"My hideous little baby" Interview: Jonathan Boulet

This interview was originally conducted for, and published by Tone Deaf. Reproduced in its entirety here because I can...

Upon release of his self-titled debut three years ago, Jonathan Boulet quickly found himself labelled as Sydney’s ‘skate rat’. Albeit an internationally recognised one, thanks to the street cred of hip label, Modular, but a ‘skate-rat’ nonetheless.

With his second release however, Boulet is ready to outgrow those previously constricting tags, starting with his new album’s tongue-garbling title. We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart is one of the lengthier titles in recent memory, it’s sing-song name bound to appear alongside Fiona Apple’s When The Pawn Hits The Conflicts He Thinks Like A King… (we’ll spare you the full title) in future music lists.

'have fun, find a girl' Interview: Devin

This interview was originally conducted for, and published by Tone Deaf. It is reproduced here in its entirety.

From the moment Devin’s debut album, Romancing, bursts to life with the brash garage rock and raucous riffs of ‘Masochist,’ the New Yorker sounds every bit the passionate upstart rocker he looks on the front cover.

A monochromatic photo of the bequiffed singer/guitarist slouched against a stairwell, dressed in  a tweed jacket and snappy open-breast shirt, his model-handsome face pulling his best vacant stare; it’s a look that, like its aural contents, is at once a balance of retro-chic and modern style.

Romancing’s twelve tracks are straight-up, no-nonsense rock n’ roll inspired by the classics. With his nasal twang that hovers somewhere between the sneer of a young Mick Jagger and the raw clarity of early Iggy Pop, Devin barrels through punk-infused chunks of Stooges-powered guitar delivered with a dash of Strokes-worthy cool.

"We’re just acing what we do live" Interview: Mutemath

This interview was originally conducted for, and published by, Tone Deaf

The regional music festival Groovin’ The Moo has been growing steadily for over half-a-decade now, it’s line-up now swelling to regularly ensnare international acts. This year is no exception, bringing Mutemath to Australia for the first time. “This is it” chuffs Paul Meany, “this is our big excuse to come out,” the band’s keys man and de-facto leader, Meany is the face and soul-studded voice of the New Orleans fusion quartet. A band whose reputation is built on their exhilarating live show.

"We didn't have to push anything really..." Interview: The Rubens

This interview was originally conducted for, and published by, Tone Deaf. It's reproduced here in its entirety.

‘It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll’ sang the legendary Bon Scott. Nobody, it seems, told The Rubens.

That or they’re harbouring the most well-kept shortcut to fever-pitch exposure in Australian music history. Their story is a PR man’s dream, the fabled rise of three brothers and their childhood friend raised in the isolated town of Menangle, NSW. They knock out a raw slice of bedroom soul which captures the attention and adulation of national youth radio, cue calls from internationally renowned producers, a label bidding frenzy and pending fame.

"We think of it as music trivia" Interview: Yacht Club DJs

This interview was originally conducted for, and published by Beat street press as well as online here. The following is the unedited 'direcor's cut' of the article.

Has it really been a full twelve months since we’ve heard or seen from Yacht Club DJs, Australia’s leading purveyors of mash-ups par excellence? Having spent nearly three solid years touring Australia, in both regional headline tours as well as a regular fixture of major festivals like Big Day Out, Splendour In The Grass, Parklife and Falls, the partners in crime – Gareth ‘Gaz’ Harrison and Guy Chapell-Lawrence – decided to take some time off from the party-crazed, vodka-swilling, sweaty madness they call their live show. “We were a little burnt out and were a bit sick of the sight of each other,” laughs Gaz, suitably suffering from a hangover. Speaking down the line he recalls, “we were just tired I think, we were acting up a bit because we were cranky kids, being naughty doing all the things we shouldn't do.”

"Silence is easy/It just becomes me" Interview: James Walsh

This interview was originally for Melbourne street press Beat magazine and published online here. It is reproduced here in its entirety for AMR.

For Starsailor fans, it’s been a long time between drinks. Last gracing our shores nearly a decade ago, the wait for the UK four-piece to return has looked indefinite ever since the group went on ‘official hiatus’ a few years ago. Luckily, fans will get the next best thing this March when frontman James Walsh brings his solo show down-under. Still possessed of his genteel, vibrato-flecked voice that would thrill a choral master and his way around an acoustic guitar, Walsh has formed a career as both a solo artist and a freelance songwriter since the band’s sabbatical of 2009.

'A spade's a spade' Interview: Gareth Liddiard

This interview was originally conducted for, and syndicated by ToneDeaf. Who originally published the article here, which in turn spawned this scoop, the article is re-produced here in its entirety for the AMR readership, enjoy, I think it's one of my best.

“With your songwriting, it’s very much storytelling – do you have your own favourite storytell-“

“Fuck. I just found a bullet.”

I am speaking down the line with Gareth Liddiard, The Drones frontman himself – to some, his band is considered our nation’s most important rock act; in other circles his muddied tales of Australia, with their gothic poetry, are as revered as Paul Kelly’s or Nick Cave’s – and he’s just found a bullet.

“Just sitting in the middle of the bush – cause I get phone reception,” the ocker twang of his songs and his speaking voice one and the same, “and there’s an unused .22 bullet just lying here. Looks real old.”

It’s a surreal yet fitting moment. Who else but Liddiard would be able to spot, let alone identify and carbon-date such a projectile? In the foliage of Western Australia, no less. It’s wholly appropriate for a man whose own work looks past the tourism-friendly image of our country and its picturesque bush to pick out the true, gruesome details that lie beneath.

'You're Boring Us All' Interview: I, a Man

An interview originally syndicated for Tone Deaf, just in time for the band's launch at The Northcote Social Club tonight.

Through no conscious effort, Melbourne four-piece I, A Man are adding to the tally of unGoogleable band names, “Yeah, we probably shouldn’t have called ourselves that” laughs singer/guitarist Dan Moss, “It’s probably the one part of the band we’ve put the least amount of thought into” admits fellow axeman Ash Hunter. “The majority of the time, you have to repeat it to people after a gig. They think ‘Iron Man!?’ The Robert Downey Jr. comparisons come flying” adds their drummer, the fabulously named Sumner Fish. Despite the confusion that suggests they’re named after the popular comic book character, or a Black Sabbath song; the quartet have put far more attention towards crafting their music.

'What's will all of this living?' Interview: The Dead Leaves

The following is an interview originally published in Beat magazine, and online, it is recreated here in an extended edit

It might be a peaking summer day outside, but in the air-conditioned confines of a label office, half of Melbourne’s The Dead Leaves are looking, as always, extremely dapper. “We heard you were coming, so we dressed up” jokes guitarist Andy Pollock, bedecked in a neat pressed shirt framed by a waistcoast and full Windsor-knotted tie. He is flanked by frontman Matt Joe Gow, he of the cool demeanour and bruised baritone that drives so much of the band’s emotional candour, today dressed in a spotless black shirt and pants – save for a flashing bronze tie buckle. Usually a band’s fashion choices aren’t really worth mentioning but for the Melbourne four-piece, it reflects not only their polished image, but their equally buffed sound.

'You think you've heard this one before' Interview: The Darcys

One of the better - if not most daring - album releases during this tender end of the year would have to be The Darcys' take on Aja. A dramatic re-interpretation of Steely Dan's hallmark record, it reimagines the original's peerless jazz-rock fusion with the Canadian outfit's own glacial wash of agitated guitars and loping drums, an icy ambience of droning keys and moody tension.
AMR's own review already praised the album, but I've since been itching to know some details behind the record's conception and intentions. What better way than from the mouths of the band themselves? (None, if you can't think rhetorically). 

Though currently touring in support of both their cover album, as well as their excellent self-titled release (both available from the band's website), the band were kind enough to take time out from their trek across Canada and North America to discuss their take on the 1977 classic.

'Just Don't Call Him A DJ' An Interview with Girl Talk

This is an interview I did with Girl Talk for Pedestrian.TV in the lead-up to the Big Day Out, reproduced here in its entirety for the dedicated Ranters amongst you. 

There would be few artists who would forgive a hungover interviewer like mash-up maestro Girl Talk, particularly when the cause is a celebratory night on the town after seeing Steely Dan.

“Oh! Were they good? They’re a cool band, they’ve done so much great stuff. I have sampled some drums, not melodies or anything, just some subtle stuff. One of my favourite samples is from them, used by Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz [whose 1997 hit Déjà vu samples 1977 Aja opener Black Cow]. That is one of the coolest samples and they worked it so well, in my top 20 samples in hip-hop music of all time.”

Even casual conversation with Gillis makes evident his encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and giddy enthusiasm for its potential use and celebratory power - something that anyone who has heard his dazzling pop alchemy or seen one of his gigs-come-party-raves can attest to. And let’s be honest, that’s an ever- quotient of people. If you’ve got an internet connection, you know Girl Talk.

Yeo - Home: the album, the interview

“You know… ‘XOXO, Selma Blair.’ And I was just ‘That just happened. Awesome. There’s my first review!” Melbourne-based musician Yeo is recalling his tweet from the Hollywood actress in response to linking her his new single of the same name, “and the song’s got nothing to do with her. I’m not a creep, I’m not just writing about this superstar that I have a crush on. It’s about a break-up, her name is just a vehicle for it.” Driven by deftly-plucked banjo, rolling snare and some speedy acoustic picking, Selma Blair is the first taste of Yeo’s complete stylistic u-turn towards alt-country, folk and classic rock on his third independent record Home (available for free or courteous donation right now).

The UK Adventures of [ME]

You may know the story, excellent local band sets off to foreign shores seeking fame and glory.

While many bands find success by touring our not unsizeable nation relentlessly, earning tags like 'hard-working' or 'live instituion,' there are many more who find Australian acceptance by first 'making' it overseas. Think of talents like Lisa Mitchell, Sarah Blasko who blossomed from their journeys in London and America respectively, or the old big in America - big at home idiom that beset INXS and Silverchair. It's a strange thing, but one that many burgeoning bands must face.

In fact, in my talks with bands like Alpine and Big Scary they touched on the limitations of touring Australia, and more specifically with Kins' trek to the UK to record, whose own Thomas Savage put it best: "big landmass, not many people."

Which brings us to [ME]...

AMR and Kimbra re-united

Well Vows releases nationally today, and I'm assuming you've already headed to your local record store and picked up a copy; or you could just download one of the editions available on iTunes from the comfort of your net cave. Either way, to celebrate its release, here's an interview I conducted with Kimbra a couple months ago in the lead-up to its release in which we discussed its long gestation, her writing process and some of the records themes. Enjoy!

Dancing Back And Forth With Kins

Kins have been on the rise locally thanks to the release of a couple of key singles (Lake Troposphere, Mockasin's), the fact that it's the new outfit for ex-Oh Mercy man Thomas Savage, and some amount of local exposure (oh that'll be me, here and here). Last week, the group unleashed their debut 'mini-lp' a seven track introduction to their brand of disciplined interlocking rhythms combined with sparse almost skeletal guitar-work, as well as haunting vocals and precise patterns. Entitled Dancing Back And Forth, Covered In Whipped Cream, it's an ambitious work - tying togther the group's musical mission with a loose thematic concept about the two sides of the human condition; all delivered in a keen artistic package.

Having a chance to talk to Thom and musical partner Jacqueline Collyer, it turns out they're not only serious artists, but lovely people to boot. Jacky in particular speaks in hypothetical conversations which is totally endearing while Savage picks his words carefully, perhaps a little jaded at the constant mention of his old group in relation to his new one. After promises to keep the Oh Mercy related inquiries to a minimum he opens up enthusiastically. What was intended as a talk about promoting their album quickly turned into a discussion about all things Kins-related; their origins, their writing, the album and even their future steps - conversing in the spacious loft of Panama Dining Hall over what the band name-checked as 'the best tea ever.' Chin chin. Early Grey anyone?

AMR: You guys just played with Jack Ladder [at The Workers Club], how was that?

Thomas: It was great.

Jacky: Definitely an experience to play a gig where there was no opening support, normally there’s opener and then name – and we were technically both I suppose. For us, that’s really quite strange. We never thought we’d get the gig either. Beause Thom and I have obsessed over Jack Ladder a little bit, in the past and now with his forthcoming record and the song Cold Feet.

T: We really look up to them, huge admirers, we turn up and saw that they were nice people and we were very pleasantly… not surprised, but we were worrying about how intimidating it might be.

Alpine & Al: An Interview

Alpine are one of Melbourne's most hotly-tipped up-and-coming acts. Their excllent debut EP Zurich is currently slaying it in the iTunes charts, accompanied by an excllent taste in visuals and a whip-tight live show. AMR was lucky enough to catch up with co-vocalist Lousia James and Christian O'Brien recently for an in-depth interview.

Sister Bella’s hole-in-the-wall chic may be the perfect kind of city bound waterhole for the more discerning, but as it turns out, it’s hardly ideal environs for an interview. Tonight in particular, it seems impossible to escape the bartender’s iPod selection of fast, heavy, loud. With a noisy soundtrack of screamo it’s sometimes hard to hear the pair.

In person, their conduct is far flung from the sleek, cool demeanour of their music, in fact they’re more like ‘the band next door’. The tall and shaggy Christian lends a relaxed vibe to proceedings while Lou is as winsome as her dance-happy stage persona might suggest. You do get the impression that they’re still a vibrant young band on the rise, not least because of the amount of name-dropping on hand; but for the record - the most charming kind of name-dropping there is, and never for pretentious bragging rights. It just seems to be that in their short, busy lives the members of Alpine have formed a tight little six degrees of separation with many a band along Australia’s East Coast.

After clearing the air of any potential most-hated questions (namely the old band name change and dreaded ‘what are your influences?’), there’s time to discuss anecdotes from the road, the writing process and even Bocce.

Δbsence makes the heart...

It’s been quite a while since we’ve heard from Snowman, and as it turns out - the sad news is that we never will again. In the lead-up to the release of their third studio record, Δbsence (that’s with a triangle m’dear), the four-piece announced that they were to split, releasing the record ‘posthumously’. 

It really is the passing of a distinctly unique musical entity, they started as a bunch of chaotic rockers who took surf-punk and aggressive blues and mutated it into a galavnised mix of B-movie squalor and experimental abandon on their first two recordings, the appropriately titled Zombies on the Airwaves ofParis and their self-titled debut. However it was their sophomore, TheHorse, The Rat & The Swan that really saw the band undergoing something special. The result was one of the finest records of 2008 (as evidencedpreviously on AMR), a confident doctrine of brooding textures, cacophonic rhythmic battering and cathartic washes of shimmering feedback and iridescent instrumentation. The multicultural line-up of Snowman – Indonesian born Andy Citawarman, Joseph McKee, Ross DiBlasio and Olga Hermanniusson from Iceland  - had hit upon an alchemy that matched their crazed ambition and equally authoritative live show.

Leaving their home base of Perth behind, they then relocated overseas to record its follow-up. The resulting LP, Δbsence, contains many of elements from its predecessor; the warped Eastern scales and ghostly harmonies of Snakes & Ladders or the tribal drumming and layered chants that punctuate the (quite literally) animalistic lead single Hyena. Elsewhere the spikier moments have been traded in for warmer, ambient and electronic approaches to composition. White Wall grips with a hypnotic menace while Séance glowers with suitably spectral smoulder. The album then seems to waft towards a wraithlike fog of blissful oblivion through the hauntingly beautiful Memory Lost and unnerving yet mesmerising A Vanishing Act. By the time we reach the closing title track it’s clear that Δbsence is nothing short of a nocturnal triumph.  

The Biggest, Scariest Interview Yet (Part 2/2)

Sorry for the dealy in broadcasting, the post-Comedy Festival show blues has been swift and brutal. Think of it in equal and apposite correlation to the show's success. And while there may be some new blood to the site (hopefully? in which case, hello and welcome); I really have been doing my best to get this second half up, so no more mucking about...

So, you’ve (hopefully) seen Big Scary as part of their Four Seasons headline tour, so you’ve seen their costume-changing sense-of-humour, you’ve seen their excellent taste in support acts and their obvious brilliance. But what next? With the Four Seasons behind them, it’s time to focus on that ever-pressing debut album. In Part Two of our in-depth interview, strummer Tom Iansek and drummer Jo Syme talk about their writing and recording process, their plans for the future, as well as reflecting on how far they've come. 

The Biggest, Scariest Interview Yet (Part 1/2)

Before we get down to business. Don't forget that Al's Music Rant opens at the Comedy Festival this Wed 30th March. Bookings available at the Comedy Festival website or directly through TryBooking here.

So, here it is, the big reveal. An epic two part interview with Big Scary, so buckle up, this is as in-depth as they get.

Settle Down, won't you...

OK, it's less than fourteen days/two weeks/336 hours until this humble blog shambles to life onstage as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. So it's about damn time I let on about what to expect, since there's no logic or rhyme or reason to these things, I'll just start splurging - throwing a bunch of words and phrases at you and see if they'll stick. Hopefully you can consider this the 'piquing of interest' variety of preview as opposed to 'spoilers ahead.'

• Finger Deck Goggles
• Dancing (of a riddick nature)
• Paul Simon, obviously
• Bill Bailey-esque stage set-up 
• Prince
• Songs, funny ones, not of a Flight of a Conchords parodic ilk, nor Sammy J lyrical excellence, or the high antics of Anyone For Tennis?, but hopefully giggle-some none the less.
• High-brow lyrical quotes
• More Prince
• Sleevefaces
• This
• Impersonations of singers 
• Masturbation
• Genre Analyses (yeah baby, plural)
• And oh yeah, Prince

There are six shows:
Wed 29 Sep (Preview tix)
Thurs 30 Sep
Fri 1 Oct
Sat 2 Oct
Wed 6 Oct (2 for 1 tix)
Fri 8 Oct
@ The Glasshouse, 51 Gipps St, Collingwood

So go ahead and point your browser here for details and book your tix online. 

And while you're there, Ihighly recommend getting along to the following shows:

Dr. Professor Neal Portenza's Interactive Goat Hour (and his amazing website)

OC/DC

The Hermitude of Angus, Ecstatic

Postcards From The Abyss

Booked a ticket? Good, we now return to our regular programming.

I've been sitting on this one for a while now, but since the buzz is (finally) starting to build for the wonderful soul-popster Kimbra, I thought I'd add my discerning voice to the rabble. Following is an interview I conducted waaaaaaay back in March. A lengthy chat that resulted in some music biography and press release material you'll see dotted about the interwebz, but since Kimbra's debut is on the cusp of public release, it still seems timely and relevant. But first, a primer: