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CASH SAVAGE AND THE LAST DRINKS Plus The Meanies At Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, 1st Feb, 2021
PHOTOGRAPHY: Nate Hill https://www.natehillphotography.com.au/
An amazing performance by both Cash Savage and The Last Drinks + The Meanines at Melbourne’s very special Sidney Myer Music Bowl. What a treat it was to be blow away with two thunderous LIVE performances in such an idyllic setting.
Thanks to The Old Bar, The Tote, Melbourne Music Week and Arts Centre Melbourne for making the show possible.
In a shorter 10-day format spanning March 5-14 (taking in the Labour Day long weekend), Brunswick will be abuzz for Brunswick Music Festival 2021, with a bursting program that sets the stage for people to gather and connect IRL after the year that was, all across the expansive suburb, in beloved parks, music venues, bars and pizza parlours.
As we feel the music returning to greater Melbourne and the Inner Northern nook of Brunswick, and going to gigs slowly starts to feel normal again, so too the festival stirs from its slumber. After the pause mid-dance in 2020, BMF is pleased to hit play on live music again, shaking it off by putting on a stunning array of live music offerings for just $10 or under.
That’s right, in 2021 not a single BMF ticket will be over $10 + booking fee, an unbelievable coming back gift to the community from the festival and Moreland City Council to support social solidarity and togetherness through high vibe live music experiences for all.
GRAND SALE! GRAND SALE! GRAND SALE!
BMF’s dreamy new outdoor venue at Gilpin Park will host a swathe of performances. Tastemakers including Crown Ruler with Waving at Trains, Milk! Records and Our Golden Friend will each curate shows featuring DJ JNETT, East Brunswick All Girls Choir, Elizabeth, Good Morning, Kee’ahn, Loose Tooth, RVG and more.
Ten bucks? Ten bucks.
Taking advantage of the autumn weather, other excellent festival collaborators Bad Apples, Flightless Records, HopeStreet Recordings with College of Knowledge, Mistletone Records and Port Fairy Folk Festival will each bring a collection of artists outdoors to Gilpin’s leafy surrounds. The impressive line ups include Alice Skye, BARKAA, Cash Savage and The Last Drinks, Emma Donovan and The Putbacks, HEXDEBT, Kutcha Edwards, Leah Senior, Spike Fcuk and more. Plus Gilpin Park will play host to special headline shows from Angie McMahon and Mo’Ju.
A tenner or free? Yep, a tenner or free.
COME AND GET THE BARGAIN!
Bar Oussou, the newly re-opened Brunswick Ballroom, Cross Street Music Hall, Noisy Ritual, Ollie’s Pizza Parlour, Rubix Warehouse, Small Time, Tempo Rubato, The B. East, The Charles Weston Hotel, The Edinburgh Castle Hotel, The Jazzlab, The Moldy Fig and The Retreat Hotel are all contributing curators offering line ups across the 10 days for the expanded Venues 3056 program. This year Venues 3056 runs the duration of the festival, broadening its footprint to encompass more of the Inner North than ever. As part of the program, The Retreat Hotel will host a Beatles tribute evening as well as an unmissable all Femme/GNC International Women’s Day line up of Slush, V, Zig Zag and more.
Many shows are free, none are more than $10.
The shelves of Brunswick’s iconic art deco library will be shaken by Pinch Points and indie dream-pop band Tender Buttons, who promise to bring the bops between the books for Live at The Library. Plus for those music-minded, studious and sociable Small Time will host three live and live-streamed professional development sessions on DIY branding, management, live-streaming and production during BMF’s jam-packed mini-conference Sound Sessions in partnership with Milk! Records, Small Time and funded by Creative Victoria.
All free!
Howler will bring three extraordinary album launches to life on their celebrated stage, featuring Hachiku’s ‘I’ll Probably Be Asleep’, June Jones’ ‘Leafcutter’ and ‘Film School’ an exciting new collaborative project from Joelistics.
Guess how much?
And finally, keep an eye out for BMF’s Pop Ups featuring Ausecuma Beats, Petal Lake (Mindy Meng Wang & Daniel Jenatsch), Zoë Fox and the Pocket Rockets and more. Fun and free for all along Sydney Road.
Have your tenner handy? Get the complete low down on who, where and when at brunswickmusicfestival.com.au.
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Today, Perth alternative rock band Those Who Dream release their new single Tension Headache. The DIY Perth duo have also dropped a killer video for the single, which was produced, filmed and directed by the guys themselves. The result being one of the best DIY videos you’ll see come out of Australia this year.
Tension Headache follows on from the bands previous singles Monster, Coward and Violet which have amassed just shy of 900,000 streams on Spotify.
The new single continues along the path of DIY ethos the band is becoming known for, with brothers Josh and Cooper Meyer handling all the song-writing and production duties with their skills becoming sharper than ever.
Tension Headache sees the brothers channeling their own struggles and emotional turmoil and turning it into their most creative and catchiest song to date. The song is bold, dynamic and explosive, and is sure to become an anthem for a new generation.
“It’s hard to trust your own thoughts when you’re depressed. The same brain capable of thinking rationally and wanting to get better, is also capable of extreme self-sabotage. Trying to balance this constant tug-of-war can leave you exhausted, confused and even rationalising the bad thoughts. The soundscape is very much a representation of the lyrics; chaotic, uncertain and torn between light and dark” – Josh and Cooper Meyer
The band have also announced 2 shows in Perth to promote Tension Headache with a full Australian tour to be announced shortly. Show details below.
Friday Feb 12 – Badlands Bar, Perth – Tickets here
Saturday Feb 27 – Vision Studios, Perth – Tickets Here
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Where are you currently based?
Hello. I live in Berlin, already my whole life.
What’s been happening recently and how has your Covid/Isolation experience been so far?
In 2020 I was pretty busy releasing my music. There was the double 12″ AI on CLIKNO, then Post Techno Crisis on Goldmin Music, two EPs with my project rand with pianist Jan Gerdes, then my album Drones & Tones For The Free II under my alias Anomali and various podcasts, the last one, Yarncast072, came out just before Christmas. I also re-released seven previous EPs and albums on my own Bandcamp page. And of course, I’ve been spending time making new music. I haven’t felt lonely at all, although I’ve reduced my contacts extremely. I have to say that I live together with many people in a cool house in the middle of Berlin. That turned out to be an advantage in a situation like this. Living alone on my own is not my thing anyway.
Your new EP Muaco is out now on CLIKNO, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
Last year I read the book “Jaki Liebezeit” about the former Can drummer, which explains his rhythm system. Without being too theoretical, I adopted it intuitively and composed a number of percussive layers to achieve that mesmerizing sensation of polyrhythm that we also know from gamelan and a lot of African music. The pulse and flow were important. Another influence is Burnt Friedman, who also worked with Jaki Liebezeit, and Fela Kuti, but also drone music and techno a la Voices From the Lake, for example. Sonically, there are no influences other than the sound of the acoustic guitar itself. The acoustic feel was a premise.
How did you go about writing the EP?
I didn’t conceive the EP. I just had the idea to make a techno track with sounds of my acoustic guitar, that’s the title track Muaco, which is just a short name for MUsic Against COrona. I had so much fun with the samples that I ended up making three tracks. I wanted to release them as an EP right away, but pushed back the release date since the last year was already filled with releases. Now it feels great to launch with the Muaco EP in 2021, even during another lockdown period.
What programs/equipment did you use?
First, there’s my Höfner acoustic guitar, which I simply recorded with a Sure SM 58 microphone. All the rest – processing, sound design, arrangement and mixing – was done in Ableton Live and with the help of several plug-ins.
Where and when did you record/produce/master?
The complete music was recorded and produced at home. The mastering was done by Sebastian Mehl, a good friend with great mastering skills.
Did you work with anybody else during the creation of Muaco?
Nope
Please describe your creative process and why you create music?
The creative process usually starts with a recording of real sounds from the real world or I dig into my archive of those recordings. It’s more fun to start with something fresh and new, it triggers my curiosity about what I can do with it. The samples are imported into my computer and Ableton Live, where I assemble, disassemble, cut, tweak, modulate, pitch, stretch the material until I get stuck on a particular sound or segment. That might be a rhythmic or melodic phrase or just a textural sound. I’m looking for emotional content, at least for me. From there I add and explore, playing around with the sound clips until I have an idea of the track. I then do the arrangement live in a recording session.
I can’t answer the other question of why I make music. It’s an inner urge that drives me to do it. I can’t live without making music. I’m a sound nerd and fascinated by the impact that sound and music have and how music connects. I’m also very amused when I see people dancing to my music because I know how I created it and it might just be a random noise or a very childish, dubious instrument or just an object that I like the sound of.
Has Covid resulted in more webstreams/home-clubbing/listening?
Yeah, people are listening to more music at home now, or on their headphones on their walk or way to work. Home clubbing sounds kind of sexy to me. It’s something new to explore. I mean, are people really dancing at home? Possibly. I do, I can’t wait for the clubs to open! Web streams are very welcome, of course. There are way too many, I think. Even when Facebook launched with its livestream feature before Covid19, I quickly got bored of webstreams. It’s not just about the music or the sound anymore, there should be a narrative and a reason to do a stream and the images should reinforce that. It’s a new form of entertainment. There are interesting projects on the way. For example, what the CTM Festival is doing right now.
What has been motivating you in the last year or so with no live shows to play?
I lacked a bit of motivation, the pressure to produce. But as I mentioned before, last year I focused on releasing and re-releasing. But I know that one day there will be parties again and it’s better to be prepared. For the Muaco EP, the motivation actually came from picking up the guitar and recording some new acoustic sounds. The idea was still to produce some groovy tracks, but with a different sound concept. So I was curious how it would sound in the end and if it might work.
How do you think Covid has changed the path of music culture?
Well, apart from the crushing of any performance, I feel that many producers who felt trapped in a production process have now allowed themselves to break out and be more explorative and creative. I hope and wish that electronic music and music in general will become more free from all these commercial rules and guidelines. There is a great opportunity for music. After Covid, it won’t be the same anymore.
What do you have planned post Covid?
Kitchenparty is the first thing that comes to my mind. It’s a private event I usually host once or twice a year in my kitchen, more or less an informal gathering with friends and guests. We have DJs, live acts and visuals and usually international guests. The next one will be remembered for a long time. I also want to travel again, somewhere to get out and discover new places. I’m also curious where my next booking will take me.
What do you like to do away from music?
I’m quite interested in cultural things, art exhibitions, performances, concerts and so on. During the lockdown, a lot more happens on the net now, so I try to balance my time on the computer with going to the river and lakes and woods with someone, and I love hanging out with my girlfriend.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Last year I discovered the London label Well Street Records. I’m very excited about that. I’ve never heard the names of their artists, but I just love the music.Lately I’ve been listening a lot to Laurine Frost’s album Lena, Kraftwerk’s Autobahn, Talking Heads’ Remain in Light, Bohren & the Club of Gore’s Geisterfaust, Wang Inc.’s Mediterraneo EP and in between music from Hubble, Steevio, Steve Reich, Burnt Friedman, Jan Jelinek, Villalobos…. ah, too many to mention…. I listen to a lot of music.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
My favorite way to spend time is at home or with my girlfriend and housemates. My other friends are getting the short end of the stick at the moment, but I hope that will change in the summer. My favorite food has to be fresh. I love raw vegetables, hummus, good bread, salad, fruits. Now in winter sometimes a hot soup.
LISTEN/STREAM
https://clikno.bandcamp.com/album/muaco
“The singer Son Little has a lithely expressive voice that can locate forgiveness, sorrow, and ecstasy in even the most hackneyed turns of phrase.” — The New Yorker
“A breath of alternative air in a genre that’s often too slock and too overproduced.” – Relix
“Little’s exercise in resilience resulted in something that sounds and feels as fresh as it is.” – No Depression
Son Little has shared his latest single “Phantom Killer”; listen and watch the song’s dusky new lyric video HERE. Auto-tuned vocals, acoustic guitar & lofi-percussion on the track show Son Little’s progress in a new musical direction.
Born Aaron Earl Livingston, Little first came to international prominence with his self-titled debut which was released in 2015 on ANTI- Records. While Little’s collaborations with The Roots and RJD2 had already helped him make a name for himself by that point in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia, critics on both sides of the pond were quick to recognise the unique power of Little’s solo recordings, which stripped the past for parts that could be reconstituted into something wholly new and original. NPR hailed Little’s “impeccably crafted songs” as “honest and unpretentious,” while The Independent proclaimed him “a formidable talent,” and Vice declared that he was “dissolving the barrier between R&B and rock ‘n’ roll one tearjerker at a time.”
Never one to rest on his laurels, Little showed off his production chops the following year, earning a GRAMMY Award for his work helming Mavis Staples’ acclaimed ‘See That My Grave Is Kept Clean,’ and in 2017, he released a critically lauded sophomore album, New Magic, which Paste said “did for the blues what Sharon Jones did for soul music.”
In order to create his 2020 album aloha, Little began writing and assembling album demos in Petaluma, California. However, after his hard drive fried and he lost nearly a dozen detailed demos, he was forced to begin with a blank slate, leading him to write aloha in only eight days at a tiny house and its adjacent barn. The entire project was an exercise in letting go, in ceding control, in surrendering to fate.
“Losing all that material felt like a nightmare at the time, but I’ve since learned to see it as an opportunity,” he reflects. “If I hadn’t lost all those songs, I never would have written all the new stuff that became aloha. Letting go can be a scary prospect,” he added. “But there’s beauty in it, too. Everything you leave behind opens up space for something new in your life.”
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Photo Credit: Tristan McKenzie
Completing what’s been a significant creative journey over the last few years, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and filmmaker Oliver Jones present the official video for the band’s latest single, ‘Pukebox’.
The trilogy of videos, though not originally conceived to be a series of visuals, has become a great and entertaining addition to Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ consistently fleshed out wider body of work. The dynamic between Jones and the band’s driving creative force Jack McEwan has grown into a strong one, with the unique Psychedelic Porn Crumpets language evolving brilliantly alongside, through these hectic videos.“As always, it’s great working with the Porn Crumpets and was super fun to dive back into the world of T-Bone and Alice for one last adventure to conclude their story. It’s crazy to think about the evolution of these videos, where it started and how it ended. I’m still amazed at what Brandon and I managed to pull off; most stop motion videos have an entire team working on them. In these videos, there were just the two of us and we made three of them back to back. It’s pretty insane, when you think about it!” Oliver Jones
“It’s all heating up in Sweetsville! It’s been so much fun working with Ollie; I’m genuinely sad the saga is coming to its close. It’s been a great claymation journey, one we’re all extremely proud of, and we’ve saved the best for last.” Jack McEwan, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
Taken from Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ forthcoming fourth studio album SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound, ‘Pukebox’ has proven to be a hell of a ride already.
As the final taster to drop before the album’s February 5th release, ‘Pukebox’ came out the gate swinging. Following on from its worldwide premiere on BBC Radio 1 with Annie Mac, the single has been lapped up by fans, media and radio alike. Coupling added successes across Spotify and Apple Music playlisting with nailing the lucrative Triple J Feature Album placement for the end of January, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have ensured they never strayed from the radars leading into the arrival of SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound.
2020 saw Psychedelic Porn Crumpets keep the wheels turning with new music, despite being unable to tour; releasing ‘Mr. Prism’ and ‘Tally-Ho!’ to keep the appetites of fans satiated. With both singles earning acclaim across Australian and international radio stations including Triple J, Radio X and BBC Radio One, as well as right across Spotify, Apple Music and multiple music editorial titles, the hype up for the new album started off strong.
PRAISE FOR PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS
“It’s arguably their most daring, cohesive set yet and definitely Australia’s first great psych-rock saga of 2021.”
Triple J
“PPC has their own sound down pat by now. It’s all double scoops of psych riffs and endless refills of careening switch ups. Prepare to go turbo with this band once again.”
Triple J Unearthed, Dave Ruby Howe
“…it’s a psych sizzler with a thirst for the outlandish.”
Clash
“Lords of the loud Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have entered the year with a bang with their brand new, ultra fun and hi-vibing single, ‘Pukebox’. It’s 3 minutes of absolute pure fun and chaos.”
AAA Backstage
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets will return to live shows, supporting Ocean Alley on their national tour throughout August and September.
WATCH:
PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS TOUR DATES
Supporting Ocean Alley
Friday 6th August John Cain Arena Melbourne Tickets
Friday 13th August Thebarton Theatre Adelaide SOLD OUT
Saturday 14th August Thebarton Theatre Adelaide Tickets
Friday 20th August Fortitude Music Hall Brisbane SOLD OUT
Saturday 21st August Fortitude Music Hall Brisbane SOLD OUT
Sunday 22nd August Fortitude Music Hall Brisbane Tickets
Friday 27th August Hordern Pavilion Sydney SOLD OUT
Saturday 28th August Hordern Pavilion Sydney Tickets
Saturday 11th September Fremantle Arts Centre Fremantle Tickets
SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound is released Friday, February 5th 2021
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With a musical ability that blends passionate and creative songwriting with the seductive, mysterious, devil-may-care attitude that only the finest of pop music greats possess, Aaron Kowal has entered the stage with a smirk and a flourish, determined to earn his place on your playlist no matter what the cost.
“I first had the idea for Phobia back in 2019. I knew I wanted to write a song that addressed anxiety, particularly the social anxiety I’ve experienced throughout my life. I wanted to make it personal, but still keep it dancy, edgy and bit cheeky. Musically, the sounds of this track are meant to evoke a sense of alarm & panic, while lyrically, the “phobia” in question is a metaphorical fear of commitment. Phobia is the first in a string of singles slated for release in 2021 that address this central theme of fear and/or uncertainty in relationships. But I wanted to release this song now because it’s content reaches well beyond my own anxieties and those of my generation, and connects with the widespread isolation, insecurity and vulnerability that people are facing today as a result of this pandemic. As the lyrics go: “you can try to love me but I’ll be just out of reach…I got a phobia of your love.” – Aaron Kowal
aaronkowal.com
instagram.com/aaronkowal
facebook.com/aaronkowalmusic
“I’d wanted to do a cover of ‘Rich Girl’ for years – there’s something about the song that I just love. My bass player wrote the darker, modified bass line and suggested the sparse arrangement. As we experimented with the band, the lyrics took on a darker dystopian meaning, and seemed to re-write themselves for this version. Hall & Oates meet Joan Didion in a big box parking lot.” – Lydia Hol
Son of John is a country/roots duo from Castlegar, British Columbia and if you can’t tell, they’re father & son 🙂 Johnny P. Johnson has been making music for over 25 years as a solo artist and front man, His son Javan Johnson, is a multi-instrumentalist and emerging country singer/songwriter. They’ve been playing music together for over a decade and in 2017, they decided to join forces and form the duo, Son of John – the name chosen as a play on their shared last name. They released their debut single “Country Pure” in June 2019, shortly afterwards Javan was nominated for Fiddle/Mandolin Player of the Year at the BC Country Music Awards – and Son of John scored their first BCCMA nomination for Traditional Country/Roots Artist of the Year.
Son of John doesn’t quite fit the mold – on purpose. Country runs deep in their veins, with Johnny actively farming each year on the Saskatchewan prairies where he was born and raised and Javan growing up on the river in the mountains on the family farm in rural BC. So, you can say Son of John doesn’t make “fake country songs’, with their rootsy instrumentations – fiddle, mandolin, banjos and dobros, – capturing an authentic acoustic sound. With or without their full band on stage, their live show can bring the two-step to the party, or they can croon with harmonies only the same DNA can create.