Issue 1431

KASABIAN

KATE MILLER-HEIDKE

LIKE JUNK

TUNE-YARDS

2

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

3

NEWSDESK

LOCAL NEWS

|

GLOBAL NEWS

|

ANNOUNCEMENTS

RTRFM RADIOTHON LINES UP The line-up for RTRFM’s Radiothon Opening Party has been announced with a bunch of quality acts set to take over Northbridge on Friday, August 15, from 8pm.

At The Bakery, it’s Savoir, Rainy Day Women, Kučka, Davey Craddock & The Spectacles and The Weapon is Sound; Ya Ya’s will host Dream Rimmy, Loners, HAMJAM and Hideous Sun Demon. At The Bird it’s hip-hop artists Coin Banks, Marksman Lloyd, Kid Tsunami and Empty while over at Flyrite it’s Sable, Slumberjack, Lower Spectrum and RTRFM’s Cloud Waves DJs. Presales from rtrfm.com.au are $15 – Subscribers, $20 – General. Door sales are available for $20 – Subscribers, $25 – General, plus free entry for Gold Subscribers. For more details visit rtrfm.com.au.

Davey Craddock & The Spectacles, RTRFM Radiothon Opening Party

EXTRA STING & SIMON

TORI TELLING THIRD BOB DYLAN SHOW ADDED

Never ones to be left out in the popularity stakes, Sting & Paul Simon, have added a second On Stage Together date in Perth. With the Saturday, February 21, show having sold out, the dynamic duo will also perform at Sir James Mitchell Park for a second and final show on Sunday, February 22. Special guest at both shows will be Sarah Blasko.

Tickets to the second show go on sale Thursday July 17 at 10am, from Ticketmaster.com.au (136 100).

Good news for Bob Dylan fans, the great man’s neverending tour has been selling out all over the country and extra shows have been added. In Perth a third and final show has been added for Friday, August 15, at the Riverside Theatre (his August 13-14 shows having fully sold out).

Tickets for the new show go on sale from 9am (WST) next Monday, July 21, from Ticketek.com.au (132 849).

Sting & Paul Simon

Bob Dylan

SMRT-TASTIC

BACK TO THE FUTURE

It’s been a while between shows for Smrts, but they’re making up for it with two shows, both in Northbridge, this week. On Thursday, July 17, they headline a fundraising show alongside Inner Pieces, Craig McElhinney and Hayley Beth in support of Serbian flood victims. On Friday, July 18, Smrts will feature with UV Dancehall and the Menagerie Choir.

Both shows are $10 entry at the door.

From The Jam, featuring former The Jam bassist Bruce Foxton will be returning to Australia in March 2015 for their That’s Entertainment tour. The group will be performing classics by The Jam alongside songs from Foxton’s solo career including tracks from his new album, Back In The Room. The tour will kick off in Perth on Tuesday, March 5, at Capitol, with tickets available from Oztix.com.au for $40 + booking fee.

Smrts, back to Northbridge

From The Jam

Elder stateswoman of confessional pop Tori Amos has expanded her world tour to include Australia. Following on from the release of her latest album, Unrepentant Geraldines, the tour stops by the Riverside Theatre on Thursday, November 18.

Tickets go on sale from 10am this Friday, July 18, from livenation.com.au.

Tori Amos

VAUDEVILLE WITH A TWIST 360 AND COUNTING An international round up of hip hop is set to hit Australia when Hopsin (USA), Pez, Miracle and Lunar C (UK) climb aboard 360’s Utopia tour; his first headline outing in two years. Gossling will also be performing on the national tour but will miss the Perth leg which includes a Friday, September 19, 18+ show at Metro City and an all-ages show on Saturday, August 20, at the Astor Theatre. Tickets are available from 360music.com.au for $55 (plus booking fee).

360, tour supports announced

The Twisted Vaudeville Circus will present a full stage show as part of its Au Dela Cirque Bleu fourth anniversary. Starring Aerial Twist, Joanna LittlewoodJohnson, The Rybka Twins, Ginger La Minge and Kelly Cook, as well as a multitude of cabaret, circus artists and other special performers, the show will feature a cocktail party with 100 per cent of the ticket sales being donated to beyondblue and its work with depression and anxiety sufferers.

In memory of much-loved street performer, Matty Blade, the show happens on Friday, August 8, at the East End Bar & Lounge with tickets available from moshtix.com.au for $30 (plus booking fee).

The Rybka Twins, Au Dela Cirque Bleu

A NEW SUNSET 44th Sunset have announced the release of their first single since separating themselves from their major label contract. Stories, Not Sorry will be released this Friday, July 18, through littleBIGMANrecords and looks to continue the success of the quartet’s 2013 breakthrough track, Caesar. The band will also be undergoing a national tour in September with more information set to arrive through www.facebook. com/44thSunset.

44th Sunset Pic: Michael Wylie

NATIONAL LINES Patrick James has announced a 10-date national tour in support of his latest EP, Broken Lines. Having already toured the country with Pete Murray and Boy & Bear, the Sydney sensation is no stranger to interstate tours and will be looking to step up his game as a headliner this August-September. James’ Perth show will see him performing at the Fly By Night on Saturday, September 6, for. Tickets are $20 (plus booking fee) available through Moshtixcom.au.

Patrick James

HIDDEN TREASURES – WEEK 3 The City of Fremantle’s Hidden Treasures winter music series continues this Thursday, July 17, with Here Comes The Sun and Thee Gold Blooms taking over The Buffalo Club, while Moana and Fremantle supergroup Midfield Legends (features members of The Triffids, The Bad Seeds, The Stems, Holy Rollers and The Seven Storey Jumpers) perform at The Navy Club.

PS Art Space will feature its Analogue On exhibition which highlights musicians and the mechanics of their gear. Host Aarom Wilson will talk with Ryan McDonald, Basic Mind and Duplex Rabbit the artistic approach to the technical process before they start the show. Strunkdts, Duplex Rabbit and Basic Mind will perform.

The Fremantle Workers Club will host the unique Jam Nation allowing an inclusive community jam session alongside The Fancy Brothers.

Tickets are $10 at the door at all shows. For more information on venues and artists see facebook.com/hiddentreasuresfremantle.

Midfield Legends 4

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

5

WIN

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

PRINT AND DIGITAL EDITIONS PUBLISHER/MANAGER Joe Cipriani

EDITORIAL - 9213 2888

LISTEN OUT Y’ALL CAUSE THIS IS IT Listen Out, the new boutique festival from Parklife promoters Fuzzy, are still offering VIP double passes to X-Press readers. More than a few Facebook feeds are blowing up with the lineup, which is absolutely massive: Chet Faker, Zhu, Ta-Ku, YG, Schoolboy Q, Four Tet, a Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs DJ set, and Flume’s only Australian gigs this year. You can find tickets at listen-out.com.au and get yourself down to Ozone Reserve on Sunday, September 28, or you could be one of our lucky winners - hit us up with your name, address and birthdate at win@xpressmag. com.au. Not only have first and second release tickets for the Perth show sold out, we’re some of the few people left you can snag a VIP pass from - they’ll grants you complimentary drinks, express entry, access to a swish bar, and the opportunity to see Listen Out artists tear up a ping pong tournament.

PINING FOR THE FJORDS

MANAGING EDITOR Bob Gordon: editor@xpressmag.com.au FEATURES & DANCE MUSIC EDITOR Merran Reed: featuresed@xpressmag.com.au LOCAL MUSIC & ARTS EDITOR Travis Johnson: localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au GIG & EVENT GUIDES CO-ORDINATOR guide@xpressmag.com.au COMPETITIONS win@xpressmag.com.au For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au PHOTOGRAPHY Rachael Barrett, Guang-Hui Chuan, Daniel Craig, Brandon D’Silva, Max Fairclough, Daniel Grant, Sammy Granville, Matt Jelonek, Emma Mackenzie, Callum Ponton, Denis Radacic, Bohdan Warchomij, Michael Wylie CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Leah Blankendaal, Nina Bertok, Aaron Bryans, Joe Cassidy, Hayley Davis, Chris Gibbs, Alfred Gorman, Shaun Cowe, Predrag Delibasich, Jayde Ferguson, George Green, Alex Griffin, James Hanlon, Chris Havercroft, Joshua Hayes, Brendan Holben, Coral Huckstep, Ellie Hutchinson, Tom Kitson, Charlie Lewis, Daisy Lythe, David James Young, RK, Lauren Wiszniewski, Andrew Nelson, David O’Connell, Shane Pinnegar, Jessica Willoughby, Sean Drill

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

As the rampant success of the Millenium trilogy and Jo Nesbo has proved, we heart Scandinavian thrillers.

The Keeper Of Lost Causes is another adaption of a crime novel by the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo scriptwriter, and was the highest grossing Danish film of 2013. Department Q deals with cold cases, and a newly transferred PTSD-stricken detective just can’t let one of them go. Years before, the death of a politican aboard a ferry was ruled as suicide, but it doesn’t add up for our man in Copenhagen - he tracks down the only witness, the victim’s nonverbal brother, to investigate. Is this a dead politician? The Keeper Of Lost Causes is out in cinemas on July 31. If you’d like a double pass, hit us up at win@xpressmag.com.au.

I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING NEXT FRIDAY Climbing Vine’s Hunted series is performance art for people who get a weird thrill out of reading through the Saw franchise wikis, got a massive kick out of Kathy Bates’ severed American Horror Story head, or really dug the Ghost Train as a kid(ult). Given how compelling classic horror camp is, this is probably you.

Climbing Vine is a Perth performance company who specialise in interactive small-group theatre events, where the small group can be as few as two people setting out alone and the theatre is usually an undisclosed location. This time around, they’re running The Ritual and Cutting Class, walk-through horror events that take suspense, gothic theatre, the Freddy Krueger tradition and jolt thrills and run like a slasher flick cheerleader. Cutting Class is a high school slasher in the Scream mould, where guests get their own start times and take their own route into the dark, twisted psyche of the classic horror janitor. Read up on the productions and book your tickets at huntedexperience.wix.com/. We’ve got three double passes for Cutting Class to give away, so hit us up at win@xpressmag.com.au if you’re cool with serial killers. Cutting Class runs until August 10.

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT - 9213 2854

AND SO IT GOES Michael Douglas, Diane Keaton, and a screenwriter with a nomination for As Good As It Gets - Robert Reiner’s latest film has all the elements you’d want from the director of When Harry Met Sally, The First Wives’ Club and The Bucket List. In the retirement rom-com And So It Goes, Douglas is a curmudgeonly realtor making the final sale of his career when his estranged son drops off a granddaughter he never knew existed. Cue Diane Keaton, a neurotic but loving neighbour, who cares for the nine-year-old while Douglas grumpily gets his life back on track. It’s out in cinemas on August 7, and if you’d like to win a double pass, drop us a line at win@xpressmag.com.au.

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

PRINTING Rural Press Printing Mandurah DISTRIBUTION - 9213 2853 - distribution@xpressmag.com.au ADMIN / ACCOUNTS - 9213 2888 Lillian Buckley accounts@xpressmag.com.au EDITORIAL DEADLINES General: Friday 5pm, Eye4 Arts: Thursday 10am, WIN: Friday 5pm, Salt Clubs: Monday 5pm , Local Scene: Monday Noon, Gig Guide: Monday 5pm ADVERTISING DEADLINES Cancellations: Monday 5pm, Ads to be set: Monday Noon Supplied Bookings / Copy: Tuesday 12 Noon, Classifieds: Monday 4pm Published by: Columbia Press Pty.Ltd. A.C.N. 066 570 803 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No PP600110.00006 Suite 55/102 Railway Street, City West Business Centre, West Perth, WA 6005 Locked Bag 31, West Perth, WA 6872 Phone: (08) 9213 2888 Fax: (08) 9213 2882 Website: http://www.xpressmag.com.au WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY

EAGLE ROCK IS HERE TO STAY Ross Wilson, the legend behind Eagle Rock, will return to Perth this August with his Peaceniks band to help launch the new Centurion Hotel in Midland. Ross and friends will be playing all the classics from his Mondo Rock and Daddy Cool days. We have 20 double passes to give away, so email your name and contact details to win@xpressmag.com.au for your chance to win.

Ross Wilson

Advertisers and/or their agents by lodging an advertisment shall indemnify the publisher, and its agents, against all liability claims or proceedings whatsoever arising from the publication. Advertisers and/or their representatives indemnify the publisher in relation to defamation, slander, breach of copyright, infringement of trademarks of name of publication titles, unfair competition or trade practices, royalties or violation of rights or privacy and warrant that the material complies with revelant laws and regulations and that its publication will not give rise to any rights against or liabilities in the publisher, its servants or agents. Any material supplied to X-Press is at the contributor’s risk.

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

CARNIVALE After an enormous Carnivale success in April, Perth house impresarios Rough Love are bringing back their CauseWay masquerade for a second round. A house party founded on the twin pillars of Venetian masked balls and arcade gaming à la Mortal Combat, The Carnivale 02 will be headlined by R&B, house and ghettotech legend Jimmy Edgar (UK). There’ll also be a lot of shimmery house vibes from a local legends Parakord, Eyan. Nina Van Dyke and Milanov, among others, as well as a sideshow alley set-up featuring arcade games and soul food. Tickets are on sale now from pulseradio.net, but you can win a double pass by emailing us at win@xpressmag.com.au.

6

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

7

FLESH

NEWS - INTERVIEWS - REVIEWS - CONTENTS

Answered by Tony Papa-Adams (vocals).

Who else in the Big Splash heats are you keen to get a look at?

We all want to see Pat Chow play we have heard so many good things about them so I’m exited about that. Also we wanted to see Hideous Sun Demon and Eloise Ashton again, we have seen them both before and they are both amazing acts.

How did you feel about your set last Tuesday night?

The boys and I were pumped for the show we had been jamming all day and couldn’t wait to get out there. We all felt like we had played well but were by no means confident about the result after watching Kid XL, Sam Wylde and Sprawl kill it.

What are your plans, at this stage, for the rest of 2014?

Plans at this stage are to keep jamming and writing new tunes. We have some decent shows lined up for later this year like the Bridgetown Blues Fest so we’re excited to play that again, and if we can squeeze out a cheeky EP along the way that’s a bonus too.

TRACKSUIT

What acts caught your ear/eye?

Sprawl caught our attention; they were loud and in your face in a good way but for me, personally, I really loved Kid XL.

The Big Splash continues with Heat #8, at The Ellington on Tuesday, July 22, with Amani Consort, Junkadelic, Mambo Chic and Shameem. Tickets are $5 at the door from 8pm.

Tracksuit launch their debut album, Daydreaming Days, this Saturday, July 19, at Amplifier with help from The Autumn Isles, Helen Shanahan and Simon Kelly & The Big Bamboo. BOB GORDON checks in with vocalist/guitarist, Steve Hensby.

OLD BLOOD Big Splash Heat #6 Winner

ECU OPEN DAYS

Daydream Believers

If you’re curious about ECU’s campuses and huge range of courses, or if you’re feeling a bit nostalgic for the Sculptures By The Sea cask wine installation (Joondalup campus), head on down to an ECU Open Day. Learn about the courses at Joondalup (and get some sneaky activities in) this Sunday, July 20, and do the same at ECU Mount Lawley on Sunday, August 10. They’ve promised petting zoos, market stalls, bungee trampolines and bucking bulls (depending on your campus), as well as some old-fashioned good advice. For Tracksuit have been peddling their diverse take on more details, head to ecu.edu.au/future-students/open-day. pop/rock for a few years now, with two EPs and several single releases under their belt.

While there’s a fair bit of experience within, their debut album, Daydreaming Days, is exactly that a debut - so there was plenty to consider about what shades of the band would be revealed.

“We found we had a lot more freedom with an album and could go to more diverse musical places,” vocalist/guitarist, Steve Hensby says. “In the context of an EP it would sound disjointed, but with an LP you have more tracks to play around with, plus we have so many songs it seemed like right thing to do. There’s plenty of rock and roll/soul and, for lack of a better word, groovy songs, but the ballads are really stand-out for me as really pushing where LYTS FIRES Tracksuit can go.

After a spot of international travel, unapologetically “In terms of mood I wanted the album to decadent electro pop duo LYTS are back and ready sound optimistic and uplifting; it was also recorded to launch their new single, the delightfully titled Kill very quickly and I think that captured the feel nicely.

Somebody, at Beat Nightclub this Saturday, July 19. I’ve recorded on songs before where you do take after VALLEY OF THE ‘DOLL They’ll do so with help from Yalleron and Heytesberg. take and that has its own merits, but we definitely Perth’s rising rock trio Ragdoll have just returned from Doors open at 8pm, $10 entry. just wanted to go into the studio and hit ‘record’. I Kill Somebody comes from LYTS’ debut LP, think it was the right thing to do for Tracksuit and another successful US tour, this time around a 21-date Initiate, out now via Firestarter Music. jaunt that included a show at the Whisky A Go Go this album.” in Hollywood and Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma.

The 11 songs on the album were mainly LYTS Now that Ragdoll are back they’re getting written in the six or so months before Tracksuit ready to launch their new album, Ragdoll Rewound, at recorded the album, with two notable exceptions, ECU OPEN DAYS the Civic Hotel. It’s a happening thing on Saturday, plus another for the opposite reason.

August 9, with special guests Hailmary and This If you’re curious about ECU’s campuses and huge “Breakdown Doors and Monsieur ou Other Eden. Head to ragdollrock.com for more details. range of courses, or if you’re feeling a bit nostalgic Madame? are older by about a year, but definitely for the Sculptures By The Sea cask wine installation needed to go on the album,” Hensby says. “The Ragdoll (Joondalup campus), head on down to an ECU Open opening track Dance (Looking For Romance) was Day. written a week before we started recording and the Learn about the courses at Joondalup first time we played as a band was Take-1 ... one (and get some sneaky activities in) this Sunday, of those nice moments where everything comes CONTENTS July 20, and do the same at ECU Mount Lawley on together.

Sunday, August 10. They’ve promised petting zoos, “There might have been a couple that market stalls, bungee trampolines and bucking bulls started being written while I was travelling, or on the 4 Newsdesk (depending on your campus), as well as some old- road, but the majority came from playing an acoustic 6 Win fashioned good advice. guitar on my living room floor in my living room, then 8 Flesh For more details, head to ecu.edu.au/ they went into the rehearsal room for the loveable 10 Music future-students/open-day. twins (Jay and Trav Leggett, bass and drums) to work Kasabian, Nick Mulvey their magic.”

Neurosis, The aforementioned Monsieur Ou Madame tUnE-yArDs, Howling Bells could well be a musical theme for a HBO series, or if New Noise Tim Burton directed a remake of Bosom Buddies.

15 Eye4

21

29 30

Cover: Henry V East Journey, Under The Skin, Reaching For The Moon Rolf De Heer, Charlie’s Country The Hit List Fashion, Arts Listings Scene Cover: Kate Miller-Heidke News, Producer’s Cut, Take 5 DJ Spooky, Matrix Live: The Arsonist, Brown Study Band, Crooked Colours, Autumn Isles Local Scene: Like Junk X-Press Guide Social Pics, Volume

FRONT COVER: Genre-defying US outfit, Neurosis, hit Capitol on Wednesday, August 6.

SCENE COVER: Kate Miller-Heidke performs at the Astor Theatre on Friday, August 1.

WE’S A PLAYIN’ WEEZER!

ROLLERWARS! The Perth Roller Derby folk are getting ready for the fifth bout of the 2014 home season on Saturday, July 19, an explosive clash between The Bloody Sundaes and Mistresses of Mayhem. It unleashes this Saturday, July 19, at the Herb Graham Recreation Centre, Mirrabooka, from 6.30pm.

Tickets can be purchased from perthrollerderby.com.au, Morley Rollerdrome and Lucky Skates.

Bloody Sundaes vs Mistresses of Mayhem Pic: Ishtar Photographics

8

As part of the Newport Hotel’s Record Club, Weezer’s classic 1996 album, Pinkerton, will be performed with a mile of smiles by Pink Eye Town, a gathering of Stu Macleod (Eskimo Joe), Cain Turnston, Andy Lawson and Hobbs (all of The Avenues) and Rodney Aravena (End Of Fashion) this Thursday, July 17.

“Pinkerton was the record in the van that was always played the loudest,” Macleod says. “Such intense, raw sounds. It always got me fired up. Blown out drums, ripping guitar solos and River’s angst laden vocals. It really was the soundtrack to many tours, and every time I hear it, it brings back a whole host of crazy, wild, raucous good times. The songs are sounding great in the studio, everyone’s playing with huge smiles on their faces. Can’t wait to take to the stage and turn the knobs as far right as they’ll go.”

Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are $10 (plus booking fee) from Oztix.com.au or at the door. Your hosts are Steve Parkin and Malcolm Clark.

Stu Macleod, Pink Eye Town

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

“Monsieur ou Madame was always a bit of a novelty song for Tracksuit then when we put it down to tape it came out sounding quite beautiful”” Hensby enthuses. “This was definitely due to the fact that Nikki Dagostino and Hayley-Jane Eyre did some wonderful playing on it. From the creative side of things I was listening to lots of Edith Piaf at the time and wrote it very quickly over a bottle of red wine.

I just started played a waltz in G minor and there it was, definitely the kind of song that comes through you rather than having to slave over it which was nice! Lyrically I wanted Monsieur ou Madame? to be naughty and cheeky but still be a bit subtle, rather than to be obvious for shock value.

“It is definitely influenced by Steve Poltz.

I’m very fond of his songwriting, he can go from gorgeous ballad to the ridiculous in a heartbeat.”

Three-piece line-ups are always interesting in terms of a musical dynamic. A trio mode comes with limitations, but can be liberating in other ways.

It’s a dynamic that has been under consideration of late.

“Trios are fun,” says Hensby, “they make you work harder!

“The lovely Lukas Murphy has recently jumped on board the Tracksuit train on keys and a second guitar so we now a quartet. He recorded Rhodes and Hammond on about eight of the tracks on the album and it sounded too good not to have him join up with us. It was a big decision because I was definitely set on the idea of a trio but because the songs on the album require more musicians and the fact that Lukas is a wizard made the decision a bit of a no-brainer. It’s exciting to write new material when there is another instrument and voice to take into consideration as well.”

Daydreaming Days was recorded at Yo Yo Studios, by Malcolm Clark (The Sleepy Jackson, The Weapon Is Sound) who is, incidentally, a good friend of Tracksuit influence, Steve Poltz.

“Mal was great,” Hensby says, “he kept everything raw and honest and he knows what sounds he should go for and how to get it, whether it’s a snare drum, acoustic guitar or vocal. It was easy, everyone was on the same page.

“He got some great guitar tones all over the album that I definitely wouldn’t of dreamed up!

You Own Me was a song he definitely took the reins on. Great sounds and great vibes... he can also make a mean cocktail! We also have to have a shout out to Andy Lawson and Lars Goransson for mixing the album; also Simon Struthers for mastering. All exceptionally good at what they do and super nice guys.”

With the album now complete and released, Tracksuit can take the next step in their journey, it essentially being a ticket to work even harder. Hensby can’t wait.

“We’re really proud of it and anything that happens on top of that is a bonus, really,” he notes.

“We are off over East in October for a tour and then South towards the end of the year. We have a few new songs already, so we’ll just keep on writing, playing shows and doing our thing then look to record another album. At the end of the day we just adore playing music together, it’s a very jolly thing to do!”

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

9

MUSIC

VIEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

STORIES

“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.”

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.

“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 With a new album, 48:13, out now, Kasabian kick off their Australian tour on Tuesday, August 5, at Metro City. AUGUSTUS explains. “Rock music’s fallen behind – definitely behind hip hop and electronic music – because it’s just not WELBY chats with guitarist/songwriter, Serge Pizzorno. moved on. So we’re trying to move it on, to make the “I’ve always loved exploring,” he says. “That’s new rock’n’roll.”

The media tends to project a simplified image of determination, which goes hand-in-hand with the There’s a big difference between paying why on each record I sort of go off. I get bored. If a Kasabian as a group of lairy hedonists with a messiah compulsive creative tendency. complex. This conception isn’t unfounded, but the “We have this element that makes us unique formula’s working, artistically it doesn’t do anything for homage to the past and making an innovative statement, communicating a strong sense of right now. discussion wouldn’t linger if the band’s creative output – we’re trying to push rock music forward, make new me. I love just trying things and moving around.”

“I buzzed off the Kanye record, Yeezus, for Nevertheless, he’s also in tune with the weren’t capable of sustaining interest. rock music. I so love the late ’60s. I love all the music When X-Press Magazine catches up with that was created there – the avant-garde stuff like critical task of making music with popular accessibility. that reason,” says Pizzorno. “Not necessarily all the guitarist and creative leader, Serge Pizzorno, he’s quick Silver Apples and obviously the Stones and The Who “What’s amazing about our band is we bring loads of songs or as a piece of work, but he just did something to clarify that these peripheral details aren’t particularly and all that stuff. We know what they used to sound people together from all walks of life, from all angles,” with hip hop. He’s dropped a massive move. I want interesting to him. like and we know how amazing that was, but let’s he says. “There’s a huge part of me that’s like, ‘Let’s go this record to have that with rock music – for kids “I don’t care about any of the success, money, figure out what they would sound like if they were so experimental and so insane and blow people’s minds,’ in bands to listen to it and go, ‘Oh, we don’t have to but then you’d lose a lot of that element of what we just use these guitars’, and, ‘We’ve got a great song, it fame – all that nonsense. The only thing I care about is making music now.” the making of stuff. That’s why I get up every morning What’s particularly striking about Pizzorno’s are. When you listen carefully there’s a lot of avant- doesn’t have to stop there’. buzzing to get into the studio.” immodest statements of intent is the sober manner with garde, there’s a lot of experimentation going on, but “That’s why I love Tame Impala. The Earlier this month Kasabian released their which they’re conveyed. He gives off the impression of there’s also a great hook or great melody that people fifth LP, 48:13. In the lead-up to the record’s release, merely rummaging through facts, rather than trying can connect to and relate to. And that’s amazing. I’ve techniques Kevin Parker uses and his taste, it sounds like it’s made now, although you can hear where it’s coming UK publications like ShortList and The Guardian to prove a point. Then again, perhaps the songwriter’s realised over time that that’s what makes us unique.”

Pizzorno isn’t the type of songwriter who from, which I buzz on. They’re truly an incredible again drew attention to the Leicester lads’ bravado- considered disposition shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s laden self-appraisal. Indeed, during our conversation, his loutish sideman, vocalist Tom Meighan, who’s the commences work on an album purely for the sake of band and I think he’s massively, massively talented. It’s Pizzorno doesn’t shy away from statements elevating more outspoken member of Kasabian. Pizzorno, on the it. Before immersing himself in the gruelling process about grabbing little pieces from things you love and his group’s significance. However, it becomes other hand, is the thinker, the man committed to an he needs to decipher the chief creative objective. For then rearranging it and stitching it back together in a 48:13, reaching an understanding of what constitutes different order. Then it starts to be new.” apparent that this estimation stems from his fierce artistic agenda.

KASABIAN The New Rock Dialogue

NICK MULVEY Theory In Practice From a degree in ethnomusicology to being a member of Portico Quartet, Nick Mulvey has had quite the unique musical career. He chats with AARON BRYANS ahead of his support slot with Ben Howard at the Astor Theatre on Friday, July 25.

Nick Mulvey has seemingly seen it all in his musical career. Currently at the age of 26, the British-born musician has travelled the world studying music, performed in a Mercury Prize-nominated band, Portico Quartet, and played one of the most unique instruments in the industry, The Hang.

Struggling to maintain his creative urge, Mulvey left the Portico Quartet to pursue a solo career, going on to release two EPs and now his acclaimed debut album, First Mind.

“It was really something I had to do,” Mulvey explains. “It was coming from that creative side until it became this very obvious move. Once it became obvious it absolutely had to happen, and I really wanted it to happen. Initially the first rumblings were that, in the band that I was in, I was playing the Hang drum; which was very exciting because it was a new instrument for four or five years, but it didn’t have a lot of depth and interest. The guitar has a lot more potential. I was a guitarist and a singer and I wasn’t playing or singing.

One year was cool, two years was okay, three years was a little bit hard, four years and five years was starting to drive me mad.

"That desire to return to my main thing was there. The band members were also, very rightly so, going on their journey in music and it just wasn’t my thing. They got into self-recycling and having leak boxes and snippets of sounds. Very experimental things, I appreciate, but I wasn’t connected on their prime interests. They were racing down a path and I wasn’t listening to quite the same artists they were listening to.”

The choice has been a positive one for Mulvey, with First Mind greeted with a hugely positive response from critics, receiving four stars from The Guardian, Q Magazine, Total Guitar Magazine and the Daily Mail.

“It’s always a really beautiful humbling surprise,” Mulvey expresses. “It’s hard to know what to expect; but being in the middle of the whole 10

process and taking that process step by step as we naturally have done, I’m the one with the least expectations. You never know how it’s going to be received.

“It’s been about numerous things, from the very obvious levels, like working with lyrics and words and playing the guitar that kind of surface stuff.

There’s something much deeper. Over the course of those five years I had a lot of songs building up inside of me. I was getting my creative kicks in that band, but a lot of it wasn’t being released. It’s something that’s not even restricted to the creative realms.

“The process of the songs is a process of 'how fully can I be myself?' It’s a question of actively clearing the way, unlearning all the unhelpful shit that you think about a song, like what songs might the world want. You have to clear the decks, turn off the internal radio and ask yourself 'what songs want to come through me?' And when you can do that and do it successfully, inevitably what you land with will be unique because it will be an expression of you, not an expression of someone who’s studied the playing field and created something through imitation. And

that’s where I’m coming from as a writer.”

Mulvey’s drive for creativity is bred from his endless experiences including his unique choice to study ethnomusicology at the University of London, a decision that has given him the ability to truly appreciate the value of music.

“If you asked me as a kid what I’d end up doing I would’ve thought you were mad,” Mulvey laughs. “I’m definitely about having an instrument in my hand, I’m not a theoretical person; and ethnomusicology was quite theoretical. But I found myself relishing it. It was the broadest perspective that I could find at that point as a young person.

In the course you could sit down in the morning and they’d genuinely ask you what is music. The ethnomusicologist is almost like an alien who doesn’t take anything for granted. Every musical note is packed full of meaning of all the musical notes that preceded it. We could pull apart a Britney Spears song all day and it’s all valid, nothing is not interesting.

That kind of set me up to have a thoughtful angle.”

Mulvey will be bringing his creative genius to Australia in July, touring with Ben Howard and

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

“The process of the songs is a process of 'how fully can I be myself?' It’s a question of actively clearing the way, unlearning all the unhelpful shit that you think about a song, like what songs might the world want. You have to clear the decks, turn off the internal radio and ask yourself 'what songs want to come through me?'" appearing at the annual Splendour in the Grass.

“I’m really excited to head over to Australia. You guys are looking beautiful from over here. I feel like a lot of things have given me the impression that Australia has a ready appetite for the kind of thing that I’m doing.”

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

11

MUSIC

VIEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

STORIES

NEUROSIS Pure And True It’s hard to believe genre-defying heavy pioneers Neurosis have never been to Australia in their entire 30-year career.

That is about to change, as they embark on their first national tour on our shores next month. JESSICA WILLOUGHBY chats with guitarist, Steve Von Till, ahead of their Perth stop on Wednesday, August 6, at Capitol, supported by Drowning Horse.

Doing something drastically new when you are nearly three decades into your chosen career is pretty much unheard of.

But Californian game-changers, Neurosis, have always been ones to buck the trend. Continuously reinventing themselves time-and-time again for every single one of their 10 full-length releases, their approach to music has been not only spiritual – but also purely self-involved.

Yet almost 30 years since they first decided to form this post-metal act, they are hitting Australian shores for the first time. “It’s like this mythical place,” guitarist Steve Von Till jokes. “Scott’s (Kelly, guitars/ vocals) been there a few times, but I’ve never been there. I can only imagine what it’s like. To come and play some place new this far into what we’ve been doing is exciting – not to mention it being in Australia.

We’ve wanted to get there for forever, but it just never seemed possible. It never seemed like the right time or circumstances. Finally we were just able to find the right people to make it happen and it all came together. So I can’t wait to get out there and meet the people and see the landscape.”

But that’s not the only thing that’s changed.

About two years ago, the five-piece made the decision to alter their live show by removing the trademark visuals that dominated since the early ‘90s. This meant parting ways with longstanding visual artist Josh Graham – whose tireless work mesmerised many audiences in his 12-year residency with the outfit. Von Till says it was time to let the music speak for itself.

“At this point, it’s completely liberating,” he tells X-Press. “When we started them, there was nothing really going on like that. There were maybe a few bands that ventured in that direction. There were no video projectors or shit like that. You had to go shoot

MERRIL GARBUS, TUNE-YARDS | PIC HOLLY ANDRES

TUNEYARDS Rock Star Energy Avant-pop act tUnE-yArDs have released their third album, Nikki Nack. STEPH MARKS reports.

For their third album, Nikki Nack, tUnE-yArDs sought out the help of two of the industry’s most respected producers to refine the band’s earlier sounds.

John Hill (Rihanna, M.I.A.) and Malay (Frank Ocean, Alicia Keys) taught frontwoman, Merill 12

film and you had to hot-rod a 16mm film projector and you had to go through a bank of slide projectors to find all your images. Scanning stuff out of books of artists.

Scouring every art film you could find and work with local filmmakers to do cool stuff. Something that was borne out of the psychedelic visuals of the ‘60s, mixed with the art-damaged industrial stuff going on. It was pretty unique.

“We kept that spirit through, but as the world changed – the technology changed. So we went clean and then with the video projection.

We had Josh, who was our most recent visual artist – to really tighten it up. It worked for a while, but it seems the media-induced world has people constantly plugged into screens. Everyone has shortterm attention spans. We just felt we didn’t need to have another TV on. We felt it was over-saturated.

It wasn’t a political statement or anything. It’s just done for us right now. We feel for the time being, we’re going to let the music speak for itself. Turn the lights up a bit and rage. Let that stand. I think Garbus, and her long-time collaborator, Nate Brenner, how to get people moving.

“I wanted to make a dance album," says Garbus. "I wanted to make people shake. The reason why we brought in producers for help is because they have the inside scoop about what makes dance music and radio pop work.”

The tUnE-yArDs’ sound definitely has the ability to get people up and out of their seats.

Listening to tracks featuring layers of repetitive drumming like the personality packed Water Fountain, it’s almost impossible not to want to throw shapes wherever you are. “Nate comes from a jazz background and I come from a more DIY background. We learnt about the really deep synth and sub harmonic sounds and drum machines and some other really technical tricks of the trade,” says Garbus.

Even with the help of some big-wig producers, Garbus has her own ideas on how the process of making her version of pop music has developed since tUnE-yArDs was born. “I think for me of course it’s hard to have perspective on what I am doing sometimes. I’m just following my nose, but I’ve been told that it sounds crisper and more refined. I still like to think that it’s got a lot of rough edges – an abrasiveness that’s intentional.

It’s gone from being a really low fi project to having the lower-fi elements being a part of the overall sound and we have been lucky enough to record with amazing engineers, too. I feel more like a composer now. The early years were pretty simple and I feel like I have a broader confidence now.”

But it’s not only their music that has undergone a transformation, as Garbus opens up about the personal challenges she’s dealt with on a parallel to her music. “You know I used to wear all black? I think as part of tUnE-yArDs, I’ve really enjoyed coming into my body more. My body was always a source of pain and shame for me for a lot of my life and it’s been great to become bolder."

A common thread throughout their music videos are colour, movement and energy – three elements that she exudes perfectly in her own personal style. “I looked in the mirror the other day at this crazy clashing outfit that I had on and thought, ‘That just make me happy; it gives me energy looking at it’. And that’s the bonus of being a rock star. I can get away with anything.”

Although tUnE-yArDs are in the midst of an exhausting touring schedule, they try to remember that this lifestyle won’t last forever.

It truly seems that Garbus has full grasp on just how amazing this opportunity is. “Being at home and writing an album for a year has really made it clear what a privilege it is to be able to travel internationally and be witness to other people’s lives first hand," she says. "For me, that is really priceless information."

“This music is everything to us; it helps us survive emotionally and spiritually. Not to mention, to be able to be the ones lucky enough to be able to channel this music means you have to treat it with respect.” people that have been seeing us for a long time also found it pretty compelling.

“There was also a certain a nervousness before we did it. But I think when we’re playing, we are sort of tranced out and never know what’s going on anyway. We’ve never seen the visuals (laughs). In a perfect world, in perfect conditions, we get to lose ourselves in the music. That stays pure and stays true.”

Perth fans will have the chance to experience Neurosis live in August. Despite this being their debut

in our city, Von Till is adamant the band will not pander to people just wanting to hear ‘the early years’.

“We focus on the newer material because that is what we are most inspired by,” he explains. “We feel that our latest, Honour In Decay (2012), is our best album that we’ve done yet in our lives. We mix it up a bit, but we never revisit something old if we don’t feel it. We’ve tried to go back and put old songs into setlists, just because we felt like we should at certain times, and we’d meet up in the rehearsal studio and be like, ‘nah’. I don’t know what we were thinking back then, but that sucks.

“This music is everything to us; it helps us survive emotionally and spiritually. Not to mention, to be able to be the ones lucky enough to be able to channel this music means you have to treat it with respect. So now, we only play the places we wanna play when we wanna play with the right people in the right situations.

When it feels like the right thing to do, it makes it way more special for us and the people who come to see us.

It’s a real blessing to be able to live life this way.”

HOWLING BELLS | PIC: ERIK WEISS

HOWLING BELLS Of Strings And Heart Howling Bells are set to return to Australia, touring in support of their new album, Heartstrings. AUGUSTUS WELBY chats to singer, Juanita Stein, ahead of the band’s show at Capitol on Saturday, September 6.

Back in 2004, Howling Bells ended their former life as Waikiki in Sydney and rebooted in London, bearing a new name and an advanced stylistic identity.

Frontwoman, Juanita Stein, recalls it was essentially a do or die move.

“I literally made a pact with myself to never return back to Australia until we had an entire record to show for it,” she says, speaking on the phone from her North London home. “We stepped through some pretty muddy spaces until we did get into the studio and recorded that first record.”

It’s now eight years on from Howling Bells’ self-titled debut and the band’s fourth LP, Heartstrings, has just hit the shelves. Various media outlets have touted the record a comeback LP, thus implying 2011’s The Loudest Engine was something of a misstep.

“The Loudest Engine was definitely a departure from the second record,” she says. “Unless you’re sticking to a very, very rigid artistic path I think you’re toying with people’s emotions. They come to expect one thing from you and then when you suddenly make a really sharp left turn it’s a little unsettling.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

“I have my favourite bands too and I get kind of bummed when they do something drastically different. But as the artist I also understand the need and the hunger to try something different, or at least invest in something that feels a little bit different.”

So what has the foursome – completed by Stein’s brother and lead guitarist Joel, drummer Glenn Moule and new recruit, bassist Gary Daines – done differently this time around? First of all, comprising 10 tracks and clocking in at just over 30 minutes, Heartstrings is the pithiest of the band’s four releases.

It’s still a rather varied collection, but the songs come forth with striking immediacy.

“You get older and you tend to fuck around a lot less,” Stein explains. “You don’t mince words anymore, so to speak. I just feel like, artistically, I know exactly what I want to say and there’s no point in misinterpreting what it is I need to say.”

What ultimately distinguishes Heartstrings is an emphatic sense of purpose, which was somewhat lacking from the two preceding LPs. Following The Loudest Engine, the band members recognised a need to refresh and put Howling Bells on hold for a couple of years. In the interim Stein gave birth to her first child and more recently she’s joined former Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgson and singer Anna Goodall in the London-based psych-pop band, Albert Albert.

Meanwhile, Joel Stein moved over to Berlin to explore his songwriting potential, which resulted in his new band, Glassmaps.

Taking a step back also allowed the foursome to take stock of their primary goals and aspirations.

“Ten years down the road you don’t harbour that same burning ambition,” Stein says. “Now it’s about artistic survival and expression. Back then it was about needing to prove a point. For me now, it’s definitely more about consistently expressing myself, otherwise I start to feel very choked.

“It’s also just about relaxing. I think what’s comes from the length of time that we’ve been playing in a band, and also becoming a mother. A lot of things take a back seat and it’s incredibly freeing.”

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

13

NEW NOISE

For more album reviews head to xpressmag.com.au

4.5

5

OUT OF 5

OUT OF 5

THIS WILD LIFE

BOB MOULD

Clouded Epitaph Records

Beauty & Ruin Merge Records

One very lucky day a few months ago I stumbled across a pop punk duo from Long Beach, California covering Bring Me The Horizon’s Sleepwalking acoustically on YouTube; and boy was it incredible. Formed from the failure of previous band The Messenger, Kevin Jordan and Anthony Del Grosso have taken a hugely different approach to musical expression applying hauntingly beautiful vocals with soothing and outstandingly arranged instrumentals in the debut album Clouded as part of the acoustic duo, This Wild Life.

The album is musically phenomenal. With openhearted and intimate lyrics, magically perfect melodies and the well-selected placements of violins, pianos, drums and guitar; the album takes acoustic barriers and completely shatters them generating a full sound that lacks corny clichés.

Opening track, Concrete sets the stage high with a strong instrumental build and soft harmonies whist No More Bad Days, takes top spot with its fluid vocal melodies and tender violin touches. This Wild Life has found their groove and it’s delivered flawlessly.

With Husker Du and Sugar, Bob Mould has been the masterful leader of a couple of the most revered punk rock three-piece outfits in history. With the latest chapter of his solo career, Mould has found himself fronting another power trio that contains the current powerhouse rhythm section from Superchunk.

While Mould is sonically at his abrasive best during Beauty & Ruin, he also at his most vulnerable as he reflects topics such as the passing of his father and his ongoing musical legacy. I Don’t Know You Anymore is as good a melodic buzz saw pop song as Mould has written since the hit laden Copper Blue as he balances the right amount of heartbreak with caustic kiss off.

Mould rediscovers some youthful exuberance during the high octane and frenetic slice of punk rock, Kid With Crooked Face. Vocals are buried below walls of guitars more often than not, but there is still room for Mould to turn things down when he has something to say. Forgiveness is one such moment where some tenderness is shown.

Mould has turned his back on wrestling commentary and a brief dalliance with electronica to find himself in a rich vein of form with his solo records over the past few years. Beauty & Ruin is the pick of the bunch, overflowing with the kind of guitars that make ears bleed and bowels rumble.

AARON BRYANS

4

OUT OF 5

CHRIS HAVERCROFT

4

OUT OF 5

JUDAS PRIEST Redeemer Of Souls Columbia/Sony With their first studio album release since 2008’s Nostradamus, Judas Priest is well and truly back. Despite the departure of guitarist, K.K. Downing, long-time fans of the band are sure to be satisfied with this offering, which has been teased as a ‘classic, return-to-roots’ album, and hints of previous works may be heard in many of the songs.

This is an important album for Rob Halford and co. due the critical panning of Nostradamus, a double-disc concept album that many fans felt was far too slow for one of the world’s premier metal bands, and one can’t help but feel that this was at the forefront of their minds when writing this intense, melodic and at times destructively heavy record.

While the keen listener may be able to describe similarities between this album and previous works such as Screaming For Vengeance (1982), Ram It Down (1988) and Painkiller (1990) with a touch of Angel Of Retribution (2005) thrown in for good measure, there is no denying that the album still possesses its own ‘sonic theme’ and avoids sounding disjointed, almost in the face of some strange production choices by producers Mike Exeter and guitarist Glenn Tipton, who offer a ‘higherend’ recording, almost scooping the testicles out of many of the tracks. Almost.

It remains to be seen if this album will attract new audiences - however, from the riveting title track, to the raging Halls Of Valhalla and the bluesy-groovy Crossfire, this is a must-have for Priest fans.

PATRICK SPICER

3.5 OUT OF 5

VARIOUS ARTISTS For Every Moment of Triumph Volume 4 (Mixed By Blakkat) Adjunct Records In a world that’s saturated with homegrown online mixes and corporate sponsored compilations, it takes a brave label to dive into the water. But that hasn’t prevented California-based Adjunct Records from showcasing their wares with the fourth installment of For Every Moment Of Triumph.

They’ve attempted to ensure this release keeps its head above water twofold. First they have chosen a tasty selection of new and exclusive tracks and second they have co-opted legendary producer Blakkat (AKA Mark Bell) to mix them; initial listens seem to prove they’ve been successful.

Bell has worked with the likes of Chez Damier, New Order and A Tribe Called Quest and in much the same way that Damian Lazarus did with his Fabric mix a few years back, he has used his vast experience to pick out a sophisticated group of tracks that will grow on the listener and produce something that can be enjoyed for many a month, rather than ditched after a couple of plays.

Tracks move from the warm sultry deep house of Karl Kruger by Doubting Thomas through the jaunty piano of Fase & Dilo’s Don’t Tell Me to the slamming staccato bass stabs of Dapayk Solo’s Nutcase with its outlandish and unexpected breakdown. The tracks segue seamlessly in to one another and Bell works the peaks and troughs of the mix well ensuring this demands more than a cursory listen. One for the house heads.

ANDREW NELSON

3

THE ICYPOLES

OUT OF 5

My World Was Made For You The Lost And Lonesome Recording Co. Melbourne has long been the hotbed for lo-fi bands in Australia and The Icypoles debut, My World Was Made For You, only adds to that reputation. The four Melbourne women who make up The Icypoles have a shared passion for fun, doo-wop and flirty tunes.

One half of the outfit (Isobel Knowles and Tara Shackell) were former members of Architecture In Helsinki and bring the same appreciation on twee quirkiness to The Icypoles’ music. The band regularly put their best foot forward by stealth with very little reliance on any volume whatsoever. This quiet approach makes The Icypoles well suited well they tackle the Twin Peaks ballad Just You with schoolgirl charm.

The a capella Babies is a circular conversation around love and romance and quickly morphs into a feelgood reflection on the cycle of life. Something this cute shouldn’t by rights be this clever, but The Icypoles tread this line throughout the most of My World Was Made For You. The Icypoles aren’t for everyone, but if you want to listen to music that sounds like it s being made with a messy haste, yet taking care not to wake sleepy children in a nearby room, then there is plenty on My World Was Made For You that will tick plenty of boxes.

This is quixotic, wistful and impish in one fine little package.

CHRIS HAVERCROFT 14

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

SHEPPARD Bombs Away Empire Of Song If you’ve switched on the radio recently then there’s a large chance you’ve heard of Sheppard and their number one hit, Geronimo, which knocked Pharrell Williams off the top spot for three weeks. The six-piece’s debut album, Bombs Away, which features both radio singles Geronimo and the 2013 hit Let Me Down Easy, is a lovely break from bass drops and poor attempts at rap, providing some mellow indie-pop on Australian airwaves.

The relaxed vibe provided comes at a price, however, as many tracks like The Best Is Yet To Come and Smile feel uneventful and begin to unveil over-produced vibes similar to that of Owl City. That being said, Amy and George Sheppard have gone out of their way to incorporate as many mainstream pop elements into their songs as possible. The first half of Bombs Away is the saviour, with the foot-tapping simplicity of Something’s Missing and the soothing combination of tambourines and harmonies in These People proving there a more singles to come.

AARON BRYANS

A R T S & C U LT U R E

William Shakespeare’s famous rousing tale of kings, conquest and nationalism gets a new coat of paint in this production by Bell Shakespeare, which frames the story in a wartime scratch performance by a group of British schoolboys. We caught up with actor Matthew Backer.

In the few short years since he graduated from NIDA in 2010, Backer has carved out an enviable career for himself. His first major role was as Frankie Valli in the hit jukebox musical, Jersey Boys (now a major motion picture directed by Clint Eastwood) and he has hosted the children’s television show, History Hunters, as well as doing

|

FILM

stage work with the Sydney Theatre Company and Griffin Theatre Company. However, he notes that his role in Bell Shakespeare’s new production of Henry V may be his greatest achievement thus far.

“I auditioned like everyone else,” he recalls. “but thankfully I knew Damien (Ryan), the director, through other actors and working in Sydney and I am a big fan of his work. When I got approached to do it, it was the combination of Bell and Shakespeare and Damien that was such a big drawcard. You’d be a fool not to say yes.”

The production takes the unusual tack of framing the action of the play within another play, the conceit being that what we are seeing is an amateur production put on by a group of school children during World War II. “You’re getting two plays in one - you’re getting Shakespeare’s Henry V, which is a story we all know, and we’ve extrapolated it and put it into a 1940s setting with a bunch of schoolchildren taking shelter from the Blitz in a classroom. It’s based on the true story

|

NEWS

|

EVENTS

of a bunch of boys in the 1940s who put together a Boys Club to get through the night - that sort of English ‘keep calm and carry on’ thing. They put on plays and we know for a fact that they performed Shakespeare, we just don’t know what one. Damien read that a few years ago and it sort of stuck with him. you’re investigating two worlds in one play and it’s quite thrilling to watch how these two worlds intersect and interweave.”

For the cast, this effectively meant they were playing a character who is himself playing a number of other characters. “It means we’ve all got base characters, as we call them. So I’m a grade nine or 10 high school student who is therefore playing five other characters and that’s been the wonderful, beautiful challenge: how to navigate your way through telling Shakespeare’s story but playing someone else playing it, instead of just you playing the character. That’s actually been quite freeing in a way, because if you just focus on telling the story of the night that the

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

boys are trying to get through, then the other characters come quite easily.”

Of the several characters that Backer essays, his key role is that of the French Dauphin, villainous counterpart to the titular English king.

“The Dauphin is sort of the antithesis of what Henry is. So Henry is the hero or meant to be the heroic young king who thinks he’s doing the right thing and the Dauphin, on the other hand, is this vain, young upstart he has such a high selfimportance. So he’s sort of like the villain of the piece, which is always fun to play. He’s just a vain little bugger.”

TRAVIS JOHNSON

Henry V runs at the State Theatre Centre from Wednesday, July, 23 until Saturday, July 26. Go to statetheatrecentre.com.au for information and tickets.

15

A R T S & C U LT U R E

|

FILM

|

NEWS

|

EVENTS

|

FAS H I O N

FILM

BLOODY MAYHEM The next Perth Roller derby bout takes place on Sunday, July 19 at Mirrabooka’s Herb Graham Recreation Centre and sees The Bloody Sundaes take on Mistresses Of Mayhem. Tickets are $15 - kids $8 - via Lucky Skates, Morley Rollerdome or perthrollerderby.com.au. Doors open at 6.30pm, the bout starts at 7pm.

Perth Roller Derby

BOOBS OUT TO BEAT BREAST CANCER The Naked Fig Restaurant in Swanbourne is hosting a ‘boob booth’ to raise money for The Breast Intentions project, which works to further breast cancer research. On Friday, July 25, between 5pm and 7pm, guys and girls can donate five dollars and bare their upper torsos in an anonymous private photo taken by Jacqui Simons. These will be turned into a collage that will be auctioned off, with all funds going to the Cancer Council’s Pink Ribbon Day Appeal. For more info on The Breast Intentions, go to thebreastintentions.com.au.

DO THE LIMBO WITH BILL BAILEY Beloved British comedian Bill Bailey, familiar from a host of cult sitcoms including Black Books and Spaced, is returning to Perth in October. The hilarious hirsute one brings his new show, Limboland, to the Riverside Theatre on Wednesday, October 1. Tickets are available through Ticketek.

Bill Bailey

MOVIE MURAL Luna Cinemas Leederville is getting a facelift! The iconic Oxford Street landmark is in need of a dab of paint, and the City of Vincent and Luna Cinemas are seeking quotes from artists to create a gigantic wall mural. The deadline falls on Friday, August 1, at 4pm, so interested parties should hit up vincent.wa.gov.au sooner rather than later.

HEARTH AND HOME

SAY IT WITH STYLE

The Home Is Where My Heart Is Exhibition is an annual photography show which tells the story of a group of young people who have been or are homeless.

Each youth works with an emerging photographer to capture images that represent home to them, in whatever form that may take. Presented by the Youth Affairs Council Of WA and Propel Youth Arts WA, it runs The Hive: Creative Arts Space in Northbridge from August 8 - 17. For more information, go to homeiswheremyheartis.org.

Tickets for Styleaid, the WA fashion industry’s biggest and brightest fundraising event, are on sale now. This year’s theme is “mythic,” a word redolent with magic, mystery and fable. Now in it’s 17th year, Styleaid is presented by Curtin University and the WAS AIDS Council, with all proceeds going to the latter. Hosted this year by Dancing With The Stars personality Carmelo Pizzino, it takes place on Friday, August 1, at Crown Perth’s Grand Ballroom. For info head to styleaid.com.au.

UNDER THE SKIN Loving The Alien Directed by Jonathan Glazer Starring Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Scotland Adapting the acclaimed novel by Michael Faber, director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast) jettisons much of his source material’s detail and context, resulting in an odd cinematic artefact that is beautiful, baffling and, ultimately, unsatisfying.

Glazer has gone to great lengths to make an almost impenetrably opaque film here, and it’s telling that most of the narrative detail must be gleaned from the press material, which is how we know that Scarlett Johansson plays an alien whose mission on earth is to seduce, capture and kill men for reasons (in the novel, humans are considered a delicacy by the aliens). Initially going about her task with ruthless efficiency, she begins to develop empathy for her human prey after an encounter with a man suffering from neurofibromatosis (Adam Pearson). This leads her into conflict - or what passes for conflict here - with her fellow alien handler (Jeremy McWilliams).

Slow and ponderous to the point of paralysis, Under The Skin dabbles in a number of interesting areas but never delves deeply enough to come to any kind of conclusion. The nature of empathy, both as an actual phenomenon and a narrative tool, gets a look-in, with Glazer clearly on board with Hitchcock’s assertion that

witnessing a crime makes the audience complicit and on the side of the culprit. Allusions are made to themes of class, gender and sexuality, but Glazer does little with them, content instead to imply meanings that are, on rumination, wholly absent.

Johansson gives a brave performance, in that she gets naked under bad lighting, but the rest of the cast are largely anonymous, apart from Adam Pearson, who actually has neurofibromatosis and the resultant facial disfigurements. Whether this counts as exploitation or representation is left as an exercise for the viewer.

There are production details and decisions that cineastes will find interesting - Glazer’s choice to use many non-professional actors comes to mind, as does the use of improvised dialogue in the seduction scenes - but surely they shouldn’t be more engrossing than the resultant work? Still, fair’s fair; it is a very well shot piece, making the most of both urban and wilderness locations and available light.

That, however, is about all that is praiseworthy in Under The Skin. We get a couple of these things every year - a film directly targeted at onanistic critics and academics and, if that sounds like you, you will enjoy joining the chorus of praise that currently, bafflingly, surrounds the film. If you’re actually after a fulfilling narrative experience, stroll on. Glazer’s latest is all surface; in the end, there is nothing under the skin.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

FILM

EAST JOURNEY The Legacy East Journey are Arnhem Land stadium rockers continuing the legacy of their mentors, Yothu Yindi. Following their stellar first album, Guwak, work has begun on their new album produced by LA legend Steve Salas. They’ve just released the single Bright Lights, Big City, a step towards a “new 21st century sound”.

ZOE KILBOURN caught up with band members Rrawun Maymuru, Marcus Marawili, and Arian Pearson at the start of the band’s tour of regional WA. "We all chuck in ideas, we're all involved in song writing," says Marcus. Rrawun explains the ethos behind latest single, Bright Lights Big City. "The Western way of thinking is that everything has to be on time and fast," he says. "When I go back home, I feel calm - I feel like the land is talking to me. Take our shoes off, watch off, you know. The world isn't ready for the changes of globalisation."

There's a strong sense of purpose that unites East Journey - "It's not for us, it's for a reason - and that's to unite everyone together," says Marcus - and it crosses over into the band's day-to-day life. In their downtime, they work in hometown Yirrkala as sea rangers, in health and education, in tourism. "We walk as tools of the land - we have preserved the land, and basically by doing that we're creating that sustainability and equality of life," says Rrawun. "Everyday life is pretty high in our individual responsibilities."

As Marcus explains, Yirrkala is part of an elaborate broader network of moities, clan groups, and kinship systems. "We don't represent anyone else's laws," stresses Rrawun. "We identify as Indigenous, but still, we identify as people from North-West Arnhem Land.

We don't talk on behalf of all Indigenous laws or issues, 16

but we're all standing on the one foundation as the first Australians."

East Journey's music is rooted in traditional music, but they plan for their next album to be a "public" one. "Savage Garden, U2 - that's the sound that I want, and that's the sound that can take us to the next level," says Rrawun. "Our new album is gonna talk about more open issues - between any people. For Indigenous Australians from our land, it's very hard to write love songs. We think we're gonna express ourselves in everyone's music now. That's the thing - there aren't any Yolgnu love songs, we can't relate.

But we can find connections to the land, nature, the sea to write a good song. Even using traditional songs by bending the words."

Rrawun is a veteran of the Australian music scene, having been personally mentored by members of Yothu Yindi and playing in East Journey's original incarnation in the '90s (then a bush band). He's also a consummate songwriter. "Bayini was a song I wanted to write for my father's brother who passed away. He brought me up when my father passed away," Rrawun says. "One day, I came back from hunting, sitting on the side of a Casuarini tree, cooking the catch of the day and next minute, I got a phone call. "It's Gurrumul, from New York." One year later, I saw it on the telly, on The Voice, with Gurrumul and Delta Goodrem. I was sitting there, and it felt like a dream - when you write a song, you don't know where that song's gonna be."

Creation and life, young and ancient, is a big part of the East Journey story. Their name comes from the eastern journey of the twin sisters who followed the morning star and sparked the creation of the Yolngu peoples. In an interesting parallel, their next project is called Genesis, and involves working with the people who helped make East Journey possible - Yothu Yindi.

"We're looking forward to working with our mentors, and also our inspirations, who influenced us to become a band," says Rrawun. "This is what the old man wanted, Dr. Yunupingu. He opened up a pathway for us to journey on, and this is all his vision. We want to carry on that vision and achieve the goals he wanted to achieve, and it all comes back to unifying Australia."

CHARLIE'S COUNTRY Bush Ballad Directed by Rolf de Heer Starring David Gulpilil, Peter Djigirr, Luke Ford

the surreality of the situation Charlie finds himself in (such as being classified as a “recreational shooter” when he is forced to seek a license to be able to hunt on his traditional land), at other times it is the tongue-in-cheek interaction he has with his friend, Black Pete (Peter Djigirr). This provides a much needed level of nuance, without which the film could seem heavy handed.

At the core of Charlie's Country is a sterling performance by David Gulpilil. Thin as a greyhound, Gulpilil manages to sell the frustration and exasperation that Charlie experiences. As one of the screenwriters (along with de Heer) it is clearly a sense that the actor has shared on more than one occasion and he is able to channel that into the role. The cause of much of this frustration is solidly played by Luke Ford (Animal Kingdom) as one of the officers stationed in the community. The banter between the two is on the surface as amiable as it is adversarial, but there is a casual streak of racism that underlies every conversation, and grows as the film progresses, undermining his professed best intentions.

At times uncomfortable to watch due to the strength of the message, Charlie's Country is powerful viewing brought about by the extraordinarily honest acting of Gulpilil. Confronting and occasionally grim, still it is not a tale devoid of hope. Impressive Australian cinema.

Rolf de Heer once again returns to working with the Ramingining indigenous community for his latest project, Charlie's Country. The director of Ten Canoes gives us a contemporary examination of Aboriginal life after the Intervention and the issues of one individual struggling to live life how he wants to.

Charlie (David Gulpilil) is dissatisfied by how his life is. His health is run down thanks to diet, smoking and drugs. The community in which he lives is governed by an increasing set of seemingly strange and inconsistent laws, whereas the thousands of years of his people's traditions are observed less by each passing generation. Struggling to live in these conditions, Charlie seeks to live a more traditional life in the bush, but that might not be as achievable as he thought.

There is a fatalistic streak about Charlie's Country that is thankfully never drawn out to its utmost conclusion. Instead, de Heer brings us an exploration of the various issues facing many of the Indigenous communities in the Territory. From disparities in health, unemployment, high rates of incarceration, substance abuse and a sense of disassociation from traditional ways, Charlie's Country touches on a number of issues allowing for an examination of them while not offering any pat solutions. Confronting at times, there is also a surprising sense of humour running throughout that lightens the mood. Sometimes this is merely DAVID O'CONNELL

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

FILM

REACHING FOR THE MOON Love And Lunacy Directed by Bruno Barreto Starring Miranda Otto, Gloria Pires Reaching For The Moon tells the story of two strong willed, complicated and brilliant women that fall in love. One is the American poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto), whose fragile and prissy demeanour hides a meticulous mind and prodigious talent, as well as a drinking habit and deep-seated neurosis . The other is Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Gloria Pires) whose bluster and confidence hides an equally tormented soul.

Given such large real life characters to inhabit, Miranda Otto and Gloria Pires take to the task with relish. Otto is cautious as Elizabeth, her body language often defensive, her positioning rigid and deliberate. Yet as the film progresses and her character grows more sure of herself we see Otto’s performance change to match this. Her tone is far more confident, and her words bear the weight of careful choosing rather than hesitant timidity. Pires’ swagger provides the perfect counterpoint to this after all, she is playing a character confident enough to express her love by dynamiting a mountainside.

Together they make a good pairing on the screen and generate some chemistry, not just as lovers but also as believable partners.

Director Bruno Barreto brings us a richly realised vision in which it is very easy to lose

yourself in the details of the lavish set dressing. From costuming to set design, there is an unmistakeable mark of quality here. All is absolutely of the period and the visuals are so stunning that the audience can appreciate every fine grain in of the woodwork on the furniture, or the immaculate stitching on the high-end fashion.

Oddly enough perhaps this is indicative of the issues this film has, as this eye for detail shouldn’t be so noticeable on the first viewing, but rather fade into the background. That it is so noticeable points to the fact that, despite the strong performances, despite the interesting characters, despite the rich design elements, this movie is just not that engaging for the audience. At almost two hours length, this gentle love story is given too much time to breathe and develop, time which it is incapable of sustaining, with the results seeming slight and banal. Even the snippets of Elizabeth Bishop’s poetry that run throughout this film cannot save it from this sense of staleness.

There is some interest in what this tale says about the thorny relationship between two complex, intelligent and personable women, but it is so muddled and slight as to not support its overly long running time, which is a pity. In spite of the lavish production design and the good work done by the two leads, this is a film that just fails to deliver on the intriguing subject mater. Somewhat entertaining, but in general short of the mark.

DAVID O’CONNELL

FILM

Rolf de Heer on the set of Charlie’s Country

ROLF DE HEER With a Little Help From My Friends Director Rolf de Heer’s latest work sees a return collaboration with actor David Gulpilil. Unlike The Tracker or Ten Canoes, Charlie’s Country is a contemporary depiction of one man’s struggle to reconnect with his heritage. X-Press had a chat with de Heer about writing and directing his latest work.

“It’s a culmination of a 15 year friendship with David Gulpilil and a culmination of 25 years of learning about indigenous culture, indigenous communities, indigenous politics and so on. In another way it is much simpler as David Gulpilil (one of the great artists of this country) was in jail, he had gone into an alcoholic spiral and had committed violent offences that the authorities thought warranted putting him in jail. I went to visit him and asked him what he wanted to do, and he wanted to make another film with me, as he thought The Tracker was the best work he had ever done. In the end I felt I had no choice but to try.

We began to work on another story while David was still in jail, then in rehab.”

De Heer has often acted as screenwriter for his previous productions, including Ten Canoes and Bad

Boy Bubby. “Scripts are pivotal, for me the first half of a project is writing a script. If you get the script right and cast it well then you could shoot it half out of focus and it will still work. I was specifically interested in it not being autobiographical. What it is instead is at the time David and I started to work on the script, well, I had seen David in jail and I didn’t know he could do it any more.” De Heer pauses, carefully considering his next words, “ I didn’t know his performance level would still be there. So what I did was work out how to get a great performance out of him irrespective of how he was. If we put things in the film that he is familiar with then he can draw on that, and use things that he knows. As it turns out he was in perfectly good shape, he was just depressed when I saw him in jail.”

Although de Heer was not originally planning on starting another project for at least a year, so he could allow himself some time to build a house.

Instead he found himself working towards the creation of Charlie’s Country. “ It was not easy doing all the scripting, the financing and the contracts in a shed in Southern Tasmania in the middle of winter. Still, that’s what happened.”

Despite the difficulties of filming in remote locations in the tail end of the Wet, the effort has paid off. Gulpilil’s performance in Charlie’s Country has garnered much critical praise and earned Best Actor (Un Certain Regard) at Cannes. “In the past that may have been the greatest thing for him, but now it’s not.

The greatest thing for him is working to move onto his traditional land again. He now has things in his life that are more important than walking the red carpet.”

DAVID O’CONNELL WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

17

Every week we bring you the best in fashion, food, shopping and lifestyle.

EAT AT: THE EDGE OF THE SAHARA This small Northbridge eatery serves excellent coffee and a range of North African cuisine that merges Middle Eastern Influences with more exotic spices and flavour bases. Plus, five per cent of their take goes to aid refugee children.

The Edge Of The Sahara

DRINK AT: CLARENCES A small, sophisticated hole in the wall on Mt Lawley’s cafe strip, Clarences is a made-to-order hideaway perfect for getting away from life’s hassles.

Clarences

SHOP AT: WESTONS BARBER SHOP Get clipped at Ta-ku’s own barber shop, located on William Street near the corner of Brisbane St. Prices are reasonable, walk-ins are welcome.

Westons Barber Shop

GO TO: FRESH FACED FOLLIES Sugar Blue Burlesque’s academy graduate show takes place at The Bakery this Wednesday, July 16. See Perth’s newest burlesque stars make their stage debut!

Fresh Faced Follies - Photo by John Leonard 18

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

A R T S & C U LT U R E

|

FILM

|

NEWS

|

EVENTS

|

FAS H I O N

Earth, Fire And Water - Catherine Gordon

Placement: PS Art Space Long time local music supporter and poster art collector Nikolai Graham will be exhibiting some of his favourite poster designers. The opening night of this fascinating look at music history features performances from Craig Hallsworth and The Gutterville Splendour Six, hosted by Ross Chisholm. It runs from July 24 - August 9.

Marilyn Monroe

VISUAL ARTS Stay Safe: Ruck Rover General Store Curated by Kate-Anna St Valentine, this is a charity exhibition to raise money for SAFE, an organisation dedicated to saving animals from euthanasia. Featured artists include Kyle HughesOdgers, Sean Morris, Mel Stringer, Rose Skinner, Maddy Young, Jessica Horrocks, Chiara Hunwick, Elizabeth Murraffo, Matt Moore and Leonei Brialey. It runs until July 31. Go to ruckrover.com. au for more info.

Dinosaur Discovery - Lost Creatures Of The Cretaceous: WA Museum Combining life-size moving models and 3D augmented reality technology, this world-class exhibition brings the unfathomably distant past to life. There will also be fossils and specimens on display, interactive activities and more. It runs until August 3. Go to museum.wa.gov.au for more information.

Fremantle Realists: Fremantle Arts Centre An exhibition of works by Ray Beattie, Marcus Beilby and Ken Waldrop, three artists who, working from a shared studio space in Fremantle’s High Street in the 1970s, looking at WA through the lens of photorealism. It runs until July 17. Go to fac.org.au for further information.

Nyoongar Stories: Mossenson Galleries An exhibition of works by Shane Pickett, Sandra Hill and Ben Pushman, Nyoongar Stories is held in celebration of NAIDOC Week’s 21st birthday.

It runs until July 28. Go to mossensongalleries.com.au for more.

Curio Curiosa: Elements Art Gallery This exhibition of new works by Darwin based painter Bryan Bulley runs from July 25 - August 10. Also on display is Heart-less, a mini solo exhibition by emerging Perth artist Serena Lumley. Go to elementsartgallery.com.au for more.

THEATRE/DANCE/ PERFORMANCE

The Wire Mother: The Bird An exhibition of new works by Mow Skwoz.

Overtly visceral, at times disturbing but never less than fascinating, Skwoz’s works are unsettling and attractive in equal measure. A limited edition lathe-cut 10” vinyl single, featuring music by Skwoz, Void Manes and Kevin Rutmanis, will be on sale during the exhibition.

Relative Values: Melville Theatre Directed by Tarryn Harris, this production of Noel Coward’s comedy of manners and culture clash runs until July 26. Go to meltheco.org.au for session times and tickets.

Marilyn Monroe - Exclusive Collection Of Original Photographs: Central Park Lobby P re s e n te d by L i n to n & K ay G a l l e r i e s , t h i s collection of almost 100 images spans 17 years of Marilyn Monroe’s life. The collection is on display from July 21 - August 15.

Jasper Jones: State Theatre Centre Barking Gecko Theatre Company presents a stage adaptation of Craig Silvey’s acclaimed novel, written for the stage by Kate Mulvany and directed by John Sheedy. It runs from July 17 - August 9. Go to barkinggecko.com.au for more information.

Earth, Fire And Water: Kidogo Art House An exhibition of ceramics by Jonathon Hook and Stewart Scambler, as well as paintings by Catherine Gordon. It runs from July 23 - August 17. go to kidogo.com.au for more info.

Henry V: State Theatre Centre Bell Shakespeare views the classic tale of courage, military valour and political intrigue through the lens of war-wracked 1941 Britain. It runs from July 23 - 26. Book through Ticketek

PRETTY UGLY

Well, it’s all got to do with the ‘ugly’ shoe renaissance. Multi-strapped ‘Man Sandals’, the ones every Australian father owned in the 1980s; jelly sandals every colour of the rainbow; the one-strapped mule monstrosities of the ‘90s which Rachel wore for almost 3 straight seasons of Friends: the clunky footwear of our youth has come back in a wave of nostalgia and washed away the chic, delicate styles of the competition. The trick is to take a classic silhouette and make it as ugly as possible. Socks? You got it. The colour and consistency of wet cardboard? Hell yes. Cork heels with orthopedic insoles? You’ll be on every Best Dressed List in the city. The comfy revolution has arrived, ladies, and I for one am ready to embrace it with open arms.

The Rebirth of the Birkenstock Pretty hurts, but significantly less now that orthopedic shoes are back in the game. ANNA SAXON reports.

I don’t think anyone was expecting the humble, homely Birkenstock to be this July’s fashion craze. Relegated for years to the elderly or deeply uncool, the German orthopedic footbed sandal seems to have become the unlikely mascot of the sensible yet stylish. Trend setters such as the Olsen twins and those in the know were snapping up ‘Birkis’ (unfortunate nickname) last year, but when Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci sent his models down the label’s spring/summer 2014 catwalk with chunky, double-strap sandals (a riff on Birkenstock’s best-selling Arizona style), it was clear that this was going to be the ‘it’ shoe silhouette of summer - or winter, here Down Under.

But what elevated these frumpy tourist sandals to the height of fashion footwear?

“And now Vogue is totally backing up my cheap-ass, ‘comfort first’ shopping decisions. What started this trend? Who knows. Maybe women are just sick and tired of the

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

torturous shoes.”

Patyegarang: State Theatre Centre This new production from Bangarra Dance Theatre tells the story of the eponymous Aboriginal woman who taught her language to Lieutenant William Dawes of the Colonial Fleet. It runs from July 30 - August 2 for five performances only.

Tickets are available via Ticketek.

FESTIVALS 2014 Perth Winter Arts Season This seasonal celebration of art and culture is back once again, showcasing a dazzling array of performance, visual arts, film, literature, fashion, food and more. It runs until August 31. Go to perthwinterarts.com.au to start planning your winter.

The Scandinavian Film Festival The first ever Scandinavian Film Festival brings together the best cinema from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland. It runs at Cinema Paradiso from July 24 - 30. Go to scandinavianfilmfestival.com or lunapalace.com.au for details.

CinefestOZ Film Festival Running from August 20 - 24 in picturesque Busselton, Bunbury, Dunsborough and Margaret River, this prestigious festival combines over 200 public screenings of French and Australian films, plus industry guests, forums and panels, workshops and the $100,000 CinfestOz Film Prize. Go to cinefestoz. com.au for full details.

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

localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au For more Art Stories head to

xpressmag.com.au

I’m no fashionista, but I own about 5 pairs of jelly sandals. Who could forget the thrill of putting on your first pair of sparkly jellies and heading out to pre-primary, Bayswater Waves or the Jungle Gym? Jelly sandals make me feel young and playful, with the added plus that they are a cheap, quirky alternative to bank-breaking leather sandals which may or may not last the summer. A little tacky and totally perfect - just the way I like them. And now Vogue is totally backing up my cheap-ass, ‘comfort first’ shopping decisions. What started this trend? Who knows. Maybe women are just sick and tired of the torturous shoes. Perhaps this flight en masse to the flat, supportive footwear traditionally worn by grandparents, hippies or tourists with matching bum bags (which are yet to make a true comeback but I remain hopeful) is a marked move against certain painful beauty standards and a turn towards more realistic and reasonable ideals for women. That or it’s all just a very clever advertising move on the behalf of Mr. Birkenstock. Whatever is driving this so called ‘Ugly Shoe’ trend, I’m on board for as long as it lasts. Let’s celebrate the flat footed days of yore, and dance the night away - which I’ll now be able to do, thanks to built in arch support and stylish orthopedics.

19

20

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

| B E AT S

|

LIVE

|

VENUES

Touring in support of her new album, O Vertigo!, Kate Miller-Heidke performs at the Astor Theatre on Friday August 1. KRISSI WEISS reports.

Kate Miller-Heidke – a classically trained, pop luminary who can break your heart with a melody as quickly as she can have you crying with laughter during a quirky, cabaret-esque song - has toured this country countless times and circuited the globe just a few as well.

Whether packing a festival tent or an intimate show Miller-Heidke is a Pied Piper of eclectic audiences but despite her success thus far, there has always been just a whisper of dissonance to her sound. Her previous releases have had a lot going for them but the present can often shine a light on the past. Reconciling her operatic craft with her pop music skill has always been a challenge never entirely mastered until now (not that her audience ever seemed phased).

Her latest album, O Vertigo!, is nothing short of a triumph for Miller-Heidke and it is in its flawless execution that you become aware of the missing piece of the puzzle. It’s only when you hear her get it so sublimely right, that you really notice anything was ever slightly amiss before.

Having just wrapped up a run of stripped-back shows and a stint at Sydney’s ever-impressive Vivid Live festival, MillerHeidke is working out the finer details of her upcoming tour and how she plans to bring this mammoth sounding album to life.

“The new album is so harmony-centric – the harmonies are such a big part of the songs – I’m still working out how I want to tour for August,” she says. “I know I want a rhythm section, I know I want to play with drums and bass but I’m not sure what else... there’s something about adding rhythm that’s like stepping into a V8 and going, ‘Fuck yeah!’.”

O Vertigo! is Miller-Heidke’s first release since parting ways with Sony Music. Choosing the crowdfunding route, it took just three days for her to reach her target on Pledge Music. So does this return to independent release bring with it fear or freedom?

Continued on p22.

PIC: JO DUCK

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

21

NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

| B E AT S

|

LIVE

|

EVENTS

STARK RAVING MAD

VIPER RECORDINGS TURN 10

Continued from cover...

“Well actually, freedom I’d say,” she offers. “The fear would come from the fact that I’ve put out my hand and asked people for money and I might put out something that they might not like. That was the only risk, really.

But I felt confident enough with the material and the songs that I was pretty sure that they wouldn’t hate it.

I mean, I’m sure some of them do and that’s a shame, but I’ve had a pretty good response to it. It was an amazingly liberating feeling to be independent after such a long time.”

While the majority of her music to date has been, in some part, written with creative (and life) partner Keir Nuttall, Miller-Heidke chose to tackle the creative space of this album independently as well.

“This album was scarier for me because I was working without my long-term collaborator,” she says.

“It’d been 50/50 with Keir for the first few recordings and even for the side project, Fatty Gets A Stylist, so this was the first one I’d written close to entirely myself and co-produced myself without him at all. He came and played guitar for a few songs, but that was it. I guess I felt a bit older and more comfortable in my own skin, so I was more comfortable to reach out to musicians and ask them to be involved.”

As far as cohesion goes, this album has it in spades. For Miller-Heidke there were many risks taken but the end result is an almost perfect representation of each and every one of her musical strengths.

“For me the challenge has always been, ‘how much can I get away with in the studio without sounding irritating or without it sounding like a gimmick yet while still staying true to the song?’,” she says. “It’s been a long journey for me, literally and metaphorically, to find my voice – what my real – voice is. I’ve sort of reconciled myself to the fact that yes, I have this classical background – I used to be ashamed of it and I thought it was working against me in my songwriting – but now I’m a bit older and feeling more experienced with my voice what comes with that is more playfulness. With this record I was pushing the boundaries in the studio; it always made sense to push those boundaries live, but not as much in the studio as before this.

“A studio recording is a different medium.

You know some albums you love and you see it live and it’s really fucking boring? Or you hear someone live and their album is disappointing? I think I’ve often fallen into that latter camp? This record felt more confident than others.”

Viper Recordings, the UK DNB label, have reached their 10th decade and are celebrating with a tour across Australia. You can catch Matrix & Futurebound, Brookes Brothers, The Prototypes and Rockwell at Metro City on Friday, July 25, and the vibes will be kicking from 9(pm)-5(am). You can pick up tickets from oztix.com.au and heatseeker.com.au.

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAFEN Hafen music, Hamburg’s legendary “open doors to all spectrums of music”, have announced a 12” remix EP from Deo & Z-Man to be released in August. They’ve also got a couple of Faded Ranger EPs fresh on the shelves, so if you’re a producer, check out the records via hfn-music.com

CRÉCY IN LOVE Old-school producer Etienne de Crécy has just released the first single off his resuscitated house project, Super Discount 3. Super Discount releases from 1997 and 2004 were on the cutting edge of the European electronic scene, featuring contributions from Cassius, Air, Alex Gopher and DJ Mehdi.

Rooted in the French House tradition, a member of Motorbass and one of the first major producers to explore sonic and visuals installations with his Beatz ‘N’ Cubes show, single Night (Cut The Crap) is a much anticipated return to house. It’s earworm music, but it’s clever earworm music.

FLIP OUT Perth bassphiles just got a new club night: Flip State, which will be cracking at Flawless in Subiaco. Flip State are focused on bass, and they’re willing to extend that love past DnB and house to glitch hop, trap, and breaks. They’ve promised 30,000 watts of sound on top of the Flawless sound system, a line-up including Rowdy x Skinny, QC, MBT and Josh Jay, headlined by a live set from Gorilla Tactics (feat. turntablism and MCs). Gorilla Tactics aren’t hip hopcentric, but they are committed to live performance, so you can expect to hear DnB, House, and “anything else that happens to leak out of our minds.” Starts at Flawless from 10pm on Saturday, July 26.

Gorilla Tactics. Photo: James Gifford

WITH DJ NELI

Subliminal Messages

RTR’S ANDREW NELSON WALKS US THROUGH THE BEST NEW ELECTRONIC RELEASES.

Speaking of DJ Spooky as merely a spinner of records would be a gross understatement. DJ Spooky, real name Paul J. Miller, aka "That Subliminal Kid", will be in the country this week, first presenting at the Australasian Computer Music Association then playing his unique brand of twisted electronic and instrumental beats in Sydney. MIKI MCLAY catches up with the eclectic artist and author on his return to Australia.

22

Kristian Nairn in Game Of Thrones

Rockwell. Photo: Kevin Yap

DJ SPOOKY

When he answers the phone at 9.15am on a Sunday morning for me, he sounds remarkably perky given what he’s been up to the last few days. “I was near the North Pole and the Arctic Circle. I just got off a flight to New York and tomorrow I'm off to Australia!” he says.

Christ. I’d almost forgotten the dude’s recently featured in National Geographic for his work as a filmmaker.

This strong sense of global awareness pervades much of Miller’s work – a significant reason why many find his work particularly compelling due to its explorative and thoughtful nature. “I always like to say that music isn't really music - it's information,” he explains.

“It's really important for people to realise that we're under massive amounts of pressure from the environment, there's more refugees in the world than at the end of World War II. I've also visited a place called Nauru that the Australians have turned into a detention centre, and so on.

There's a lot to be said for awareness of politics and culture. The same can be said of America it's really important to be engaged, and the arts have a really important role to play in that.”

This makes sense to me – hip hop, one of the genres that Miller is particularly notorious for playing around I, has an extensive history of being politically outspoken. “Oh, absolutely,” he agrees. “You can't say that life as we know it would be the same without hip hop. It's played a big role in most of the big social movements in the late 20th century, it's an incredibly powerful. On the other spectrum,

Hodor of House Stark is bringing his Game Of Thrones-themed club set, Rave Of Thrones, to Australia in August. Kristian Nairn, Westeros’ resident giant, is a seasoned producer with a penchant for deep house. Rave of Thrones will come to Villa on August 30 for a night of fully-costumed night of faux-medievalist frivolity. Whether you’re a Stark, Targeryan, or Lannister, send your regards.

Don’t request The Rains of Castamere. Tickets are available from villanightclub.com.au.

TARAVAL Streetways EP Text Records

SLAM Rotary/ Catacoustics Soma Records

it's really consumer-oriented. I'm just trying to add some different information to the mix. I'm between albums right now, working on a lot of projects about environmentalism, social justice, climate change - it might not be as trendy as other stuff I could be doing! It's a balancing act.”

He's as much in touch with academia as much as with music. He’s keen to discuss his next book coming out shortly, an academic exploration of digital culture.

“Everything is going towards video, and YouTube, Vimeo, and other things. It's a very visual culture, it's gonna get deeper and weirder, and this is just the beginning. My next book is being published through MIT and is called Imaginary App... I asked a whole bunch of artists to come up with ideas for apps that don't exist yet. It was a fun project because I got the chance to get people really thinking about the role of apps and creativity in play.”

“Australia has always and will always have such a dynamic situation – it’s so remote for most of the western world,” he muses. “London and New York, for example, must seem like satellites in outer space. But a lot of Australians move here and I work with a lot of Australians and I find that they always know what’s going on, the distance means they really keep track of things and they’re so willing to try new things, which I think is one of the main strengths of your electronic music and hip hop scenes.”

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Kieran Hebden (Fourtet) isn’t too prolific when it comes to releases on his Text Records label, but this last couple of months has seen two records under his Percussions pseudonym and this, the debut EP from San Francisco producer Taraval. Quality flows throughout, but the pick of the bunch is Gar’s Highway with its infectious techhouse groove.

To celebrate the 400th release on Soma, it’s down to head honchos Slam themselves to give us a taster from their forthcoming album, and it really whets the appetite.

Rotary is relentless minimal techno in an Underground Resistance style, whilst Catacoustics is deeper, more atmospheric, and tailor-made for zoning out.

GESLOTEN CIRKEL Zombiemachine Acid Murder Capital

Whether Russian or Dutch, not too much is known about this artist, but what’s certain is that his recent long-player Submit X is a belter of an album. The raw timeless electro breaks and squelchy refrain of Zombiemachine Acid sound like it’s been dragged back to the future from a cavernous UK warehouse in 1990. Essential.

TAINTED TRAIN Seven EP 2W Records

This unrelenting, stomping floorfiller is being caned by the likes of Richie Hawtin, Marcel Dettmann and Luke Slater, and it’s easy to see why. The menacing hook of Seven A may sound foreboding but it draws you in and in until you’re hooked, and then comes the drop…

MENTAL OVERDRIVE Monster/Ritual Remixes Love OD Communications

These two remixes of tracks from recent compilation album Everything is Connected are more dancefloororiented, and better for it. Blackbelt Anderson coverts Monster into a housed-up classic in the mould of Henry Saiz, whilst Optimo’s JD Twitch throws in some deep sub-bass and old school samples to produce some meaty breaks.

NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

| B E AT S

|

LIVE

|

EVENTS

MATRIX, RELOADED Jamie Quinn, as Matrix, honed his early talent in the warehouses and small clubs of ‘90s DnB. After a detour into house music with Dan Goldstein, he returned to DnB with longtime collaborator Futurebound. Just off the stellar UK reception of recent single Don’t Look Back, they’re bringing their set to Metros on July 25 for Viper Records’ 10th anniversary tour. We had a chat with him from his studio over a morning coffee.

When you’re stuck in the studio listening to the same track loops for days on end, it helps to have a collaborator you work well with. Matrix has been working with Futurebound for nigh on 10 years, with three top 30 hits in the UK since 2012. “We do very much have the same outlook - there’s always differences of opinion, that’s the whole point of collaboration,” says Quinn. “Part of the fun is arguing with each other.”

“We try to keep our sets really broad - try to bring every corner of drum n bass into our sets, try to keep it really energetic, and our sound is about a lot of melodic stuff and heavyweight production,” he says.

“That’s kind of what we try to bring to our sets. In our DJ sets, we don’t play excusively drum n bass records.

We definitely feel that nowadays people are a little more open with genres. As a DJ, you can play different types of music and people will like it, people who come for a drum n bass night are still open to other stuff. It’s like when I very first started, it was one big thing - dance music, rather than lots of separate pigeon holes. I feel like people are a bit more open minded now in that same way.”

An early breakthrough came with M&F’s massively popular remix of the American Beauty theme.

“We used a big ambient piano breakdown for half of a big drum n bass track, and we were worried a lot of people would be like, ‘What the fuck are you doing?’,” Quinn says. “That sort of turned into one of our early classics.” It was a particularly unusual hit, because the boys don’t usually do a lot of sample work in the studio.

“Our work’s mainly just based on synthesizers. I guess the way we try to hone and mask our sound, try to get a bit of life in it and give it that feel of real instruments - we keep the sound moving around. We don’t want it to sound too much like computer music - we try to put a bit of heart in it.”

M&F have been DJing in Australia for at least ten years. “We were just over there in November/ December doing Stereosonic, which was really cool that’s where you do five cities with the same lineup, and it’s lke being part of a travelling circus,” Quinn says.

“Metro City in Perth I’ve not done before, but that’s a great venue we’ve wanted to play, so we’re really looking forward to that one.”

Amidst a hectic DJ schedule, M&F are working on a new album. “As for where our sound’s going, it’s hard to say, cause it’s off the back of this new track - there’s definitely gonna be some differentsounding stuff from us,” says Quinn. “The other guys we’re on the tour with - the Prototypes and Brookes Brothers and Rockwell - they’re all really amazing, and we’re gonna be having a great time ourselves, and we hope everyone else does too.”

“I made my first record in the ‘90s, so I’ve been around a long time,” says Quinn. Before moving to Viper, he began working at Formation Records - “They were actually the only record company I could find with a number and address!” - and, after a string of demos and EPs, was embraced as a fully-fledged member of the young DNB scene. “There was a club night called Blue Note, which was run by Adobe,” he says. “It was like a Sunday night, small little set, and you’d get all these producers and DnB djs who hung out there - felt like you were right at the heart of the DnB scene. There was kind of a competition for who could make the most out-there, experimental records - that’s what people were trying to do.”

Music has been an extended learning process for Quinn. “I think working with Dan Goldstein, who was the other half of Goldtrix, my house outfit,” he says.

“Dan was an amazing musician in the traditional sense, in terms of understanding musical theory and all that kind of thing. I learnt a lot from working with him, and a lot of that went into the record we’re making now.”

Right now, Matrix and Futurebound are “getting stuck into production - we’ve just done one remix for Oliver Helden. I don’t know about Australia, but Gecko’s a massive record, a number one record over here. We’ve also done a remix of the new Eric Prydz record. We love Eric, he’s definitely got an influence on what we do, and we really love the way he takes a simple idea and just builds it into something really powerful throughout the track - that’s something we tried to do with our remix.”

After close to ten years as a duo, M&F show no signs of slowing down. “We’ve got some more upand-round kind of records in the pipeline, as opposed to kind of our last couple of simgles. We’re working on an album, but I can’t really say when that’s gonna come out, but yeah - next record, we’ve got a few singles we’re sort of deciding between us on when they’re gonna come out - a lot of DnB records, a couple of remixes, including a massive reworking of Labyrinth.”

Zoe Kilbourn WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

23

NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

| B E AT S

|

LIVE

|

VENUES

Crooked Colours | Photo by Jack Lawrence

CROOKED COLOURS Lilt, De̊ǰa Amplifier, July 12

Colours gig was as energetic and on point as any fan could’ve wished, with no soft-vocal slippage or hesitation in the frenetic synth codas their tracks tend to include.

It also helped that they had two impressive electropop support acts, one performing in Perth for the first time.

Lilt, Louise Penman and Matt Mclean’s fourpiece, also genrebends freely - their chillwave ambience and Florence Welch pitch slipperiness is occasionally underlaid by DnB percussion, a merging that sounds almost cinematic. With the new start time, they’re a little shaky - Penman’s first comment is about the weather and nasal spray, and at one point a slight delay in performance is filled with a keyboard rendition of Joplin’s Entertainer - but they’re a strong band exposed to a mostly unfamiliar audience, and they’ll only get stronger.

Where Lilt got a little nervy, De̊ǰa are pumping a soid stream of futurepop with the bleached-blonde power of Yolandi Vi$$er or Annie Lennox. Haxx and Rromarin (yes) take every opportunity dancepop affords and run miles with it - smoke pumped out of an onstage machine like a papal conclave, strobes were pushed to the absolute OH&S limit, and the reverb was godlike. Particularly striking was their cover of Bon Iver’s Perth, a rendition that completely stripped the track of its folk-pop trappings while still remaining sensitive, if detached.

The gusto’s never lacking - Haxx pushes melodic refrains into unfortable registers and arranges tracks with complete commitment, while Rromarin sells every note with Madonnaesque motion - but there’s still that Little Dragon artifice, the powerful sense of an otherworldly disconnection.

The third of three sold out shows on the In Your Bones EP tour, Crooked Colours delivered a noticeably short, but solid, set. It might’ve been down to the evening’s slow start - openers Lilt performed a good hour after they were scheduled to due to a slow trickle of early arrivals - but Crooked Colours’ performance, which garnered a packed audience, sweaty headbanging and at least one crowd surfer, was only five tracks long. As a relatively new threepiece, they seem to have only just found a stable sound, that newcomer flexibility and versatility is still very clear. Lead singer Philip Slabber switches from a New Wave contralto for the Digitalism analogue synths of Moontan Nocturnal back to the keening falsetto of the three tracks that make up the new EP. In Your Bones,Keep Your Mouth For Lying and cornerstone track Come Down make very good use of Zhu/Alt+J/James Blake vocal fragility and spindly guitar accompaniment. They also performed a cover of what could have been a Metronomy track - it was difficult to hear Slabber’s explanation through an echo mike over a very enthusiastic crowd.

For all its temporal limitations - “till we write some more music,” Slabber apologised- the Crooked ZOE KILBOURN

24

The Arsonist | Photo by Rachael Barrett

THE ARSONIST I, Said The Sparrow/Casino Sunrise/ Graphic Characters Amplifier Bar Friday, July 11, 2014 The crowd at Amplifier bar slowly grew as people made their way to the venue for the launch of The Arsonist’s second EP, Echo. The Arsonist have a style which clearly aspires to popular fame, which is evident in their mishmash of en vogue musical styles to create a pop hybrid. While the members of the band are clearly immensely talented musicians, this is not a style that appeals broadly to the modern music lover, which was reflected in the mostly unmoving,

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

disinterested appearance of the audience.

First band of the night was Graphic Characters. Possessing a sweet, hard rock guitar sound and paired with some powerful vocals, Graphic Characters breathe a little new life into a well cemented sound.

Casino Sunrise were up next with their selfdescribed dance-rock styling. Here was some fairly typical pop-rock music with a few synths tacked on in what I can only assume was an attempt to garner exposure to the growing electronic music fan base.

Instead of a warm meeting of sounds, the synths and guitars seemed alien to each other. Once again, the musicianship was infallible bar a few wobbles from the lead singer, but it seemed hard to feel authentically connected to the music.

I, Said The Sparrow were a breath of fresh air as they hit the crowd with a heavy sound. This music felt organic while maintaining an air of control, unafraid to unleash some big guitars and dirty vocals at climactic moments. The lead singer wasn’t adverse to controlling the stage either, and his vocal style displayed great depth and versatility. The energy alone was enough to bring the crowd to life if just for a little while. A few funky guitar moments were thrown in for good measure, which, surprisingly, did not feel out of place.

After some milling about, enough time for one of the darling patrons to remove his headphones, The Arsonist took their places. The Arsonist are nothing if not a clean and well experienced group of musicians. The lead singer’s voice had a crooning potential to rival any modern pop star you can name, however his outfit consisting of all black with a slicked back mini ponytail was like a bizarre homage to a long dead sense of style. Piano and synth lines blended well to create a flowing sound, punctuated perfectly by subtle guitar and a killer voice, which is worth mentioning twice. The Arsonist describe themselves as electro-pop. Electro being a heavy style of electronic dance music, it was hard to draw the parallel.

This night was curated strangely in terms of the acts, the mixture of soft and heavy music seemed slightly jarring and made it hard for the bands to maintain audience attention. A lone rocker planted right in front of the stage during The Arsonist’s set, hand locked in the universal symbol of metal, was almost symbolic of the bizarre merging of styles that seemed to be the main theme of the bands of the night. All of the music, The Arsonist in particular, felt well honed and created off the backs of truly talented, devoted individuals. The potential for commercial success seems abundant, but those looking for truly challenging, progressive music would be advised to look elsewhere.

JAMES HANLON

NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

| B E AT S

|

LIVE

|

VENUES

THE AUTUMN ISLES

The Autumn Isles - Photo by Michael Caves

Davey Craddock And The Spectacles/ John Marty’s Ghost

The Brown Study Band | Photo by J-F-Foto

THE BROWN STUDY BAND Triangle Fight/Hailmary Rosemount Hotel Saturday, July 15, 2014 Starting promptly right on 8.30pm, Triangle Fight opened with a soulful number, wrong-footing the crowd in some ways as it became rapidly more aggressive and forceful, showcasing some very capable string work from the Gonzalez brothers, Paulo on guitar and Martin on bass. Drummer, Sofia Varano, appeared to be struggling to get some beats coordinated with the rest of the band. It possibly could have sounded better if played on standard drums instead of the part-electronic kit that was used.

Meanwhile, Paulo Gonzalez sang well across the set, leaning a little off the guitar work near set’s end.

Fresh off a recent five-week national tour, Hailmary featured fill-in guitarist, Ben Elphick (covering for regular guitarist, Todd Fishwick) who impressed with his chops after, apparently, a single rehearsal. Opening with Anything Is Possible and jumping right into Wake Up to follow, it was a pumping hard rock set overall, ending with the crowd favourite, Good To Go, rendered with a blues break in the middle to tease the onlookers.

In light of this auspicious occasion, The

Brown Study Band were decked to the nines - Mariachi horn section, Afro percussionist, Samurai singer/ keyboardist, Arabian Sheik bassist, Indigenous North American drummer, and a stereotypical baguette-toting Frenchman guitarist.

The opener, Slap!, certainly set the Zappaesque tone for the night. Dez Richardson was a consummate, confident kamikaze frontman on lead vocals and was certainly the entertainer in the band, yet there were many instruments and flavours added into what was a layered, yet edgy blend throughout the evening. Dazastah from Downsyde provided excellent guest-work on Party In The Desert before Loose Change For Free Range saw a choir of squawking rubber chickens joined by the audience in a poultry-worshipping chant.

A true-to-the-original cover of Faith No More’s Epic was suitably that, before Brown Study brought it on home with their own New History Of Atlantis, encored by The Person Your Are Trying To Contact. It was a gutsy, flawless performance that preached to the converted and converted those who were previously unenlightened. The emptied merchandise stall at the end of the night was certainly proof of that.

J-F JAMES

The Bird Saturday, July 12, 2014 The Bird’s candlelit atmosphere and a warm amber glow coming from the stage set a relaxed and cosy mood for the evening’s round of country rock and indie-inspired music.

John Martyr’s Ghost had a modest turnout of sophisticated looking patrons engaged with their combination of classic rock, driving tunes and emotionally charged, slow-eddy grooves. While the clangourous tones generated by guitarist Jake Chaloner and the growling deep bass tones of Will Langdale (both from the psych-rock band Apache) gave weight to the increasing intensity of the ensemble towards the end of the set, even though John Martyr’s vocals wavered at times, the gang of five produced a lounge-rock feel that was well received.

The next support act (who has recently supported the Waifs) set the stage alive with all the charisma you could possibly want; Davey Craddock & The Spectacles came forth to deliver an impressive set of pure Americana county that had everyone up close swingin’ and swayin’ along nicely. Creamy guitars and distant organ drones filled the air, while the creatively crafted songs full of melodic quality and authentic allure rolled on, song after song. The tracks Keep on Waiting, There Will Be Light and an excellent cover of Dylan’s I Shall Be Released were all full of oozy lap slide guitar and acoustic drawl that

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

encapsulated all the charm of the country style that these good old boys presented so well.

With a full length album in the pipeline, tonight The Autumn Isles began the promotional train and with the launch of their single Harvest In The Night taken from the forthcoming work.

Prominently positioned centre of the stage, Alex Arpino the songwriter and producer for the Isles took charge and lead the band through their set of upbeat Indi-pop that emanated a tuneful style reminiscent of the Flaming Lips blended with the pop-esque charm of Belle And Sebastian. This sextet of extremely well-rehearsed musicians performed for an hour, which was full of musically enriched guitar lead pop that had layer upon layer of melodic complexity.

Yet the tradition song compositional structures gave the tracks a familiarity and easily accessible appeal. Xylophone tones from the keys trickled over chorded rhythms, while the dreamy baritone vocals from Arpino, complimented by the backing vocals of Victoria Marmio, sat comfortably within the mix.

Each song had its own story to tell and at times the mood edged toward a darker suggestion that was distinctly different from the feel of the preceding acts and helped give the night a welcome balance of style.

Although the songs after a while did seem intrinsically similar, the melody pop guitar grip that prevailed did successfully keep the audience’s attention. If not a risky sound, the Isles presented an intellectually crafted set and with falsetto tones the last track Fire Away ending the show, there was really very little to complain about, after a night of solid entertainment.

MICHAEL CAVES

25

NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

| B E AT S

|

LIVE

|

VENUES

MY PLACE Friday, July 11 - Saturday, July 12, 2014 My Place Bar And Restaurant was once again the ground zero for good times last weekend.

Photos by Zac Brentnall

GET A DOG UP YA

FOUR ON THE FLOOR

Now it’s a tradition! Following on from last year’s hugely successful double stage event, Sweetdog Sounds II takes over Mojos this Friday, July 18, with a stellar lineup including The Floors, Hideous Sun Demon, Blackmilk, Aborted Tortoise, Kitchen People, Methyl Ethel, Rag N’ Bone, Childsaint, Yaqui Yeti and Marmmalade. Doors open at 6pm, entry is $10 via Oztix, $15 on the door.

A quartet of hugely talented bands are gathering at The CauseWay this Friday, July 18, to offer up an evening of killer tunes. Catch Loners, Hussy, Mind Canary and Escelade from 8pm. Entry is $5.

The Floors

Loners

CHALK IT UP TO EXPERIENCE Chalk III is on at Four5Nine Bar this Wednesday, July 16. Combining live music and local art, this instalment sees performances from Kris Nelson of Minute 36, Lewis Walsh of The Love Junkies, Sam Cribb and Evan Walsh, plus an exhibition by superstar rock photographer Rachael Barrett. Doors open at 7pm, entry is $10.

Malignant Monster

STAY ON TRACK Rock and roll triumvirate Tracksuit are unleashing their latest work, the album Daydreaming Days, at Amplifier this Saturday, July 19. Aiding and abetting this operation will be The Autumn Isles, Helen Shanahan and Simon Kelly And The Big Bamboo. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $10 via Oztix, $15 on the door.

A BIT LEARY

Tracksuit

GREAT GOMBO! Gombo’s Obscurity Tour touches down at The Rosemount Hotel this Thursday, July 17. Joining the alt-rock three piece for the night are The Brown Study Band, Bury The Heard and The Lunettes. Doors open at 7pm, entry is $10

Devilles Pad continues to impress with it’s ongoing reinvention as a local music hub. This Friday, July 18, sees the mighty High Learys dominating the stage, plus artful tunes from DJ Lady Carla and Seventh Son. Doors open at 6pm, entry is free.

The High Learys

RAILWAY HOTEL This Saturday, July 17, catch The KBI Sound System for their Teachings In Dub reggae night. Doors open 8pm and entry is $10 after 9pm, or free before then! Sunday it’s the massive Sub-Zero Winter Festival using the Main Room and Beer Garden from 11am! Entry is $30 and tunes provided by Mattiecee, Darth Hazer, Damien Blaze, Lk, RedCan, Acidic X Alkaline, SchwingEm, Temperamental Goat, Josh Cube and EyeSac. Doctopus - Photo by Amber Bateup

16/07

DOCTOPUS Wobbegong Album Launch @ The Rosemount

18/07

DAVID CRAFT Smokey Lungs And Dirty Puns Video Launch @ The Bird

19/07

LIKE JUNK No Silence EP Launch @ Bar Four5Nine

19/07

TRACKSUIT Daydreaming Days Album Launch @ Amplifier

24/07

DRY DRY RIVER Who Single Launch @ YaYa’s

24/07

FILTER BEDS Mindsweeping Single Launch @ The Bird

26/07

KAT WILSON Sea Legs EP Launch @ The Astor Lounge

26/07

PAPER PLAINS Anaestalgia Album Launch @ The Beat

01/08

TIMOTHY NELSON AND THE INFIDELS Terror Terror, Hide It Hide It Album Launch @ The Rosemount

26

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

15/08

LET’S KILL UNCLE Self Titled EP Launch @ Amplifier

21/08

OWEN RABBIT Police Car Single Launch @ The Bird

06/09

KIMURA Uncaged EP Launch @ The Civic

NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

| B E AT S

|

LIVE

|

VENUES

Like Junk - Photo by Melinda Tupling

LIKE JUNK Silence Is Golden Noise merchants Like Junk launch their new EP, No Silence, at Bar Four5Nine this Saturday, July 19, with support from Dust, Sprawl, Laurel Fixation, King Crime and Uvees. We had a quick word with frontman Scott White.

Who are Like Junk?

Like Junk are Michael, Anetta and myself. We’ve playing together since 2009, but the band formed earlier than that, and this will be our seventh release of sorts.

What’s your sound?

Our influences change all the time. We don’t really have a sound. Just kind of noisy. You know, piano, feedback, drumming, wailing.

Sometimes happy, sometimes not. Sometimes bitey, sometimes playful.

Moody, like my cat!

Tell us about the new EP, No Silence.

No Silence is the most political release we’ve done. In a way it’s a metaphoric call to arms, at least to myself. I think with all the terrible things going on in the world and this country right now, and with our environment at absolute tipping point, silence isn’t really an option for any of us.

Where did you record?

We recorded the six tracks over two nights with Adam Burgess at Strummers Guitars. The whole thing’s done live so it is as is, no overdubs and stuff like that. It all worked out really well, Boris Sujdovic (The Scientists, Beasts Of Bourbon) came to a show we played at The Old Bar in Melbourne last year and was happy to record with us, so we kind of organised the recording around when he’d be in town with The Scientists. He ended up playing bass on all the tracks.

You guys tend to spend a lot of effort into the design and packaging of your releases. Is that the case here as well?

Yeah, the cover’s almost done, which is unusual at this stage cause we’re nearly always working on it til the wee hours of the night before. It’s definitely the easiest packaging we’ve ever assembled, but it still speaks something about the music, which is what I’m interested in. Anetta and I were saying the other day that we’re getting better at non-time consuming DIY, so that’s something.

Tell us about this zombie film you’re soundtracking.

It’s called Community Announcement Z and it’s an antifracking zom-com! Kind of John Waters meets Night Of The Living Dead. As well as doing the soundtrack for it, we’re actually in the film quite a bit. There’s a trailer for it online, which is pretty funny, and we’re doing an Indiegogo crowd funder for it right now. The crowd funder closes on Wednesday night, so if you’re interested, check it out and help us reach our goal.

What’s up next?

Who knows? Escape plans are being made by more than one of us right now. We’ve got an album three quarters recorded and another one in the works, so we’ll see.

THE BEAT NIGHTCLUB Fresh from releasing their new single, Mary, from their stunning debut album from last year, Strange Paradise, Mezzanine will be turning up to 11 and filling The Beat Upstairs with their ‘90s flavoured fuzz drenched pop anthems this Friday, July 18.

Support comes from Wiseoaks, The Disappointed and Silver HIlls. Doors open at 9pm.

Mezzanine

YAYA’S

ROSEMOUNT HOTEL

Saturday, July 19, sees something a little different in the form of Arriba Colombia – a celebration of Colombian independence! Get on down from 8pm to check out DJ Mateo and Perth’s premier Latino orchestra Yambeque all the way through till two in the morning! Sunday it’s Lady Velvet Cabaret as teachers and their graduating students present A History Of Burlesque. As always don’t forget to hang around after 11pm on Friday for ACE, where resident DJ Cookie spins your favourite party starters to help you dance the night away!

This Wednesday, July 16, sees Doctopus launch their new album with support from Hamjam, Yokohomos and Dream Rimmy, while Thursday catch Gombo, The Brown Study Band, Bury The Heard and The Lunettes. Friday catch High On Fire with special guests The Devil Rides Out and Scalphunter, while Saturday the massive Murderfest metal bonanza takes over from 2pm, and on Tuesday Bex and Turin’s open mic night continues.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

27

X- P R E S S G U I D E

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE EVENTS GUIDE APP

TOURS DAN SULTAN 1 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River 2 Astor Theatre 16 Roebuck Hotel, Broome MIDYEAR MAYHEM TOUR ft.

BURIED IN VERONA 1 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 2 Amplifier Bar 3 YMCA HQ BURIED IN VERONA, JULY ANTAGONIST AD, STORIES METRONOMY 2 Amplifier 23 Astor 3 YMCA HQ HUSKY KASABIAN 24 Rosemount Hotel 5 Metro City 25 Mojos Bar NEUROSIS THE 1975 6 Capitol 24 Capitol I AM GIANT DECADE OF VIPER ft. 7 Amplifier Bar PAUL GRABOWSKY MATRIX & 7, 8, 9 Ellington Jazz FUTUREBOUND, BROOKES BROTHERS, Club ROY ORBISON & DEL THE PROTOTYPES SHANNON TRIBUTE & ROCKWELL + MC 7 Albany DELON Entertainment Centre 25 Metro City 9 Crown Theatre SLEEPMAKESWAVES THE WHITE ALBUM 8 Amplifier Bar CONCERT TOUR DAN CRIBB & THE ft. CHRIS CHENEY, ISOLATED PHIL JAMESON, 8 Rosemount Hotel JOSH PYKE & TIM 9 Monkey Bar & ROGERS Lounge 26 Riverside Theatre 10 Newport Hotel CORROSION OF THE TELEVISION ADDICTS CONFORMITY, 9 Rosemount Hotel WEEDEATER & LO! MENTAL AS (CANCELLED) ANYTHING 26 Rosemount Hotel Charles Hotel WINTER BLUES FEST 11 COURTNEY LOVE ft. DAVE HOLE, RICK 13 Metro City STEELE, VDELLI BOB DYLAN 27 Northshore Tavern 13 & 14 Perth Convention & TIM ROGERS Exhibition Centre 27 Mojos Bar KATY STEELE PELICAN 13 & 17 Ellington Jazz 27 Rosemount Hotel Club THE ANGELS BONJAH 31 Newport Hotel 14 Northshore Tavern 15 Indi Bar 16 Amplifier AUGUST 17 Dunsborough WILLOW BEATS Tavern 1 Mondo @ Ginger HANSON Nightclub 15 Metropolis ROSS WILSON Fremantle 1 Charles Hotel PSEUDO ECHO THE ANGELS 15 Charles Hotel 1 Wintersun Hotel, 16 Centurion Hotel Geraldton ED KUEPPER 2 Charles Hotel 14 Settlers Tavern, 3 The Ravenswood Margaret River Hotel 15 Fly By Night KATE MILLERSPIDERBAIT HEIDKE 15 Astor Theatre 1 Astor Theatre TINA ARENA IAN MOSS 15 Crown Theatre 1 The Centurion Hotel BODYJAR 8 Charles Hotel 15 Capitol

THIS WEEK

HIGH ON FIRE 18 Rosemount Hotel GARETH EMERY 19 Metro City FRANKENBOK 19 Rosemount Hotel MARK WILKINSON 19 Fly By Night DRIFTER 19 Parker Nightclub

FEATURED GIG

RTRFM RADIOTHON 2014 15 – 24 BJÖRN AGAIN 16 Crown Theatre SEEKAE 16 The Villa ILLY 16 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River 23 Leisure Inn Rockingham ROB SNARSKI 17 Mojos Bar LADY GAGA 20 Perth Arena KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES 21 Villa Nightclub THE DANDY WARHOLS 21 & 22 Astor Theatre KINGSWOOD 21 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 22 Capitol TIM FREEDMAN 22 Ellington Jazz Club JAMES REYNE 22 Charles Hotel ULTRAGLOW 22 Metro City NORTHWEST PILBARA WEEKENDER 22 – 24 Port Hedland Turf Club QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT 22 Perth Arena THE KITE STRING TANGLE 22 Amplifier Bar THE APE ft. TEX PERKINS 23 Mojos Bar JAMES REYNE 23 Astor Theatre THE ASTON SHUFFLE 23 Amplifier Bar RUSSELL MORRIS 23 Regal Theatre MELODY POOL 23 X-Wray Café 24 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River 26 Ellington Jazz Club KID INK 25 Villa MAN IN BLACK: THE JOHNNY CASH STORY 26-31 Regal Theatre KING BUZZO 26 Astor Lounge INDIAN SUMMER 27 Newport Hotel 29 Mondo at Ginger GEORGE GARZONE 28, 29, 30 Ellington Jazz Club THE AMITY AFFLICTION 29 Red Hill Auditorium KAV TEMPERLEY 30 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River POP WILL EAT ITSELF 31 Rosemount Hotel THE OWLS 31 Indi Bar LA COKA NOSTRA 31 Villa Nightclub

SEPTEMBER

HIGH ON FIRE

HIGH ON FIRE

THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL FRIDAY, JULY 18

28

DIEGO ELCIGALA 1 Regal Theatre ANBERLIN & THE GETAWAY PLAN 3 Metropolis Fremantle KANYE WEST 5 Perth Arena KAV TEMPERLEY 5 Players Bar, Mandurah 6 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 7 Rumours, Albany 12 Divers Tavern, Broome

MARINA PRIOR 5 Albany Entertainment Centre 6 Astor Theatre 7 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre HOWLING BELLS 6 Amplifier Bar THE WONDER YEARS 7 Amplifier Bar VELOCIRAPTOR 7 Newport Hotel SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS 8 & 9 Astor Theatre CANNIBAL CORPSE 9 Capitol PROTEST THE HERO 10 Amplifier Bar DOUG ANTHONY ALL STARS 10 & 11 Regal Theatre ROBBIE WILLIAMS 11 & 12 Perth Arena BIFFY CLYRO 12 Metro City CASEY DONOVAN 12 & 13 Ellington Jazz Club REECE MASTIN 12 Astor Theatre 13 The Lakes Theatre ONE DAY 13 Capitol UNCLE JED 13 YaYa’s 14 The Indi Bar GRACE KNIGHT 19 & 20 Ellington Jazz Club 360 19 Metro City (18+) 20 Astor Theatre Perth (Licensed all ages) ANDY BULL 19 The Bakery 20 Rottofest JOE BONAMASSA 19 Perth Concert Hall STICKY FINGERS 19 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River 360 19 Metro City 20 The Astor GABRIEL IGLESIAS 23 Riverside Theatre ANGUS & JULIA STONE 23 Perth Concert Hall ANDREA BOCELLI 24 Perth Arena INGRID MICHAELSON 24 Fly By Night Club BOY & BEAR 25 Albany Entertainment Centre 26 Bunbury Entertainment Centre 28 Fremantle Arts Centre THE CAT EMPIRE 26 Fremantle Arts Centre 27 Metro City WAVE ROCK WEEKENDER 27 - 28 Wave Rock Caravan Park VERUCA SALT 28 Rosemount Hotel RISE OF BROTALITY TOUR ft. I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN, THE GHOST INSIDE, IN HEARTS WAKE 27 YMCA HQ 28 Capitol LISTEN OUT ft. FLUME, CHET FAKER, ZHU AND MORE 28 Ozone Reserve MIAMI HORROR 28 Newport Hotel OCTOBER THE HIGH KINGS 1 Crown Theatre VERUCA SALT 4 Rosemount Hotel

RICK SPRINGFIELD 7 Crown Theatre JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE 8 & 9 Perth Arena SLAVES 8 Amplifier Bar DEAD KENNEDYS 11 Capitol THE SELECTER 14 Rosemount Hotel ALL DAY 15 YMCA HQ 16 Prince of Wales, Bunbury 17 Amplifier TORCHE 17 Rosemount Hotel CHRISTINE ANU 17 & 18 Ellington Jazz Club MILEY CYRUS 23 Perth Arena BALL PARK MUSIC 24 Astor Theatre 25 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River BALL PARK MUSIC 25 Settler’s Tavern THE ROLLING STONES 29 Perth Arena

NOVEMBER THE ROLLING STONES 1 Perth Arena KATY PERRY 7 & 8 Perth Arena JOE SATRIANI 11 Astor Theatre YES 12 Crown Theatre KRISIUM 12 Amplifier TOXIC HOLOCAUST & IRON REAGAN 13 Rosemount Hotel NICK CAVE SOLO TOUR 27 & 28 Fremantle Arts Centre BEN FOLDS & WASO 28 & 29 Perth Concert Hall

DECEMBER UB40 & BLUE KING BROWN 5 Red Hill Auditorium THY ART IS MURDER 17 YMCA HQ 18 Capitol

JANUARY 2015 SUZI QUATRO 28 & 29 Regal Theatre

FEBRUARY 2015 PASSENGER 7 Red Hill Auditorium ROXETTE 14 Perth Arena THE EAGLES 18 & 19 Perth Arena ONE DIRECTION 20 Pattersons Stadium PAUL SIMON & STING 21 & 22 Sir James Mitchell Park

MARCH 2015 FROM THE JAM 5 Capitol KYLIE MINOGUE 14 Perth Arena

MAY 2015 RICKY MARTIN 8 Perth Arena

LUCY PEACH, JULY 16

DAVID CRAFT, JULY 18

WEEKLY WEDNESDAY16/07 THE ALBION HOTEL Quiz Night AMPLIFIER BAR Academy Animistic Rezume Dawn Of Leviathan Anavar THE BAKERY Fresh Faced Follies THE BIRD DJ Quizzy Seventh Son BRASS MONKEY DJ Vicktor CAPITOL Harlem Wednesdays CAPTAIN STIRLING Lokie Shaw THE CARINE Open Mic Night Shaun Street CHARLES HOTEL Funky Bunch Trivia CITRO BAR Seasons Of Perth Bernardine CLANCY’S CANNING Tim Gordon John Martyr CLUB RED SEA Cheek CONSERVATORY ROOFTOP BAR Horseplay THE COURT Wicked Wednesdays ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Noah’s Ark FLYRITE Northbridge Nightly Now GOLD BAR Famous THE GOOD SHEPHERD Thinkfar GROOVE BAR (CROWN) 5 Shots HULA BULA BAR Island Nite INDI BAR Buddy Phoenix Minky & Rosco Black Rafferty Gun Market Kids LLAMA BAR Akuna Club Motez LANEWAY LOUNGE Summer Club Band LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Decoy Duo THE LUCKY SHAG Howie Morgan METRO FREO C5 Next Gen

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

MOJOS BAR Laurel Fixation Emu Xperts Cavalier The Government Yard THE MOON CAFE Going Solo ft.

Woody Lucy Peach MUSTANG BAR Wild Wednesday DJ Giles Kickstart NEWPORT HOTEL Newport Wednesdays Student Night 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL CHALK Elk Bell Kris Nelson Lewis Walsh ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Something On The Side Doctopus Hamjam Yokohomos Dream Rimmy ROSIE O’GRADY’S NORTHBRIDGE Laugh Resort Comedy Open Mic Night with Dave Fyffe THE SWINGING PIG Open Mic Night Greg Carter UNIVERSAL BAR Virtual Insanity VILLAGE BAR Village People Wednesdays YAYA’S HaHas @ YaYa’s Kids With Wolves Raksha Little Bird James Atles THURSDAY 17/07 BAR ORIENT Acoustic Night THE BIRD SMRTS Inner Pieces Hayley Beth Craig McElhinney THE BUFFALO CLUB Here Comes The Sun Thee Gold Blooms BRASS MONKEY Rhythm Bound Karaoke BRIGHTON Siren Song Enterprises BROOKLANDS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke

CAPTAIN STIRLING Trivia Night THE CAUSEWAY BAR Xport Thursdays CHARLES HOTEL Comedy Lounge THE CLAREMONT HOTEL Institution Thursdays CLUB RED SEA Thursday Night Revolution CONNECTIONS NIGHTCLUB Bingay Hosted by Hannah Conda DEVILLES PAD Rock n’ Roll Karaoke Magnus Danger Magnus DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Open Mic Night Kris Buckle ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Orquesta Yambeque FLY BY NIGHT Fender Roots to Rock FREMANTLE WORKERS CLUB Jam Nation The Fancy Brothers THE GATE Greg Carter GOLD BAR OG Thursdays GRAND CENTRAL PARK Acoustic Aly GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Hi-NRG HULA BULA BAR Hi-Fi Lounge INDI BAR Open Mic Night LAKERS TAVERN Dove LANEWAY LOUNGE Stratosfunk LEISURE INN DJ Miss Chief LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Jack & Jill LOST SOCIETY The Collective LUCKY SHAG James Wilson MARKET CITY TAVERN Josh Ramsay Enrico Esma Mark Torregoza Rob & Luke Nathan Mayers Robbie Beecroft MERRIWA TAVERN Organ Grinders

PEANUT BUTTER WOLF, JULY 18

MOJOS BAR Doctopus Hamjam Catbrush Fox Jellyfish THE MOON CAFÉ Yambeque MUSTANG BAR One Thousand Years Custom Royal DJ James MacArthur THE NAVY CLUB Moana The Midfield Legends NEWPORT HOTEL The Newport Record Club NORTHSHORE TAVERN Nathan Gaunt Duo OCEAN ONE BAR Turin’s Open Mic Night PEEL ALE HOUSE Open Mic PLAYERS BAR Bombshell Strip Club PRINCE OF WALES Morgan Bain PS ART SPACE Analog On ft.

Strunkdts Basic Mind Duplex Rabbit 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The Limbs Hello Madam The Longneck Tosspots Kings Justice Radio In Motion ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Gombo The Brown Study Band Bury The Heard The Lunettes RUBIX BAR Adam James THE SAINT Thursday Music Quiz SETTLERS TAVERN (MARGARET RIVER) Open Mic Night ft.

Claire Warnock THE SHED Booty Jooce UNIVERSAL BAR Off The Record VERANDAH BAR Let’s Get Quizzical FRIDAY 18/07 AMPLIFIER BAR Bikout Foam The Others Puck Flowermouth Fridays Are Back

THE AVIARY Paradise Paul NDORSE THE BAKERY Menagerie Choir Smrts UV Dancehall THE BALMORAL The Mojos BAR ORIENT Ceol BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) STEREO Mezzanine Wise Oaks Silver Hills The Disappointed Emperor DJ’s BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) PLAY BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Mike Nayar THE BELMONT Light Street BEST DROP TAVERN Driven By People THE BIRD David Craft & Band Apache Catbrush Monique Shelford THE BRASS MONKEY Fruit Tingle Fridays THE BRIGHTON Frenzy CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) I Love ‘80s & ‘90s THE CARINE J!mmy Beats CHASE BAR & BISTRO James Wilson CITRO BAR Seasons Of Perth Jeanie Proude CLANCY’S CANNING DJ Boogie CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Stielgutz CRUISING YACHT CLUB Rockin’ Ronnie DEVILLE’S PAD Go Go Fridays The High Learys Lady Carla Seventh Son DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Cuddles EAST 150 BAR Adrian Wilson EDZ SPORTZ BAR Back2Back ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Bronwyn Sprogowski EMPIRE BAR Howie Morgan

Deadline Monday 5pm. X-Press Guide is a service to advertisers listing all entertainment events.

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

TOURS • LIVE • DANCE

FRANKENBOK, JULY 19

EVE NIGHTCLUB Recharge Fridays FLAWLESS Monarch Fridays FLY BY NIGHT Disco Freak FLYRITE Suburban & Coke Chilling Winston At The Space Jam Dwyer Priority One THE GATE Chris Gibbs GEISHA BAR Him Self Her Crosstown Rebels Defected Circle GINGER NIGHTCLUB Mondo Dance Party GOLD BAR Vanity GOSNELLS HOTEL Everlong THE GREENWOOD Ryan Webb HERDSMAN Organ Grinders HULA BULA BAR Shakin’ It HYDE PARK HOTEL (COURTYARD) Justin Cortorillo INDI BAR Vdelli INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO. Ben Merito KALAMUNDA HOTEL Wesley Goodlet Jamboree Scouts LAKERS TAVERN Legendary Lakers Friday Night Sesh LANGFORD ALE HOUSE Jahmoko Koha LIBRARY Dorcia LEISURE INN DJ Peta MALT Nu Disco Hip Hop M ON THE POINT Retriofit

TOMAS FORD, JULY 19

MAHOGANY INN Kevin Curran THE MANOR Peanut Butter Wolf METRO FREO Animal House: Magic METRO FREO C5 Frat House Fridays MINT Club Retro MOJOS BAR The Floors Hideous Sun Demon Blackmilk Aborted Tortoise Dukes of Porn Methyl Ethel Rag n’ Bone Childsaint Yaqui Yeti Marmmalade MULLALOO BEACH HOTEL Flaunt Fridays MUSTANG BAR Flat Nash & The Action Men Oz Big Band Swing DJ DJ James MacArthur MY PLACE Karaoke NEWPORT HOTEL Fluke NORMA JEANS Singles Night Launch NORTHSHORE TAVERN Two Plus One Chalk N Cheese Fridays PADDY MACGUIRE’S Easy Tiger PARAMOUNT Paramount Party Crew PEEL ALE HOUSE Siren Song Enterprises PIRATE BAR Bernardine PLAYERS BAR Hooch

FEATURED GIG

GARETH EMERY

GARETH EMERY METRO CITY SATURDAY, JULY 19

PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Tripwire THE PRINCIPAL Felony Duo QUARIE BAR & BISTRO Siren & Assassin ROLEYSTONE COUNTRY CLUB Stu McKay ROSE & CROWN HOTEL Adam James 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The Long March Lynda Smyth & The Borrowed Few Sam Wylde Trio Tane Terrant ROSEMOUNT HOTEL High On Fire The Devil Rides Out Scalphunter SAIL AND ANCHOR Howie Morgan Duo SETTLER’S TAVERN (MARGARET RIVER) Matt Gresham Trio THE SHED Crush DJ Glen SOUTH ST. ALEHOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SOVEREIGN ARMS Thank God It’s…

Funky Lounge Fridays SWINGING PIG Greg Carter UNIVERSAL BAR Nightmoves VERNON ARMS TAVERN Greg Carter THE VIC Nathan Gaunt WHALE & ALE Funky Friday’s DJ Paul E WINTERSUN HOTEL Leon Tioke WOODVALE TAVERN Milhouse YAYA’S ACE @ YAYAS DJ Pup DJ Double Dee SATURDAY 19/07 AMPLIFIER BAR Tracksuit The Autumn Isles Helen Shanahan Simon Kelly & The Big Bamboo THE AVIARY Zel Paradise Paul NDORSE

THE LOVE JUNKIES, JULY 19

THE BAKERY Crap Music Rave Party: Boom-ShakA-Lak! ft.

Tomás Ford Ayden Doherty BAILEY’S BAR Dr. Bogus THE BALMORAL Wire Birds BAR ORIENT The Reggae Club BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) CANVAS BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) LYTS Heyetsburg Yalleron THE BIRD The Love Junkies Skullcave Black Stone From The Sun BOAB TAVERN James Wilson THE BROOK Everlong BROOKLANDS TAVERN Organ Grinders CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) Cream Of The ‘80s THE CARINE Craig Ballantyne CIVIC HOTEL Redstar CLANCY’S CANNING Steve Parkin THE CLAREMONT HOTEL Antics Tim from Tim & Jean CORNERSTONE ALE HOUSE INXS Tribute CRAFTSMAN Rock Candy CRUISING YACHT CLUB Replika DEVILLES PAD Black Magic Disco JO19 DJ Moogy DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Nathan Gaunt EAST END BAR Home ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB James Flynn & The Fly Little Big Band Double Drummer ESPLANADE, BUSSELTON The Avenue FLAWLESS LQ Saturdays THE GATE Greg Carter

GEISHA BAR Liam Sampras Tim B Jason Stone Henton Bongo Locos GOLD BAR Pure Gold GOSNELLS HOTEL Third Gear THE GREENWOOD In The Groove GROOVE BAR & LOUNGE (CROWN) Decoy HULA BULA BAR Sailor Saturdays HYDE PARK HOTEL Shake & Bake INDI BAR Morgan Bain Riley Pearce KALAMUNDA HOTEL Celebrations Karaoke LAKERS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke LANEWAY LOUNGE Retriofit Astrid Ripepi LANGFORD ALE HOUSE Hayfever LIBRARY MKT LOST SOCIETY Chalk M ON THE POINT Rhythm 22 MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke METRO CITY Metro Saturdays Ruthless Angry Buda METRO FREO Metropolis Saturdays DJ DTuck DJ Wazz Ben Carter METRO FREO C5 I Love ‘80s & ‘90s MUSTANG BAR Shot Down From Sugartown Milhouse DJ Holly Doll DJ James MacArthur MOJOS BAR Vsoundz Kaarel Kiviloo Clayton Barnes Franky Mitchell Shannon Dicko Space Goat Adam Munro Craig Dicko V Rosco Lewis Viljoen NEWPORT HOTEL Gravity DJ Tahli Jade DJ Tom Drummond

LIAM SAMPRAS, JULY 19

NORMA JEANS DJ DAZ NORTHSHORE TAVERN Howie Morgan Project PARAMOUNT Felix PEEL ALE HOUSE Indigo Kat Wilson Band Curtis McEntree PLAYERS BAR LUXE PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Kevin Curran QUARIE BAR & BISTRO DJ Eugene RAILWAY HOTEL Teachings in Dub ft.

The KBI Sound System ROCK INNE Pinked!

459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Like Junk King Crime Uvees Sprawl Laurel Fixation Dust ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Murderfest ft.

Frankenbok Psychonaut Tusk Death Dependent Tempest Rising Mason The Arcadian SANZU Harlott All This Filth and more!

ROSIE O’GRADY’S FREMANTLE Flava SAIL AND ANCHOR The Gypsy Minions SETTLERS TAVERN (MARGARET RIVER) Wild West Dress Up Party On The Level THE SHED Huge DJ Andyy SOVEREIGN ARMS Countdown Saturday SPRINGS TAVERN Adam James THE SWINGING PIG Frenzy UNIVERSAL BAR Soul Corporation YAYA’S Arriba Colombia Yambeque DJ Mateo

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

AMBERDOWN, JULY 20

SUNDAY 20/07 THE ALEXANDER Karaoke THE AVIARY Micah NDORSE Ben Sebastian THE BALMORAL Andrew Winton THE BELMONT Acoustic Aly BENTLEY HOTEL Ceol THE BIRD Doctopus The Pissedcolas Methyl Ethel THE BRIGHTON Organ Grinders BROKEN HILL HOTEL Kizzy THE BROOK Justin Cortorillo BROOKLANDS TAVERN James Wilson THE CARINE Chris Gibbs THE CAUSEWAY Acoustic Sunday CITRO BAR Seasons of Perth Dean Anderson CIVIC HOTEL Troy Nababan CLANCYS CITY BEACH Sunday Brekky Sesh The Limelights Jazz Trio CLAREMONT HOTEL Sunday Driver COMO HOTEL Two Frets Down DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Kris Buckle ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB New Voices FLINDERZ HILLARYS Marcio Mendes THE GATE Mike Nayar THE GREENWOOD Justin Cortorillo HULA BULA BAR Tiki Time Sundays INDI BAR Dallas Royal Custom Royal Beverley Thrills INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Retriofit KALAMUNDA HOTEL The Mojos LAKERS TAVERN Wesley Goodlet Jamboree Scouts LANEWAY LOUNGE Ben Matthews Quartet

LANGFORD ALE HOUSE Gerry Azor LAST DROP TAVERN Brett Hardwick LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Thierryno LUCKY SHAG Hans Fiance MOJOS BAR Lumpy Dog Nectar Sprawl THE MOON CAFÉ Eduardo Cossio M ON THE POINT Nathan Gaunt MULLALOO BEACH HOTEL Sunday Sesh NEWPORT HOTEL Gombo The Brown Study Band Lantana Just Say Mercy NORTHSHORE TAVERN Endless Summer Sessions OCEAN VIEW TAVERN Peter Ashton PEEL ALE HOUSE Bernardine PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Greg Carter QUARIE BAR & BISTRO The Gypsy Minions RAILWAY HOTEL Sub-Zero Winter Festival ft.

Mattiecee Darth Hazer Damien Blaze Lk RedCan Temperamental Goat Josh Cube and more!

REDCLIFFE ON THE MURRAY Morgan Bain THE ROSE & CROWN HOTEL Blackbirds 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Amberdown Last Week’s Heroes Ready To Fire Ego Space Station Animals ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Mossy Fogg Hank

CHARLIE BUCKET, JULY 20

ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) The Get Down ft.

Charlie Bucket Klean Kicks Nick Sheppard THE SAINT Sunday Funday Howie Morgan Project SEAVIEW TAVERN Jeanie Proude SETTLERS TAVERN (MARGARET RIVER) Sunday Session Chief Monkey THE SHED The Healys Blue Hornet SOUTH ST. ALEHOUSE Open Mic Night SWALLOW BAR Sunday Sessions SWINGING PIG Siren & Assassin UNIVERSAL BAR Retriofit VERNON ARMS TAVERN Kevin Curran WANNEROO TAVERN Steve Hepple THE WINDSOR Ryan Webb MONDAY 21/07 BRASS MONKEY Monkey Madness Student & Industry Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Song Lounge Unearthed MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic YAYA’S Big Tommo’s Open Mic Variety Night

TUESDAY 22/07 THE BIRD Live Sessions ft.

Sista No Drums Maxy Bills BRASS MONKEY Open Mic Night Shaun Street THE CHARLES HOTEL Perth Blues Club Jason Smith & Friends CONSERVATORY ROOFTOP BAR Rooftop Comedy ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Big Splash Band Comp GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Jack & Jill LANEWAY LOUNGE Open Mic Night Josh Terlick LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Hans Fiance LUCKY SHAG Leighton Keepa MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke MOJOS BAR Going Solo Vin Beau Jones Steve Bailey Buddy Phoenix Ali Flintoff MUSTANG BAR Danzaloca Salsa Night OCEAN ONE BAR Overgrowth Open Mic Night THE PADDO Quiz Meisters THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Bex & Turin’s Wide Open Mic SWINGING PIG Siren Song Enterprises YAYA’S 88 To Yesterday Ready To Fire Tell The Shaman The De Niros

FEATURED GIG

ANIMISTIC

ANIMISTIC

AMPLIFIER BAR WEDNESDAY, JULY 16

29

NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

| B E AT S

|

LIVE

|

EVENTS

I LOVE 80’S & 90’S @ CAPTIOL

THE SHED

AMPLIFIER

DELICIOUS @ ROCKET ROOM

METRO FREO

THE COURT

MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY

|

CLASSIFIEDS

THE AUSTRALIA TAX Big Mark Ups Down Under

DJ SERVICES D J WA N T E D S e e k i n g D J 1 8 y r s & ove r with exp and some equipment.Contac t www.dancefloordjs.com.au 0416171883 EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING Do you know what a roadie is? Have you got any background in AUDIO, LIGHTING or BACKLINE? Are you looking for CASUAL work in the entertainment industry? If that sounds like you contact Events Personnel Aust. On 08 9361 5005.

FOR SALE HEADPHONES all brands & styles. 23 Harrogate Street, West Leederville. Contact Headphonic 08 93886333 headphones.com.au MUSOS WANTED Musicians Wanted for the Next Big Thing!

Singer,Guitarist, Bass, Keys. Voice to Build a big band behind. No age barrier. Is this you? Get off your bum and live the dream. Ph 0412231126 OPEN MIC NIGHT every Thursday night at Indi Bar. Email Trojan John at trojan_johnmusic@yahoo. com.au for spot Laneway Lounge Open Mic every Tuesday Night. If you’re keen for a spot text Josh on 0430313577 30

Perhaps you have heard the anecdote that it is cheaper to jump in a plane, fly to the United States and buy a copy of Adobe Creative Suite 6 than to buy it online.

This mark-up for digital goods when purchased online is referred to as the Australia Tax, and it is such a problem for Australian consumers that last year the House of Representatives formed the IT Pricing Inquiry. This inquiry received 133 submissions from Australians who were upset about the increased cost to consumers, in what they saw as deliberate price gouging. This inquiry focused mostly on commercial software, with representatives from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe and other software giants giving evidence on why they feel the need to charge extra to consumers in the Land Down Under.

Companies use a technology known as geo-blocking. The purpose of geo-blocks is to limit access to websites based on the user’s geographic location (determined by their originating IP address).

Often companies will drop users into a “walled garden” website, which in Australian consumers case, includes an increase in price.

For Australian musicians who use software coming from overseas, the mark-ups can be quite spectacular. German company Native Instruments have recently instigated a tiered pricing structure. For

European customers, prices are in Euros, Australians the Aussie dollar, and all other users the US dollar.

Unfortunately the prices do not align after taking into account differences in exchange rates.

A quick browse of their US web store shows their flagship Komplete Ultimate 9 (currently on sale) at US$699.00. Compare that to their Australian web store where it is listed at AU$949.00 (a 35% increase). This isn’t the biggest price difference however. Expansions for their Maschine product are US$49 in the US web store, versus U$79 in the Australian. (An incredible 61% increase) A response from Native Instruments public relations was requested for this article, however none was received.

Not only are Australian customers charged more for digital goods, sometimes they cannot even be purchased online. Steinberg, who make the popular digital audio workstation Cubase, will not even sell copies of their software online if you are on an Australian IP address. Instead there are options to purchase updates. This limitation is not in place for Americans or Europeans.

Australian consumers should be up in arms about these increased costs. Digital goods do not have the associated costs of their physical counterparts, such as import duties, freight or the building of complex

logistics networks. Australian web stores are hosted in the same servers as their European and American counterparts, so there is not even additional cost in the delivery of the software itself.

As it stands, the only way Australians can continue to purchase software from foreign companies without the mark up is through accessing websites by bypassing their geo-blocks using VPNs or web proxies. (which Australian government officials claim is still technically legal). This will allow consumers to purchase software at the reduced US prices.

Unfortunately if you want to purchase software of the Apple App Store, or iTunes, further steps are being taken where purchases made with credit cards from Australia are not permitted on non-Australian versions of the site.

So if you are an Australian musician or purchaser of digital software and upset with the Australian government setting up Free Trade agreements which don’t stop this price gouging to end users, your best option is to contact your MP and voice your feelings. The more who do this, then there is the possibility that laws can be enacted to stop foreign companies passing on the Australian Tax.

Rochelle O’Reilly & the Feel Goods seek new Guitarist for Orig/Cover Band. Must have exp & R&B Flow. 0438345354 Rochelle WANTED MALE LEAD VOCALIST 40+ I am looking for a confident, strong vocalist able to sing Chisel to Bon Jovi. 0430 695 287 PRODUCTION SERVICES C D & DV D M A N U FAC T U R E C h e c k o u t our latest CD & DVD specials online at www.procopy.com.au 9375 3902 MATRIX PRODUCTIONS AUSTRALIA Lighting, staging, sound systems, smoke machines, night club FX, intelligent lighting, strobes & mirror balls, crowd barriers, video projectors. 9371 1551 RECORDING STUDIOS ALAN DAWSON’s WITZEND RECORDING STUDIO Prof quality albums or demos, large live room, experienced engineer, analog to digital transfers, mastering..Alan 0407 989 128 or Jeremy 0430638178 www.witzendstudios.com ANALOG MASTERING VINTAGE TAPE, TUBES & TRANSFORMERS with the latest state of the art digital converters. Clients include: Melody’s Echo Chamber, Pond, Gossling, Knife Party, Felicity Groom, The Floors, Jeff Martin & The

Panics. World class facility, World class results.

Www.poonshead.com. 9339 4791 ANDY’S STUDIO International multi award winning songwriter / producer. No band required. Broadcast quality. A songwriter’s paradise. Ph 9364 3178 GOLDDUST Production Mixing, recording and composition. Leederville $80 p/h. 0408 097 407 RECORDING MIXING MASTERING PRODUCING Fremantle location. Call Pete Kitchen Cooked Records. Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764 REVOLVER SOUND STUDIO Ph 9272 7505. www.revolverstudio.com.au SONGWRITERS - BANDS! Great Productions!

London Producer, awesome studio. Call Jerry on 0405 653 338 www.jerichomusic.com.au REHEARSAL STUDIOS AAA VHS REHEARSAL ROOMS Great facilities, great vibe & great price!!! Unit 5 /16 Peel Road, O’Connor. Phone 9418 5815 or 0413 732 885 BIGBEAT SOUND STUDIO Clean rooms, all new PA systems, air-con and good parking . Willetton Ph: 0425 698 117.

PLATINUM SOUND ROOMS Professional rehearsal rooms, airconditioned, quality PAs mob 0418 944 722

STREAM STUDIO’S 89 Stirling St, Perth. Mobile: 0403 152 009 info@streamrehearsal.com.au TUITION ***GUITAR LESSONS*** The Guitar Institute.

New Studio New Times Avail. Online bookings.

Beg to prof, all styles. Tutors WWC clearance. Cliff Lynton Guitar Institute. Mt Lawley 9342 3484/ www.clifflynton.com BASS GUITAR LESSONS AVAILABLE by WAAPA tutor. A practicle approach to learning. .All styles.

Years of experience. Tony Gibbs 9470 6131

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

SEAN DRILL

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

31

32

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU