Shailla Van Raad

M-Phazes

Good gracious! Make way for M-PHAZES, a Gold Coast born Melbourne based bombshell of a music producer.

Born Mark Landon, M-Phazes’ sonic passion started with the touch of a button and the simple bang of a kick-drum. “My interest in music stems from really wanting to play the drums,” Landon reveals. “When I was younger, my dad had a little home studio and I loved pressing buttons. The rest is history, really. I used to rap but I’ve put that on the backburner for now because I’ve always wanted to make something for other people. It’s a lot more pleasing creating music with other people, and more challenging, and that’s why I love music production.”

M-Phazes has a three-pronged musical ability: he works within a range of musical styles, can craft the perfect beat, and is able to carve out soulful grooves. He’s also the type that works best when bringing together an assortment of artists and enticing the best of their ability. His new record Good Gracious exemplifies this. “Every track features a different MC. Most of the lyrics on the album, I didn’t have any input into them at all. Each MC wrote their lyrics.”

From the ironically slanted and airplay friendly Where’s Elvis featuring Drapht to the ominous The Freak Show featuring lyrical genius Mantra, there’s something for everyone. M-Phazes recalls how Where’s Elvis came about. “Drapht is a pretty strange guy,” he laughs. “I asked him ‘Are you sure you want to write a track about an Elvis Conspiracy theory?’ when he proposed it, but he was pretty set on it. You can’t really tell how the fuck that guy’s mind works. The Spit Syndicate track Long Winding Road is also a pretty cool track; its back and forth instrumental is interesting.”

Getting ready for the tour in August, M-Phazes anticipates that there might be some bumps along the way. “It’s difficult to tour the album, definitely, as only certain MCs can come to certain shows, depending on availability. It’s also a shame that I couldn’t get more artists on the tour to most of the shows.”

Hiccups aside from touring an album spanning such musical spectrum and artistic ability, M-Phazes admits he’s learnt a lot along the way, including falling in love… with New York. “I think I’d be more efficient at making an album now. Being in New York for two months and learning new producer techniques really contributed to this album. I’m now working on a couple of releases in the US. It’s a lot of stuff, so I’ll be travelling there a lot.”

The man will be here on election night. Be sure to cast your hip-hop vote for the gig party.

M-Phazes plays at Transit Bar on Saturday August 21. Good Gracious is out now through Obese Records.

Maggot Mouf

The name MAGGOT MOUF regurgitates images of a decapitated corpse playing banjo at a solo performance, but Mouf is much more than that. Busting onto the scene in 1997, Maggot Mouf is a lean, mean rapping machine and although he’s as white as wonder bread, the boy can spit some poignant rhymes, as his new release You’re All Ears proves.

“Every track on the new album has a different concept, a different vibe to it. It’s not all the same shit,” says Mouf of the album. “Every song [on You’re All Ears] is topical and does its own thing. It’s kind of how I see the world and putting it right there for people to listen to. Every time I write a song I try not to make it a typical battle rap. Every time I write a song I try to make it about something, whether it be about passion or whether it be about something topical. I’ll just sometimes even get drunk and write a rap about something stupid, but I make sure it’s about something.”

Having first stepped out in the Canberra hip-hop scene as a teenager, Mouf admits that he’s “influenced a lot by American rap, like a lot of ‘90s stuff from New York.” The video clip for the single What U Lookin At is very ‘90s influenced. “It’s typical ‘90s dress up, meat market, paying homage to that era,” Mouf explains. “I was born in ‘82 and I grew up in the ‘90s. Me and my friends are stuck in the ‘90s – we all still play Nintendo 2 and sit around smoking weed, watching shows from the ‘90s like Married with Children. There’s something about that era that was just so fucking good.”

Now based in Melbourne, Mouf has enlisted the help of Joey Garg, who provides some unsettling beats on What U Lookin At, and other production geniuses such as Scotty Hinds, Ciecmate and Sammy Scissors to create an album that gives some striking social commentary. You’re All Ears cuts close to the bone, even if it is in the form of some mucky admissions – these just add to its cause.

Mouf’s most attractive quality is that he’s honest, on the record and off. Speaking frankly about You’re All Ears, he admits to the album’s grittiness but also says he wouldn’t have it any other way. Music is obviously his way of communicating his experiences to people both poetically and realistically. “The most personal and the deepest track on the album is Never Would Admit It, fo’ sho’,” says Mouf softly but surely. “It’s a journey that someone takes on this path filled with drugs and everything that comes with it. It’s about a personal experience; everyday stuff that happens to everyday people. Everyone can try to relate to that scene. People don’t realise that it does get pretty bad and think that it’s all Neighbours, but this isn’t Ramsay Street.”

Maggot Mouf’s You’re All Ears is released on Friday July 16 and is available through all good record stores.

Midnight Juggernauts

Exploding spasmodically onto the scene with their new single Vital Signs and album The Crystal Axis, dance-indie sweethearts MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS have followed up their original success of their first album Dystopia.

From small beginnings in Melbourne suburbia, “Vincent [vocals, keyboards] and I met in high school. We’ve known each other for a long time – since we were 13,” Andrew Szekeres (bass, vocals), explains. “We played music together after high school too and when we pursued different projects. Daniel [drums] joined after the band was together for a year.”

As with many bands, there always is a kafuffle in a choice of name. Either the name chosen is already taken by another band somewhere out there, or it’s not catchy enough. For the Juggernauts, it was the former. Szekeres sighs when he describes the naming genesis, “The first gig we did, we were called just ‘The Juggernauts.’ A band in the US contacted us and said they had this name and that we couldn’t use it. It was kind of weird because we’d only played one gig and we weren’t sure how they’d found us. Midnight Juggernauts came about after three gigs and we checked on Google that it was legit.”

After this initial hiccup, it was all up and up for Midnight Juggernauts – shortly after they released their debut album, Dystopia. “When we put out the record [Dystopia], it was just the beginning of indie-dance music being more accepted in a more ‘mainstream sense,’” Szekeres ganders contemplatively. “We’ve never considered ourselves really being a ‘mainstream band’ but more people were interested in having that kind of thing on the radio. Since then, we’ve continued to work hard to gradually improve things, keep making records and not have to be on unemployment benefits.”

It’s obvious the band is garnering an array of music media attention. Rolling Stone has even described the Midnight Juggernauts sound as “David Bowie if his Berlin Trilogy was a collaboration with Kraftwerk and Faust.” Szekeres talks about how the band’s sound comes about. “It’s difficult to know where songs come from. You don’t choose to make a song, something just strikes you and it takes control of you. You’re not really consciously making these decisions. Vital Signs, for example – the original is very different from the finished product. It’s a combination of the three of us getting together and having very different ideas.”

The new evolutionary album, The Crystal Axis, is already generating critical acclaim nationwide. Szekeres attributes this to the fact that “the creation of this record was more intimate. It was about the band getting together in a single room and jamming. That’s what makes the record – these ideas coming from different headspaces. Vital Signs is a good example of that – all the ambient layers and the weird percussive elements in it.”

If collaboration is the Midnight Juggernauts secret this time around, let’s hope it continues.

The new Midnight Juggernauts album, The Crystal Axis, is out now and available from all good record stores in both a single and double disc edition.

The Beautiful Girls

Mat McHugh from roots-rock band THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS heaves a wistful sigh over the phone. “This is my last day of peace before the album comes out.” There is some truth in this statement – judging from the airplay that their latest catchy single 10:10 has received, it can only be anticipated that their new album Spooks, out now (as this interview is now about two weeks old), will have some more indie hits in store for audiences around Australia and perhaps, the world.

Since their formation in 2000, The Beautiful Girls group have toured extensively in Australia, Japan, North America and Europe. The group has also lived with a revolving door for band members, which began with drummer Mitch Connolly leaving in 2006 for the Angus and Julia Stone band. Eventually, McHugh the only original member left, ‘reformed’ The Beautiful Girls after recruiting Paulie B on bass and Bruce Braybrooke on drums to create a perfectly ‘new’ sound. “We’re all huge reggae fans”, says McHugh, “listening to dancehall, hip-hop and all these genres. The whole idea for us with music is to try to combine genres and make something new – throwing a bunch of stuff together to make a new style. It sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t but we always try to do it.”

“I’m always looking for something different. All the bands that I love, from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s – whatever, at the time, they were doing something different. Most bands just try to replicate what’s already been done. They fall into the trap. I don’t think that’s in the spirit of where those bands came from. And it’s pretty boring.”

Which brings us to the next itching question about The Beautiful Girls – the story behind the unusual name for an all male trio? “The truthful story is,” chuckles McHugh, “when we started out, we were really mellow music. We grew up on the beaches; our rehearsal spots were full of dudes playing hard music. We wanted to do the opposite of that, to show them that there were other ways to make music, piss them off a little bit, just so they would shake their heads and say ‘those guys are so high end, they’re so soft.’ The punkest thing we could do is play the mellowest music and call ourselves ‘The Beautiful Girls.’”

The new record, Spooks, was inspired by “music that connects people.” McHugh again proves his use of a wide-ranging palette, such as Brazilian music, whose “upbeat tempos and universal themes of social injustice” are more effective than “upper white middle class dudes dressed up, adopting this fake swagger and fake angst.”

The new single, 10:10, is no different in ideology, as McHugh explains. “A couple of years ago, a friend of a friend in America got shot in a club because he was the wrong skin colour, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. Unfortunately that shit still exists, and heavily in some places.”

Catch The Beautiful Girls, along with Washington, Vida Sunshyne and Chasm, at the Hellenic Club in Woden on Thursday July 15. Tickets available from the venue.

Killing Birds

Amongst the hustle and bustle of a Manuka café in public servant peak hour, there sit two young gents. Both living underneath unkempt locks, which they push aside just enough to let some sunlight through so they can see. Who knew these mischievous lads are the latest grunge-noise rockers to hit Canberra’s dodgy night time streets? When all the public servants have gone to bed or hidden their security passes, this is the louder than life duo’s time to shine.

The wayward young men went to high school and college together but never “did anything music-wise” until about a year ago when they started breaking into a friend’s house in order to practice. “Our friend had this awesome music setup in his house and it was the place to play. We would jump the fence during the day, when no one was home. The back door was always unlocked. That’s how we started playing.”

The self-professed “rebels” rode the adrenaline wave of break and enter to create something productive and very, very loud. Through these regular jamming sessions, KILLING BIRDS was born.

James eventually persuaded Clyde to be the lead vocalist of the band albeit Clyde’s whiney girl protests and shyness. “I never had really sung in front of anyone – it took me five years to get where I am. I got over that hump.” To which James adds, laughing, “yeah, he was so nervous!”

The band are known for their loud, explosive sound to the point where they were banned forever from the Front Café in Lyneham for “playing too loud” and possibly banned from the Phoenix for an undisclosed period of time. They’ve been asked to “tone it down” and also stop their rock ‘n’ roll antics. “The organisers told us to stop trashing the stage.”

When asked what they trashed Clyde simply says “we broke our own equipment, so I don’t know what the problem was with that. A few things, such as parts of the drums and a few knobs on the guitar, broke but not to an extent which we couldn’t use them again. We can’t afford to break our equipment at every show and replace it.” Sustainable rock ‘n’ roll behaviour.

Clyde usually brings James some material to work with and the boys start from there. After this initial stimulus, it’s free range for all and James confesses that mostly “all of our songs are usually created on the spot, and afterwards we think ‘wow that was pretty good.’ So we keep it.”

Killing Birds now have their first EP out consisting of eight tracks, which they admit they “weren’t too bothered to promote” when it first came out eight weeks ago, mainly because they were too busy working on other material and hitting the ACT’s most popular underground nightspots.

Catch Killing Birds at Bar 32 on Wednesday May 26 with Hands Like Houses, Hoodlum Shouts, Built on Secrets and Jerkstore. If you can’t make that and are in Melbourne for some reason the next day, see them play at Old Bar with Mother and Father, Bleach and Poor People. The lads are also doing a show at the Phoenix on Saturday July 17.

Readable Graffiti

In meeting Readable Graffiti and after reading their biography, I was expecting some crazy, scraggly haired musos. Chris Readable and Christian Graffiti turned out to be actually more insane—I was greeted with Doctor Who teleportation conversation and nonchalant dropping of the C-word, known also to the group as “C-bombing”. Not bad for a self professed ‘local’ band. “We’re all local Canberra boys.” Chris says, “we’ve been doing a lot of instrumental stuff together for a long time and Buttons decided that he wanted to get involved. “

Buttons Machiavelli vocalist, and the third member of the dance, electronic trio that is Readable Graffiti, was mysteriously absent from the vis-a-vis interview.

Chris, the group’s  button fiddler and guitar expert and Christian the IT admin and drum padder, when questioned as to the location of Buttons, simultaneously throw up their hands and coolly state: “We don’t know where our third member is—he’s kind of unpredictable.” It seems like the boys are well practiced in saying this. “He does what he wants and rocks up at the most unexpected moments. He likes time to himself.” As if that’s such a normal thing. Buttons is also “the random one. He gives us all a little bit of edge; he’s the charisma when we’re on stage and he brings focus to the band.”

Seconds later when we get onto the topic of dance music, the duo energetically almost jump off their seats, not containing their passionate excitement for the genre. “We bonded over the dance genre when we first started getting into it. Buttons started introducing us to wide eyed evenings at lot 33. Buttons used to sing for harder rock bands before we were Readable Graffiti and then he decided to do vocals over the top of the instrumental stuff that we were already doing.”

The bass pumping, guitar-shredding melodic trio admit that their lives have not always been so technological with their music. “We’re actually not that technically gifted for a band that’s into this type of music, apart from programming the microwave to play a kick-ass solo from Metallica's "One". Some of us may be musically talented but some of us aren’t.”

I told the boys to tuck all that self-professed modesty away into their internal hard drives, because they can not deny that they have now scored a slot in Canberra’s infamous Groovin’ the Moo festival on Sunday the 9^th of May. The trio will play amongst artists such as Empire of the Sun, British India and Silverchair. They attribute this success because “our music will make you dance first and then think later…it’s like a cuddly, friendly monster that is screaming incoherently.”  The boys had this eurka moment after a strange occurrence happened “one day someone jumped on stage and grabbed the microphone from Buttons but he just hugged him back.  ”

So what of those who complain that dance music is linked to substance abuse? It seems like the Readable Graffiti boys are all for it—sort of, “certain members of the band are certainly not against free and easy use of substances. There’s shitty dance music that needs that and then there’s us.” They said this right after they dropped a C-bomb. Nonchalantly.

See Readable Graffiti at the Groovin’ The Moo festival, held at the UC on Sunday May 9. Tickets through Moshtix.

Grinspoon

Babylon Circus

M.O.P.

Whitley

Sometimes music can surprise you and upon hearing Laurence Greenwood's first album, The Submarine, the one-man incarnation that originally formed WHITLEY plucked some sentimental elements in my beating heart.

Now, 2007 seems like a hazy distant memory in the horizon. Since then, the young singer-songwriter has been voted in Rolling Stone Magazine's Top Ten Breaking Artist list and has sold out numerous shows across both Australia and the US, including the infamous South by Southwest Festival in Texas. "South by Southwest was a bit of a mess," he says. "I didn't like it much; there were heaps of shit bands everywhere. I didn't even get to see any good musicians, like Lou Reed, who I was hanging out to watch... but the US wasn't all bad. One of my favourite experiences in America was when the car company made a mistake and gave us a twin turbo Volvo to drive around the country. We had a wild time."

Whitley is vocally reminiscent of Tom Waits, has musical spice of warm country acoustics and flusters the ears of those romantically inclined with his poignant lyrics, which border on kitsch but never seem to cross that line. Since the release of The Submarine the lone maverick has gathered a band together and experimented with more instruments to create diversity and maturity in his music in new album, Go Forth, Find Mammoth.

Recently released in late October, Greenwood describes the album as "not exactly darker [than The Submarine] but definitely more diverse, more relaxed and more engaging. I named the album Go Forth and Find Mammoth because it's a tongue in cheek reference to when humans used to be cavemen. We don't use our frontal lobes enough and I'd like to encourage that. We need to realise that regardless of everything, we are still human and primal creatures... This album was different from my first album, in the way that it was recorded and created. With The Submarine we used clip tracks and added the drums last, this time we did the drums first and recorded instruments like the pump organ later."

The new album heralds a varied range of musical compositions, from the "cheesy pop song" Greenwood decided to release as his first single (Heads First Down), to Poison in Our Pockets - an "unconventional love story" about Hitler and his mistress Eva Braun. A pleased Greenwood says the track "turned out exactly how I wanted it to."

Greenwood is "always thinking about the next thing on the horizon," and lately he feels like he "would love to make a record that's sparser and totally ambient and instrumental." Greenwood even has a "less commercial" project to occupy him after the Go Forth, Find Mammoth tour, but on the other hand, he recognises things with Whitley can swing either way. "You never know what the future might bring; maybe I'll buy a truck, develop a nasty speed habit and ride from here to Brisbane."

Whitley will perform at the ANU Bar on Wednesday November 25. Tickets are available through Ticketek.

Hilltop Hoods

For an act that's been around for more than ten years, the HILLTOP HOODS have conquered unforeseeable heights. MCs Suffa (Matt Lambert), Pressure (Daniel Smith) and DJ Debris (Barry Francis) met on the Adelaide music circuit and "started collaborating over mic and DJ nights." MC Pressure admits that the group "never really had the intention to make our hip-hop a full time thing. It wasn't until after 2004 that we started concentrating on it."

Spitting out pertinent, feel-good but resonant lyrics, coupled with some phat beats, the Hilltop Hoods are a hip-hop act Australia can be proud of. MC Pressure says the changing landscape of Australian hip-hop has "developed its own identity, own sound and reflects our own community," and through this the Hilltop Hoods have "changed as people, developed production-wise and created a more sophisticated sound."

Despite developing musical maturity the Hilltop Hoods never forget their core values. "We've never been a one message band; we rap about everything from the state of the music industry to tongue-in-cheek social commentary," Pressure says. "Our attitude is also to be self-sufficient. Because we started during a time when hip-hop was just emerging in Australia we have a do-it-yourself mentality... we don't use any external producers or engineers. Suffa and I write the lyrics to the tracks and we all have a say in the music. Sometimes it takes only a day to write an entire song and sometimes it takes much longer, we always change bits and pieces."

Just having released their sixth album mid this year, State of the Art has already spat out two ARIA hit singles - Chase that Feeling and Still Standing. State of the Art is a masterpiece still taking the nation by storm, one hip wiggle at a time. MC Pressure explains the intricacy of creating such a production. "Out of all our albums we spent the longest on State of the Art. From conception, recording to mastering it took all of 18 months. We had a lot more to deal with than for our previous work such as a bigger budget, session musicians" and collaborating with renowned US rapper and producer, Pharaohe Monch, who has "been very influential" to the Hilltop Hoods' music.

The Hilltop Hoods are always on the move, having just got back from Canada, touring with up-and-coming Canadian rapper Classified. The Hoods then, two weeks ago, launched themselves on the road, touring State of the Art nationally and selling out all their shows in the process.

MC Pressure is adamant that this isn't the last we hear from the trio. "We're still very passionate about our art form and we have plans of making another album," he says. "We also want to take State of the Art to the US." Obviously the Hilltop Hoods' passion for developing Australian hip-hop is a reason for their longevity. If the group have their way, perhaps State of the Art will herald a new beginning; one which brings Australian hip-hop to the world stage.

The Hilltop Hoods will stop in Canberra on Saturday November 21 for the Trackside Festival at Thoroughbred Park. Tickets are available through Ticketek, Moshtix, Oztix and Landspeed Records.

Avenue Q

Muppets and real people co-existing on stage is the latest thing to come out of the United States in Avenue Q, now showing at the Canberra Theatre Centre. Avenue Q is a tantalising blend of colourful script and saucy muppets.

Avenue Q tells the story of a naïve and enthusiastic college graduate, Princeton, who moves to New York City with little money and big plans. Princeton moves to Avenue Q, a cheaper neighbourhood with seemingly nice neighbours - an unemployed comedian, his therapist fiancée, a warm-hearted bludger and his roommate, an internet addicted prowler, a pretty kindergarten teaching assistant, and Gary Coleman.

Muppets and jokes may make you think this show is around only for the school holidays. In fact, Avenue Q, a smash-hit on Broadway and the West End and now in its Australian incarnation starring Michaela Banas, is aimed at the adult show goer. It's a feel good comedy not appropriate for children because it deals with issues such as sex, porn and our usual generational symptom: the existentialist crisis.

Luke Joslin, who plays (or rather totes) the characters of Nicky and the Trekkie Monster, explains why he was initially attracted to Avenue Q. "The show is primarily comedy and loaded with inappropriateness but it has a strong foundation and a strong heart."

Although Avenue Q was conceived in the States - receiving rave reviews and being extended four times in its Broadway run - it deals with issues that are not country-specific. "Even though the show originated in the States, the story and the jokes are applicable on a global scale," says Joslin. "The production deals with issues such as racism, sexism, and homophobia and is loaded with political incorrectness."

The production was a perfect choice for Joslin who enjoys "tackling comic roles because it makes people laugh." Working with muppets is a difficult task, mainly due to the physical challenge. Joslin "lets the muppets do the work" in an emotional and character-sense. On the other hand, operating both his two-man muppets can be "quite physically demanding" especially because they are the only two-man muppets in the show.

With a raunchy muppet sex scene, a fantasy dream ballet sequence and nostalgic and amusing recitals, Avenue Q is full of light-hearted and touching material.  "The play has a sense of real originality. It's something that hasn't been done before," says Joslin. "The muppets play larger than life characters and this encapsulates a sense of fun in the production. It makes people laugh and this is really important."

"Laughter is the best medicine and in this day and age," says Joslin. "We don't hear it enough. Avenue Q is as good as a trip to the doctor."

Avenue Q opens at the Playhouse on October 24 and plays until Sunday November 8. Tix and info through the CTC website at www.canberratheatre.org.au

Kasha

KASHA is a band to get excited about. Fairly new to the music scene, the four young aspiring musicians - Josh (bass/vocals), Hugh (drums), Austin (keys) and Adam (guitar/vocals) - are in the process of finishing off their studies at the ANU music jazz school. Boasting pleasure-inducing live performances throughout many Canberra underground venues since 2008, the bright young things have only just begun their musical exploration.

During an interview with Josh and Adam in a small bustling corner café, a sense that the band is ready to rear their musically-inclined heads into the wide world overcomes me. "We've been talking about creating a rock band for a long time, but never got round to it," Adam reminisces. "So one day we all just got together and had a few jams with some wine. I think that music really reflected the wine."

Musically Kasha enjoys playing with "textural layers; lots of sounds are slowly being layered and create a new inflection on the sound. Rhythmic allusions and a rhythmic climax are created from this process." The band fuses synthetic and traditional rock sounds seamlessly and treats all sounds as instruments part of a greater whole. Heavily influenced by a number musical acts such as Fugazi, The Mars Volta, Sigur Rós and My Disco, Kasha is Canberra's home grown version of post-rock.

Kasha just recorded their debut EP after winning a Soundclash grant from the Australia Council. The creative process brought the foursome to "get together for a week in an old theatre" which helped the band achieve a tighter set. Adam describes the experience as "intense but cool" because it was the middle of winter but also because it gave the band an opportunity to iron out any kinks or trample down divas before the EP recording process begun. Josh recalls the band worked hard that week, stating that "we played late into the night and got an idea for the EP, subtle things got added to each song... they were like happy accidents."

Kasha believed that their five track EP, Five Songs for Sunstroke, "should have a live sound, so it sounds really raw and harsh. A lot of the parts are cued... even the mistakes have added to the atmosphere of sound. It creates a harsh landscape." Adam describes that the EP essentially "is almost like a live album in a studio."

An album could be in the pipeline for Kasha if their EP is successful. Adam speaks with bright eyes on what the future album could sound like. "We'd like to explore more layers and more dubs and make our future records more open to post production."

Kasha obviously has big plans. They hope to tour outside of Canberra and who knows, maybe later the rest of the world? Adam and Josh both gush, "Japan and Europe would be amazing places to play".

Kasha will launch their EP at MacGregor Hall on Saturday October 17, with support from locals Hoodlum Shouts and Sydney band Fats Homicide. Tickets are $5 on the door.

Emily Scott

For a woman who has grown up near the "beach, surf and sea" on her native Gold Coast, EMILY SCOTT could be classified as the typical Australian sex symbol export. Emily was crowned as the "Sexiest Aussie Babe" by FHM Australia in February 2007, has appeared in Robbie Williams' infamous Rock DJ video and was the face of Lipton Ice Tea for a period as well as being a famous swimsuit model for magazines like Playboy and Maxim. It seemed there was no sex pot this woman did not have her fingers in. "I've always been a creative person," she says. "When you're like that you can't help but pursue different interests."

Fortunately Emily has many other talents up her sleeve, aside from being a sex icon -besides being a Design graduate and a former Olympic gymnast, Emily now is an up and coming tough house DJ. Emily still finds it difficult, though, to separate the stigma of her modelling career from her music. "Music and modelling are two separate parts of my life, but the press doesn't see it that way," she says. "I don't have a choice but now I just take everything with a grain of salt. I now have more time to dedicate myself to my music and I want to make that my focus."

The seed of musical awareness was spawned when Emily worked on the Gold Coast, where she lived before moving to London, when her focus was still on modelling. "I started getting into DJing when doing lighting a club on the Gold Coast," she recalls. "One of my friends taught me to beat mix on vinyl. I didn't get too serious about it until I moved to England and that was when I first started my DJ career."

Emily has recently relocated back to Sydney and is "always listening, buying and editing music." She's now putting a greater emphasis on avidly "always learning" music and production. "In the future," Emily describes, "I want to invest more time in music. I want to be able to expand my knowledge and skills and make some tracks."

Emily's music style is heavily influenced by many different DJs but her attitude is to "keep my music style as alive, fresh and fun as possible." Emily explains that "I try to make music as something that makes people feel 'up.' I don't like monotony, so I mix a lot of different genres together-from techno, house to electro-house."

Emily is now on a national tour of Australia and is very excited at being able to bring the party to the people. "For this tour I've been going around pretty much everywhere... I'll be going to Indonesia next month on tour there. The tour doesn't have a name yet, but as long as I'm getting out there and playing, I'm happy." There is no doubt this tour will be both a musical and visual feat, judging from the positive feedback of Emily Scott's ever-expanding fanbase.

The Fumes

THE FUMES are a force to be reckoned with. Exploding on the live music scene in 2004, the northern NSW outfit have built a reputation of rollicking beefcake blues and soaring guitar chops which is no simple feat for a duo combination.

Steve Merry (guitar/vocals) reminisces just how the band come into existence shortly after meeting Joel Battersby (drums). "It seems like a hundred years ago when Joel and I ended up having a jam." Interestingly, it seems that the space taken up by a clichéd four-piece wasn't big enough for Merry alone. Instead he felt a two piece would suffice in order to create the music he wanted. "I like a lot of blues guitar, and I was playing in a band that wasn't living too close to each other," he recalls. "I started playing with another drummer because the rest of the band was one and a half hours away. The rest of the band eventually booted us out and I also replaced the drummer. That's how our duo was formed."

Since the release of their debut album Guns of Gold in 2006, The Fumes have risen up through the live music circuit and have enjoyed some critical acclaim. However, the duo still remembers their musical dignity and that money doesn't just appear from pure success. "In order to make the band survive we have day jobs too," Merry reveals. "I'm a carpenter and Joel drives trucks... The music business is a pretty funny industry; it's dictated by money. Somehow though, that doesn't bother us that much, we fit into our genre pretty well. It's good to hear positive reviews of our music, although I wouldn't put the album out if I didn't like it myself."

Harnessing the origins of rock music, The Fumes are obviously heavily influenced by African-American blues, heavily nodding to the 12 bar chord progression seamlessly throughout their sound. The constant reference and expansion of this style for Merry has transcended geographical location and alludes more to a particular type of cultural attitude than to a place. "I reckon there is probably an Australian influence to our music, but it's not entirely geographical," says Merry. "I think it's more about where the blues came from; the underside of life, those who are unfairly downtrodden and also about accepting our own fucked up existence."

The Fumes are now touring NSW and ACT, in celebration of their new album Sundancer. After successfully touring Japan, Canada and the US and making an appearance at SXSW, Merry looks forward to being back in Australia, but also making this smaller tour "about stopping hitting my fingers with nails and a hammer. It's always really cool when you get people out to come and listen."

Catch The Fumes on Thursday September 10 at the ANU Bar. Tickets are $18 through Ticketek.

Snob Scrilla

SNOB SCRILLA, a name that has become a staple in indie and new-wave households, is not surprisingly a pseudonym for a project orchestrated by a young Californian expat by the more ordinary name of Sean Ray. His visit to Australia eight years ago brought Ray to a halt in his worldly travels. "When I was younger I used the excuse to study in order to visit Australia," explains Ray. "I thought it was a bit of a change. When I arrived the country just stuck with me."

Ray is an artist clearly influenced by hip-hop; a legacy ingrained into his consciousness by his birthright. He is also an artist who refuses to be restricted to a spectrum of just one genre. "Hip-hop has always been in my life, it was a staple at school where I used to stand around and free style all day," Ray says. "I wouldn't call myself a hip-hop artist, but it definitely has influenced me. I'd say the music I make is electronic RnB. At the end of the day my music scrapes the bottom of every genre bucket; it's like a kid with ADHD, lost in space."

Ray's fusion of hip-hop beats, rhymes and '80s-inspired rhythms and electro sounds has appealed to the growing new-wave crossbreed of music, which Australian audiences are lapping up by the earful. "I think Australia is a niche market in itself. It's weird but in a good way. It caters to interesting sub-genres. I love immersing myself in the vibe that's here."

With the release of his debut single There You Go Again in 2008 and the song officially titled ......... generating massive hype, Ray's much anticipated debut album Day One is set for a rollercoaster of success. "Day One is an album created on the premise that I just wanted to go out and write about something that I felt at the time," Ray explains. "The album is about figuring out what's happening in my life, in a non-chronological order. It's about just what Snob Scrilla is with a conscious regard to audience and the ideologies that young kids understand. It's not about achieving a monetary market goal; it's more about expression."

Setting off on tour to promote his new album from August 14, Ray discusses why the monkey mascot is such a centralised theme and why it is more personal than frivolous, as it might seem. "The Farewell Monkey Tour is all about getting the monkey off your back. It's obviously a drug reference, which is a topic in itself but also in my case it was the end of my five year relationship. It's about the end of a phase, peace out to the habit, whether it be drugs or a relationship."

It is clear to also see why Australia and touring this country appeals to Ray on such a grand scale." I look forward to this tour. I miss Australian shows where I have random food fights on stage. I love it when people come up on stage and just become part of the band." Who could blame him?

Snob Scrilla, supported by Dash and Will, will be playing the ANU Bar on Friday September 4. Tickets through Moshtix and Oztix.

Norwegian Good

Imagine a world where everyday you struggle to get out of bed, eat breakfast, interact with the people you live with and try find simple human qualities in people, such as love and friendship. Does this world sound familiar to you? Such is life for the characters of Pamela Rabe’s latest theatre production, ELLING.

Elling is based on a Norwegian novel by Ingvar Ambjrnsen and the original stage adaptation was created by Axel Hellstenius in collaboration with Petter Nss. It was eventually translated by Nicholas Norris into English and adapted by Simon Bent. Elling has become a cult film and a theatre production abroad, and has recently landed on Australian shores in a new Sydney Theatre Company production directed by stage grand dame Pamela Rabe.

Elling is about two friends, Elling (Darren Gilshenan) and Kjell (Lachy Hume), attempting to come to grips with the reality of life after discharge from institutionalised care. They set about trying to forge normalcy in their existence after living on the fringes of society and humanity for a long time.

Elling is a neurotic and perceptive would-be artist who has just discovered the dichotomy of the beautiful/repulsive world. Kjell, his companion, is a sex-obsessed virgin in his forties who would like nothing better but to embark on a boisterous love affair.

Gilshenan, a distinguished actor recognisable from screen, television, and theatrical productions such as Bell Shakespeare’s The Government Inspector, explains that “the play is a journey or a love story if you will, of confronting your fears and learning to live in an uncaring society. It’s a universal story, like in any society about the battered underdog getting through. The play appeals to any culture and any place because it deals with such universal issues.

“Elling and Kjell are essentially the odd couple; riddled with illnesses and trying to adapt to life normally,” says Gilshenan. “It’s an acting challenge, going through the journey from the beginning to the end. The characters have such different formative experiences over the course of the play. It spans over two years and so much happens to them.”

Speaking with Gilshenan about this strangely familiar production, where some of the issues hit very close to home, it is easy to realise why Elling is so side splittingly funny. “Elling is a bittersweet comedy; it’s comedy that comes from fear, pain and anxiety. It’s about watching people in tortured situations. The audience laughs with them not just at them, because the situations are so real.”

“When you first meet Elling and Kjell, you feel their alienation and their anxiety. The audience is alienated from them. But because the play is just a microcosm of what’s inside all of us: anxiety, fear of the unknown and the fear of love and to be loved the audience is surprised that it can relate to these characters.”

Gilshenan believes that “there’s a little bit of Elling in everyone” and everyone is prone to “Elling moments”. “Elling in a sense is an everyman character; he represents everyone who is in a state of inertia, from getting up off a chair, to getting up in the morning. Everyone who has lived has had an Elling moment.”

From an actor’s perspective, because of the character’s exaggerated nature, Elling’s character development required intense energy in order to portray this tortured and sensitive soul. Gilshenan relates that “playing Elling requires drawing on an enormous amount of fear and anxiety. In the beginning I used to get cramps in my stomach from the amount of nervous tension that the character feels. It took a few weeks to get a handle on it technically. When I play Elling it requires deep emotional energy, because he has powerful emotional swings that range from panic attacks to deep depression to rage. It feels like I am dispelling demons all throughout the night.”

The production of Elling seemed to be no easy feat to pull together, because of the complexity of the themes that were explored; it has required an innovative and detailed mind in order to successfully convey the key messages. Gilshenan explains how Rabe drew many different expressive elements together to create a cohesive whole. “It was such a lovely surprise how the production came together. Surreal elements and a dance sequence were integrated into the production… Pamela leaves no stone unturned and finesses details. This direction generates great performances because Pamela brings her philosophy as an actor to her work as a director and this creates a deeper exploration of the characters and the story.”

Elling is an unusually frank philosophical exploration of the lives of two friends, struggling to understand and conquer simple life problems that are a part of the gaining of maturity and wisdom. “Elling’s and Kjell’s journey represents the emotional growth human beings go through; growing to understand the world around us. Their journey, in just two years, is a sped up version of the journey from an infant to adolescent.”

So with what word would Gilshenan describe the production Elling in the most simplest, truthful and raw expression? “The word most used to describe Elling is ‘heart’. It has a big heart to it. It’s an incredible affirmation to a positive attitude to life.”

Sydney Theatre Company presents Elling at the Playhouse from Wednesday 5 August to Saturday 8 August @ 8pm. Tickets $60/ $53/ U27$35/ Child $22. Call 6275 2700 for details.

Regular John

REGULAR JOHN is anything but a regular rock band. Putting synths to their old school rock ‘n’ roll use, busting out social critique lyrics via questioning the mechanisms of society, emerging with a punk rock/indie synergy that appeals to a vast range of musical niches; Regular John are definitely a unique quartet. Self-described in sweet cold treat terms, Regular John guitarist Ryan Adamson states “If we could be an ice cream flavour, we’d be a rock-flavoured rainbow; rocking with a nod to a psychedelic vibe.”

The foursome, consisting of Brock Tengstrom (guitar/vocals), Ryan “Macca” McDonald (drums), Caleb Goman (bass/vocals) and Ryan Adamson (guitar/vocals), originated in Griffith. They fused together effortlessly; forming relationships over their musical whims and fancies. “We had some music taste in common. We all really bonded over loving KIA, Fugazi, At the Drive-In, Trail of the Dead,” explains Ryan. “We’re all pretty nerdy musically. We all have different vibes, we’re all in our own world. I don’t really know much of anything else going on, it’s out of sight and out of mind.” The band eventually decided to travel to Sydney in search of fame and fortune.

Since the move, Regular John have produced an EP called Marrickville 2204 in 2007 and released the single The Devil’s Melody/Easy Rider which followed their EP in late 2007. More recently their much anticipated debut album, The Peaceful Atom Is A Bomb, produced by the drummer from The Church, Tim Powels, has been dubbed “the perfect distillation of everything good that’s happened since rock found a heavy, fuzzy imagination in the late Sixties” by Rolling Stone magazine.

“When someone says something like that,” Ryan muses about the rather impressive dub, “you feel like you don’t want to disappoint. We’re hoping lots of people dig this new album.” In that same vein, Regular John won’t compromise their musical standards, avoiding to get stuck in too much of a good thing. “There’s a fine line between expressing yourself and having an appreciation for something. Most artists need to be expressive. I don’t know anyone who is in the same mood every day, so why write the same songs, the same material?”

“Writing music is all about staying at the top of your game,” Ryan says, furthering this point, “but also it’s about taking a leap of faith. I know so many musicians who when they’ve ‘done something right’ with their music stay on that same path, because they know that it’s a safe bet. We can do that too, but we feel it’d be letting ourselves down in a way.”

Antithetically opposing the re-emergence of many art-rock bands in the Sydney and Melbourne scene, Regular John’s sound is a unique mix of a nostalgically rock ‘n’ roll tradition. Organically woven in the studio, the music is far from contrived. “It seems like some bands get together and decide ‘this is what we’re going to do.’ We on the other hand just get together and jam. Sometimes someone might bring a completed song in and we alter it. If something is originally transcribed in piano, we transcribe it into guitar and take it even further in that direction.”

Having shared the stage with bands like The Bronx, The Hard-Ons, The Scare, Birds Of Tokyo, Helmet, Dinosaur Jr., Louis XIV, You Am I, and The Datsuns, Regular John are no strangers to professional touring. The band is excited to promote their new album, along the southeast coast of Australia, with prospects of widening their geographical performing horizons. “We’re looking forward to do lots of touring, and eventually go overseas to tour.”

Regular John will be supporting Kisschasy at the ANU Bar on Sunday October 4.

Phyllasoma

Two years ago, the members of PHYLLASOMA made the plucky decision to extract themselves from New Zealand and fall into the arms of Australia's largest city, across the Tasman. "We were too influenced in New Zealand because we mostly played covers," explains frontman Aaron Rose. "We isolated ourselves from the rest of the world which was also detrimental to our writing, so we decided to come to Sydney."

In addition to their relocation, the members of Phyllasoma have also gone through a reinvention. The two core members, Aaron Rose (vocals and guitar) and Apera Uriarau (bass), have enjoyed an eight and a half year musical relationship after having met at the Polytechnic on New Zealand's South Island. Aaron was joined by Apera after having started the first incarnation of Phyllasoma and very recently the two younger members, Kiel Rasmussen (drums) and Daniel Walton (guitar) have created an interesting dynamic in the group. "We're quite an eclectic age group. I'm 32 and our drummer, Kiel, for example, is 22," reveals Rose. "Our music therefore has very different influences. There have been many different band members over the years, but this combination now seems to be working really well. We're all really excited to be together because we're a relatively new band; this music that we're creating is a totally new thing. We've created music that we didn't expect to produce. Everything is an added bonus."

The band's name is an allusion to the larval stages of spiny, slipper and coral lobsters and very aptly describes the momentum of this alternative rock band that seems to just recently be finding their feet. "Because we were a covers band for years, it seems like now writing our own stuff is just part of the natural progression," Rose says. "It was a nice surprise when we moved with our two younger members because it was a make or break decision. Fortunately we began to really trust each other and wrote some really good music. The younger guys grew up away from New Zealand and that, I think, had a really positive influence on the band."

Phyllasoma's sound is very distinctive and echoes the post-grunge of a bygone era with an alternative progressive rock twist. The band are currently playing a small tour and visiting Canberra in August. "We're in a good position now to tour. We've played together a lot as a band and we have a pretty solid stage show," Rose says with an air of confidence.

Phyllasoma should be regarded in Australia as an asset gained and welcomed with open arms; judging from their samples they have many interesting ideas and already plan to put them into final production. "This time next year, we hope to have made an album," [NAME] offers. "At the moment we're involved in the pre-production of our demos. We're trying to get ourselves out there as much as possible. Sydney is an interesting scene. Over the last few months there has been a strong progressive rock movement in Sydney."

Phyllasoma play a free gig on Friday August 7 at 9 pm at the Holy Grail in Kingston.

Yves klein Blue / Philadelphia Grand Jury

Yves Klein Blue is a band that is underestimated in Canberra. Judging from the crowd, there certainly is a following but not enough for band who should have an epic proportion of people at their heels. The amalgamation of old school '50s rock 'n' roll with a smattering of shoegaze lurches into the heart of the very definition of 'indie-rock' cross-referencing Talking Heads in their very beginnings.

Touring their highly anticipated debut album Ragged & Ecstatic, Yves Klein Blue are a vat full of surprises, from their Springsteen cover encore to their commercially made famous single Polka. They give any sweater toting, square framed glasses wearing indie kid a passion-inducing chance to fall to the floor and bustle with the rest of 'em.

Frenetic, maniacal, wisecracking and philosophical without probably meaning to be, all at the same time, Michael Tomlinson paces the stage in side step to the infectious hooks and guitar riffs. He looks like a young miniature Marlon Brando with his neat and chiselled features and slicked back hair - a definitively wonderful casting of a lead man. Tomlinson is always focussed on the music, staring into the middle distance of the crowd, never crooning too much, never screaming neurotically. He has the vocal balance just right for this type of band, and the facial expressions of a NIDA grad. When his bandmates left the stage for his solo About The Future, a harrowingly bittersweet acoustic song about our generation's moral failings as well as lost love, he appeared to be channelling the late, great Hank Williams. A stellar solo if ever there was one.

Flanked once more by his fellow musicians who can all play their instruments with flair and finesse, Tomlinson spurts out perfectly enunciated lyrics which do not skim the surface, but nor do they go into too much river depth. Their sound is atmospheric without being boring, an exploration through a double guitar dichotomy. One guitar is the lead, and in-synch with the magnetically charged Tomlinson, whilst the other provides colour and depth in its multiple affairs with multiple delay and distortion pedals.

True to rock's blues roots, Yves Klein Blue allude to their forefathers by giving their music a softer and warmer edge; a melt in your mouth buttered up feeling that brings on involuntary mass crowd head nodding, toe tapping, and for those first three or four rows up the front, the all out twist and shout. You just can't help the tribal mentality infectious music injects almost intravenously. The band too nods to many famous British acts like The Libertines, and The Kinks and The Beatles who have paved the way for this musical genre. Judging from their produced sound, the band sounds neater, the riffs tighter and less lingering, so you wouldn't expect the character they bring to the stage, both musically and in presence; it is a pleasant surprise. It's hard to stay original these days, and this band is by no means original in genre and style, but they have become a tighter set since they started performing, and even since last year, when I first saw them live. Yves Klein Blue are a young band, with rollicking potential, already tearing up the stage. There is a vein for a deeper exploration of different soundscapes here, if the band chooses to explore them. They just could be the musical extension that the indie-rock genre is waiting for in the future. There is nothing definitively Australian about them and this is disappointing as our cultural identity would be an asset to this type of music, though they do deserve recognition for their rock genre fluidity. When the harsh fluoro lights came on after their super tight little 40 minute set and the sounds of Creedence filled the refectory, the lingerers kept twisting; in awe of what they'd just heard.

The Last Kinection

THE LAST KINECTION is a hip hop group with an Australian heritage edge that represents thousands of years of a people's journey, suffering and emancipation. The group consists of Jacob Turier (aka DJ Jaytee) and brother and sister combo, Joel (Weno) and Naomi Wenitong. Hailing from southeast Queensland, the three members have all been in the music industry long enough to understand its strange machinations.

Speaking to the trio is an overwhelming experience. Naomi reminisces about her experience in the highly successful pop duo Shakaya and how the formation of the Last Kinection was inevitable for her in the long term scheme of things. "I felt really disconnected with just having to sing other people's songs and not writing my own in Shakaya," she explains. "The Last Kinection has given me a great opportunity to explore my heritage and my own music."

"We want to put out there any message we can. In this album there are a few issues that we wanted to talk about and I think we have achieved that," Naomi continues. "A lot of the music is also music that's about feeling good, feeling okay with yourself and your culture. The main message we wanted to get across is that being [of] mixed [race] is a good thing."

The debut album Nutches has just been released and the trio are very excited. Certain songs mean very personal things to each one of the members. "Ballooraman is one of my favourite songs," Naomi reveals, "because it helped me write in my native language again. I [also] really enjoyed writing I Can [featuring Radical Son] and performing the song. I feel like it's an affirmation, a personal mantra to me when you get up there and perform it, it's like a personal chant. No one's writing songs that motivate people like this these days. I'm glad that we wrote something positive."

The first-in-command, Joel is like the big brother of the band and is one of the MCs. Joel also partners with DJ Jaytee in critically acclaimed indigenous hip hop quartet, Local Knowledge. Joel speaks about his journey from the creation of Local Knowledge to becoming the brainchild of the Last Kinection. "Local Knowledge was a band that played mainly at indigenous festivals," he explains. "We wanted the Last Kinection to be more accessible and bring the message of reconciliation out there."

The Last Kinection trio have a sparky, vivacious energy that works well together, even in an interview situation. The production of their style of inspirational hip hop, wherever the group might be, flows easily. "We create music in many different ways. Propa Madly Deadly was written on the road whilst driving to Dubbo. It was then refined in a motel where we changed the beat. It's got some ragamuffin black fella style kinda rap and when we perform it people respond to it very positively."

The Last Kinection, being an inspired young band with talented and experienced musicians, has much to look forward to. "We're in the process of writing our second album at the moment," Joel explains, "and we hope to be on another tour around this time next year. This time in the year is a great time to tour because of NAIDOC [National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee] week. It's a great time of the year because it opens a lot more doors for us and gets out the messages over a wider scope." Let's hope these messages don't fall on deaf ears.

Catch the Last Kinection at the ANU Bar on Thursday July 30. Free entry!

Canberra Youth Theatre Open House

Tobias Manderson-Galvin, a young man with great aspirations and an even greater name, has recently been granted the prestigious honour of Canberra Youth Theatre’s Open House residency to produce an original work, An Afternoon with the Faun. CYT runs Open House twice per year and the program invites young, independent and hopeful artists to develop a theatrical project. The residency lasts a fortnight and gives artists the opportunity and capabilities to expand their skills-set and ideas creatively and technically.

A performance artist, radio-host and rapper, Manderson-Galvin is an active young artist juggling several different projects, including his own established theatre company Sample Theatre. “I’ve worked my fair share of different jobs in the past: from working in call centres to door to sales,” says the artist. “Since then, I’ve realised that I have a different calling.”

In Manderson-Galvin’s case, he has chosen a challenging work of modern literature to base his production on. L'après-midi d'un faune, or The Afternoon of a Faun is a seminal work in the history of French symbolist literature.

“Mallarmé’s script to Afternoon of a Faun was brought to me one afternoon by my good friend Matthew Laurentin,” explains Manderson-Galvin. “He said, ‘Tobi, this needs your special treatment.’ I liked it because it was a myth in our society that was well known but also still a bit obscure. It seemed worth tackling. I was afraid the poem was too eerie and sleazy at first, and had to think about how to adapt it into play format without it being massively sexy. I was afraid it would go too far.”

Vanguard in style, Manderson-Galvin is also a perfectionist in his work. “I’ve written a number of different scripts of the play, which most of them have been thrown into the bin. I am sewing the beast together at the moment, working late nights, almost running blind.” Manderson-Galvin hopes that the resulting production will be “something between a Bill Hicks and Matthew Barney creation.”

Nonchalant about charting new territories, the artist looks forward to new and exciting challenges Canberra might herald. “I’m excited about getting started in Canberra. I’ve heard its pretty cold at this time of year, so I might start up my love affair with whiskey again… When I first get there, I’ll need to grab three people who have never heard of the play before and throw them into action. They’ll also probably be people who I’ve never heard of either.” He adds in frank summary: “After this Canberra escapade, if I don’t become a womaniser or alcoholic, I would have failed my mission."

An Afternoon with the Faun, part of CYT’s Open House initiative, plays at C Block Theatre, Gorman House, on July 4 at 7pm.

Children Collide

For a band that has been described as raw overdriven rock, CHILDREN COLLIDE feel it is just one of their guises when playing live. Boasting influences such as Silver Apples and Kraftwerk, with reference to electronic music through a rock idiom, and Nick Cave and his finely crafted musical abilities, Children Collide bring a whole new world to fruition.

The two original members, Heath Crawley (bass) and Johnny Mackay (guitar/vocals), made the offhand hitchhiking journey from Lismore to be based in Australia’s musical Mecca, Melbourne. “Heath and I met at uni in Lismore,” explains Mackay. “One day we just decided to hitchhike to Melbourne. Back then we didn’t know any better, we used to hitchhike all the time.”

The band started in a natural rock progression on a Halloween night at Bar Open in 2004. Sporting grunge tactics interlaced with Chemical Brothers beaten electronic basslines and stop-start rhythms, it took the band a while to find a drummer. “We’re currently on our fourth drummer, Ryan [Caesar], who auditioned for this gig,” reveals Mackay.

Now a happy band family, Mackay, the unofficial leader of the troupe, still hasn’t lost his sense of humour. “Taking the piss out of society is just part of the annoying person that I am. I’ve been criticised that this album is too simple. The next bunch of songs we make will be much more complex.”

For a band, going both backwards and forwards, paying tribute both to a Nirvana-esque style and developing their own, Children Collide seem to have the right attitude. “Musically we’ve gotten more complicated as our music has progressed, but that will come full circle and we’ll return to simplicity,” says Mackay. “We’ll rely on songs more than sounds. We’ve finally accepted that this is our career; we’re not in a financially successful location – we’re still living below the poverty line but we’re serious about it. We work on graphic design to help us pay the bills.”

Gaining inspiration from a variety of media, the song content stems from a range of interesting origins – from Martian space missions in Brave Robot from the 2006 EP Glass Mountain Liars to their 2008 debut album The Long Now. “The Long Now is named after a clock in the Science Museum in London. Every millennium, the clock chimes by a cuckoo coming out. It really makes me think outside of the human lifespan. It helps me realise that a moment in time stretches out indefinitely.”

Besides the highly metaphysical, social commentary content stuffed compactly in simple lyrics, Mackay believes that it’s not to be taken too seriously. “I do what I do and try not to analyse myself too much,” he offers. “Everything that the band creates is a work in progress. We’re happy with what we’re doing but we’re always moving forward.”

When asked about the future and the second album, Mackay jokes sardonically, “The second album will be out tomorrow. It will be deep house and progressive trance.” Earnestly he continues, “we hope to get started on the second album after our tour in the States in June. If everyone doesn’t get their act together after this tour I’m going to leave the band. I’ll wear a brown robe and wander around the desert, like John the Baptist, except I’ll create my own disorganised religion. This is because I don’t believe in organised religious institutions.”
It is obvious Mackay can’t stay earnest for too long. An attitude like that deems that all musical pretentiousness should fly out the window.

Children Collide play with The Grates at ANU Bar on Wednesday May 6. Doors open at 8 pm. Tickets through Ticketek.

Mammal / Poetikool Justice @ ANU Bar, Friday November 27

There’s something about being lead backstage and speed skating in front of a band before they perform. Perhaps it’s because you’re trying really hard not to fall in front of the motivated and talented musicians from Mammal. Or maybe it’s because you’re also trying to listen to the increasingly interesting support band from Adelaide, Poetickool Justice, who just get better and better whilst you try to balance your way through their acts. Poetikool Justice got off to a rocky start, but grew on you bit by bit with their reggae and funk sound. It was reminiscent of a cross between a Jamaican Summer and the exchange of words during a car raid in the western suburbs of Sydney. Their underlying Jamaican inspired beat is contagious and eventually grows on you like an unstoppable fungus. As they played on, the geeky band, with their board shorts and yanked up socks, grew in confidence and their last track was definitely one of their best.

Mammal, on the other hand, certainly create chaos when they visit Canberra. Attracting a largely male audience, they set up an environment for radicalism so a mouthpiece such as Ezekiel Ox can spout his politically-biased lyrics and create awareness through the band’s music. It’s a proud Australian tradition that has been adopted by many bands from Crowded House to Gyroscope and Mammal are Gen Y’s delegate for the next stage of this tradition. It’s surprising to think that the group only formed in Melbourne in late 2006, and already their following both in Canberra and nationwide is sizeable. Their music speaks volumes and celebrates life; it’s an infectious charisma that permeates the crowd, like a miasma in its droves. Mammal’s social commentary is simple and well done, like a good mid-week steak and beer. Steak, beer and charisma; what more could you want?

Why Mammal attracts a male audience is easily seen; far from sentimental, they look at the bigger picture and give a blunt and fresh perspective in contrast to much of the indie whine ‘n’ whinge out there. They induce a vibe that makes you want jump up and down like a Duracell bunny, and the audience laps it all up as if it’s cream off a MILF’s stomach. Not to say that Mammal haven’t tried tapping into the emotional side of things, but from the quieter response of the crowd when Mammal attempt to romanticise love and hate in a song, the band should stick to what they know. Obviously the band has got it right when they focus on the original formula; exploring music that focuses on anger, awareness and celebration, feelings that are bigger than some sentimental schmooze between two individuals.
Mammal are more practical in their musical approach and work hard to sway the audience with their thrumming bass, vociferous guitar jams, honest vocals and the consistently energetic drumbeat. The combination converted even the non-hardcore funk fans which I dragged to the show. It’s fantastic yet simple, just like steak and beer.

The Bakery - Bakery’s Delight

The Bakery

The Bakery seem to have appeared magically out of Sydney’s inner west suburbs, spouting their original party anthems and enticing crowds of pleasantly surprised onlookers to tap their feet, swing their hips and bust out into rhythmic dance. Bursting onto the Sydney music scene in late 2006, THE BAKERY is an explosion of genres in flamboyant flair. Vocalist Emily Collins explains the eclectic mix and fusion of a colourful audiovisual burlesque: “We all got together because everyone wanted to make music to dance to; party music. We’re a costume band. No-one in particular really co-ordinates our costumes, we all just get together at rehearsals and one of us says ‘Let’s wear that.’ Whether it be kimonos or dresses, we do it.”

The origins of The Bakery are quite mundane - surprising, considering the musical stage show they produce. “We know each other through university,” Emily explains. “There was a core group of five of us who initially formed the band:  myself, Jesse, Ruth, Rosie and Byron. Everyone else came after that.”

Not surprisingly, though, “Everyone in the band has a different background. We have a lawyer, a scientist, a university student and a nanny. And most of us are also musicians who play in other bands. Although there are 11 people in The Bakery, we still have a nice flow to our dynamics. There are tensions sometimes, as to be expected with such a large band, but surprisingly there really isn’t a lot of conflict.”

The music The Bakery creates spans decades of musical development. Soul, funk, dance and jazz are just some of the genres the band explores. “One day we all realised that we should label ourselves as ‘party-core’ because it’s what we essentially do,” says Emily.

Due to the ostentatious show they create, The Bakery do get slapped with the ‘gimmick band’ label. “In a sense we are one,” Emily admits. “The band doesn’t really care for that label because regardless of this, we still make good music and have a good time doing it. In fact, we think our music deserves its own label, because as a band, we aren’t restricted to a particular genre.”

Although they are crazy party animals that enjoy a laugh, the band takes writing music quite seriously and makes sure that all members remain equal.“ We all get together; write and jam together. Everyone contributes and everything is done with the collective. People fall into certain roles and we each have a different responsibility.”
Because they work hard, playing hard comes quite naturally, as evident on their recent tour launching their debut album The Bakery & The Beast. “This tour has been great, we’ve spent the whole time partying. The most amazing part of it was when the band was running around a macadamia farm near Byron Bay.” Debauchery perhaps? No further comment was made regarding these circumstances.

“During New Year’s Eve we played at Peats Ridge to quite a large crowd and we counted down the New Year. It was pretty amazing. It’s been a crazy ride; there have been so many good times. The most memorable experience so far was playing at the Newtown Festival last year in front of thousands of people. It was pretty amazing.”
So, what next for this inspirational group? Like any self-respecting fresh new artists they would like to tour Australia and then the world. “We have all sorts of dreams. After this tour, we’re planning to work really hard in February and get some more music written. Hopefully, very soon, we’ll produce a new album and go on a national tour. We really want to go to Adelaide and Melbourne. Eventually, though, we’d like to tour Europe.”

“With what funds?” I ask. “Circus funds,” Emily laughs, “we’ll turn into a circus to fund the trip. Maybe I’ll learn to juggle.”

Besides the ongoing day-to-day musical project development, the band is using the influential power of their sound to send an important message at the Climate Action Summit here in Canberra, drawing attention to the devestating effects of climate change..

“We’re playing at Action Day because as humans and musicians we feel we need to be positively involved in getting people together and raising awareness for climate change. The Rudd government isn’t doing enough to combat it. We want people to understand that the battle against climate change is a positive thing.”

The Bakery will play at Australia’s Climate Action Summit on February 3, joining thousands of ordinary Australians converging on the lawns of Parliament House to demand urgent climate action from the Government. There will also be joined by speakers including Georgina Woods, and a video message from Tim Flannery. Community action begins at 8am, with bands and speakers following.

TyDi - Knot your average DJ

DJ TyDi

DJ TYDI may not have the best name to play puns on, but he is certainly the latest prodigy to come out from sunny-side North-East Australia. “I grew up in a wonderful location; I often sat next to the water with my laptop composing music. I lived in a small town and had big dreams. I now live in Brisbane. It’s a beautiful city and has lots of culture. I have many friends there and a good network but I’m away on tour a lot. I could be in three different cities every weekend, so right now it seems like the airport is more my home.”

Perhaps it’s the gorgeous weather, but making music comes easily to the young composer, who is only just finishing his last semester at the Conservatorium. “When you’re young and fifteen it’s very easy to be inspired by things; surfing, or a girl. I discovered the world of electronic music. I really wanted to write. I compose a lot of my own music. The fair few tracks that are out there are very different to the ones in my album. The album is very different; it explores different genres of music. It’s something ambient, similar to chillout. I like my music to be bearable.”

Well known-for heavily trance-inspired performances, TyDi admits that trance is not the only genre that he is interested in. “Trance is what I have a name for, but it’s not what’s close to my heart. I like to explore melody and how it moves people. A melody played in Tokyo makes the crowd react similarly to one played in Australia. Music speaks on a global level, it speaks to everybody.” And even though dance music might be a relatively new genre in the music scene compared to rock and classical music, TyDi vehemently supports its rise throughout Australia. “Dance music is everywhere. Even in the smaller cities that I visit, there’s still a following. Dance music is a very unique genre, it’s always changing. There are always people making new sounds and new styles. As technology advances so do the way we make sounds.”

Although TyDi can put out quite a neat sound, the musician makes it a point that all the fame doesn’t go to his head. “I’m grateful that people listen to my music. I don’t like those DJs who act like superstars because they’re famous. Those DJs become rude and act like they own the place. I just like playing my music and meeting different people through that. My latest tour, the Global Gathering Tour, was pretty cool. I played the set before DJ Tiesto and that was amazing. He is a really nice guy.”

For a young gun, TyDi certainly knows what he wants. His long term plans don’t exist because his short term plans are so large. When the focus is on one performance after another it’s hard to look past just living for the moment, getting up on that stage and existing for the crowd. “I’m always excited and a little bit nervous when I get up on stage to perform. It’s always satisfying to see everyone having a good time when I’m playing.”

TyDi will be hitting the decks at Lot 33 on December 19, supported by Peekz, Scottie Fisher, Enerv8 and Hubert. Tix are 20 scheckles at the door.

Dougie McLean - Great Scot

Dougie Mclean

DOUGIE MCLEAN was once probably known as a ‘dizzyingly beautiful Scottish Hunk’, but he now has been around for a while in the music industry and this title’s novelty has worn off. It’s better we think of Dougie Mclean as a ‘singer/songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist’. It’s more professional this way. “I’ve been in the music industry for quite a while now; the public haven’t changed much. They still like good songs and melodies. Technology has changed, though. We now have the internet and new ways of making music. The internet helps me to keep in touch with my fans globally, to create a healthy musical community and the use of technology has made a big difference to the way we make music.”

Yarning about his younger days Dougie provides some interesting insights into a musician’s life. “It’s a difficult life, being a musician; you’re always travelling around and living out of a suitcase. It requires a strong mental constitution and a good home base with an excellent family. There are both high and low moments. You never have a dull moment and you feel like you have achieved what you were meant to. I want to do this until I drop.” Coming from a rural part of Scotland, Dougie used the facilities in his town to contribute to his music. “I live in a very rural part of Scotland in Perthshire. It has about ten houses. My father went to the village school, and then I went to the same school. Eventually though, I bought it and made it my recording studio. It was the best decision I made to set up my own record label, here in Scotland. In this way I built up my own fan base and public. This is part of the reason of my success.”

Dougie is certainly very successful, with now 32 years in the business, though he never forgets his heritage. Dougie is very proud of his background and integrates its bias heavily into his music. “I learnt when I was a young musician that you should always write about things that you know. I try to be honest with myself, because true honesty in a songwriter is about connecting with your roots. I write from a Scottish viewpoint, but I always write on universal themes; life, death and love. These themes people connect with whatever their background. My music always stays true to its folk tradition, though.”

Always having music in his life, the instruments he played as a child gives the composer an interesting slant. “I grew up playing the traditional fiddle. I’m kind of a schizophrenic songwriter. I draw from everything that I listen to.” He is best known for his single Caledonia, which was first released in 1979, and topped the Scottish charts and became one of Scotland’s most popular contemporary songs. Dougie recalls how it was born. “Caledonia was a little song I wrote when I was on tour in France in my 20s. It’s a lovable monster that just grew. It’s now played a lot in Scotland, at sporting events like football matches and weddings. It’s become part of common culture. Every Scottish pop singer at some point has sung a cover of Caledonia.”

For a musician who’s been in the biz for this long, Dougie still maintains some of that charming Scottish sense of humour as he chuckles recalling, “it’s lovely to wander into a bar and have a giggle when Caledonia is playing because no one notices that I’m there.”

Dougie Mclean plays The Folkus Room at the Serbian Cultural Club, Mawson, on Tuesday December 16.

Kazu Kimura - House Master

Kazu Kimura

KAZU KIMURA , a man with a name that sounds like he has come flying out from an anime cartoon with an energy blasting Kamehameha, has a job that is coveted by millions of teenage boys all over the world. “Kazu Kimura is my real name but my full name is Kazuhiro Kimura, since I was a kid everyone used to call me Kazu.” A professional techno/house DJ from the green age of 19, he is the reason why the party goes on.
Hailing originally from Tokyo, Kazu’s passion for dance music has been part of a revolution in Asia from the mid-’80s. Music has made him go places; Singapore, Hong Kong and much of Asia has heard his bass beats as well as Germany, Holland, the Czech Republic, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Spain. In 1994, Kazu decided to leave his friends and family in Japan and to base himself in sunny Australia and then very recently, Spain.

“My family are still in Japan, I get to see them every six months when I travel from Spain, to Japan and Australia; I miss friends now that I can’t see them often. I also miss the Japanese cuisine and TV shows. My life style in Japan is very different from other countries. “

Kazu has been at the forefront of the club movement in Asia and has only gone from strength to strength, spreading the word of house and techno. “House music is always popular. I’m not sure I can call it a trend but house never dies, from New York and Chicago house to UK progressive house and techno house. Electro house has also been very popular these couple of years. Trance music has been out there for more than ten years – I’m not a big fan of trance as everyone knows, it’s just really strange to me that trance has been so big for many years.”

Being a DJ, each has his own god-given technique, a flash in the pan of getting to work and making mixing magic. Kazu describes his base ingredients to a good cookpot of sound: “Proper techno - It sounds so dynamic, I love mixing three decks with those hard groove sounds. It’s the way they play in Spain. I think Spain is the only country you can still play a proper techno style at the moment. Techno sounds have changed a lot during these past five to six years. Techno has changed its style to be more minimal. So when I play more minimally I mix music in a different way, using sample loops and more effects, which is very interesting but it’s not my favourite way to mix.”

Kazu Kamira has gone a long way and has done tremendous things for the dance industry worldwide these past 20 years. But there’s still steam in him yet. When asked what the future holds he is still unsure, and that’s possibly the best way to be because it’s admitting that the possibilities are endless. “I wish I knew what I’ll be doing in two years. Musically I won’t change so much I think, I just wish that there’ll much better technology than now. I hope vinyl won’t die; I’m a big fan of vinyl. It’s an analogue product and it makes it difficult to have everything on a label these days when everything’s changed to digital but let’s just see and hope vinyl is still around in two years. I think new technology with old school products make the best combinations.”

Kazu Kimura will play at Foreshore on Saturday November 29 alongside The Presets, Sasha, Pnau, Above & Beyond, Dukes of Windsor, Galvatrons, Bang Gang DJs, The Aston Shuffle, and many more. Final release tickets are $89.95 from ticketek , moshtix, Landspeed Records, Parliament Clothing and www.inthemix.com

Mammal - Animal instincts

Mammal

A band with an amazing attitude, diabolical riffs and an explosive stage presence, yet Ezekiel Ox, vocalist for MAMMAL , claims they are just a bunch of normal guys. “Even though we’re really full-on, on-stage, off-stage we’re just normal mellow people who like to muck around.” Mammal, compromising of Pete Williamson (guitar), Nick Adams (bass), Zane Rosanoski (drums) and Ezekiel Ox (vocals) is a relatively newly-formed band; they got together in March 2006 and became a supernovaeic hit around the country. “When we were touring in Adelaide I had been wearing the same pair of pants for days and they really smelled. I took them off onstage and was in my underwear; all of a sudden the whole of the crowd was in their underwear. It was unreal… people enjoying our music is a thrill.”

The sizzling-hot political film clip for the single Smash the Piñata shows the band blindfolded whilst playing a live set. Digging deeper, Zeke explains “it was the best way to represent ourselves, in a live jam as a band. The piñata represents all the goodies in the world; electrical power, education, food, clean water and all the basic services people deserve. The blindfolds symbolise how the current social system blindfolds us from these goodies. When we take off the blindfolds we can see the piñata clearly and within our reach.”

Mammal, for all their live carousing and strutting ’round on-stage, take the messages their music portrays very seriously and realise the social responsibilities messiah musicians possess. “A lot of music now isn’t healthy for people. This type of music communicates to people that money, the objectification of women, and a state of undress is good. Chasing cash, jewellery and drug-fuelled hedonistic values are what Mammal rejects.”
Rejection obviously has its fair share of success. High political and musical standards clearly have a pay-off, which we can all learn from. “Our success is always driven by internal goals – to be financially independent, musically, so we can have the ability to create the art we want to create. As long as these goals are achieved we would be happy at any level. So far we have achieved them.”

Zeke then goes on to speak about the new record The Majority, which Mammal are now touring. “I love our new record. We just finished six days of rehearsals and wrote five new songs. Although I love touring our new album I’m really excited to be writing new stuff. We’ve had success with the way that we wrote music in the past and our first record was full of experimentation. Our new stuff is faster, more aggressive, and frenetic; as a band we’re finally coming to our own.” A coming of age that was to be expected from any adolescent, tribal member or newbie employee on a construction site told to sing at the top of his lungs as the building concrete comes falling down; but wait, there must be another musical rung to climb up?

“The next step is to tour overseas. Our management is currently discussing Europe, but the States, Japan, South America are all places that are a possibility. We want to tour and go absolutely everywhere! Now that we have completed our album we can tour and get over there and play. I’m personally looking forward to Europe because our music would have more appeal over there… The band is going to continue to show audiences what we’re capable of live: playing songs in different ways, experimenting with the music whilst on tour.”

Mammal will be thrashing it out at ANU on Thursday November 27 with Poetikool Justice and Me The Conqueror.

The Galvatrons - Robots in Disguise

The Galvatrons

With a blast of laser power reminiscent of rebel insurgency music, a galactic alliance soundtrack and some synth, THE GALVATRONS ’ new wave pop has risen to an ultra-popular level with their hit When We Were Kids. Inspired by the epic ’80s flash changing-metal clanging series Transformers, The Galvatrons, who are Johny ‘Galvatron’ (vocals, guitar), Manny ‘Maverick’ (drums), Pete ‘Condor’ (bass), and Pete ‘Gamma’ (keyboard), extend the success of their inspirational namesake in a very different direction. ‘Gamma’ likes to be ambivalent about the true story behind his name: “Gamma sort of just happened. It’s a name that exists to distinguish one Pete from the other in the band. I don’t even remember where it came from.”

Gamma also tells me a little more about where he came from, although this is a little ambiguous a little, too. “I moved from Canberra to Melbourne. I moved down originally to study but then I started playing in these bands. The band stuff kept on going and going, and I’m still here now with The Galvatrons. This is a dream job for me.

“I started playing piano when I was three – music has always been there. When I first moved down to Melbourne it was the longest time that I had been away from the piano and I started freaking out.” So what is the dream job like? “The band has been a full time job for me. For most of us, it’s what we do. It’s good to be able to rehearse most of the time, without having to work casually. We’ve been lucky in that sense. I don’t think fame really has affected me. I’m still not that recognisable; I can still go to bars and have a quiet drink or two.”

The Galvatrons, though deeming themselves from out of space, still think our nation’s capital is definitely worthy of their alien presence. “On our tour we’ll be coming to Canberra twice. We last visited in May and it was raucous fun. Transit Bar was packed to the rafters, we stayed up for most of the night, but it wasn’t too crazy. We look forward to coming back.”

Their Foreshore show gives them another chance to grace us with their sound, that seems to light up some asses on the dance floor and instantly create a stampede. “Our music hinges on a play of different elements and our understanding of these elements and how they work together. In the future our sound will develop and change, as all music goes. The album will be out in March and its single Cassandra will be coming out in a month. The production for our new album has been done by Matt Lovell. He produced the likes of Eskimo Joe and he’s great fun to work with. The band really enjoyed having some fun with him.”

When asked who else they had had fun with, Pete was more than happy to tell all about their crazy times on tour. Unfortunately this section had to be edited out due to censorship and we could only publish this: “on tour with Shihad was one of our best times. They took us under their wings and let us drink their Rhino.”
World domination shouldn’t be far from here, especially from a band with a name derived from a successful ’80s metal cast and a claim to outer-space origins.

“The plan from here for the band is touring the UK in March and the USA during summer. We’ve been to the UK twice and think it’s grand. London’s amazing; there’s always something going on. You can get lost there; it’s a very unique place. Although I always want to come back to Australia because the food in London is terrible.”

The Galvatrons will be eating themselves some bad festival food at Foreshore on Saturday November 29 at Commonwealth Place. They will also be supporting Def Leppard on Tuesday November 11 at the AIS Arena.

Capital Underground - We could be very happy underground

Capital Underground

Jessica Holmick is an ambitious young woman. Her innovative, business savvy mind has extended her passion for writing and producing smooth, luscious RnB not only into an album, Straight from the Heart, collaborating with equally talented muso-friends Chris and Al, but also into a productions company. “We formed Invazion Productions after we started recording the first CAPITAL UNDERGROUND album for two reasons. One was mainly for security purposes in regards to our music, but also we realised that we wanted to help other artists in the Canberra music scene.”

Invazion Productions hopes to manage live performance acts, to train dancers and host hip-hop/RnB parties. “Other artists get burnt when trying to produce music because they are usually naïve and don’t think to do their research. There isn’t anything in Canberra that provides support for emerging artists and Invazion Productions wants to tap into that market and provide that support.”

Besides the pioneering company, what first started this snowball effect off – the collaboration to album, album to production – was a mere coincidence at the gym. “I met the guys at the gym; we hit it off really well. We had a jam session and we went from there. Both of the guys are really talented. Chris is an awesome lyricist.”
The three budding artists, brought together by their love of RnB, started jamming together and before you know it, Capital Underground Crew was born. “The name Capital Underground Crew comes from a rap the guys did before they met me. The name comes from capital, as in referring to money, and underground, which refers to the forefront of the underground RnB music scene here in Canberra.” The debut album Straight from the Heart followed. “Before I had met the guys I had written half the album and they are heavily featured in it. The next album that comes out will be more of a collaboration between the three of us.”

Straight from the Heart features Jessica’s soulful vocals with a classical edge, and the boy’s amazing remix abilities. “I was traditionally trained classically. I started playing piano at about the age of seven. As I grow and develop musically I realise I am incorporating more and more classical elements into my music.” The next album will soon be highly anticipated and Jess ponders level-headedly about the group’s future.
“Every musical group dreams of world domination but I guess realistically, we want to be a positive role model rather than a gangster group. We want to be able to talk about things that matter and our life experiences in our music. As a group we want to have a little more depth.”

To launch Capital Underground, Invazion Productions will be hosting a major concert known as an Urban Carnival to raise funds for the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

“The showcase coming up on November 8 will be a fantastic experience. Capital Underground will be performing, there will also be floor pirates, and a dance circus, soul funk bands and it’ll eventually explode into a massive RnB party.”

Capital Underground will launch their CD at Urban Carnival on Saturday November 8. Tickets are $10 pre-sale or $15 on the door. They will be joined by Grand Jester, Byron Low and many more. Doors open at 5:30pm.

The Vee Bees - For a hard earned thirst

The Vee Bees

Self-described as a “yobbo Australian band”, the VEE BEES are certainly a band that have been around the beaten bush a few times. Hailing from all parts of Southern NSW, the members of the Vee Bees are all country boys at heart. “We get together, jam whenever everyone happens to be in town. Sometimes we play in Cooma, Wollongong, and Canberra. Canberra’s music scene is really incestuous. Everyone knows everyone; you can’t get away from it.”

Originally forming in 2000 the band consists of Gleno (bass), Tomo (drums), Norro (vocals) and Simo. If that’s too many ‘os’ for you to handle I suggest you don’t read on. In 2004, Simo left the band “because he was more interested in kickboxing than music”, which the amused Norro explains. “We’ve all known each other for a while; Dave and Tom went to school together. Eventually we all became mates and formed the band.”

The band have been very busy bees lately. “The band is essentially part time because we have all this other shit in our lives going on. We all work full time; the band right now is just a hobby and in the last two years we have written about three songs. But hopefully early next year there won’t be as many kids around and we’ll record an EP and release it around that time.” When the Vee Bees play they don’t hum. They make a jam out of dumb shit. Mmm, honeyed dumb shit, such goodness. Talented, these boys are. “Most of what we play is dumb shit. Usually we get a stupid idea for a song title and take it from there. We jam and make up the lyrics. We sing about stuff we like; we’re not here to make big statements, we’re just here to make music and a bit of fun. Everyone in the band plays music for one reason or another but we don’t take it too seriously.”

Besides being so overwrought with work, the Vee Bees are also very proud of their efforts, as musicians and dads. “This is a first for a band in Canberra or Australia. As a combined effort we have had three kids in ten months, how crazy is that? The kids can’t come to band practice yet, the oldest right now is two and a half, but a few years down the track … we’ll see.”

So where do the Bees like to play best? “We played in Sydney once. I don’t like Sydney too much, it’s too sceney. It’s too cool. We played in Melbourne and the people there are really laid back, they don’t worry too much about how cool they are, what kind of image they present. We’re all about playing music; we don’t go out of our way to be cool.” The big city smoke doesn’t seem to attract their attention as much as their natural habitat; the countryside, wide open spaces and cars. “On our last tour we played at the Summernats Festival. This is a street car festival that happens every year in the ACT. We played for all of the four days, twenty hours in total. This was recorded as a live album which is due to be released at the end of the year.”

The Vee Bees will play at Vagabondage on Saturday October 25 at the Basement. Joining them will be Hell City Glamours, Meat Beater and The Toxic Men. Entry is 10 clams.

Skipping Girl Vinegar - I trip the skips

Skipping Girl Vinegar

Brought to you by an iconic Melbournian sign, SKIPPING GIRL VINEGAR are named after Audrey, the ‘skipping girl” of Richmond. SGV are Chris Helm (drums), Mark Lang (lead vox, guitar), Amanthi Lynch (keys) and Sare Lang (bass). Although their name originates from a Victorian vinegar ad, SGV would rather be associated with the folk genre and its story-telling qualities, rather than just an acidic food additive.

“In the folk tradition you do that kind of stuff, you tell stories through music. There is a power in telling stories. I’ve always been influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel,” Mark explains, with a furrowed-brow phone voice. “As a songwriter I write from personal experiences – I try to encapsulate poetic phrases that can have many meanings. I like there to be more to lyrical depth. I try to leave lyrics to be open ended.”

This unlikely quartet, having graced the Australian airwaves with their blues-inspired sound, had a very unusual formation. “Chris and I bumped into each other in our teens and we have very similar music tastes. My sister and her friend Sarah were in a band together, and share similar taste too, but it’s different from Chris’ and mine. We got together though, and the two different styles seemed to complement each other; the harmonies really worked.”

Folk has now entered the building, and with it, its roots, which explore a variety of natural sound. “The music we make is very organic. We use natural sounding things. Some of our songs are recorded in the bedroom, kitchen and lounge room. It’s not slick production. For example, in our song One Chance you can hear Mark stomping in the kitchen and the fridge is muffling sound in the background.”

SGV’s new album, Sift The Noise, is definitely something to be proud of because of what it stands for and also its distinctive individuality. “It took years to get this album started. We decided to write as a writing collective. We used a seasonal process, usually used in farming, to write. There are a million things to do in a band and it was hard to focus. So we decided to only focus on one thing, such as writing for example, and eventually let it take care of itself. Like servicing the season you’re in. You’ll know when the time is right to move onto the next thing. When you are comfortable in the chaos, things will always sort themselves out.”

“This record is about doing things you love and how we all come across obstacles when you pursue the things you love. It’s about struggle in all facets of life and finding the cracks of hope.” SGV are a proudly Australian band and want to keep their revenue strictly Australian, and took action to this effect. “We wanted to have an independent label. I think it’s important for the music to stay local. MGM agreed to be our distributor and backed us to stay independent. MGM isn’t like those major record labels that act like Rumplestiltskin. We’re into building relationships in the long term.”

So where to from here? “Eventually we want to tour the US and Europe and establish more of a fanbase there, but we’re not there yet and you should believe it when you see it.” Besides being appealing, soulful and catchy SGV are even a good source for some relationship advice. “Bands are like relationships, like a marriage, you need to maintain them and put effort in.”

Skipping GIrl Vinegar will play at the ANU Bar on Saturday October 25, joined by Hancock Basement. Tickets are $10 at the door. Doors open at 8pm.

Hytest - High as a kite

Hytest

Old school rock and roll: you might not think that it exists anymore, but you’d be wrong. We actually do have some growing, fresh in our backyard. Come and see it. The lads from HYTEST , a rock band originating from Wollongong, are proud of their longevity. “We’ve been around for about ten years; we produced a self-titled EP in 2002, but it feels like we’ve only just started afresh because we’ve just gotten a new drummer, Neil Matthews.”

The band, Luke Armstrong (bass, vocals), Mick Curley (guitar,vocals) and Neil Mathews (drums) have had victory with their latest EP The Little Band That Could and success in the past. “We went though a really successful stage, around 2005-2006, where we got into the top three with the triple j Unearthed competition and Live at the Wireless and we were touring a lot, supporting lots of bands, local and international.”

Luke and the band members seem to like their music style hard and fast. “We have a high energy rock and sound. It’s like we’re drunk and stoned at the same time. We went through a stage a while ago where we played a slower kind of rock ’n’ roll, a stoner rock ’n’ roll but since then we’ve fastened up the pace. We didn’t like playing slow; the music seemed like tumbleweed music.”

The band is definitely proud of their roots and inspirations. “All of us knew each other because we used to hang out at the youth centre…I first was inspired by music when I got dragged to a Dire Straits gig by my mum. I was ten or eleven. There were these heaving loud guitars and I was just blown away.” Some of the inner west Sydney pretentious indie-types ought to be taking notes from these guys. “We’re not a Newtown band; we’re not a fancy band. We write about everyday things, things that we’ve experienced, everyday situations. We find a couple of words that rhyme and write about things like fights at the pub, our mates. To us, that’s what the music’s about, jamming and telling these kinds of stories.”

They are down to earth, honest blokes as well. It’s not surprising that they like their barbarous fun under the innocent guise of ‘band tours’, as Luke explains, ”my favourite part of being in a band is definitely the touring. An album is just an excuse to get out on the road, causing trouble everywhere, crashing and getting out of hand in general. All of us have jobs besides being in the band. We started the band while we were still in our apprenticeships. We’re from a blue collar worker background and proud of our roots. Lately the music we’ve been making is true to our roots. Touring with the Hard-Ons at Byron Bay was one of the funniest times on tour. They’re a band from the west of Sydney near Punchbowl. These guys had grown up far from the water. They got into their budgie smugglers and tried to swim… besides that we’re such a crazy band, and we’ve had some X-rated experiences but they can’t be mentioned here.”

A band like this one, with its raucous guitar riffs, high flying hooks and tantalisingly spreadable jams, always has an honest goodness behind it. Luke explains how the concoction is made. “Curley (Mick) brings in a riff or two and then a couple of riffs later we make a jam and make it gel together. More recently, with our new drummer the way we gel is really good. There isn’t a clash of ideas, and it’s not about making a hit song, we’re just there to enjoy the music.” Enjoy it, they seem to definitely do. Let’s hope the audience fancies it even more so.

Hytest will be playing at Megafauna Fest on Saturday October 11, alongside The Nation Blue, Pod People, Casual Projects, Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers, and many more.

The Temper Trap - Temper, temper

The Temper Trap

They’re a combination of soulful vocals, swirly textured guitars and interesting drums. THE TEMPER TRAP seem like a combination waiting to be marketed as a musical delicacy. The quattro: Dougy (vocals and guitar), Loz (guitar/keys), Toby (drums) and Jonny (bass) originally from Melbourne, are a young band formed in 2005 as Temper Temper. They like to think of themselves as “very mature; we do things like entertaining ourselves on tour with loudspeakers and coughing through them only to bolt when anyone payed attention. So I guess we’re just a bit juvenile. Mostly though, on tour we’re not really a crazy rock band; we’re a really tame rock band, actually. Or maybe we just haven’t really been caught off guard. It’s not like we’ve ever gotten absolutely wasted and woken up next to a tranny. We’ve never looked for trouble and trouble hasn’t really looked for us.”

And their thoughts on the actual performances on tour? “There is definitely a difference between live and produced sound. I really like putting on a great live performance; our fans are there to see a show. When touring though, you have days where you don’t feel like doing a live performance and sometimes you do. It doesn’t matter because as a band we owe it to the audience to give them what they came for.”

The Temper Trap is a band rising up and up in the Australian music scene but it’s good to know that members are still musically grounded. As Dougy describes, “obviously we do it for the money, I’m the alpha male in the studio; I can be a bit bossy, a bit tough, a bit of a cow, but we’re all good friends essentially. I am really passionate about what I do. The other band members have similar thoughts obviously and I guess that’s why we get along, but I can’t really speak for them. I definitely want the band to be more successful in general, but at the same time I want to keep making the music I want to make – whether I’m famous or working in RSLs, I don’t think it really matters.”

Musically, The Temper Trap obviously haven’t been trapped by their success; they know what progression is all about and don’t lose sight of it. “I think if you’re not experimenting with music, you’re just stagnant.

Music is all about experimentation and pushing the boundaries. We’re not an ‘experimental’ band as such, in fact we’d be considered to be very pop, but we’re always looking for different and interesting sounds. This is always part of the priority list.”

So what does this list look like? Travel is an important part of a troubadour’s life and the members of the band are smart enough to know they need to do it often. Conveniently, Dougy has some strings (so to speak) he can pull for this to happen overseas. “I’m originally from Indonesia,” he says,” and came to Australia when I was 19. I already knew English because we got taught in Indonesia. I want to go back for a visit to Indonesia. I’m trying to set up a band tour there. There’s a pretty cool scene there. There’s definitely an untapped market in that region and I really want the tour to happen.”

The future looks bright for the hot young talent; they all feel that even their caged name won’t be able to restrict them to Australia. “In two years we hope to relocate to New York and be working on a new album. New York has a very diverse music scene; there is so much different music there, from world, to reggae, hip-hop and punk.” Let’s hope for our sake, they stay a few more years in Australia and grace us with their ambient-fiery sound.

The Temper Trap play at the ANU Bar on Friday September 26, with support from Bird Automatic.

Gyroscope @ ANU Bar Tuesday September 2

“Rain, rain go away come back another day.” With lyrics like these you can only make fun of them, or just laugh. But Gyroscope definitely take these lyrics seriously. Too seriously. They may be passionate about what they do, but this certainly doesn’t mean they do it well. The Gyroscope troupe from Perth has been at it for more than ten years now. They have a consistent following in Australia and are experienced in their dealings with music. They are modest and happy with the music they make. All of this gives them a bit more of an edge than some of the prima donna’s bursting forth in the music scene, especially those nu-ravers from Melbourne. Performance wise, though, the group enjoy putting on the serious-face. Here we ought to define ‘serious-face’ as what our faces would look like if Diana died again and this time we actually gave a toss. Gyroscope certainly are louder and faster from their produced sound. They build up dramatic effect through strong vocals. Powerful vocals and an equally powerful drumbeat can be quality when done well, but not when they override the twanging of a colourful ’80s inspired guitar riff or a guttural hum of an excellent bass line.

And yet, we as a ‘cultured’ society still let bands get away with such musical slaughter. “Gyroscope is a prime example of this mistake,” I tell my partner, who by the middle of the gig, leans uninterestingly back against a wall trying not to look uninterested, at least for my sake. “ All of their songs, even when they start to sound different, just end up the same,” I continue as Snakeskin comes on. Point proven, obviously. If only Gyroscope could follow this simple soup music recipe, against shameless music slaughter:
Step 1) Guitar and bass ought to be isolated, like the latest alpha-male husband, at the head of a dinner table.
Step 2) Vocals and drums ought to be subdued, like a compliant-subservient blonde at the latest husband’s dinner table.

Equals: a more interesting and varied sound. But no soup for you, people. How disappointing. On more of a positive musical-culinary note, Australia, one of Gyroscope’s few acoustic pieces, is also one of the few pieces that holds some promise. Musically, the sound is different for this particular band. It can even be described as experimentation with another layer of sound. Politically, the message is clear and speaks about Australia’s first ancestors and their place in society. It puts into musical practice and real life perspective what so many young ’uns are being indoctrinated with at school. It also makes Gyroscopes recurring theme of serious-face, lacklustre lyrics and overcooked percussion-vocals look just a little bit old. Gyroscope caters to an audience though that likes the old. We can only hope that they don’t care too much to cater for the bland sheeple. Gyroscope may have a good recipe of their own with Australia. If they follow through, they might make some fantastic music in the future.

Gyroscope - Pure bred

Gyroscope

A GYROSCOPE is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. It’s similar with the band of the same name, as Gyroscope’s orientation seems to be the right one: after 12 years, six EPs and three studio albums, their third album has debuted at number one on the ARIA charts. Rob Nassif, the band’s drummer, reminisces on their humble beginnings: “We started the band in 1996, met Zoran through a mutual friend, we had a jam with him and it was great. We had already heard about Dan and eventually met him at a party. We were all living in the same area of Perth; it was understood that you hung out with people who were the same type as you - you were either a sporty type or a muso sort of guy. We were all the guys who loved music and were passionate about it.

“Getting ourselves known has been such a long and slow process, it feels normal now to be widely recognised,” he says. “Granted, most of the press that we do is better because people care about us a little bit more.” So is their real secret weapon a gyroscope? It seems to be something more intangible. “Our secret weapon is chemistry; we are good friends, first and foremost. I was Dan’s best man in the bridal party at his wedding. When you are friends in the first place, it gives you a good foundation. It is the key to our existence as a band.”

“We all write songs together, and we all contribute to the music,” he continues. “It starts off as just an idea, a spark, and the members can feed off the idea; this initial spark creates a spark in another member and we go with it… we have a different variety of music, from songs that are bass oriented, to military inspired music…”

The band - completed by guitarist and vocalist Daniel Sanders, guitarist Zoran Trivic, bassist and back-up vocalist Brad Campbell - like many musicians, consider their art as unique.  “Our music would be described as ‘rock’ which is such a broad category and really good because I don’t like being pigeonholed.” It also seems their travels, both as individuals and as a band, have made a fair contribution to their sound. “Touring South Africa was definitely the most interesting thing overall we’ve done as a band, it was an amazing experience to play a show there. There’s extreme poverty and shantytowns, so many juxtapositions. They still have so many issues to sort out… It was a great eye-opening experience.”

“The South Africa trip provided the first step, one of many, to start creating the album Breed Obsession,” Rob explains. “We like moving around not purely for the dynamic but we move because we find people, such as Dave Eringa (UK), who we really wanted to work with and if it’s not possible for them to come to Australia, as in Dave’s case, then we go to them.”

Gyroscope have matured into a band with a wider-scoping sound that comments on important socio-political issues. “Our new single Australia sends out a great message,” Rob says. “Dan travelled to Derby and spent a lot of time being surrounded and exposed to Indigenous people. He was surprised at how some of these people lived… He was inspired to write about Indigenous Australia.”

So what’s next for the four successful Perth-dwellers, besides touring? “At the moment we’re trying to write songs for the next album, which we hope to bring out next year. We’re in such a better headspace than when we were making Breed Obsession.”

Gyroscope will be performing at ANU Bar with Shihad and Sugar Army on Tuesday September 2. Tickets are on sale from Ticketek, Oztix and www.gyroscope.com . Breed Obsession is out now on Warner.

Horsell Common - In today’s news…

Horsell Common

As HORSELL COMMON first blasted their sound into the Melbourne music-sphere in 2002, their namesake, originating from a setting in HG Welles’ War of the Worlds, portended an alien-nerd-musical takeover, one city at a time: “It was actually our parents who were the nerds,” says bassist Luke Cripps. “Our drummer and I used to go on family skiing trips. We were indoctrinated with HG Welles’ War of the Worlds. We heard of the name ‘Horsell Common’ and thought it was going to be temporary, but it stuck somehow.”

Slowly but surely, Horsell Common has infiltrated our airwaves and are fulfilling their hostage quota, but not without suffering on their front too. The band used to consist of three members: Mark Stewart (vocals/guitar), Luke Cripps (bass) and Leigh Pengelly (drums), but now, there are unfortunately two. “Our former drummer quit due to a number of reasons – it was mostly over the touring aspect and everything associated with it. We’re in a van for long periods of time travelling and he had a lot of back and leg problems from the confined spaces and because he played the drums. We’re all still good friends… So right now we don’t have a drummer; Shane Wakker (from Bodyjar) is filling in and is phenomenal. He works really well with us.”

How did this PoA (Plan of Action), through the front of a band, start? “It’s a bit cliché. We all got into music in our mid-teens, 14 and 15, playing at school in the music room. We met there. We never actually took it seriously until a few years later, and now here we are touring. Our Satellite Wonderland tour was the first real headlining tour we’ve done. We went everywhere in Australia except for Tasmania and Brisbane. We played about 15 shows. It was really good to be headlining and not supporting. We first started off as a supporting band and gradually worked our way up to do our own tours. Being a support band for a couple of years was good but every time you’re up on stage you’re aware that the crowd isn’t yours… you wish that the crowd was yours. Before, we felt like we had to really impress. Now, when we tour on our own tours we know that the crowd is ‘our’ crowd and they have been exposed to our music before and know it. It’s a different experience from before. It’s a great thing and we love it, but most of all we don’t take it for granted… An overseas tour is definitely being looked at in the future.”

So did the band confess whether alien life-forms really did influence them? I was just faced with denial. “Our influences vary from Nirvana to the Foo Fighters. I can name lots of bands but essentially we like to think our music is not really about the image, it’s more about good and honest music.” Obvious denial.

Their dichotomous old-new album, which came out in September of last year, and their latest single Sing the News are certainly very unique. “With this album The Rescue we did try to write a positive record, but the lyrics are certainly a little darker. In terms of the music itself, we tried to make it uplifting, so that juxtaposition is there, like in Sing the News.” But is it too unique? Alien-muso invasion aside, these boys surely do know what they’re on about, especially when posed with an open-ended and single-minded question such as ‘UK or American music?’ “I prefer the UK music, it sounds better; their accents are awesome and their sound is more stripped back, not as polished. If you can’t replicate your sound on stage as a band, then what’s the point?”

Horsell Common hit town as part of their Sing the News tour on Friday August 29 at the Transit Bar. From 8pm, free entry. The Rescue is out now on Boomtown Records.

The Getaway Plan / Closure in Moscow @ Albert Hall, Thursday July 10

It was a Thursday night, and as the Peak-hour traffic hummed its way out of Civic, hundreds of young adults, enticed by a slice of some spasmic paroxysms of music, huddled together in an almost-too-orderly line. Rugged in hoodies reaching from head to toe, they stood outside the Albert Hall, excitedly anticipating some gender-cum-genre-defying stage antics from The Getaway Plan. What they got first was Closure in Moscow, a band clothed in both irony and androgyny, who had nice hair and even nicer riffs. Their energy was raw and young, as was their music, and the members fancied themselves to be the best at playing their respective penis extensions.

The hall took a while to fill, and being an all ages event, it detracted from the excitement of the smuggling of contraban, which softened an atmosphere that seemed slightly too mushy anyway.

The Getaway Plan’s lead singer Matthew Wright only seemed to look alive when he was melancholy: when from time to time reaching his screamo peak, he looked disgusted at himself and flapped himself and his luscious hair away for some stiller moments - the crowd found this example inspirational. They were inspired enough by this display to be equally moody back and eventually the mosh pit became an undecided case of bipolarity. Even their parent-mentors, Gen Aquarius, stood in the background clumsily tapping away to the sound of repetitive riffs, churlish lyrics and trying to remember if this was the type of music they listened to when they had been younger.

The Getaway Plan ought to be commended on its Frankenstenian experiments with this type of rock, through its innovative use of distortion and synth - especially by Wright on the keyboards and bassist Anderson - but after a few songs the music seemed to meld together in one conglomerate blobitecture, especially when their newer pieces were introduced. This could partly be blamed on the acoustics of Albert Hall; discerning the lyrics from each other became harder and harder as the night wore on.

Their latest single Where the City Meets the Sea, which could be said to exemplify a mature and more popular-minded style and less of the simple scremo-nature that characterised their early work such as New Year, is more appealing to a wider audience, but they might be on the brink of selling out. The Getaway Plan could be near to becoming a commercialised broadcast of angst, just like some good old American-fashioned rock such as Coheed and Cambria mixed with a touch of Alkaline Trio, crossbred with the type of melodrama that only could of existed before technicolour.

The Futureheads - The future is now

Sometimes it is too easy to classify music. Maybe it’s because we have too many bands bombarding our headphones with their beautified bass these days, but sometimes we need to be able to step back and look at music as individual work. Could we say THE FUTUREHEADS are just another post-Libertines band? No, that would be wrong: not only historically, but also because The Futureheads have made waves in their own right. This is music that needs to be enjoyed without too much influence, like an éclair, abstract art or sex.

In the beginning we started with a small fan base,” bassist Jaff explains. “I think it was important to start small and do small shows. This established some good foundations, and then we built it up from there.”
The band - Jaff; Ross Millard - guitar; Barry Hyde - vocals, guitar; and Dave Hyde - drums - first performed in 2000, and released First Day, the first single from their self-titled album, in 2002. These four boys, originating from Sunderland, North-East England, would send anyone, male or female, quivering like a gelatinous blob due to their Mackemish accents. They zealously deny the ladies’ attentions though, with Jaff cracking more than a proverbial smile at obnoxious questions. “Oh no, I’m not a ladies man. There’s no real time for that. Besides, we’ve all got girlfriends.”

The Futureheads have recently been gathering speed. Some of the band have even skipped university in order to pursue their music career. Jaff mentions, “I did my A-levels but never went to university due to our success as a band… Living the musicians’ life is actually a lot harder than it seems. Some days you wake up and you wish you were a teacher, but other days you just love it.”

Like many British indie bands of late, The Futureheads have had the post-punk tag levelled at them. “It’s a bit funny being compared to a band when you started before them; the chronology is strange in that way,” says Jaff, when bands such as Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines are compared with The Futureheads’ style of music.

In the end, though, nothing disconcerts the band members, especially on a lazy spring day. “When we have the day off like this, everyone seems to do something different in their day.” But the music never sleeps. Their new album This Is Not The World, released in June, and the single The Beginning of the Twist ceases to flirt as much with their previous party-pop sound and gets its nails nitty gritty and more basic.

“The album that has been produced is full of a new family of sounds,” Jaff says. “The structure of the music, most of all, has changed around. Powerful harmonies are coupled with a changing arrangement. This produces a distinctive sound.” And a distinctive sound it is, feeding back to its foundational influence of punk but betraying inspiration from influential musicians such as Kate Bush; no wonder this band has seeped into the Australian music culture. “We’re really happy we’re doing so well in Australia. I think we might come down soon. triple j has been very supportive and we’ve been on rotation a lot.” Let’s really hope they can come down, and soon. So we can enjoy them slowly, like an éclair, abstract art or sex.

This Is Not The World is out now on Liberator Music/Nul Recording.

Mammal - Hot blooded

MAMMAL needs to consider investing in some curtains. Some red curtains with tassels. These ought to be raised at beginning of every show and lowered at the end. The post-punk-hardcore Melbourne based band - comprising Pete Williamson (guitar), Nick Adams (bass), Zane Rosanoski (drums) and Ezekiel Ox (vocals) - formed in March 2006 and have been riffing like their stage-pants have been spiked internally with jalapeno sauce ever since.

“It’s a serendipitous way that we met,” Nick reflects. “I’ve never been with a band that gels as well before. When Zane finally walked in, it was like there was this weird energy in the air. It’s been like that ever since. Whenever we go on stage it just manifests itself into a ‘bang!’”

And that manifestation of ‘bang!’ couldn’t happen any more naturally, says Nick. “I’m usually not nervous with a gig anymore. In the old days when I was at school I used to be, but now whatever mood I’m in, I just get into that zone before I play. It’s all energy now, no nervousness.”

Politically speaking through their music, leftist talk has never been easier. The plight of the proletariat proliferates from Eziekiel Ox’s lips. “Zeke loves politics. He was heavily involved in politics during school. Generally our sense of justice is the same; we’re all travelling in the same direction. But the point of this band is to have fun and take whatever you want out of it.”

Take aside the sensationalist politics and the red-curtain drama, what does Mammal actually sound like? Self-description does not come easily in music. “I haven’t got a clue what we sound like,” Nick remarks. “We get tagged a lot as ‘similar to Rage Against the Machine,’ because we do talk about politics in our music. But of course we’re not the same.”

After thorough psychiatric analysis and comparisons, a well-thought and complex answer to this question was struck, via an ephiphanic moment: “If you could describe us, we would be a cake with a nutty tang that some people love and some people just hate; a cake with pistachios; a mud cake with salt in it; or even a banana dipped in Nutella.” Fascinating how food substances and music synthesise so well together.

Exotic and solidly founded, Mammal is a force to be reckoned with. The red curtains have started to rise. Strings strum as the conversation between guitar and bass give way to the primal canter of the drums. This all sets the beat for Ezekiel’s attention-seeking antics and florid lyrics.

Nick explains, “When I was young I was influenced by bands such as Fugazi and Primus, but as I got older, and in the last five years, I started to be less influenced by bands and more generally by people. The experiences I have with people, our conversations and even the band I’m in.” The final product is original music that lies in wait to be entrapped on a record.

Mammal’s new single Smash the Piñata announces the imminent arrival of their highly-anticipated debut album, which saw the four faced with the challenge of capturing this excruciatingly entertaining and energised freakshow on tape. “This album has a more stripped-out feel,” Nick comments. “It’s difficult trying to find the right people in order to capture the raw energy we have on stage. The new album has come pretty close in capturing that.”

Mammal are playing at The Greenroom on Thursday July 3 with local r’n’r  juggernaut Tonk and Syndonia. Tickets $12 plus BF from Moshtix ( www.moshtix.com.au , Landspeed Records, The Music Shop) or $15 on the door.

Sonorcast - Junglists

Sometimes we all experience a primal urge that can’t just be ignored by sheer will. It starts as an insignificant tingle but then becomes an involuntary spasm, which requires you to satisfy the want to take everything off and even nibble away at the breast implants you so desperately wanted last Christmas. “What you are experiencing,” the doctor will politely tell you, “is an acute attack of Jungle Fever.” This incursion is just a remnant of when monkey-humans used to dance around a campfire, coupled with droning drums. SONORCAST tap into this place of primal and riff with it.

“People who have never heard us before are surprised. When someone brings a new person to a gig, we always have them come up to the band in the end with positive feedback.” Described as funk-rock, Sonorcast are still relatively new on the scene, but have been in formation for years. The band consists of Melissa-Jayne (vocals), Tyler (Bass), Andy (Guitars), Rab (Keys, Samples, Vocals) and Eddie (Drums).
“The current line-up is about two years old,” says Andy. “The stuff we used to play was old school. Rob uses the keyboard now to produce more of a funky electro-sound and make the music have a party vibe.”

Sonorcast casts raw primordial energy into the audience, “We like to think we have a different take on the rock genre. We want our music to stand out, and we try to do this by being original through our music.”
The Sydney based five-piece’s latest studio release is a four-track EP titled Jungle Blood, which they are currently touring. When asked about their ambitions for overseas, Andy says he believes establishing a fan base in Australia is more important.

“We haven’t toured overseas, and it’s not in the immediate plan but it’s in the long term plan. Websites and the internet are useful though, in getting people and other bands from overseas interested in us and our style of music.” Sonorcast is making sure the incentive of knuckle dragging and throwing-woman-you-find-attractive-over-shoulder is spread.

So, where does their mystical sound spring forth from? “Normally someone has an idea for a song, comes in and we all run with it. We spontaneously jam until we get something interesting going. If it’s got a good vibe, we’ll keep it. We’re always tape-recording in the rehearsal room, so we can pluck out the good stuff afterwards.”

The good stuff is something that feels inherent. Sonorcast has an anti-self-deprecation policy. Enthralling, butt-cheek-clenching guitar based music does that to you. “Our music is very positive because we want people to forget the daily grind and focus on positivity. The music we play, I like to think, helps people forget that they have worked all week and just lets them relax.”

Originality exists in the fusion Sonorcast sports; it entrances you and transports you to that place with the drums and spontaneous twitches. Andy thinks that, “there are different levels on how I feel with music. When I play music it helps me relax, it’s part of my downtime. On stage, the energy comes through as massive waves and after the show you’re on a high for a couple of days. It’s an amazing feeling.”

You too can participate in a ritual funk-metal session when Sonorcast hits Canberra on Saturday June 14 at the Greenroom, supported by Moh Van Wah and Na Maza. From 8pm, $10 entry.

Cloud Control - Complete Control

Cloud Control: unusual name and unusual sound. One and the same, perhaps? Maybe Australia needs some more of CLOUD CONTROL , with the drought ’n’ all. Describing their sound can be nostalgia that doesn’t seem entirely familiar. Or, as Alistair Wright, the guitarist and vocalist puts it, “We take inspiration from pieces reminiscent of the ’60s and ’70s. Neil Young, The Lucksmiths and Fleetwood Mac are part of our influences. We like taking familiar sounds and putting them together to create something entirely different, but still very recognisable.”

Cloud Control consists of four members, each as important as the other. They all are originally from the Blue Mountains so it is no coincidence they went to school together, and although from different disciplines, they are united through their love for playing music. Heidi Lenffer, vocalist and keyboardist, is writing a thesis, Jeremy Kelshaw, the bassist, is now involved in HR and Ulrich Lenffer, beatist, studies media. Alistair studies architecture; music is obviously the dominant part of his passions, but as he tours this month and the next, he has his final architecture presentation for the semester. “It’ll be a bit tricky getting it all done and I’ll be in Sydney to present, but this tour is very exciting.” There was no question about whether he was going.

Cloud Control formed at university. “It was inevitable that we met just a month before the Sydney University Band Competition. Heidi rallied us together and we formed the band. And that was that.”

None of the members miss out on contributing to the creation of the music. “There isn’t a ringleader of the band. I’d like to think we are a very democratic band, but if you have an idea you have to prove that it would be effective. You have to fully back up your idea and have done your research before you present it to the other members.”

“I especially don’t like playing solo,” Alistair comments. “I work much better with other people. We can collaborate as a group.”

Each member has written and composed a piece in their current EP. I asked Alistair about the quite popular Into the Line. Kooky as it might seem, Alistair laughed nervously and shortly spieled, “you can tell I wrote this song after a copious amount of wine. It’s primarily about people who are dead.” Oh? “Our ancestors, looking down at us and seeing the things we do day to day, and thinking about what idiots we are.” Obviously he’s not talking about Cloud Control. They have only gone upward and onward.

Building on their initial success, the group would like to reach even further still, geographically and otherwise. “We’re all keen to go overseas. The plan is to record an album and then go from there… see what happens.”

So what type of crowd essentially comes to their performances? “I’ve noticed a lot of couples coming along to listen to our music, so it appeals to both guys and girls, together. I think it’s because it’s a guaranteed nice night out.” Why not judge for yourselves, dear readers?

Cloud Control team up with Brisbane’s The John Steele Singers for the Flying High tour, which glides its way to the Transit Bar on Thursday May 8. Entry is, as always, free, so pop along. The JSS supported Built to Spill fer chrissakes, so you know it’ll be good!

Casual Projects @ ANU Bar Friday April 18

Casual sex is amazing, but just how much can you take before it becomes too much? The Casual Projects are similar to casual sex – it’s exciting and enthralling when new, but in excess it becomes the long term relationship you never wanted but now have.

On April 18 Casual Projects launched their new single Move Along from their album No Rest at ANU Bar. The five MCs appeared on stage with an eruption of energy and professions of why sometimes life can be uplifting. The plethora of rock, jazz and hip-hop carried well together.

There are three sections to the group which individually could be a band in their own right. The percussion and guitar combines in an earnest twang to form riffs that could make an ADD-ridden kid stand still, entranced; the brass section with saxophones and trombone oozes sex; and the synth/MC vocalist combination knows that it loves itself but doesn’t care. Together they are Casual Projects and are tantamount to some good casual sex; belting orgasmic wave after orgasmic wave into the audience.

When I first heard Casual Projects their recording seemed to be sonically lacking. The band just seemed to be almost ordinary, almost a mass-produced, squandered hip-hop/alternative Australian group. Recordings do not do justice to Casual Projects’ live performance. I found myself saying “I’d rather the real deal, not casual cyber-sex, thank you”. In summary: they need a better producer.

In addition, I don’t need a long term relationship. Their music was quite good and I did enjoy the first performances, especially the voice of the quixotic but guileful Julian Abrahams in Move Along and the indubitable synth/keyboard skills of Keanu-Reeves look-alike Munro Melano. But then I noticed the audience dwindling as they played for too long. Give us just a smattering instead next time guys, so we can drool for more. Give us some casual sex.

Whitley - A biting whit

What’s in a WHITLEY ? Add one Lawrence Greenwood, some pseudonym action and an assortment of instruments including banjo, violin, toy synthesisers, the dobro and piano. Then stir, anticlockwise.

Apart from the eclecticism and the cockle-warming smooth sound that’s produced, which can be tentatively described as ‘alt-country’, Lawrence Greenwood is a very modest individual. “I don’t want to scream ‘Lawrence Greenwood’ from the rooftops. It makes sense to me to separate this particular area of my life. I just get on stage and I’m Whitley. But in a way, I’m still very much me on stage.”

And like most (tortured) artists who seem to be running from a ghostly mass that tells them of their impending mortality every morning when they wake up, Whitley has an ever-changing attraction to different types of music. “I’m restless. I’ve got itchy feet. The guys in the band call me ‘The Chameleon’. I see the good in most sorts of music.”

Whitley started off playing in hardcore and punk bands and progressed onto country, a genre he describes as “very versatile. Country technically means ‘traditional song’, but it is a genre that is more open to change.” Maybe Whitley has found his genre-match, something that moves with both Australian culture as well as his own life changes.

He has come a long way from his early life when he went through piano teachers like he did pants. “Music has always been in my life. My parents bought me my first piano when I was four. Even then I was frustrated and I went through a couple of piano teachers. The first had a hair transplant and the next had a heart attack… and then as a teenager I played electric guitar and went through a rebellion where I listened to Sex Pistols.”

So in a way, there was constancy to his future direction. “By age 14 I decided music was what I wanted to do. Everyone has a calling, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.” You might say Whitley had it better than most people who go through mediocre lives, job after useless job and just die, leaving behind two point four kids and a partial mortgage.

Like most ‘callings’, which usually give you at least a narcissistic disorder, Whitley sees music instead of a psychiatrist. “Music gets me to that consciousness where the voice inside your head is and makes you at ease with yourself. When I play it’s like a meditation; it’s that point that I get to where I am the most honest with myself. I start writing and realise through my music exactly how I was feeling and just how truthful it was.”

These things are usually inherited, and the travelling troubadour attributes his empathic qualities, which give him the ability to only see the detail of a leaf when a tree falls on someone or hear Björk when a mushroom cloud commits genocide, to his mother.

“I see the world in a similar way to my mother. She is a perceptive lady that picks up on things that most people don’t pick up… I think girls pick up on stuff quicker when they latch onto music.”

His album is so simple and has a dulcifying effect on my usual irritated self. Its gorgeous atmospheric harmonies, strums of guitar and Whitley’s deep, orgasm-inducing voice does wonders in songs such as More Than Life and the ever-popular I Remember. I had to buy it, because for that instant of a song, I did not want to shove someone’s face into a meat-grinder.

Whitley will be crooning his way into your heart at the ANU Bar on Tuesday May 13, supported by Seagull. The Submarine is out now on Dew Process.

The Gin Club - First Rule of Gin Club

It’s a lazy Thursday morning, fast approaching midday, and Ben Salter is still in bed. God knows what the circumstances surrounding his late working week bedding are but he certainly was enjoying stretching, and (presumptuously to say) speaking to a BMA interviewer. With a laid-back tone, he begins to describe the origins of THE GIN CLUB and why such a lifestyle choice appeals to him. And yes, The Gin Club is a lifestyle choice; this is especially evident late-week when all the ‘other people’, who hold down the 9 to 5 slaving away at their LCDs, don’t have the luxury of the doona so late in the morning.

“It feels like I’m in this amazing band where everyone is just as good as each other. Everyone is massively talented and, what’s more, we all get on really well and have a fantastic time. That’s an important part of being in a band for me; it’s all about being nice to each other and being decent human beings.”

The words of a new Messiah of music, perhaps? Ben Salter is one of the new testament of ‘nice’ and down-to-earth musicians. Not to mention the interesting and diverse talent he’s with: a formula for a successful and appealing combination directed towards a rather large niche market. Originally from Brisbane, this unique band treasures their city of origin as it churns out such a like-minded but diverse range of talent.

The eccentricity of The Gin Club started as soon as they formed and welded each band member’s style together, all from the humble beginnings of an inner city pub in Brisbane. Salter says, “Ben (Tuite) and I used to put on an open mic night where many different musicians came to play their own compositions. It was a regular thing and most people who came were also the same. We got to know each other really well and jam, eventually covering each other’s songs. It was my crazy idea to form a musical collective.”

Whilst performing, the band members play intermittently depending on the composition played and who has composed it. This makes their performances a very different and diverse experience, featuring anywhere from two to nine band members playing at a time. This type of organised performance doesn’t result in a hodge-podge concoction as one would think, but instead in something of an indie-folk-electro-classic.

The interesting combination of instruments includes mandolin, banjo, cello and piano, giving birth to this intriguing genre. Both this combination and the resonance of diverse movement on stage definitely purport a new testament of music.

The group has released three albums with the most recent, Junk, featuring 26 tracks and receiving rave reviews. Working with the infamous Australian music producer Magoo on Junk, Ben happily croons, “For the first time our album sounds professional… on our first album we were always making concessions, but this is what we really want… something close to perfect.”

Very rarely does a musician use ‘perfect’ and ‘album’ in a self-referential statement, but obviously Ben Salter is the new musical testament preacher who ate the cream.

The Gin Club plays on Friday April 11at The Green Room with Mike Noga and the Gentlemen of Fortune (featuring members of The Drones and Dallas Crane) and Dan Mangan (Canada). Doors open 8pm. Junk is out now on Plus One Records/Shock.

The Butterfly Effect - Cause and Effect

The four piece band consisting of Ben Hall, Clint Bodge, Kurt Goedhart and Glenn Esmond are considered by many to be true to their name.

Formed in 1999 and before the phrase “When a butterfly flaps its wings off the coast of Australia…” could even start to be overly-masticated, they had risen to critical acclaim.

Originally from Brisbane, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT loves to tour and describes being musicians is tiered into two parts: creating and performing. Recently, the group has taken a break from touring and locked themselves up in an existential vortex, as all accomplished tortured artists do, to write and compose their upcoming album. Glenn describes writing as a “kind of a break” from travelling and performing.

He sees it as just “part of the cycle” of the job description “musicianship.” To most of the band members, the music does not just reticulate in themes but it’s “all about the sonics.” Glenn equates music to an artist’s palette and each unique sound bearing its own colour, shape, size and hue “and right now we are experimenting with big broad sonic brushstrokes…” As artists, they “look for inspiration when in the process of composing.” So, what inspires them, I ask; well, I then start to understand that it’s vicious self-referential cycle. To the Butterfly Effect, the process of writing and composing is inspiring it itself; they are inspired when something “sounds interesting to (their) ears.”

Glenn is passive on the topic of lyrics; instead I can hear him writhing excitedly on the other end when the topic flicks to the music of their upcoming album, the integral principal of the thing. Some would say Glenn is a purist, but he is certainly is more interested in experimenting with sounds and writing them down instead of dealing with a plebeian constrained verbosity. “We write down what sounds are interesting to our ears,” he says. “Clint writes most of the lyrics and they are a reflection on his thoughts, but the music is about less thinking and more so feeling and listening.” The Butterfly Effect now has a major fan base in Australia and Europe, so a label affixed to their music is an inevitable thing. “Hard, atmospheric and resonant rock,” or “insert inspired analogy here” could all be adjectivised terminology applicable, but I asked instead how they would describe the image of their music: challenging question. Ahh, the old verbal visual dichotomy both a curse and gift. Tentatively after some nudging, because they had never been asked such obscurity, they came up with “Bourbon and Vodka: classy light and shade that just ends up being dark.” End quote. Wonderful analogy. I need not say any more.

The Butterfly Effect have not been geographically inept, on the contrary, they certainly have had much practical experience touring Australia and Europe. So I was almost about to start to internally haemorrhage before I got the chance to ask the most entertaining but trite question an interviewer can pose a band member: what was the craziest thing that happened on tour? Glenn was slightly reluctant to tell much of the truth and nothing but the truth, lest he and his band was eventually helped by some divine intervention down the track, but from what I gathered there was some allusion to a “naked table tennis match” whilst touring somewhere in an ocean-lapped netheregion of NSW. An inevitable “six week party” also occurred whilst touring around Germany. Jagermiester was in excess and the Germans were not far off. No other statements were made.

The Butterfly Effect is playing at the ANU Bar on Saturday March 22. They are touring before they start to officially record their new album which is expected to come out at the end of September.