Ernest Greene - aka Washed Out – makes music that sounds exactly like his stage name suggests: it’s wispy, dreamy and free flowing, so it should come as little surprise that it’s been tagged as part of the so called `chillwave’ movement. Greene started working on his brand of ambient synthpop a couple of years ago and got his first real break when songs he recorded in his own bedroom studio were discovered by influential music bloggers on MySpace (remember that thing before Facecrack?). Fuelled by the exposure of the interwebz, the chillwave prodigy compiled the songs he had posted online into a series of EPs before releasing his debut LP, Within and Without, last year. With its raunchy cover artwork, the album is full of swirling synths, Greene’s evocative voice and waves of electronica that swell up and wash over the listener. Those heading along to Laneway can prepare to be swept up in all Greene’s synth-y goodness when he closes the Windish Agency Stage.
Yes? No? Is there a few hands raised out there in internet land? I really can’t be sure. I, personally, have never been to the festival but it’s one that has always fascinated me. It’s kind of tucked away in the middle of nowhere and always features hundreds of artists that I’ve never heard of. I’ve seen photos of the festival and everyone looks like they’re having a wicked time in their brightly coloured clothes, face paint and dreadlocks. Yet, it’s still a bit of a mystery.
To shed some light on Rainbow, I recently caught up with one of the festival’s organisers, Tim Harvey. He was more than happy to talk at length about the festival that he spends a good chunk of the year organising. Whether you’re going for the fifth time or just want to find out a little about the festival, please take a few minutes to have a read of our chat :)
Jack Pilven: So what’s been on the cards today?
Tim Harvey: Today, I’m getting media passes out to people, dealing with last minute precious DJs… and six months worth of GST got thrown into the mix. So yeah, it’s all fun and games.
JP: Is this a full-time job for you?
TH: For seven months of the year it is, and at the moment it’s 14 hour days pretty much. I go to sleep at about 1 – 2 am and it’s the last thing I think about, and I wake up at about 7:30 – 8 and it’s right back into it. It’s chaotic.
JP: Can you step us through a regular day organising the festival? What kind of things are you doing?
TH: Well, I’m the marketing director but I also do a lot of the music stuff as well and bleed over into other areas. So wherever something’s not happening or someone needs to be connected to someone else, then I’m generally the person people come to.
JP: How did Rainbow Serpent start?
TH: It started 15 years ago when a couple of guys that had been doing indoor events in Melbourne decided they would try their hand at an outdoor party. The first Rainbow Serpent Festival happened up near Trentham, just out of Melbourne. From memory it had about 800 to 900 people, which is still pretty impressive considering it was the first event held over a single night. I think back then it was called something else… it was called like the Rainbow Serpent Gathering or something like that. So that was the very first one and then it moved down into the Pyrenees Shire for the second one and became the Rainbow Serpent Festival. It’s been through a few sites and it’s grown since then, and each time we outgrow a site we need to find a new one. The one that we have now we’re hoping to remain at for at least 10 years. It has plenty of room for growth and it’s beautiful, so it’s definitely our best site yet.
JP: Apart from it moving from site to site, what else has changed about the festival over the past 15 years?
TH: Well, obviously at the start it was predominantly about music, and at the very, very start it was about trance music. So in terms of the diversification of its music styles, the changes have been massive. Especially in the past five years we’ve taken on a lot of gypsy and swing bands, which are fantastic. It’s interesting… it’s almost like as we’ve grown older and our musical tastes have broadened, we’ve brought a little bit of that into the festival as well. It’s almost as though we’ve been growing with our patrons together. While we still have a lot of music that young kids get into, there’s also a lot of music that the older ones can sit back and enjoy now as well.
JP: Rainbow Serpent has a reputation for being a trance and techno orientated festival. So is it fair to say you’re trying to expand the line-up outside of these genres?
TH: I think it is now. It’s interesting because we have a lot of people say to us that there’s not enough trance anymore, you know? And then we have other people say to us that there’s too much trance and then others that say there’s too much techno, or not enough techno… so you’re never going to fully satisfy everyone. I think it’s a case of striking a good balance between emerging new styles like glitch-hop, which has become pretty big in Australia and over in the States over the last three or four years. Now we’ve got a good contingent of glitch-hop artists on the Monday on the Sunset stage at Rainbow this year. Previously we’ve had guys like Tipper, and again he’s coming back this year alongside Opiuo and Spoonbill who are performing on the Market stage. I think the styles have definitely broadened and anyone who can objectively sit there and look at our line-up will say that we’ve probably got one of the most diverse musical line-ups out of any festival in Australia.
Click here to read the full interview over at Everguide
Prince Rama are the real deal when it comes to psychedelia. Don’t believe me? Well, for starters, the band formed when they left the confines of an isolated Hare Krishna farm near Florida in the summer of 2007. Armed with free spirits, goat-skin drums and prayer bells, the trio headed out into the world and quickly made a name for themselves with their live shows blurring the boundaries between trance-inducing psychedelic jams and performance art. They released a string of albums before founding member Michael Collins announced he was taking a break from the band, leaving it up to the sister duo of Taraka and Nimai Larson to continue their legacy. The siblings recorded in a 19th century church and emerged with the reinvigorated and expansive fifth album, Trust Now. Full of tribal rhythms, hypnotic melodies, haunting vocals and an underlying pop sensibility, it’s a mesmerizing listen from start to finish.
They are winding their way around Australia at the moment. Check out their tour dates here.
I hope you all had an awesome holiday break and got plenty of rest/drank heaps NYE/fucked a complete stranger/embarrassed yourself in front of your family at Christmas dinner by turning up on acid… well, maybe I speak for myself with those last few.
So it’s 2012. Yay? Not much has happened yet. Jay Z and Beyoncé had a baby girl. That’s pretty cool I suppose. But Blue Ivy Carter is a fairly ridiculous name. It’s only going to encourage bogans to name their kids equally ridiculous things like Apple, Jazmyne, Peebee and Chance. I suppose their baby can put up with a shitty name for a while as she can easily change it when she’s offered a multi-million dollar record contract in a matter of years.
So before we push forward with 2012 I think it’s time to reflect on the year that was 2011 and the music it offered us. Here’s a few of my favourite albums from last year. Some of them you may know, some you may not. I’m interested to hear what your highlights were too.
Cheers,
JP
Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Instrumental music is not for everyone. It often requires patience and an attention span that eludes your average half-witted commercial radio fan. This being said, Mogwai are not a band for everyone. Nevertheless, those of us who have approached the band with open arms and open ears have continually been rewarded with their output of albums over the past decade or so – and 2011’s Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will was no exception.
With songs that rise up from a whisper of ambient guitar dwindling into colossal walls of distortion fuelled fuzz, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will is an album that deals in dynamics. There’s loud and soft. There’s light and dark. There’s moments of serenity that are pierced by crescendos of layered guitars, bass and drums.It’s music that elicits an emotional response. It’s not just there to make you tap your feet – it’s there to make you feel and think. And that’s why Mogwai are so important.
SBTRKT – SBTRKT
Dubstep is crap. C’mon, just admit it. It’s a passing fad. A trend. It won’t be long and it will be replaced by the next hip genre. I bet you’re never going to hear a genuine music critic utter, “Oh yes, that was a classic dubstep album”. Some people say that SBTRKT is post-dubstep. I’m not really sure what they mean by that, but, for me personally, SBTRKT’s music and the gurgling vacuum noises of contemporary dubstep are worlds apart. SBTRKT’s debut LP encapsulates something far more powerful and emotive. The UK producer’s richly layered bass music fluctuates between chilled soundscapes and glossy upbeat pop, narrated by hand-picked guest vocalists that fit the mood of the album like a glove (including Sampha and Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano). There’s elements of R&B, drum’n’bass, electro and glitch-pop in there but it’s always contorted and twisted in such a manner that it’s not instantly recognisable and familiar. It’s exciting. It’s fresh. And that’s why it’s so damn good.
The Horrors – Skying
Skying is the album that vanquished any lingering notions that the Horrors were simply gloomy looking goths worshipping at the alter of 60s garage rock. This, their third album, was a game changer. Like the brightly lit Polaroid overlooking an ocean that graces the album’s cover, Skying is an expansive listen. It takes you on a kaleidoscopic journey that dips and weaves between moments of giddy psychedelia (`I Can See Through You’), romantic new wave (`Still Life’) and My Bloody Valentine-esque shoegaze (`Changing the Rain’). There’s an unshakeable feeling of tranquility and freedom too, that was perhaps influenced by The Horrors’decision to produce it themselves at their own self-built studio in London (whoever said you need a top-shelf producer to get the best results?). They set the bar high with Primary Colours but went above and beyond on Skying, and for that fans of innovative rock should be thankful.
M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
It must be a gamble being a musician and making a double-album. I imagine it would be a huge feat stretching your ideas out over two discs. And then there are the costs inherent in organising studio time and producers, not to mention the mounting pressure from record labels breathing down necks and looking over shoulders. It sounds like a nightmare, but one that M83’s Anthony Gonzalez must have avoided to create the wistful and uplifting Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.
Never delving into boring or overly self-indulgent territory, M83’s sixth studio album is a monolithic slab of sickly sweet synthpop stretched out over the course of two discs. There’s so much on offer here that it takes a few spins of the album to properly soak up all the aural goodness, from the weeping ballad of `Wait’ through to the buzzing pop hooks of `OK Pal’ and `Midnight City’ (the latter being complete with a smokin’ saxophone solo, making it one of my favourite songs of last year). If you haven’t already picked up a copy of Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming do it right away, throw on a pair of headphones and prepare to be swept away in a sea of synthpop delight.
This one was a late entry in my favourite albums of last year. I didn’t even really know who Unknown Mortal Orchestra (UMO) were until the Meredith Music Festival last December. It was here that I was coaxed along by a few friends to go see them perform on a balmy summer evening. It was hot and the sun was steadily dropping in the sky. I clutched a beer and made small talk with friends while the band set up onstage. I wasn’t expecting too much. Then, as UMO launched into a set of hazy and nostalgic retro rock, I stopped talking to my friends. My full attention was drawn to the stage. I realised I knew almost every song, having heard them in the office and on the radio but having never stopped to ask who it was. UMO’s performance reeled me in hook, line and sinker. It was a great start to the camping festival for me, and when it was all done and dusted, I raced out and brought a copy of their debut self-titled album. I was not disappointed. It’s full of lo-fi rock `n’ roll that’s riddled with an underlying pop sensibility. It’s honest, stripped-back and full of carefully placed hooks. Just have a listen to `Ffunny Ffriends’ and get back to me when you realise you’ve been humming it for days.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Willoughby’s Beach EP
Here’s another late addition to my favourite albums of last year.Okay, yeah, I know, this one is not technically an album - it’s an EP. But before you go grilling me over the technicalities of my own blog entry, I’d like to ask you if you’ve even listened to the ridiculously titled King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard before?No? Well, then I get the last laugh because you’re missing out. These guys are all kinds of awesome and so is this EP. Willoughby’s Beachis proof that sometimes keeping it simple is best. This is scuzzy, warts-and-all garage rock that’s doused in psychedelia and wrapped up in surfy, summery goodtime vibes. You don’t have to overthink the Gizzard’s music – you just have to throw your hands up in the air and have a good time.
* bonus points for naming a song `Dustbin Fletcher’ after the Essendon great.
Red Berry Plum are a seven-piece out of Melbourne who write wistful folk pop. It’s quite lovely home-grown stuff that’s perfect for chilling out to during warm summer days. You can head over to their Facebook page to stream a couple of their songs, `Moon Owl’ and `Seaweed and a Feather’. I recently got the chance to have a chat to their vocalist/guitarist Pete Baxter ahead of their performance at the Everguide Christmas party. You can have a read of our chat here.
Ok, it’s almost holiday time for me so things might be a little quiet on here soon. I hope you all have a fantastic New Years break and head into 2012 bright-eyed and bushy tailed.
Melbourne duo Oscar & Martin prove that sometimes less is more. Emerging from the leftovers of indie pop band Psuche, Martin King and Oscar V Slorach-Thorn’s minimalist pop drifts along on a sea of delicate crooning, bleeping keyboards and driving percussion. It’s honest. It’s stripped-back. It’s a bit like James Blake or Panda Bear and is bound to come tugging on your heartstrings. Their debut album For You is out now. Pick up a copy now so that you can brag to your friends that you knew who they were before they became the next big thing.
I saw them perform at the Meredith Music Festival this year and they were a highlight. Be sure to catch them when they stop near you. They’re currently on the road for their What I Know tour.
Let’s be honest, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have one of the most ridiculous names buzzing around the local music scene at the moment. It’s the kind of name that when you mention them to people who haven’t heard the band, chances are you’ll be greeted with bemused enquires of, `king what and the whatty what? Come again, please?’ But rest assured, these seven lads won’t be a well kept secret for long.
KGATLW have been together for just over a year now. Living next door to one another in share houses in Carlton while studying at uni and playing in separate bands, the members of King Gizzard were drawn together when they were invited to jam at a warehouse party in Lygon St. With a mutual love of Pavement, Thee Oh Sees and Nuggets Comps, their casual jamming soon blossomed into a dynamic surf, punk and psychodelic ensemble. Regular gigs at Melbourne pubs followed before the guys were snapped up to appear at this year’s Meredith Music Festival.
King Gizzard’s Willoughby’s Beach EP is full of scuzzy lo-fi rock that is wrapped up in a very retro and psychodelic coating. It’s gritty and unpolished, warts and all stuff – and that’s what makes it so damn great.
My friends actually introduced me to their bassist, Lucas Skinner, at the Meredith Music Festival this year. I’m pretty sure he thought I was a bit of a twat because I had glitter on my face. Oh well, we can’t all be hip rock stars can we?
The best thing that happened in the company of complete strangers? Well, I ended up singing `Total Eclipse of the Heart’ with a whole bunch of random people in front of the stage at some point. That song is so daggy but everyone was getting right into it. They were pretty nice to me considering I was drunk, soaked and covered in glitter at the time (and I can’t hold a note to save myself).
Some musical highlights included Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Oscar & Martin, Cut/Copy and Big Freedia. The only real dampener was Grinderman announcing they are calling it a day.
