70. Sheena Wilbow Spring Street Social, Bondi. 9:30pm. free.

World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $5. Goldfish And Friends - feat: Regular Rotating Residents Goldfish, Kings Cross. 10pm. free. Hot Damn Spectrum, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $10. Kele + Odesza + Hayden James Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $38.90. Lights Out Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 8pm. free. Loopy - feat: Drty Csh + Daschwood + Generous Greed + Guest DJs The Backroom, Kings Cross. 10pm. $12. Pool Club Thursdays - feat: Resident DJs Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 5pm. free. Spice Thursdays The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 10pm. free. The Late Night Soda Social - feat: The Black Diamond Hearts + Dick Smithers + Doo Wops Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 7pm. free.

CLUB NIGHTS

$5 Everything Scubar, Sydney. 5pm. free. FBi Click Launch Party feat: Astral People + Special Guests Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $15. FBi Features Prince Naeem + FBi DJs FBi Social, Kings Cross. 8pm. $5. Fear Of Dawn Goldfish, Kings Cross. 8pm. free. Fingertips

28 :: BRAG :: 568 : 25:06:14

FRIDAY JUNE 27 HIP HOP & R&B

Fresh Fridays - feat: Dialectrix Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free. Jazz Hip-Hop Freestyle Sessions Foundry616, Ultimo. 11:30pm. $5.

Olympic Ayres (DJ Set) + Tommy Franklin Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free. Cakes - feat: 4 Rooms Of Live Music + DJs And International Guests World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10. DJ Spen Goldfish, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10. EDX Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $28.60. 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. Endless Summer Beach Party Ivanhoe Hotel, Manly. 10pm. free. FBi Hands Up! - feat: DJ Clockwerk + Special Friends With Benefits FBi Social, Kings Cross. 11:30pm. free. House Party 2 - feat: Jeff Drake + A-Tonez + Monstrum + Likewise + U-Khan + Andrew Wowk

+ Connell + Alex Smith + Fingers + DJ Skoob + King Lee Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. free. Infamous Saturdays - feat: Live DJs Scubar, Sydney. 7pm. free. Masif Saturdays Space, Sydney. 10pm. $25. My Place Saturdays Bar100, The Rocks. 8pm. free. Pacha Presents: We R Scndl + Krunki + Glover + Ben Morris + Matt Nugent + Samrai + Jace Disgrace + Fingers + Danny Lang + Reelax+ DJ Eko + DJ Lust 1 + Devola + Nad Heke + Deckhead + Trent Rackus Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $30. Saturday Dysney - feat: Chardonnay + Layup + Nes + FM Ching-a-Lings, Darlinghurst. 8pm. free. SFX End Of Exams Party - feat: Until Darkness Falls + Lycanthrope + Series + Chromatide St James Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. free. Sienna Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs The Establishment, Sydney. 9pm. free. Soda Saturdays - feat: DJ Crazy Caz Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 8pm. free. Spice 28.06 - feat: Shivers + Slow Blow + Cassette + Robbie Lowe + Sam Francisco The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 10pm. $25. Video DJ Shayne Alsop AKA Sloppy Mounties, Mount Pritchard. 8pm. free.

SUNDAY JUNE 29 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 - feat: Mo’Funk + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace + Nick Miney Flyover Bar, Sydney. 2pm. $10. Sunday Sessions - feat: Cadell + Tom Kelly + Ocky Goldfish, Kings Cross. 4pm. free. Sunday Spice 29.06 - feat: Steven Sullivan + Ghostly DJ’S + Onn The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 9pm. $10. Sundays In The City - feat: Various DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 12pm. free.

MONDAY JUNE 30 CLUB NIGHTS

Crab Racing Scubar, Sydney. 7pm. free.

TUESDAY JULY 1 CLUB NIGHTS

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

p send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

CLUB NIGHTS

Argyle Fridays - feat: Resident DJs The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. free. DJ Flash Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $18.40. DJ Marty Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm. free. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 10pm. free. Factory Fridays - feat: The Syphons + DJ Bernie Dingo + Friends Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 8pm. free. Frisky Fridays Scubar, Sydney. 5pm. free. Loco Friday - feat: Various Live Bands And DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 5pm. free. Moonshine Fridays Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 7pm. free. Service Bells + Deepspace Supergroop Standard Bowl, Surry Hills. 6pm. free. Skyzthelimit Penrith Gaels, Kingswood. 8pm. free. Soft & Slow 27.06 - feat: Ray Soo + Jamie Lloyd + Pink Lloyd + Guests The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 7pm. $15. Start (Cue) Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. free. Sweater Beats + Big Deal Gillespie + Deckhead + Empress Yoy + Adam Zae + Blackmale Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. free.

THURSDAY JUNE 26

Astral People

David Dallas Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $28.70. FBi Click Launch Party - feat: Astral People + Special Guests Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $15. Fingertips World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $5. Kele + Odesza + Hayden James Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $38.90. Remi

FRIDAY JUNE 27 DJ Flash Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $18.40. Fresh Fridays - feat: Dialectrix Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free. Soft & Slow 27.06 - feat: Ray Soo + Jamie Lloyd + Pink Lloyd + Guests The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 7pm. $15.

SATURDAY JUNE 28 EDX Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $28.60. Haters Club - feat: Shantan Wantan Ichiban + Joyride + Bad Ezzy + Nacho Pop Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $5. Pacha Presents: We R Scndl + Krunki + Glover + Ben Morris + Matt Nugent + Samrai + Jace Disgrace + Fingers + Danny Lang + Reelax+ DJ Eko + DJ Lust 1 + Devola + Nad Heke +

Deckhead + Trent Rackus Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $30. Remi Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $21. Spice 28.06 - feat: Shivers + Slow Blow + Cassette + Robbie Lowe + Sam Francisco The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 10pm. $25.

SUNDAY JUNE 29 S.A.S.H Sundays - feat: Mo’Funk + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace + Nick Miney Flyover Bar, Sydney. 2pm. $10.

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snap

Deep Impressions

up all night out all week . . .

Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery

O

ne of Britain’s most inventive producers, Matthew Herbert, will release his first music under the moniker of Herbert in close to a decade, due before the end of the month on his own label, Accidental. Herbert is an electronic music pioneer who has remixed and produced a wide array of artists like Quincy Jones, Bjork, Serge Gainsbourg and even Dizzee Rascal. He has become increasingly experimental in recent times, as evinced by his One Pig album, which was made from recordings taken during the birth, life, butchery and consumption of a single pig, reared for meat at a farm in England. His forthcoming EP is a four-tracker entitled Part 6, apparently a sequel to the Parts 1-5 EPs, which dropped way back in 1995/96. It follows last year’s whopping 130-track digital ‘box set’ covering Herbert’s house-leaning productions spanning the period of 1996 – 2006, including classics such as the Smith N Hack remix of ‘Moving Like A Train’. One of Sydney’s favourite techno sons, Phil Smart, will play an all-night set at the next of Picnic’s One Night Stand parties at the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville on Saturday August 2. Smart has released under various monikers over the years, such as Earthlink, Headland, Altitude, and Sprocket. He’s also a co-founder of record labels Think and Thunk and a key figure in the organisation of Australia’s answer to Burning Man, Burning Seed, which will run over the first week of October in the Matong State Forest. “DJing a whole night, from start to finish, is something I’ve always dreamed of doing,” Smart divulged about his forthcoming set. “Now I finally get the chance! It’s pretty much the last box left unticked on the list of things I’ve wanted to do as a DJ, so I’m very excited and honoured to have this opportunity for a One Night Stand.” You can never write off Kompakt Records. Not that the quality of the Cologne label’s output has tapered off much at all in recent years, but there’s always the pessimistic temptation to think that the label’s quality will waver due to the difficulty maintaining its lofty standards. However, Kompakt’s latest offering more than meets the level we’ve come to expect from the German tastemakers. Ada and David Hasert have teamed up for a new project under the

alias of DAMH, an acronym for ‘Dog Ate My Homework’. Hasert, also known as Hasi, is the founder of label Like Records, while Ada has established herself as one of the foremost women in European electronica following the release of her memorable debut album Blondie a decade ago. She’s since released a string of EPs such as the serene Love Stoned, worked alongside Axel Willner (AKA The Field), Jörg ‘The Modernist’ Burger, Popnoname and John Stanier of Battles (as Cologne Tape) and released her slightly disappointing sophomore album Meine Zarten Pfoten (‘My Tender Paws’) on DJ Koze’s Pampa imprint. DAMH’s debut EP Black Night is one of the most polished house releases of the year so far, showcasing ethereal pop influences and slick synthlines, with heavy hitters Hasert and Koze contributing remixes. FBi Radio launches its new digital station, FBi Click, this week. Dedicated to electronic music, the station will be available to stream online 24 hours a day via fbiradio.com/click. Many of the protagonists from the local club milieu will be involved with the new digital radio channel, including the crews behind Astral People, Goodgod Small Club, Picnic, Motorik and Halfway Crooks. All these denizens and others will DJ at the launch party/FBi fundraiser romp at Goodgod Small Club this Friday. Entry is $10 for FBi Supporters and $15 for the unconverted.

rüfüs

PICS :: AM

Herbert

22:06:14 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

S :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

MAR ::

LOOKING DEEPER FRIDAY JUNE 27 FBi Click Launch Goodgod Small Club

SATURDAY JUNE 28 Le Loup Club 77

SATURDAY JULY 19 Super Flu Club 77

SATURDAY AUGUST 2 Phil Smart The Imperial

DAMH

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spice 21.06 sydney meets istanbul

PICS :: KC

up all night out all week . . .

22:06:14 :: Flyover Bar :: 275 Kent St Sydney 9262 1988 30 :: BRAG :: 567 :: 18:06:14

hed kandi 3rd birthday

PICS :: AM

s.a.s.h sundays

PICS :: AM

21:06:14 :: The Spice Cellar :: 58 Elizabeth St Sydney 9223 5585

21:06:14 :: The Goldfish :: 111 Darlinghurst Rd Potts Point 8354 6630 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

S :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

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SECRET SOUNDS presents

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Sat 26 Jul Oxford Art Factory Moshtix.com.au

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theheadandtheheart.com Secret-sounds.com.au

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