The core of Sydney outfit Rand and Holland is Brett Thompson (a fellow Sydney Swans tragic, it should be noted!) and Stu Olsen who combine their experimental and noise backgrounds with a more focused pop framework to come up with top tunes that veer regularly into more esoteric, drone-heavy moodiness. Their last album Caravans, in particular sequenced this juxtaposition to maximum effect with an opening track that had them at their poppiest best and ending on the ghostly, haunting Beanstalk. An album by the way, that has been one of my favourite Australian releases of the last couple of years - it never fails to warm the heart and engage the senses when I need it to.
Anyway it is this opening track from Caravans, 'The Light' that is the song featured in this first video. One of my favourites and you can see why - its simple melody and sweet sentiment gets you tapping all the way, and I really like the live interpretation of the song, as it replaces the trumpets in the recording with the slide guitar that is stunning. It was recorded at a warehouse show (Workhop Showroom in St Peters which is usually an artist space that had this one-off show) on the 27th of July. The other bands on the night were the always beautiful Seaworthy and the charming Desks.
The second track is 'It's Alright', also from the Caravans album. A totally rockin affair, which the band themselves look like they're having a great time playing also, and obviously not even the absence of a live drummer is going to prevent from pounding on those cymbals.
As I'm still trialling the Dailymotion website for hosting of videos (because you can get bigger sizes!), you can also still watch the clips via youtube.com/trafficsounds and I'd love to find get some feedback on which is better looking and sounding and overall thoughts on dailymotion vs youtube.
Currently
listening
:
Most Valuable Player
By
Nat Baldwin
Release date: 2008-04-29
Aktion Unit are a duo from Melbourne featuring Dan Lewis (chief miscreant, my birthday twin, also of Mirror Farm, Cub II and Switchblade Sisters Touring) and Rene Schaefer (demon bass player, also of Hand Hell, The Bites and ex-Bruna), making improvised noise.
They came up to sydney recently for their first lot of shows, and it was great to see both extremes of aktion unit in that weekend - the saturday night set at the static age festival (in the freezer that is the dirty shirlows warehouse) was chaotically brilliant - the highlight was seeing dan take to a shopping trolley with a crowbar and rene almost breaking dan's spectacles.
sunday night followed with a softly stirring set in the confines of the shag-piled bohemian grove warehouse, made warmer by found sounds and restrained ambience. it's from this bohemian grove show that the next couple of videos come from.
in other news, lately it's all about cowboys, outlaws, celestials, pioneers, hustlers, trailblazers, marshalls, you know that sort of thing... "swegen!"
in march this year, i went back to the US, visiting a whole bunch of new towns, hanging out with long time friends, seeing and hearing heaps of live music during the madness of sxsw and generally having a right old time. i made some videos of it. even better than slide night at the tran household.
here's the austin one first. i'd been dreaming about going to texas for ages and i wasn't disappointed! it's definitely my favourite town in america. i'd move there in an instant if i could. feel free to help me get a job there thanks.
the youtube compression, particularly as viewed on macs is pretty shit, so you can download them if you wish: www.mediafire.com/?juofqc1bayg (about 40ish-MB)
some notes!
the music is by the lymbyc systym. the song is 'astrology days' as remixed by the one am radio. comes from the remix cd of tracks from the love your abuser album, both of which are excellent cds and are highly recommended. in fact, this remixed song is my favourite thing at the moment, so good. the band (also seen in the video) are incredible live too.
aerial views in order of appearance: los angeles, arizona, dallas, austin
austin landmarks in order of appearance: pennybaker bridge over lake austin on the loop 360 alamo drafthouse - movie theatre 6th street, day and night - the main thoroughfare where the pubs and music venues are parts and labour - one of the best clothing shops in austin also hosted some day parties in their backyard during sxsw south congress, heading towards downtown end of an ear - a smaller scale record shop but i liked it more than the megamart-ness of waterloo records (it's like the paint it black to waterloo's red eye)
bands in order of appearance: mahjongg @ chaindrive (super tight) plastic constellations @ french kiss showcase, mohawks pit er pat @ emo's jnr evangelicals @ urban outfitters day party (sweethearts but hurt my ears after a while) lymbyc systym (and lots of em) @ parts and labour (stinkin' hot day, they played magnificently) nadja @ end of an ear instore random street band (the pasties?) @ 6th street (good on those kids for having a go) no kids @ tomlab showcase, lamberts (great! sweet) son lux @ anticon showcase, lamberts why? @ anticon showcase, lamberts (awesome! everything you think it would be and more)
whilst i'm on my austin raving, why not to listen to some music? i recorded a special for the radio show when i was away to celebrate my being there (as you do). it can be streamed or downloaded in full with this link, and some of the music you'll hear includes the american analog set, the octopus project, and the above-mentioned lymbyc systym!
the visit to austin was bookended by a couple days out to nevada, and a week in the midwest. a day trip out to zion national park in utah, which stu and i drove out to from nevada via the northwest corner of arizona, and then the snow and supreme cold of detroit.
cities, landmarks, cast and other notables, in order of appearance: nevada stu me zion national park, utah chicago detroit rob eric ferndale, michigan snow! detroit red wings butterflies and seals of detroit zoo grounds of oakland university, michigan (we're actually deer spotting)
music by the octopus project. 'the bees bein' strugglin'' comes from the album, hello avalanche. beautiful song!
i would call this less a foray into clip-making and more of an exercise into marrying 2 random sources that have been kicking around for a while. (actually i've lost the original video file from where the music comes from).
this is me coming back to sydney from auckland i think, would've been november 2007. i love take-offs and landings. the whole flying part too. it was recorded using the video function on the digital camera.
i also love the band FOUNDER, who are just about as awesome as you can get in this town. they are tremendous live - all dynamics, charisma and hot licks. i don't know the name of the piece, but it was recorded live, also by me, on the video camera at the Cad Factory in July 2007.
Ridiculous falsetto, ludicrous stage presence, absurd jumble of genres - just some of the words used to describe Melbourne outfit Aleks and the Ramps, which doesn't even begin to capture the exuberant dynamics of the band in their live form. Led by Aleks Bryant, the band also features brother and sister Joe and Janita Foley, guitarist Simon Connolly and drummer Jon Tjhia.
Much like my favourite Sydney bands and musicians, members of the Ramps are in a myriad of bands and personal projects including Extreme Wheeze, Potential Falcon, ii, Scissors for Sparrow and Denim Owl.
They released a fine debut full length earlier this year, Pisces vs Aquarius, which came off the back of a self-titled EP from 2005, and it is a joyous affair with vocals veering from that falsetto to a soulful baritone and offset by the twang of his banjo and accompaniment of glockenspiel, casio and melodica. Add to the mix darkly humoured, vividly illustrated lyrics and it really is an album that I can't recommend highly enough.
The next video on the Traffic Sounds youtube juggernaut (youtube.com/trafficsounds yo!) comes from the most recent Aleks and the Ramps performance in Sydney (15.9.2007), at a newly opened warehouse venue 303 that promptly shut its doors the next day to live music in response to landlord complaints (unfortunately for sydney's gig goers this same building also housed the Last Bastion of Civilization and Black and Blue warehouse venues so 3 great spaces are now gone). The night also featured Charge Group (who headlined) and Captain Nemo (who opened).
The Ramps gave a sterling performance, somewhat confounding part of the audience who did not know to expect moments of spazzed out rock and shambolic dance performances (sans basketball outfits which they've been known to don occasionally) in between their jubilant brand of banjo pop. It climaxed with this final song in the set Ex Riot Cop Dad which is on the new album.
The second clip is now up. The song Ghost Kitten is a new one, and I love it muchly. The audio quality is not as good as ex riot cop dad but I wanted you to see the lingering closeups of the rather dapper looking band. They really are a bunch of cuties.
I'd also suggest you hop along to the Tape Relay page to hear songs from the live set recorded with me at the 2SER studios. Great live set, maybe bit rough around the edges but that would be entirely my fault + lack of skills, and nothing to do with the band themselves. Photos of the live set in the studio are also on the flickr page.
Currently
listening
:
Book of Bad Breaks
By
Thee More Shallows
Release date: 24 April, 2007
Holey moley, think I'm finally getting somewhere with this compression business. certainly looking and sounding a whole lot better these days. But then maybe it's just the magic touch of the band in question. To wit, I present:
It's come to my attention that after each piece performed by Founder (the mighty mighty Founder) at recent shows, a reaction is elicited along the lines of "fuck yeh!" (as demonstrated in said video). i think i know why such joy abounds.
Because for Founder lovers like myself it's been too long between drinks (something like 3 years?) and it's quite apparent after such a long absence just how awesome they are, and how dearly missed they have been.
I would like, at this point, to refute any protestations from the band that they might be a bit rusty after the hiatus, and instead draw your attention to their graceful and hypnotic stylings and what is a palpable chemistry between the trio - the complimentary guitars of Travis Baird and Kurt Sorensen, and the inimitable Joseph Leonard on drums (and featuring special guest, horn extraordinairess Penny McBride). The natural and unaffected ease with which they play off each other is a delight to watch and hear, and makes one yell with gay abandon "fuck yeh!" in appreciation.
It's no wonder then that these talented fellows also pop up in other bands of equal forte, such as The Woods Themselves (all 3 of em), Kid Cornered, El Mopa, Traincleaner, Joseph Leonard and the Family Fuse and goodness knows what else. It's inspiring and exhausting just thinking about it.
It should also also be noted that the above footage of the excellent, not yet released track called "vaster than empires (...and more slow)" was from the show at the Cad Factory (itself a delight to behold) and was filmed as part of a forthcoming tv show for channel 31 in Sydney, appropriately to be called "The Cad Factory". So I was shooting with the second camera in mind (it was up back, doing all the wide views), which should hopefully explain the slightly amorous closeups of the band, and the occasional dodgy camera movement (nevermind the fact that the boys are supremely hott and the camera just loves to linger anyway).
Hopefully I will have a second piece from the same set up soon, but in the meantime, I recommend watching this many times over.
oh and of course you can maximise your fix with some static visuals here
so out of the ashes of well known sydney band Purplene comes Charge Group. 3 of the 4 members (the two Matts - Blackman and Rossetti and Adam Jesson) pulled together and with a coupla more seasoned pros (Jason Tampake and Bree van Reyk), they bring you mesmerising violinified post rock rhythms. yes, you can nod your head and sway to it in a trance like fashion and now and then pump the fist (low to the ground of course, subtle, not high in the air david lee roth style) in solidarity.
playing recently at the hopetoun with seaworthy and the instant (who also count rossie and adam in their lineup), here are a couple songs which are sure to feature on their forthcoming record.
bathtime with a toaster
lunar module
Currently
listening
:
Warmer Corners
By
The Lucksmiths
Release date: 11 April, 2005
i have loved you for a long time. in fact i love you more now than i ever did before, as i get older and i realise how incredibly smart and wonderfully talented you all are (and now slightly more sultry with the hot licks of louie thrown in) and i shake my head in amazement whilst wiggling my hips (in an awkward movement some call "dancing"). i could throw in a couple more superlatives like charming and incandescent but just about everyone uses those words about you already.
do you remember the last time we met? it was on a beautiful sunday afternoon in may (t-shirt weather indeed), in the oasis of the Abercrombie Hotel's beer garden (as much as a scraggly garden set amongst the cement jungle of Broadway can be considered an oasis). with the fading autumn light, you jangled and shimmied into my heart and filled it with popalicious delights, just like the insides of a beard papa custard puff. mmm...custard puffs....
anyhoo, i hope you come back soon. despite the fact that you always make jokes about how crappy sydney is, i've always thought your sunny brand of downbeat pop works so much better at a backyard show in our neck of the woods. but then maybe it's time i move to melbourne and compare for myself. yes i think i'll do that soon.
Kid Cornered was borne by Matt Toohey after the conclusion of his prior band, the most excellent Browning (geez thinking about Browning takes me back. good times, good times). It may have started off as a solo project but what I saw on the weekend was very much a complete outfit, with fellow El Mopa / The Woods Themselves band members helping Matt flesh out his tender songs. Me likey.
These songs were recorded at the PACT Theatre in Erskineville, as part of a fundraiser for a short film titled "Loose Oranges". Other bands on the night included Jack Ladder, Laura Imbruglia, Todd Sparrow and headliners The Woods Themselves (of which photos are below).
Back to Kid Cornered, this is a great swagger of a song "6/8 Drunk" which is off the first album "Six Sisters".
And then there's the quietly determined "Film Career" from the latest recordings. Nice one. And praise to afxjim for his trumpeting and general radness.
It's no secret that I've had a long unrequited love affair with Melbourne band, Deloris. Call it providence (there goes that word again) or mere coincidence, but their music has always managed to echo my head and heart at the most appropriate times in my life.
So when the very essence of Deloris is boiled down to the solo outings of the effortlessly graceful Marcus Teague, herein known as Single Twin, what is not to love?
Here we find Marcus playing in the rock n roll surrounds of a non-descript industrial landscape in the innerwest of Sydney, where the aviation gods have smiled down at this soul-soothing minstrel (the proceeding band were not so lucky to escape the wrath of the gods).
To my dismay, the Youtube compression gods are not quite so benevolent, therefore what once looked quite good on my laptop is now a mere shadow of its true glory. In any case, I present Single Twin:
note: Confused During the Show was recorded with an additional low lux effect, which gives a better colour saturation and a more staccato filmic appearance, which youtube translates into quite jerky movements. Oh well.
So I've been telling quite a few people about this little film project I've been working on, and although I already have quite a bit of footage, I'm nowhere near complete. These dudes are natural gasbags so it will take many more visits before I've got all the gold out of them. In the meantime, I've decided to introduce the main characters so you can all get to know them as I have been doing these past few weeks. I'm having such a ball with my posse (they've become just as much part of my Sunday routine as the afternoon nap and the pre-monday blues). I wholeheartedly recommend you come on down if you're free on Sundays, at the very least to see Steve ring his bell and Merko dance away in the sunshine. 2pm til sundown, opposite the Art Gallery in the Domain folks!
Steve is my main buddy and is probably considered the ringleader, having been there the second longest (Helmut aka "The Iconoclast" I've heard has been coming on and off since 1972) and is usually the most visible with his dapper outfits and large bell and cheeky personality. He's a really lovely fellow who patiently waits for me to get my camera ready before doing his spiel and will often restart a piece if I'm not ready to film it. On our first meeting, he gave me a copy of his book that he'd written 10 years ago about the history of the Speakers Corner, which has been incredibly valuable (even more so when he signed it for me). Sitting behind him is Tony, who is quite reserved (I don't think he likes me much) and shares the ladder with Steve. Tony has a soft spot for Smokey.
Warren and Smokey. Warren's quite the gentle soul, despite being an anarchist. His soapbox persona is very different to his non-performing demeanour. Smokey is his dog by default, as Warren started taking care of him after his previous owners gave him some sort of weird dog/human disease out of sheer neglect. Warren and Smokey walk all the way from Rosebery (in South Sydney) to the Domain each Sunday, which is a really really really long walk.
Guy and Clary are not weekly regulars but are there often enough. I had the fortune of meeting them in the week that they decided to do a Wrestlemania special (they normally rant about politics) and perhaps I may even impressed them (or least earnt their respect) when I was able to converse in fluent Wrestlemania with them. I may have unintentionally fired Guy up after I told him he should be on community radio (though in my defence, i said it before I found out that they mostly do political rants, and angry, sweary, defamatory types of rants at that. woops)
Merko prefers to be known as "UFO". Although not a soapbox orator as such, he is down every week and I guess, qualifies as much. He brings with him from Bankstown laminated cards showing the new alphabet he has invented (although not so much an invention as the cutting out of the letters "x" and "z"). He also enjoys dancing around to loud slavic music on his little boombox and generally annoying the others in a jolly fashion. He is seen here dancing.
PS. Vale Kurt Vonnegut. I have been more bummed about this than I thought I would be. So it goes.
Currently
reading
:
Timequake
By
Kurt Vonnegut
Release date: 01 August, 1998
the fruits of a productive long weekend are these:
sam shinazzi rocking out on "scotty come home", which was recorded at his recent show at the sandringham hotel the song can be heard on his album "stories you wouldn't believe".
and my first go at syncing up multi-camera footage (a mix of live and soundcheck film) with my new favourite shinazz song "my very own mary-ellen". i like singing along to the chorus.
plus, another clip from the awesome matt mcbeath from the same show at the sando. this is a newer song called "the length of your breath".
A video from my new favourite troubadour! You may remember young Matt McBeath from the notable Sydney/Canberran band The Rebel Astronauts (whom i dearly loved) and mostly recently from his solo work as Initials. Having relocated to where else but Melbourne, he's now performing under his own banner and will soon be joined by members of Khancoban for an even further rounding out of his gentle sounds. I can't wait to hear it.
In the meantime, here is a live version of "5 o'clock" from the Initials EP "Between Visits". It was recorded at the Sando in Newtown last week at a show headlined by Sam Shinazzi (who kicked off his set with the tops Valentines day gift "The Girl's Who Make My World Turn" and btw, I may actually hereafter refer to myself as "leigh from the valentines day song" hah). There'll be a couple more videos from Matt once I get around to cleaning them up.
and a photo too:
Currently
reading
:
The Mezzanine
By
Nicholson Baker
Release date: 16 January, 1990
taken a while but i've finally gotten around to reviewing the footage and photos from the seaworthy and adrian klumpes joint launch at the stone gallery in february. the seaworthy stuff i'm working into a clip so that'll come later still. the adrian stuff turned out pretty well, so i've uploaded a clip of the title track from the record to youtube.
the record is out on the leaf label, and adrian can be found here: www.myspace.com/adrianklumpes. he makes instrument music based around the piano, imbuing it with an intensity and force despite the calm and quiet he creates. edgy tranquility is what he calls it, which i wholeheartedly agree with. he also plays in the bands triosk and pivot.
some additional photos:
...
in other news, i'm discovering this whole new aspect of the athens, ga scene which came before the elephant 6 collective that i never knew about (see dvd below). b-b-que killers and time joy and flat duo jets et al. its the new gem in my collection.
