Alistair Erskine

Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!

Heating Up

Adelaide's FIRE! SANTA ROSA, FIRE! battled into our ears a few years ago, with radio stations everywhere picking up on the excellence put forward in the snappy album Sea Priest. With their impending set at The Gumball Festival, I first ask singer Caitlin Duff if her band has a special affinity for playing Hunter region festivals, having played The Peats Ridge Festival for the last two New Years in a row, as well as other gigs in that region.

“We tend to get a fair few sets up that way, and love it. We play at things like O-Week for Newcastle Uni, and know a few of the bands up there – Newcastle is quite like Adelaide in the way it has about the same sized music scene, so we feel very at home up there, and so many of the gigs are in such beautiful locations.”

The band have been taking some time getting their follow up album made, releasing a single last year, but how imminent is their next long playing release? “Well, it won’t be ready by Gumball sadly, but we have a lot of the songs written, and are just working them out,” she says. For those that haven’t heard any of the new stuff at shows, I ask where the band’s enigmatic melting pot of influences has taken their sound. “With this one, we have been given a whole bunch of space, probably more so than with Sea Priest where we had quite a strong push by our then record label to get it out. The difference is that now we are letting the space sit more, not trying to make the songs quite so dense. We had this fear that any space in the tracks would be seen as us not knowing what we were doing, even if it wasn’t necessarily a banger of a track.

“The other thing is this time we are giving our influences more a chance – there are five of us in the band, all from different musical backgrounds. Our drummer comes from a hip-hop background, Nathan loves his psychedelic rock, and what we are learning to do is let them come to the fore a little more. Our single Panther Shine has this rather psychedelic, trip-hoppy vibe, and that’s an example of what we are allowing ourselves to do now.” 

I ask when they will be playing in Canberra next. “WE NEVER HAVE! Not through lack of trying – but for some reason every gig we get booked to play there always gets cancelled – with Dappled Cities, at the Uni Bar, with John Steel Singers! We have to make this happen, even if it’s just playing in someone’s living room!”

Seriously, Canberra venues – book Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! to play a show – they are wonderful live, lovely people and this injustice needs to be righted!

In the meantime you can catch Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! live at The Gum Ball Festival, held over Friday-Saturday April 27-28 in the Hunter Valley. Tickets start from $170 and can be purchased through the festival’s website.

Eddy Current Suppression Ring

One Ring To Bind Them

If you have heard a critically acclaimed Aussie rock album in the last year or two, Mikey Young would probably have been involved with it; both as a player and as a producer. But being in EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING is what he is best known for, and given that Eddy recently put out an anthology of singles, B-sides and rarities called So Many Things, there were so many questions to ask.

One always imagines a sense of pride from an act once they put out an anthology of singles and rarities – a marker that the band has grown over time, and that new fans would actually be interested in a catch-up. Mikey agrees. “I think we just wanted to make things available that weren't so easily available. The first few 7"s are hard to come by these days and some of these songs are on compilations that came and went so we thought it was justified to compile them and get 'em out there. It's not meant to be a best-of or anything. It is interesting to hear it all together though. It sparks funny memories of recording and releasing all the stuff on there, and it's a good reminder of how many fun things we've been able to do.”

Had they left off any tracks or, more importantly, was there particular favourites he got on there? “I can stand by everything on it I think," Mikey says. "I'm mainly glad people can hear the title track. It's the first thing we did and it sounds pretty different to everything we did afterwards. We considered never putting that song out but I'm really glad we did - it has a ridiculous spontaneity that is impossible to recreate!”

Over the last year or so, bands like Royal Headache and Straight Arrows have released albums that everyone is paying attention to, kind of a throwback garage rock style, and I ask Mikey if this surprises him or not. “I think it's growing but maybe not as much as people think. Australia has always had a ton of 'throwback' garage bands since the mid '80s or so and it just seems to be at the point in the cycle where people are paying attention again. Soon enough, the majority of listeners will get sick of a certain sound and move on but I'm sure bands will keep playing it.”

With Mikey playing with his band Total Control, Brendan Suppression putting out “rad 7s with Boomgates”, Brad doing some solo stuff, and Danny keeping his head down, I garnered no inkling as to when ECSR will be playing around again. So Many Things gives us all a chance to learn the words to the songs we didn't know in the meantime.

So Many Things is out now on Goner Records.

Faker

Faker Refuse To Fade

FAKER were following the normal successful Aussie rock band path – tried for years to get their first album out, then achieved rather large Australian success with their second, toured it extensively, and started working on the third. Stripping the band back to just two members – singer Nathan Hudson and bass player Nic Munnings – they went into the studio full of new ideas and confidence. 

“We initially announced we were going to make an EP, and the record label were all very supportive and excited. It turned out that we had enough for an album so, quite rightfully, they pushed the release date to the middle of 2011 for promo reasons. And then...” Nothing.

Everything was changing – the industry, the band, and somewhere along the way inertia dissipated. In October an EP was released as a precursor to the album, but the corresponding tour didn't go so well, the album release was pushed back to January, and Nathan and Nic decided the best course of action was to get the album out, and to as many fans as possible by popping Faker's third LP up on their website as a free download. “I want people to hear our music, and I want to play it to people live, and being able to do that comes from people knowing what we do.” 

Listening to their latest album Get Loved I can't help but feel the frustration that wait would have created, as its mix of modern indie pop, '80s sounds and structure, and naughties dancefloor phrasing would have made it the perfect release for the beginning of 2011, less so the end. “That's it – you want to make music that has some longevity over its shelf life, but we also want to live in our time, and the songs reflect at least in part what is going on in our lives at that point, around us socially and politically. Getting it released the way we have was difficult, but nowhere near as difficult as the part where we were waiting, wondering what was actually happening with it.”

This record holds together – each song draws you in to the point where the gap between tracks gives you a slight break, jarring you back to reality. “We love to think about how songs will go together, and create their own little universe. With this studio session we really had to change very little, only compliment existing work. In Long Forgotten Town we paid really specific attention to a high pitched analogue key that pervades the song, it sounds almost like a siren's operatic singing, so we went back and popped it in two or three of the other songs. We find it important to create a correlation between songs; you want to create a unity of ideas.” 

You can catch Faker's unity of ideas at the Big Day Out shows around the nation. Tickets are on sale now.

Alistair Erskine Top Ten Albums of 2011

Alistair Erskine has contributed to BMA Magazine for over five years; he is the radio host for 2SER in Sydney and possibly listens to more music that anyone I know - Allan "Bossman" Sko

To catch up on Alistair Erskine's top albums for 2010, click here.

10. Caitlin Park - Milk Annual [Broken Stone Records]

It was I Am A Nightbird, a B-side to her single Warriors With Wild Hearts that made me take notice of Caitlin Park, and golly am I glad I let that CD play through. Milk Annual really nails down the sweet sounds of the sombre folk she puts out, combined with the lovely, playful sample-based electronica she inserts. With tones, beats and words that kiss your ears and melt your heart but in the gentlest way possible... I can't get enough. People often ask me 'What's your favourite music?' and to be a wanker I usually say 'Well, I hate safe, ugly music, so dangerous or pretty music is my thing,' and for the most part that's true, but rarely do I come across an example of an album that
completely plays it well – this is prettier than a thousand pretty ladies on a sunny day, and the addition of such lovely, eclectic and unexpected electronica elements into it provides the danger I love to revel in. Stunning.

9. Inga Liljeström - Black Crow Jane [Groovescooter]

She has a humongous place in my heart just for being the vocalist on the classic Gerling house track Dust Me Selecta but when Black Crow Jane was sent my way this year, I knew Groovescooter were onto a winner – a singer-songwriter who excels at both writing the songs and
exceptionally singing the songs she has written. The type of music you know no-one except her could emulate. I really can't recommend this album more highly – dark, brooding, sultry, vivacious.

8. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain [Vice]

Can these guys make a bad record? No. Even with Mark Ronson on the boards (who else was waiting for the bossa-nova to creep in all record?) they couldn't go wrong. It's just killer wonderful garage rock. And totally one of my ten favourite records released this year. Garage rock, cow punk, whatever you want to call it. You cannot put this record on and not get slightly hypnotised by it. And keep asking your dad if he was into this type of thing when he was a kid (Hint: He wasn't).

7. Seekae - +Dome [Rice Is Nice]

When The Sound Of Trees Falling On People was released, I don't think anyone knew just how much people would take to the sounds. And finally! It's kind of weird that music like this has been made unpopular for ages, and golly it warmed the cockles to have kids requesting Seekae off me as I played DJ sets... This has increased twentyfold since the release of +Dome, their second disc of fresh-as-heck tracks, replete with more textures, tones, beats, flavours and colours than before, all ordered in a way to give your ears and mind the massage they so desperately deserve. It was a stellar year for young Aussie electronica (Collarbones was soooooo close to making this list), and this trio of pure awesomecore went into bat for the forces of good, and came home with the trophy.

6. Thundercat - The Golden Age Of Apocalypse [Stones Throw]

So the bassist that Fly Lo got to be part of his touring band gets some help from Mr Lotus, and puts out the coolest frikken record of this whole neo-soul revival thing. Whilst I find many of his peers –
your Aloe Blaccs and your Stepkids and Mayer Hawthornes - to be a little watery, this scores highly, achieving what neo-soul is meant to – sexiness, groove and relevance. AND throws some killer instrumental jams in there too. I defy someone to even try and front on this.

5. Com Truise - Galactic Melt [Ghostly International/Fuse]

I do love my electro, and great proper electro is hard to find. Maybe Disasterradio's album would be taking this slot more deservingly, but when I slapped on Cathode Girls after being handed the disc one week, I couldn't stop. Electro that harks all the way back to the '80s where synths were cool as heck, and there to be played with, not abused. The beats are what makes it – sliding kicks that make you fidgit with funk and smirk knowingly. Having this on your pod completely excuses your sunglasses still being on well after the sun has gone down. Synths. Beats. Complete radness.

4. The Decemberists - The King Is Dead [Capitol]

So yes, they are one of my three favourite bands (along with Sleater-Kinney and The New Pornographers). But The King Is Dead is a special record – it's where band leader Colin Meloy decided to ditch the sea-shanties in favour of the open range, and try and nail down some proper ye olde American roots music. As a 20-year-old I would have HATED this, but oh-me oh-my if this isn't THE porch sitting long player for the whole neighbourhood to adore. The highlight is
the most Decemberisty track of the bunch, Calamity Song, but the pieces that fit around it are grand too. Something to shock your parents with, as they didn't think you listened to music like this.

3. Belles Will Ring - The Crystal Theatre [Dot Dash/Remote Control]

I thought I didn't like Belles Will Ring. I blame an erroneous timetable thing from an inner-city street festival they were listed at, and obviously not playing, as they aren't a drab pseudo-reggae band at all. They are, in fact, a gorgeous psychedelic indie rock band, with a song writing prowess that is out of this world, a sentiment that is aligned with everything that is right and true about bands you fall in love with, and a catalogue that keeps improving. The Crystal Theatre gives you a couple of epics, a bunch of snappy numbers, and a whole dose of good times, and hasn't left my CD changer all year.

2. Sietta - The Seventh Passenger [Elefant Trax] PICTURED

Straight out of Darwin, Sietta have been that hype band ever since they announced themselves with their EP of three years ago The Come Back Easy Play. The duo of singer Caiti Baker and producer James Mahgohnig had announced themselves as ones to watch, and after a signficant delay, got their album out, signed by a very proud Elefant Traks crew. And it is stunning. From the bass of What Am I Supposed To Do? to the haunting Silence, there is no finer indie signing this year than the coup that Elefant Trax pulled off by getting this album for their label. Strong, unique, professional, vulnerable and addictive, this was an inch away from being my album of the year, and a must for any lover of bass, soul, beats, head nods and fun.

1. Yacht - Shangri-La [DFA]

In 2009, Yacht's album See Mystery Lights shone into my ears and heart – every play made me fall for the Portland duo that little bit more. Their Meredith performance that December cemented the love – a sprightly couple sent to provide a slightly alternate reality where the beats are kicking, the loyalty is strong and the friendship everlasting. Delightfully Shangri La, their 2011 album, is the best record I heard all year.

Identifying the stand-out track is difficult – this is a record where I have developed a new favourite every week. At first I was drawn to the potty-mouthed Dystopia (The Earth is on Fire), quickly jumping over to the excellently inclusive electro anthem I Walked Alone. The bass that punctuates Holy Roller stole my heart for a week or two; the excellent manipulation that is described in One Step grabbed me next, followed by the fabulous mission statement Paradise Engineering where Yacht announce to us all “that the world's last unpleasant experience will be a precisely datable event” and proceed to describe the heaven they know they can create and all that's required to allow this trancendency.

I've scoffed at people falling for the charms of a cult before, but some afternoons as I sit on public transport in traffic listening to this, I know I am only ten steps away from actually running away to join them.

BMA Magazine Albums of 2011, Yacht - Shangri La

[DFA]

In 2009, Yacht’s album See Mystery Lights shone into my ears and heart – every play made me fall for the Portland duo that little bit more. Their Meredith performance that December cemented the love – a sprightly couple sent to provide a slightly alternate reality where the beats are kicking, the loyalty is strong and the friendship everlasting. Delightfully, Shangri La is the best record I heard all year. Identifying the standout track is difficult as I developed a new favourite every week. At first I was drawn to the potty-mouthed Dystopia (The Earth Is On Fire), quickly jumping over to the excellently inclusive electro anthem I Walked Alone. The bass that punctuates Holy Roller stole my heart for a week or two, then the excellent manipulation that is described in One Step, then the fabulous mission statement Paradise Engineering, where Yacht announce to us all “that the world’s last unpleasant experience will be a precisely datable event” and proceed to describe the heaven they know they can create and all that’s required to allow this transcendence. I've scoffed at people falling for the charms of a cult before, but some afternoons as I sit on public transport in traffic listening to this, I know I am only ten steps away from actually running away to join them.

Album of the Issue

I left Canberra just before Cat Cat came into existence. All their members, to me, were part of that cute little gang of youngsters who would go to Dappled Cities shows at The Green Room. Warmed the cockles. This year, they have upped and moved down to Melbourne and with their move completed their vinyl/digital only album Uralba, and it’s remarkably pleasant. Kicking off with the bold Bobby Killed The Cat, Cat Cat introduce themselves to us as a band that busts out distinct riffage, some vocal harmonies, clattering cymbals and pop sensibilities all over the shop. Like a laidback Love of Diagrams, Water Goes and Keys and Locks suck you into the trance that the engaging, slightly mathy nature of the songs weave, enveloping you in a fuzzy warmth that is missed once you turn the music off. The band is charming – there is something very beautiful about a band with the unashamed confidence to regularly harmonise as men, and this comes around on four or five of the songs. This is a fabulous release and one that should garner them a fair few new fans, without alienating the old.

Canyons

One drawback of digital distribution of music is sometimes the first time you hear an album now, it’s through laptop speakers. Like my first time with this album. To me it was a soulless clatter of trebly vocals, ok beats, but just kind of nothingness. Luckily, I took the option of plugging the computer into the stereo, and that changed everything.

For years I have been bemoaning the lack of complex basslines and drum patterns in modern house music, and Canyons have seemingly answered every gripe I could ever have had with the genre in 11 magical tracks.

The basslines are round, varied and exciting. The beats are big but not overbearing, and the sentiment behind most of the songs is soulful and joyous. To wit, when you get jolted out of a deepening progression by what will invariably be the feel good hit of the summer, When I See You Again, it’s almost a disappointment – that is, until you finish the record and pop it on a again. You get to revel in the amazing sax of Under A Blue Sky, and if you aren't sold on the variety, by the time the darkness of The Bridge comes around, your ears prick up with delight. Even the vocals are ok, and normally they are the thing that kills house music for me. A wonderfully varied selection from the funky and dancefloor to the dark and smoke-machiney, it’s an album full of talent and imagination. A killer release, and a very worthwhile pickup for the impending summer.

Album of the Issue

After working hard to develop a loyal and exponentially growing fan base, Eddy Current Suppression Ring pulled the punkest move possible and put the band on hiatus last year to let the band members focus on side projects. To sate their fans during this break, Fuse have released an anthology of singles and rarities that comprehensively collects the mass of non album recordings ECSR laid to tape over the last six years. Featuring early singles, contributions to split 7”s, a cover or three and placed in chronological order, So Many Things takes a sharply-focused snapshot of a talented band. Always paying homage to a collection of ‘70s blues and punk, ECSR are honest in their compilation – kicking off with the fuzz-drunk title track and Get Up Morning, progressing through tour releases and contributions to splits to hitting the middle of the disc with the sprawling jam I'm Guilty, and ending strongly with a cover of The Go-Go's We Got The Beat and recent single T.A.L.O.I.G.A. So Many Things is a fantastic anthology, comprehensive and inclusive, and a must for any fans of bluesy garagey punky awesomeness.

Big Scary

Recently up in Sydney, the Changing Lanes Festival ushered in the start of the party season. On the main stage, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, a duo from Melbourne called BIG SCARY stole a large portion of the show. Comprised of drummer Jo Syme and fronted by the guitar and piano playing singer Tom Iansek, Big Scary jump over lines and criss-cross all that is right about indie pop – rambunctious rockers, tender ballads, and danceable affirmations. Catching up with Tom Iansek, I find a young man who was a little nervous over the phone, but has a great deal to be proud of in his short career.

“One thing we know is that we wouldn't have been able to release the four EPs we did last year if we weren't independent,” Tom says, referring to the self-released series of four seasonal concept releases the band put out themselves over the course of the last 12 months, an unusual path for a band introducing themselves to the world, but one that seems entirely in keeping with the sentiment of Big Scary. “Because we released those ourselves, it gave us the confidence to release our debut album by ourselves too.”??The Big Scary story is one somewhat typical of the Melbourne music scene – both Tom and Jo were in different bands, met and started Big Scary as a side project. When the other bands reached the crossroads musical projects so often find themselves at, they began to focus on Big Scary more seriously, and due to its success, it became their primary musical vehicle. “Sometimes I miss playing smaller shows, just working and playing with a few other bands in tiny venues,” Tom says slightly wistfully. “But we are really having fun with where the band is now.??“When it came to the album we didn't actually know what to do – should we focus on either of the two styles we really write (the sweet indie ballads, or the rockier and dancier barnstormers) as we really love albums, and consistency is one of their best traits. We decided to do a mix, and it was a hard decision for us, but I think we made the right choice.” Great choice, actually. Their debut album Vacation was made triple j's feature album, a rare feat for a self-released debut.??“The last time we played in Canberra, one rather merry fan got on stage, and went to sing along with me to one of the songs. She didn't know many of the words, but she did know how to jump on my back and perform it from there.” Tom assures me he isn't wary of returning. And given how much mileage they will be able to get out of their album, you can be sure they won’t be far away.

Vacation was released on October 7.

Richard In Your Mind

MIND OVER MATTER

It’s been a long, cold winter. The mornings seem to be getting less brisk, and those awesome bits of early spring are coming to the fore. The joy one gets, watching morning frost in its exact state of thaw, as a bright blue Canberra sky allows the sun to turn that frozen condensation into droplets that slide down the leaves is completely in step with experiencing the summery, wistful psychedelia of Sydney’s Richard In Your Mind. And Richard Cartwright is very happy to be on his way down the Hume.

One of their projects that came to light just before the new album was announced was a slew of covers of Beatles songs – Love Me Do and Please Please Me creeping onto radio, with more to come. “This was all part of our project to cover every song The Beatles wrote. And I thought initially we were going to put everything out, but luckily we have a bit of quality control amongst us, so we have only put out the ones that actually sound good. We have actually had them kicking around for ages, but it’s good to get them out there, clean out the old external hard drive.”

Richard quickly goes on to talk of the album. “So we had quite a lot of songs kicking around, but happily Conrad [Richters, bass player] is actually a really good guide of knowing whether a song is finished or not, if it’s good enough to get released, and he came to us at the beginning of the year and declared we had enough. So we had most of the album done by March, which was lucky because that was when two of the band were heading overseas. This time we just wanted a nice consistent vibe with the album – the last album was a bit of a mixed bag, and this time we got to choose what we liked and focus on that.”

Has the glorious epic-ness of their early work remained despite this focus? “I think so – we still really like a song to run its course, and we probably have an even more intent and structured wall of sound these days.”

Touring with Fishing and The Laurels, Richard is excited. “It has been nice to play with lots of different bands in the past, but this tour seems like going on holidays with your friends; we are really looking forward to it”. And he isn't too concerned – “We might even be lucky enough to have Alex from kyu with us on this tour, so there will be seven trying to squeeze onto the Transit Bar stage, and we are looking forward to working the logistics of that out,” he laughs. “It’s a great room and always gives us a gig we remember.”

Richard In Your Mind play Transit Bar on Thursday September 29. Tickets are through Moshtix for a mean $13.10. Get on it!

REGURGITATOR

Last year, REGURGITATOR burst back into our lives. Ben Ely and Quan Yeomans had settled in Melbourne, and they launched a grand plan – make music and just release it, you know. As soon as there was a song done, slap it on the internet, and just get it out there. They have the technology, they have the studios in their homes...

As much as that sounded like a halcyon era of releasing music, they put out an EP, and then... nothing. However, in early July we heard the rumblings of a new single, and an album to follow. I ask Quan about the process that led to them releasing an album instead of just a string of singles and EPs.

“The new album got done quickly once we actually started it,” he explains. “We had been playing around with a fair few songs for really quite a while, but I had really underestimated the value of deadlines. Ben is now a family man, and I think I really hadn’t considered how much having strict deadlines actually benefit him in allowing us to record – and it was very intense. This was definitely the first time since we left a major label that we were really writing and recording an album with such urgency, and in the three weeks we had to get it done we wrote, recorded, mastered and we got more done than we had for a long time. Many of the songs on the album were ideas we had kicked around but never completed, so it wasn’t entirely new on the spot, but then again, a lot of the songs are.”

When looking at the CD credits, it seems that drummer Pete Kostic was not listed in the writing credits. “Pete is definitely still with us, but it was a case of him living in Sydney and us in Melbourne, and both Ben and I are fairly competent drummers – obviously not as good as Pete, but few people are. And so it was a geographic thing. Had he been down here we would have included him in the process for sure. We recorded most of the drums over at Ben’s home studio, where he has a beautiful ‘60s drum kit.* We recorded most of the live instrumentation over at his house, and then more of the electronic stuff at my studio, and bounced between the two. I also have a V-drum kit that a few (not many) effects and patterns were played on the record, and so that’s how the beats got in there.”

Regurgitator’s new album chugs along quite nicely at the beginning, getting a song or two in until you have Ben rocking out a ‘70s singer-songwriter earnest ballad that flip turns and smashes into the main part of the song: Quan’s rap of All Fake Everything over the top of a wonderful bassy beat. This is the only real hip-hop moment of the latest Regurgitator album, which is a little surprising given how prone their last records have been to dabbling in the head nodding stakes in equal proportion to the head banging. Quan explains, “That was actually the last song we recorded – I was laying down the vocals for that at midnight the night before we sent the album in. One of the reasons it is the only hip-hop song on this album is probably because I have released my hip-hop solo album (2008’s The Amateur), and I have a group Disaster with my girlfriend, so we focused mostly on other stuff for this album.

“We are really nervous about the track order,” he continues. “I think we got the first four of the tracks that run together really nicely, but after that I’m not so sure. It is one of the best records we have done in a while though – all the tracks we are really happy with, and they all sound like Regurgitator, if you know what I mean?” And they do – there are surf-psych instrumentals, ‘80s pop pastiches, ballsy rock dance tracks and electronic spazz outs all in just over half an hour. But it is undeniably a Regurgitator album – the crunchy guitars, multiple styles, and the sense of humour throughout. It’s just bursting with energetic talent that these days is happily tempered by a wonderful familiarity.

On the upcoming tour, the band are playing with Disasteradio and Super Best Friends. Quan laughs as he tells me about being supported by one of Canberra’s finest bands. “It just goes to show how unoriginal we actually are [in naming their album Super Happy Funtime Friends]. But I guess that’s kind of why we are called Regurgitator in the first place – we are often stuck in our little bubble, processing whatever input we get or find, but quite often we find that ideas we have have been done a million times before.”

As much as it’s a crazy idea that Regurgitator would consider themselves unoriginal, given that the amount of bands that sound like them could probably be counted on one hand, they obviously back their new record. And when they play in Canberra, you can be assured the new songs will sound like they are by the same band that did the old ones.

Super. Happy. Fun. Awesome.

* Here Quan had mentioned the make of the drum kit, and it sounds like “Har Mar Superstar” in my recording, though a search for drum makers of a name even slightly similar to that has proven fruitless so I can’t give you the exact specs – sorry percussion fans!

Catch Regurgitator and supports Disasteradio and Super Best Friends live at the ANU Bar on Sunday August 14. Tickets cost $30.95 + bf and are available through Ticketek.

SOFTLY SPRUNG

Sydney band Underlapper were there on one of those nights you never forget – a government changed, a community rejoiced, and a famous film critic kissed me. This wasn’t unusual though as you would normally get to see UNDERLAPPER three times a month without even trying. Until they stopped. I didn’t get the memo, and just assumed they must have gone touring or something, but I asked guitarist, singer and keyboard player Greg Stone what was actually going on, and it turns out they had their reasons…

“One of the main reasons we stopped playing live was that one of the guys went overseas – we had started the initial recordings so we got Morgan to do all of his parts before he left, and we kept in touch via email. [Taking the break from playing live] was almost a blessing really as it did give us time to focus on the recording, and not have to scramble to put a live show together… But then I guess the hard thing is after such a long time, you have to get back into the swing of playing live again, which definitely took a little while.”

Softly Harboured is a record of dichotomies – from the electronic to the mostly traditional instruments, from the soft to the screaming. It takes concepts found in their early work, but adds a whole bunch of elements too. “ Probably half the album was written whilst we were playing live on the back of Red Spring, so any of the songs that really have a kind of live band feel are the ones we wrote and were playing live before we actually went in to record them. But with the other half of the album, we would go into the studio, kind of like we did with Red Spring, and really work on the electronics.”

One of the beautiful aspects of their latest album is that the vinyl release comes in an array of four different sleeved, interactive designs that have a layer you can scratch off. Your humble reporter broaches the subject by telling Greg that as much as I love the interactive element, the collector in me doesn’t want to scratch anything off the cover. Greg laughs, “I haven’t even done it to one, either! The initial idea was to get some designers to create some alternate sleeves, which was a successful proposal that I put to the Australia Council for the Soundclash grant. Then when we got all the artists together, one of the guys had the concept with the scratch off layer and the interaction, and everyone thought that would be a great basis. Once the concept was there, we all stood back and let them run with it and we are really, really happy with the results.”

You will be able to get one of these glorious albums when Underlapper play on Tuesday August 2 at The Street Theatre, with Single Twin and From The South. For more info head to thestreet.org.au .

Sebadoh - Bakesale (2011 re-issue) - [Sub Pop]

When the wonderful Bakesale came out 17 years ago it was lauded for being ‘low-fi, but more accessible’ and, compared to Sebadoh's previous four albums, it was. Tracks like Not Too Amused, Give Up and Licence To Confuse rock pretty hard, while Temptation Tide and
Skull are soft enough to be used in the movies you create in your daydreams, imagining yourself to be a character in a side-story to Reality Bites and such. Remaster jobs on this period’s works range from the horrid (Nirvana remastered) to essential (Sonic Youth’s Goo for instance). With Bakesale, remasterers have crisped up the guitars and raised the vocals in the mix slightly, luckily never losing the layers of fuzz that happily and purposefully season the melodies, so count this as a win.

The bonus disc of studio out-takes, acoustic versions, and B-sides (the excellent song Daramine being the highlight) should be enough to pique those well versed with this album. However, the real joy with this album getting a re-issue is that it opens up another generation
to one of the best slices of what back then people told us was college rock, which these days is the sound that most of your favourite low-fi indie bands borrow from heavily. A must hear for the first time, a fabulous reminder for those already familiar.

Tyler The Creator - Goblin - [XL]

There has been no viral video more exciting, retweeted, reblogged, shared to your newsfeed and spreading in earnest this year than Tyler The Creator’s performance of Sandwiches on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. The simple, menacing beat. The energy from the performers so real, so enthusiastic it had Mos Def screaming in celebration almost incoherently. The second album by this troubled, talented underground rapper, who has helped lead his band of friends OFWGKTA from tumblr nobodies to being the hottest ticket in town at the Sydney Opera House in the space of two years is killer. Forget Eminem comparisons – Tyler doesn’t claim to be a comedian, he is a much more scared, vulnerable, enthusiastic, imaginative young man, expressing his malaise and disconnect through his dystopian production, adversarial lyrics and the overriding therapy-based themes of all of his albums thus far.

Due to the language, themes and concepts discussed here (some people will take offence to many of the throwaway lines, and rightly so), this record is hard to justify liking if you are over the age of 15, but the rawness of the beats, the honesty in the delivery of the mind sparks, and the wonderful lack of professionalism make this album stand out so favourably from most albums you will ever hear, especially these days. Simultaneously inspiring and revolting, Goblin is important for 2011.

New Young Canberra Showcase

One of the fascinating facets of the upcoming You Are Here festival is the NEW YOUNG CANBERRA SHOWCASE of experimental musicians, curated by Shoeb Ahmed. A gig that from the outset looks like one of the most traditionally organised portions of the fortnight long festivities – a showcase of local musicians. But on the other hand, the music on display is challenging, difficult, noisy and unusual.

As he has been running these types of shows for a while via label nights for his record label hellosQuare, I start by prodding Shoeb on how this type of music gets received by Canberran audiences. “People in Canberra are generally always looking for new and interesting things,” he says. “The problem really is that they are interested but there’s no exposure to this stuff. All in all, people are supportive and happy that it’s out there if they know that they can keeps tabs on hellosQuare to find out what’s happening.”

So when it came to selecting the four artists for this showcase of young Canberran talent, Shoeb found the job satisfying based on the talent pool and its ability to fit his vision. “I kinda basically wanted four artists who encompassed the hellosQuare sound to a tee,” he explains. “Of course, having myself performed with Spartak makes half that job easy but I think as a label we’ve always stuck by the idea of doing whatever we want and however we want so the people playing work well wonderfully together as a thought out evening of music but also on their own, they are all fairly intriguing. Anyone who stays for the whole night I think will be in for a treat and a really good, diverse night of improvised madness.”

And now for the fun bit – get the curator of an experimental music night to try and explain how and why the music is, well, music to a layman. Shoeb answers with aplomb. “The easiest way to explain it is to use relevant concepts and notions with the person you are explaining to. In my mind, even with the little chord progressions I come up with for the various improvisations, I think of them as pop songs – just fairly skewed and messed up for my own interest and to keep it fresh to my ears. I think of that artist Pole, who made really steady dubby minimal techno with just crackles, pops and tones but it still grooved hard in its own way. I think if people can understand those basic concepts of music, then the more difficult elements only become a minor issue in understanding what’s going on as a whole as there’s already a tangible thing to hold on to.”

With the acts Spartak, Reuben Ingall, Kasha and Orbits locked in, the music will be diverse, challenging and amazing, and completely show off just how inventive, thoughtful and dangerous the youngsters of Canberra are.

See the abovementioned acts live at SmithDick, Civic bus interchange from 7.30-11pm on Thursday March 17. Head to youareherecanberra.com for all the info.

Guineafowl - Birds of Play

The thing I love most about music festivals are the surprise acts – where despite your carefully planned timetable meticulously designed to fit in maximum value from a jam-packed summer festival bill, there is that moment where you deviate from your path and the surprise destination provides an unforgettable highlight. At Peats Ridge Festival this New Year’s, GUINEAFOWL was that band for me. I rushed in, attracted by their power pop jives, and stuck about as a team of musicians on stage carried amazing vocal and guitar harmonies in tightly condensed brackets of stunningly constructed rock and roll. I knew nothing of them, but knew I needed to know more.

I got the opportunity to speak to Sam Yeldham, aka Guineafowl, last week and decided I should get him to fill us in on who and or what this band is.

“It started out as a solo project for me, but over time I grabbed the others to help out for live performances and also with the recording. At other times it will just go back to being me writing the songs again by myself, so it’s kind of like Bright Eyes in that way – not really just a solo project, but not entirely a band either.” Does this mean Sam is a bit of a megalomaniac over how the music should sound? “Absolutely not. The reason those harmonies that you spoke of before sound so good is because my band are fantastic and create them themselves – purely the benefit of having excellent musicians with you.”

How, though, did it get to this point for this young man and his merry bunch of indie players? “When I first left school I was in an arty, noisy band. I guess you could say that I had to get that music out of me before I could get to write the music I do as Guineafowl.” I ask him how old he is, and he says “I normally don’t tell anyone this…” before telling me. Just know, he is so young he adorably thinks he should be shy about divulging that he would still have been in primary school whilst your intrepid reporter was graduating from year 12.

Guineafowl have just released their (or possibly “his”) debut EP Hello, Anxiety, a wonderful example of the dichotomy that Sam knows runs through his music. “I try and make the music as happy and light as possible to provide a counterpoint to the rather dark and paranoid lyrics and themes that come through with the words.” My Lonely Arms is the track on the EP that best shows off that paradox – energetic indie pop combined with overt, anxious frustration culminating in a furious danceathon for anyone within earshot. “Sometimes you just have to swear and dance, actually.”

Guineafowl roll through Transit Bar on Thursday March 3, with Readable Graffiti and Crash the Curb. Wander by, and get just as surprised as I was by these youngsters and their wonderful paradoxical excellence. Tickets are $10 + bf and are available through Moshtix.

ALBUM OF THE ISSUE: Decemberists - The King is Dead - [Capitol]

A blast of country harmonica greets you to almost every song on this, The Decemberists’ marked counterpoint to their increasingly dense concept albums of late. Fans of Meloy’s lyrical genius won’t be let down – within two songs, he name checks “Hetty Green, the queen of supply-side bonhomie bone-drab / If you know what I mean?” and by the time June Hymn exudes Colin’s fascination with the quieter, rural life, his turn of phrase is in top gear: “Thrush’s bleeding battle with the wrens / Disrupts my reverie again”. Here the band abandon the conceptual narrative, and just stick with the theme – amazing, reverent country music played to perfection from The Decemberists, a band formed around waltzes and shanties, now lending their craft to the old west for the first time en masse. Only This Is Why We Fight touches on the usual tempo and feel of the previous two albums. And it’s the breakaway that makes this album grand – Meloy and co, paying their dues to their favourite songwriters, with simmering songs about love, loss and the quiet life. Absolute perfection for - this summer.

ALISTAIR ERSKINE

Alistair Erskine's Top 10 Albums of 2010

10. The Soft Pack – The Soft Pack [Kemado]

You may think they have wussed out, but this record is simple, fun, pleasant, repeatable garagey Americana. I love it.

9. El-P – weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixxx3 [Gold Dust]

Epic collection of beats and ideas, where El-P even tries his hand at a death-drummy dubstep track.

8. Gonjasufi – The Caliphs Tea Party [Warp]

The remix companion disc really came into its own this year, but this is the one that stands out as realising the true potential of the original material. Excellent, essential.

7. The Budos Band – III [Daptone]

Such an enjoyable funk record that I can’t even tell if it’s cheesy or not. I’m going with not… it’s too wylin’ in places and too pretty in others to be anything but an amazing recording of dope tunes by a wicked band.

6. The Black Angels – Phosphene Dream [Blue Horizon Ventures]

Best heavy psyche album of this year, from the world’s best heavy psyche band.

5. No Age – Everything In Between [Sub Pop]

Beautifully packaged (once again). Great despite the hype (once again). Takes til the third song for you to get sold, but you never get off the train after that (once again). This time is better than the first.

4. Pantha Du Prince – Black Noise [Rough Trade]

The textures and tones in this sparse, beautiful mnml record for the most part make me feel like I am a puddle or a pond, and I am reflecting nicely, and raindrops pleasantly blur my reflection to outside observers. No record has ever made me feel like a puddle in the rain before. Kudos.

3. Holy Fuck – Latin [Young Turks]

Starts all soft, funky and nice, but by the climax you can’t hear your neighbours screaming at you to turn it down as you have wrapped yourself up in all the sheets in the cupboard and are now rebounding off the walls down the corridor, breaking stuff and laughing maniacally.

2. Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! – Sea Priest [Dot Dash]

Deliciously moreish in an understated way. The ‘people-watching on public transport’ album of the year – focus on passengers nearby and let these Adelaide kids sing you a story that generally works about whoever you are now creepily staring at. Brilliant.

1. Jeff The Brotherhood – Heavy Days [infinity cat]

Came out on January 5, took six months to get to community radio, now another six before I declare it the best album of the year. And it is, by a country mile. Guitars, drums, psyche outs, grunge. Slays everything else, entirely.

Straight Arrows

Around a month ago now, community radio airwaves were abuzz with a song that made most listeners turn their radio up and dance as though they were experiencing some new music that sounds like the music they wished their parents were into. It was called Bad Temper and it is the first song on the STRAIGHT ARROWS album It’s Happening. Checking in with Owen Penglis, he introduces his band thus: “We’re Owen, Angie, Al and Adam, and we started doing stuff because nothing else was happening and we wanted to play parties and get drunk for free.”

One of the more hyped bands in Sydney, Straight Arrows have actually taken a fair while getting this LP out – does its title have anything to do with this wait? “People have been hassling us for ages. And who can blame them. We deliver hits! It’s also a line from a song, but now that’s totally irrelevant.” And this is true. Their growing legion of fans, combined with a tenacious desire to play gigs constantly has meant without even trying, most kids in Sydney have probably caught Straight Arrows at some point in the last few years.

Their album It’s Happening sounds really old. Washed out ‘60s garagey psyche ‘n’ surf that is designed that way in both recording technique and song structure. Pretty much exactly like their live shows. I get Owen to talk a little about the recording techniques used in the construction process. “We recorded with our pal Tim Done, who’s got a studio in his house in Surry Hills called Hanging Tree. He’s totally obsessed with ‘50s American recording equipment and has heaps of amazing old gear. It may sound like we recorded the album in a nice toilet, but we used real mics this time (not ones we found and borrowed) and mixed it this way on purpose. Sucked in everyone!”

Looking at the upcoming schedule for these straight arrows, they are hitting Canberra on Saturday December 18, with only the listing of “Party” as the venue. Does this mean they are tapping into the wonderful and glorious reputation Canberra has garnered as the house party capital of the southern hemisphere? “We’ve never played an actual house party, but we’ve definitely been to / got kicked out of / got people evicted from a few. And they are the best. We don’t know where we’ll play yet – I figured we’d work it out at some point.” That said, Owen is a fan of getting down to the nation’s capital. “I think we’ve played there about five times or so. It’s always totally wild. One time someone pissed all over the floor in Mooseheads.”

They might not know where, but it’s happening. Get along, friends, and if you haven’t experienced the Straight Arrows phenomenon, you should get on board as soon as possible. Think of it as an early Christmas present for your rock ‘n’ roll loving ears and feet.

Catch Straight Arrows at their LP launch at “Party” on Saturday December 18. Venue is to be advised.

Lots of locals

WHAT: Electric Lake II
WHEN: Sat Oct 16
WHERE: Commonwealth Park Ampitheatre

Electric Lake II is a free outdoor show and BYO picnic presented and supported by some of Canberra’s most active music labels. It will be held on Saturday October 16 from 12pm into the evening. Set amongst the flora and fauna of Commonwealth Park's amphitheatre the main vision is to showcase some of Canberra's best live, thriving, emerging and original music to an audience of all ages. There will also be a collection of zines and merchandise available for you to get your mits on. Highlights of the day will be Danger Beach, Julia & the Deep Sea Sirens, Jonny Telafone, Cat Cat, Waterford, Kasha, Horse Macguyver and many others.

Bag Raiders

Out of the explosion of the new wave of electro dance music in the middle of last decade across Australia’s eastern seaboard, the name that rang with equal unbridled reverence amongst both dance floor dwellers and crate digging DJs was BAG RAIDERS. Known for their barnstorming club DJ sets, as well as a nous for production and remixing that placed them ahead of their peers in terms of overall quality, the duo are collecting fans ‘Katamari’ style as they roll around the country.

On the eve of their first tour of their new live show, Chris Stracey explains just how different the Bag Raiders’ upcoming tour will be to their previous performances in clubland. “It’s a whole ‘nother ball game. This tour will have us set up on stage playing a set that includes about 90% of the music on the album, involve us singing, playing synths and sequencing from two separate stations set up on stage, and we will be playing all the music live. It’s going to be the most involved performance we have ever put on. We have done live shows in the past, but nothing this ambitious.”

Best known production-wise as remix geniuses, how did these masters of the remix face the challenge of putting together an artist album? The friendly Chris explains, “the main difference when doing remixes is that you have a starting point, all of the parts of a track and you can pick what you want to use. But when it came to writing our own songs, it was a process of starting from scratch, but sometimes that’s a good thing. It took longer to write them, involving a lot of jamming and different ideas and it was the first time in our music making process that we had started most of the ideas separately, and then sent them to each other to explore and expand upon in our own studios, sharing copies of the sessions, and that change is reflected in the album.”

And the album truly is a diverse beast – an example of musicians trying their hand at a bunch of different moods, textures and flavours. “We heard albums like MSTRKRFT’s, where every single track was an individual club stormer, that album might as well have been a compilation of singles, and for our artist album, that is something we didn’t want to do. Whilst our roots are in the club, both of us come from classical music backgrounds. We sort of fell into making and playing this type of music because it was fun, but when it came to making a record we decided to do whatever, explore songwriting of all types, whether it would work at midnight or not.”

Friendly, fun-loving and looking for love from a town that loves Raiders of all types, Bag Raiders along with Flight Facilities and The Holidays play Academy on Friday October 22. Presale tickets available from the Kicks Entertainment website.

Die! Die! Die! - Form [Remote Control / Flying Nun]

Kiwi post-hardcore three-piece Die! Die! Die! have made their most pleasant album to date, and that’s a good thing. Kind of. Fans of the band will take the first two tracks on the album as a move to a lighter sound, but the angular, distorted guitars and frenetic drums still clatter around your being, this time with heavily emphasised vocals, recorded and presented in a way that is purposefully more polished. Once the single Howye drops, Die! Die! Die!’s new intentions are realised – more expansive, melodic and progressive than their previous stabby, jerkabout albums.

One thing that has always excited about this band is their inherent ‘tightness’ – the crisp and precise way the sounds combine and collide, and this remains throughout Form. And despite the initial taste in the mouth that they have changed for the worse, this album stands up to repeat listens and is actually very good – a very solid middle order means at no point during Form do you get the urge to hit the skip or eject buttons. The biggest disappointment is that due to the album being out in New Zealand months before its release here, I have a feeling many Die! Die! Die! Fans will have already heard this... Still, if you haven’t, and like skittish, alternative post-hardcore and post-punk, Form will serve
you well.

Koolism

Upon moving to Canberra back in 1998, I searched Yahoo and Alta Vista for Canberran music and found only one website for original material – for a hip-hop group called KOOLISM. Over the years, they performed around the way as Canberra’s hip-hop scene bubbled and twisted, eventually becoming the group scoring big support slots and appearing on impressive festival bills in other states.

And then they brought out Random Thoughts: Part 3, the album that set them apart from their peers in the field. It was a watershed release, focusing on amazing, avant production whilst experimenting with live music, all the while nodding its head respectfully and rhythmically in the direction of hip-hop’s roots. Add to this Hau’s personal, friendly take on the MCing duties, where he evoked a feeling that it’s not so much a rapper spitting words at you, but a good mate telling you a story or two over dope beats. So outstanding was this wonderful, independent release, it won an ARIA for Best Urban despite being nominated in a category with acts that had sold many more units.

The ‘Umu has broken a drought; it’s been a good few years since we have had a Koolism album (2006’s New Old Ground was their last release) but Hau explains, “We had to work really hard at this record, as so much has gone on in the last few years that led to delays, but we are glad it’s out. First, Daniel (DJ Danielsan) moved to Melbourne and I moved to Sydney to take on the job as host of JJJ’s hip-hop show; I got married… life in general got in the way of us trying to make music.”

Hau sounded apologetic, providing a humble nod to the staggered and delayed release of their latest album, The 'Umu, released a whopping 18 months after the album’s first single Jam Hot hit the airwaves. “We thought the album would come out far sooner than it did, but it frustratingly wasn’t as quick as we wanted... We worked really hard whenever we could, but it was difficult to actually have the time with everything going on around us. But it’s out now, and for us the most successful part of the album is that we finished it and it’s finally out there.”

Since taking over the hosting duties on the national youth broadcaster’s hip-hop show, the thought of being the anointed Voice Of Australian Hip-Hop must have presented a slight conflict with Hau’s role as an MC. Hau explains, “When I first took that job on, I knew I had a great responsibility to live up to the role and present great hip-hop to the country. So I would listen to everything I was sent, and I was surprised at just how much Australian hip-hop is coming out. And with so many releases coming in, there is actually a lot of shit hip-hop getting made, a few good things obviously, but everyone these days it seems is trying to rap. The Hilltop Hoods success really has opened the door, and we get sent so much stuff at triple j that what it really showed to me is how big the scene has become in a very short space of time. So there will actually be a large amount of kids who are into hip-hop who have been listening for only two or three years, who would never have heard of us, so this emphasised how hard we had to work on our album to make it the best we could, and to make us stand out.”

On their new album, one song indeed stands out due to its heavily political statement of intent, the banging Can’t Stand It. With the release of the single merely weeks before an election campaign that glossed over many of the issues raised in the song, was the timing fortuitous or meticulously planned? “Actually, that song was written and recorded three years ago, mainly directed at the Howard government’s racism, especially relating to their policies on immigration. When it comes to making a political song, there was no pre-ordained idea about it – we just go on feel and it felt right to get it out then. Dan had always pointed out that it’s hard to talk about politics without sounding corny, but we felt so strongly about this that we had to talk about it. The idea that racist politicians became celebrities is something that I had to call out about, and with its release earlier this year, Pauline Hanson isn’t dancing on TV anymore, but there was the Andrew Johns incident, politicians still wanting to ‘Turn Back The Boats’ as though that’s acceptable policy... We reference The Herd in that song, but we feel you can’t have too many songs where artists speak their minds about this stuff anyway.”

Koolism launch The 'Umu at Transit Bar on Friday October 8, and Hau would love you to come to their hometown album launch. “We love coming back, be it to Canberra or Queanbeyan; home is where the heart is, and there’s no better place to feel the love than where your roots are.”

You can take the boy out of the territory, but you can’t take the territory out of the boy; Koolism will return to entertain and enthral the Canberra ‘n’ Queanbeyan throng with their thoroughly wonderful new album The ‘Umu at Transit Bar on Friday October 8. Entry is a mere ten of your Earth clams. Album out now through Invada.

Regurgitator

REGURGITATOR. So wonderfully named. It just sounds badass in the most ridiculous rock way ever. Jacks and masters of all trades. The only band that can legitimately ask audiences halfway through their shows “do you want more hip-hop or more rock songs?” like they did at Stonefest a few years ago. And now they find themselves recording again. After releasing solo and side project albums in the gap since their latest effort Love and Paranoia came out in 2007, Ben Ely and Quan Yeomans are now living in Melbourne, have their own home studios, and new songs are coming. And coming quickly.

Their new ‘thing’ is to utilise the advances in modern communications and recording technology to get their new songs out as soon as possible. Ben Ely explains: “We now can record a song and get it out into the wild the next day. And it’s exciting – if you release it as you write it, you can have your songs really be appreciated as pieces specific for the time; how you are actually feeling, and the meaning behind the songs, can be more relevant. And it’s more practical to do it this way – it bypasses the dinosaur concept of recording tracks and waiting for months, if not years, for the album to get released. This aides in being more prolific, as it breaks the demands of timeframes in terms of your creative output, and allows your songs to have a greater deal of immediacy in their impact, especially with the idea and intention behind the song we have written.”

Surely, though, some things will get left by the wayside, such as production values? Ely eagerly jumps in: “For us, production values have never been a massive concern for us – all of our albums, even the ones lauded for ‘good production’ like Unit have been knocked together very quickly without too much post-production work, so this is perfect for us. We won’t release something that isn’t finished, but it does allow us to feel free to get recording whenever we want to. And it has had an impact on the songwriting process – some of my favourite music is that which has a sense and sound that is immediate, such as Jonathon Richman (of The Modern Lovers) or Daniel Johnston, so I feel like this is a way for me to come full circle in my songwriting process; back to a very organic process of writing and getting the music out there.”

The results of these sessions are already apparent. You can stream the new Regugitator tracks on SoundCloud. They have prepared an EP for their upcoming tour. And in all this, they have still found time for other, wonderful creative projects. In early August, as part of the Sydney Opera House’s GRAPHIC Festival, Regurgitator performed a live score simultaneously to a screening of the classic anime, Akira. Surely a dream come true? “It was absolutely a dream come true. We’re friends with the guy that put the festival on, and we kicked around the idea for a while, but when the opportunity presented itself, we jumped at it. All of us love the film, and it’s amazing just how much more relevant it is today in terms of its politics and message than when it was first released. For our part, it was an excellent experience. It was relaxing to not have the eyes of the audience focussed on you, and as it was a film screening, we didn’t even really get any feedback from the audience until the end; luckily they appreciated it.” Good news, Canberrans. His tone of voice really does suggest it wouldn’t take much wrangling to get them to perform that elsewhere.

For now, however, you can catch Regurgitator down south at The Maram. Ben, whilst not familiar with the venue, got quite excited when I told him of it. “We have usually played at the ANU Bar when we are down there, and have always enjoyed it, but personally, I prefer playing shows in smaller venues.

“When a venue is too large, there really becomes a separation between the audience and the performers, as though all of the entertainment gets provided by those on stage. Whereas in a smaller venue, when you’re almost on the floor with the audience, the entertainment provided is more of a shared experience. We had a show in Shanghai, in a tiny space that just packed out with a really up-for-it audience, to the point that the police came and shut the show down, it was going so crazy. That night the band weren’t the stars of the show; we just facilitated, and were part of this excellent experience. It was awesome!”

Back to a three piece for this tour with Seja busy with her solo shows, you will be able to catch Regurgitator at The Maram in Wanniassa on Thursday September 23, supported by the excellent Rat vs Possum and Laneous & The Family Yah. Ben “hopes to see you at the show”, and if you want to hear any of their new music, you can check them out on the web with a simple search. A great outcome for fans of a band that has stolen so many hearts in their time.

Holy Fuck - Latin [Young Turks/XL]

Holy Fuck are the band of my dreams - a quartet that plays a full measure of dance music with guitars, drums, bass and analogue synths that they repatch on the fly. Known for their relentless melding of prog rock-styled techno, electronica- laiden heavy psyche rock and fresh as anything party rock stylings, they had won me over completely with the ostentatiously loud previous record LP; when Latin landed in my lap a week ago, I squealed with delight. Initially sounding very restrained - ambient opening offer 1MD sounds like atmosphere outside just before a storm hits - Latin has a distinct flow and agenda, building from funky house tracks at the begining before culminating in the second half with the kind of manic head-smashing intenseathons like P.I.G.S and Stilettos. A measured and mature progression, this forethought doesn’t detract too much from the spontanious joy that you feel as a listener, as whilst it’s an obvious build up, it’s an experience made the better from less potholes and bumps than their previous releases. From the outstanding die-cut typographical solution to their cover-art down to the stunning production keeping the glow of fun warm throughout, this is essential.

Jaytech

Very few Canberran musicians of any type have reached the level of global acceptance and love that wonderboy JAYTECH has experienced in his short life. From three storey-high posters of his face in Beijing, to playing to 100,000 strong crowds in Brazil, his music is taking the world on a journey and finally, with the release of the double disc Anjunadeep : 02, we can now have a Jaytech officially released mix disc to sit with our bulging folder of his monthly podcasts. But is this mix any different to what he normally dishes us out for free on a monthly basis?

“Absolutely – with the podcasts, it’s usually just a back and forth easy mix, about showcasing the new tracks. For the Anjunadeep compilation, it was a much bigger studio project – we edited tracks down so that they were just the right length, looped sections, and affected lots of the transitions to make the mix flow more smoothly. A lot more nitty gritty technical production than on one of my usual podcasts.”

Jaytech then goes on to say that the most drawn out part of the process was waiting for the tracks to be cleared, which wasn’t surprising as one of the highlights of the entire CD is James Grant and his remix of Flaming June by BT. “James Grant emailed the right people to track down the parts so we could do the remix,” he explains. “At first I don’t think BT was too sure if we would do a good job, and I think in the end James Grant managed to convince him by sending him a photo of himself and his son having a bath, and that somehow won BT over, and the cockles of his heart were warmed enough for him to allow us to go ahead with the remix,” laughs our erstwhile jetsetter.

Jaytech grins widely when asked about the more unknown artists he got to give a leg up on his disc. “Dave Horne – the first track of his I had ever heard before is the one we included which is amazing for an up and comer. I’m glad to see Paul Keely on there with his track Cloud 9, as he’s been up and coming for a while now, but is really coming to full steam at the moment.”

Describing his mix as an audio version of the Golden Gate Bridge, with a smaller peak early on leading to a greater one later, Jaytech’s disc of Anjunadeep : 02 is certainly a ride. But the local boy made good has a message for you all too. “Just make it clear to them that everything I write tends to be a little complex, and send a big massive message of lovey love to my peeps in Canberra, and that I can’t wait to rock out with you all again soon!”

Anjunadeep: 02, mixed by Jaytech and James Grant, is out now on Anjundadeep/One Love.

Quan

This is kind of personal, but that’s okay – so is QUAN’s solo record. You might know the guy from a band that he was in, that did the rounds and stole so many of our hearts. But around three years ago he moved to Hong Kong and started working on a solo project.

Bits and bobs came over time, until it all came together and The Amateur album was released around December last year. Quan was added to the Big Day Out bill and was easily the best thing there on the day. Yes. better than Fantomas even. He’s a bit more humble than my raving fanboyism had expected.

“It was kind of weird playing the first shows of this solo project at the Big Day Out and with the Prodigy,” the softly spoken guy opines. “I almost felt like I didn’t deserve it – obviously I had played the Big Day Out many times before with a pop band, but launching [the solo project] on this kind of stage kind of felt like forcing it down people’s throats.”

So the show basically was a drummer and Quan on stage rapping, singing, playing guitar and messing about with boxes. Quan had rung up a session drummer in Hong Kong, they practiced their live show and unleashed it this year, which was a slightly daunting experience. “Having had the security and routine of performance of a band for so long, this involved a lot of unknowns – but it went quite well.” And having a vision about the shows has been quite interesting. “We have tried to have different visuals for our shows each time and piecing that together has been a really rewarding experience.”

The question of difference settles upon talk of the internet. Just how different is it now being a musician releasing stuff compared to when he first started out? “Well there is no way I could have put this record out, even made the record in the way I did 15 years ago. Back then you relied upon a record label to help promote your stuff on radio and the other thing you would rely on was word of mouth. These days, the record label’s role is really diminished and the word of mouth is everything. But due to the nature of it – so many people sharing so many links to so many songs – you have your potential audience’s attention for a far shorter time, seconds now before they can click and find something else, so you have a lot of pressure to hope your first four bars are good, but it makes it much more democratic I guess.” Is this a good or a bad thing? “It’s just a thing”.

Quan quickly points to The One as his favourite song off The Amateur, which both makes sense and confronts – it’s definitely a very r’n’b track and certainly the most holistic departure from his previous style. “That’s actually the sound I like the most, being able to add some darkness into r’n’b in a way that never really is, and that’s what I really want to make more of.” And it was one of those things – at his Sydney show, watching the rock loyal and even hip-hop heads hearing Quan busting out a relatively sweet, seksay r’n’b tune was quite full on. “So much of r’n’b has such saccharine lyrical content to go with the killer production values, I really want to explore adding more horror.”

So Quan’s solo shindig isn’t going away. But the best bit is that it’s coming to Canberra for the first time. Supporting the immense Ratatat, he thinks he will be a pretty good match. “Those guys have the amazing dynamic of using visuals to spice up their shows as well as their music, so it’s going to be quite a good fit.” And it will be.

$2 Scratchies - Scratch me happy

There is nothing greater, when it comes down to it, than an awesome block-party style hip-hop set. When veteran selectors Mexi and Nathan teamed up a few years ago to play as the $2 SCRATCHIES , perfection was pretty much achieved. Back in town to judge this year’s ACT DMC DJ Finals, they had better get their explaining on: it’s been quite a while since they’ve graced the sound systems of Canberra to provide punters with the wonderful ‘live mixtape’ party sets they rocked around town a few years ago - just where have they been for the last few years?

“I’ve been DJing around a bit and running my design business Ninety Calibre, as well as helping my girlfriend with her jewellery and clothing companies Hayley Mei and Mayoress,” Mexi says. “I’ve been DJing for Maggot Mouf as well as playing regular gigs around [Melbourne],” Nathan informs me. Mexi explains that they get to play “every now and again, but because we’re still yet to actually release a mix tape, it’s hard to get bookings from promoters we don’t know personally. We’ve had more luck securing individual gigs lately.”

There was always a great party time, block party funk and respect-to-the-old-school nature in the records the $2 Scratchies chose to play and manipulate, but in these times of diversity and genre-bending, what new styles have these mixologists added to their crates? Mexi answers: “More and more new styles have been creeping into both our individual and our Scratchies sets lately, including dubstep, grime and the odd Baltimore track. But we still include a lot of classic and current hip-hop and dancehall tracks. I don’t think we’ll ever stick to the one style.”

Scratchie Nathan was a two time ACT DMC Champ, so before returning to judge the comp, he offers some stage advice in what it takes to make it. “It’s really stressful. That’s all I remember, just a hell of a lot of stressing. My best advice would be to try and make your six minutes flow as smoothly as possible. And no battle records would be nice.” Mexi chimes in, “I’ve never actually entered the DMCs before but I’ve watched plenty of the kiddies rap juggle and lobster scratch, so I’m pretty confident in my ability to judge.”

But there was one thing that was bothering me. In this age of CD decks and Serato outselling turntables and vinyl by a humongous degree, has this left the DMC comp to be little more than a relic, a quaint activity held by overly precious traditionalists in the scene? Or does it still hold a medium of relevance as it did back in the ’80s and ’90s? Laughing, Nathan answers, “No matter how much digital music and technology is out there, the DMCs will always be the premier rap scratching event on the socialite calendar. I love windmill dancing to beat juggles.” Mexi offers, “Anyone can put Serato on ‘Relative’ mode and rock a beat juggle (myself included, haters!), but it takes a lot more skill and effort to compose and perform an innovative DMC routine. Whether or not anyone will still appreciate that in the next ten years is another thing entirely. As long as there are people running hip-hop workshops and organising all ages shows (and uploading YouTube videos), then the next generation of DJs will be educated enough to keep the art form alive. Otherwise future competitions may be restricted to iPod mixers.”

And for those paying attention, what’s the form guide looking like for this year’s competition? Mexi challenged, “Buick I s’pose. Who else is there? I’m a bit out of touch with the upcoming DJs in Canberra. I think that’s a good thing though, as I’ll be able to judge with a minimum of bias. Nationally, it will be interesting to see if Perplex can retain his title for another year. Nathan offers, “The pressure’s on Buick this year to see if he can surpass our shared record of two straight wins. As I’m judging, it doesn’t seem likely.”

True Jungle Souljahs present the 2008 ACT DMC Championships at The Greenroom on Friday August 1, featuring $2 Scratchies along with Maggot Mouf, Newsense, Rhyministers, Carts2Deadly, Dazed & Flawless plus giveaways from Technics, Shifty’s and Writer’s Block. From 8pm, $20 entry.

Sebastian Bach - Bach-analia

He asks for the correct pronunciation and gets it first time. “I’ve been to Australia many times, but I’ve never been to Canberra. I have heard a lot about it though.” What on earth had SEBASTIAN BACH heard? Surely this wouldn’t be good… “Well, it’s a very recognisable name.”

And so is his. Lead singer of big-haired late ’80s kick-ass take-no-prisoners metal gods Skid Row, he is coming out here to headline a tour promoting his new record. Why did he release another album? “All I wanted to do was to put another record in your iPod that makes sense next to Slave to the Grind. And it sounds great, and my band is awesome and I’m bringing them to Australia.”

And I can’t even pretend any different. Angel Down is awesome. He hasn’t wavered from the old style much, except to make the songs, kind of, more powerful… Is that right Seb?

“I think it’s better – everyone’s got their high school memories of this and their prom dates, and that’s really hard to compete with, but a couple of my favorite bands are Aussies - AC/DC and Rose Tattoo - and they all have 30 or 40 albums out each, so I figure I’ve got a whole lot of rock left in me.”

How does it feel to have the first Axl Rose tracks recorded in ages laid down on your album? “It’s mind-blowing, it’s such an honour, and in the history of rock, for Axl to sing on my album whilst everyone is waiting for Chinese Democracy, it’s just such an incredible compliment to me. We sound really good together, I really love Stuck Inside, and he goes off at the end and he hits this high screaming note that is so intense. I’m just so lucky that the record companies all let us do this. The head of the record companies, even Axl doesn’t control them - we had to send it to them, and they heard it and actually allowed it, and it’s mind-blowing. It’s kind of hard for me to talk about, actually.”

I ask him how his band back in the day made the leap to global superstardom - and for all you aspiring musicians out there, listen up. “What we did was saved up for ages, and recorded a really kick-ass demo. When we played it back the first time, me and the boys couldn’t believe how beautiful this sounded, we were crying and shit,” he laughs, enthralled. “We had spent a lot of money on this, but with today’s modern technology that you can get on your laptop, anyone can do this. The onus is on the band to make it sound so good, just bust your ass and make a really amazing demo tape, put it on the internet, and that’s all you can do. Make it awesome, work really hard to do so, and that’s all. You can’t just sit there waiting for someone to see your potential. Make people hear it, by making it come out the first time round.”

Great advice, but the man has one last message for you all: “It’s very exciting for me as a singer to be playing somewhere we have never played before. I have been waiting about 20 years to come to Canberra, so bring it on! I can’t wait!”

Sebastian Bach’s Angel Down Under tour rolls into the ANU Bar on Friday May 30. Tickets are available through Ticketek. Angel Down is out on EMI.