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![Where are you currently based? Te Awakairangi (Lower Hutt) in Aotearoa New Zealand How did you first start playing music? I started recorder lessons when I was about seven, and then guitar a couple of years later. What's been happening recently? We just released an album over lockdown, and so we've been doing a bunch of 'Personal Party' tiny skype concerts for people over the weekend, playing songs and reading tarot. Your new album 'Big Woman' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for the album? It's a breakup album, so the songwriting was influenced by the drastically shifting social and emotional geography of my life at the time. I knew the songs felt big and I wanted them to sound catastrophic. While we were working on production we were listening to lots of 90's wall-of-sound type stuff, and Jason [Erskine] was trying out lots of Michael Brauer / CLA mix techniques to try and get the size and space we wanted on the tracks. How did you go about writing the music? All of the songs except 'The News' were written over the last few years. Writing usually comes as a sort of compulsion to me, so I'll be in an almost trance-like state late at night, frantically demo-ing out the ideas flying around my brain. All of the songs that ended up on the album basically came out fully formed with guitars / bass / vocals without much conscious input from me, and the final versions on the album are pretty true to the original scratch demos. Where and when did you record and who with? It was a DIY affair. We recorded it at our homes, starting with Lauren Ellis tracking the drums in Jason's garage with a bunch of microphones we borrowed off a friend. We then tracked everything else over the next 12 months in between working and parenting. Jason did all of the production - engineering and mixing, and he also ended up mastering the album in the end because we were so scrupulous about how we wanted it to sound. He is so patient and willing to try a hundred things and throw them all out if they don't work. He totally gets the vision. What programs/instruments did you use? We recorded it using Ableton Live and a bunch of plugins in the mixing process. Jason used a Gretsch 12-string, as well as an acoustic 12-string and a baritone guitar over the drums and bass to build up the density of the album, and there's also some digital piano in there too. We were really constrained on what we could do mainly due to our schedules and lack of money, so Jason spent heaps of time processing tracks in different ways to come up with the sonic landscape we were looking for. What did you find most challenging and rewarding throughout the creation of the album? The whole process was incredibly grounding. I mean I was going through a really messy separation, I wasn't sleeping, my life was a shambles, but being involved in this creative process alongside Jason was incredibly strengthening and affirming. As the album came together it was like emerging from a fog, we would listen to the rough bounces in the car and it felt like coming back into my body. So even though these songs came out of this really traumatic time, the process of making the album was like an exercise in courage and an affirmation of my own existence. What do you like to do away from music? Away from music I'm mainly hanging out with my family and dog Tofu and friends and doing prison abolition work, but I also love to write and drink coffee and make clothes and visit small towns. In reality though when I do get free time I'm usually just curled up in bed with Tofu looking at pictures of A-frame houses on my phone and drinking whisky. Who are you listening to at the moment? I can't get past Baroness' latest album 'Gold & Grey'. It's so perfect. I've also been cranking Mazzy Star and The American Analog Set, and I'm really excited for the upcoming releases from Baby In The 90's who are from Louisiana. What's planned for 2020? We were meant to be touring a bunch across Aotearoa and Australia, but that's gone a bit awry. We're starting production on the next record, and we really wanna play shows again and hang out! Favourite food and place to hangout? I'm pretty obsessed with the food that Plant Blazed cranks out in Pōneke Wellington. Stupidly delicious southern fried seitan burgers with heaps of slaw and pickles. And my favourite place to hang out is definitely at home in bed under a warm blanket.](https://thepartae.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Giantess-1170x659.jpg "Giantess")
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BRLEE – ‘VISIONS’ (MAGDALENA REMIX)
OVERLOAD RECORDS
OUT NOW
Released today, Hamburg electronic artist and the figure-head behind one of Ibiza’s widely popular event series, Magdalena, unveils her new remix of Brlee’s ‘Visions’.
Arguably one of the Slovenian artist’s most renowned tracks, ‘Visions’ was originally released in 2016 as part of the ‘Visions / Reality’ EP project. Amassing support from both key industry figures and artists alike, ‘Visions’ is also the title track from Brlee’s anticipated upcoming album – set for release in June.
Much like many industry peers, the original track has regularly found its way into Magdalena’s sets time and time again. After a short exchange between both artists, Magdalena’s own take on ‘Visions’ was put into motion, transforming the track into a hypnotic remix, more than fitting for dimly-lit clubs, festival stages and dusky-Ibizan sunsets.
With releases spanning a host of esteemed labels from Anjunadeep, Diynamic, Knee Deep In Sound and many more, Magdalena continues to re-affirm herself as one of the underground’s most innovative names. From working alongside Solomun and Adriano Trolio to open the Hamburg venue ‘EGO’, to inviting industry heavy-weights Miss Kittin, Anja Schneider, Nicole Moudaber just to name a few, to her ‘SHADOWS’ event series at Ibiza’s Cova Santa, Magdalena will continue her unstoppable trajectory across the new decade, starting with today’s release of the ‘Visions’ remix.
Brlee ‘Visions’ (Magdalena Remix) is out now via Overload Records
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Jess Cornelius
Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Spotify
parttimerecords.com
remotecontrolrecords
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The Hoodoo Gurus will release their latest single – “Answered Prayers” – as a VERY limited edition 7″ on June 12. At the same time they will digitally release an expanded Deluxe Edition of their 2004 album Mach Schau, which will combine the track listings from both the local and US editions in a new 16 track running order.
“Answered Prayers”, which the Gurus performed live in front of a huge national audience on last Friday night’s episode of The State Of Music and which is already available digitally, is the first new music from the band in 10 years, not counting 2014’s Gravy Train, a newly-recorded EP of lost tracks from the band’s early days. It is the first recording to feature “new” drummer Nik Rieth, who joined in 2015, following time served with The Celibate Rifles, New Christs and Tumbleweed, as well as Radio Birdman, with whom he still plays.
“Answered Prayers” is a stark and visceral track addressing a certain type of abuse propagated by a particular type of male. It’s also a reminder of the Gurus’ raw power and their roots in the original punk rock of the ’70s. Indeed the track follows the release of both old and new material by The Victims, the band that head Guru Dave Faulkner formed with drummer James Baker in Perth in 1977, some four or so years before the pair reunited in Sydney to form the Gurus.
“Song of the Year”, which will feature on the single’s B-side, further emphasises the band’s punk roots. Written and sung by guitarist Brad Shepherd, the flat-out screamer of a song obliquely references in its chorus two of Brisbane’s legendary punk-era bands, The Fucken Leftovers and The Survivors. Brad, of course, fronted his own groups as a teenager in Brisbane at the time, beginning with The Aliens, who evolved into the legendary Fun Things.
Oh, and did we mention the band that Gurus bassman Rick Grossman and former Gurus drummer Mark Kingsmill attempted to get off the ground with Radio Birdman’s Deniz Tek, before Radio Birdman started? Talk about punk rock roots…
“ANSWERED PRAYERS”/”SONG OF THE YEAR” Limited Edition 7″ vinyl release
PRE-ORDER LINK TO SHARE: https://HoodooGurus.
“Song of the Year” will also appear on the digital Deluxe Edition of Mach Schau. Left off the original Australian release in 2004, it was one of a handful of tracks added to the US edition of the album at the expense of a couple from the local edition. The new digital release will include all tracks from both editions – plus a couple of tracks, “This Is Your Time” and “Keep It Alive”, that were B-sides on a CD single – in a new, improved running order. None of these extra tracks have ever been available for streaming anywhere in the world, and many were previously unreleased in Australia.
Mach Schau was the first album the Gurus recorded after their five-year hiatus starting in 1998 and is one of their very best. Co-produced by another veteran of Perth’s feisty late-‘70s punk scene Kim Salmon, it features cracking tunes like “Sour Grapes”, “Girls On Top”, “Domino”, “When You Get to California” (with guest Vicki Peterson of The Bangles) and the great single “Nothing’s Changing My Life”, which surprisingly featured the decidedly non-punk – but classic ’70s – pair of Venetta Fields and Renee Geyer on backing vocals.
Mach Schau Deluxe Edition track listing:
1. “Sour Grapes”
2. “Domino”
3. “Nothing’s Changing My Life”
4. “The Good Son”
5. “When You Get to California”
6. “This One’s for the Ladies”
7. “Girls on Top”
8. “Dead Sea”
9. “Monkey’s Wedding”
10. “#17”
11. “Isolation”
12. “White Night”
13. “Song of the Year”
14. “The Mighty Have Fallen”
15. “Chop”
16. “Penelope’s Lullaby”
HOODOO GURUS’ “ANSWERED PRAYERS”/”SONG OF THE YEAR” Limited Edition 7″ vinyl release and MACH SCHAU DELUXE EDITION digital release are both out
Friday June 12.
www.hoodoogurus.net
www.facebook.com/hoodoogurus/
www.youtube.com/user/
https://music.apple.com/au/
Thrilling multi-instrumentalist and producer, Perth’s Ukiyo returns today with his entrancing new single Good Enough featuring Maribelle – a modest change of pace from the lofi electronic records of his Mixtape series, Ukiyo has produced a sensational blend of ambient indie-tronica and synth-driven future pop. The track is perfectly complemented by a hypnotic video that will take the viewer on a mesmerising journey into a ravaged world, where the video seeks to compare a doomed relationship within the lyrics of the song to the state of the earth – exploring the daunting idea of humans doing the bare minimum to get by – taking on the ‘good enough’ attitude.
Inspired by artists like Mac Miller, Porter Robinson and Bonobo, Good Enough is a synth-laden masterpiece with a bouncing melody, and offers an uplifting take on a relationship that is going nowhere. Maribelle croons in that lively, soulful vocal she’s best known for – “Falling out of love. If we give it up, give it up. At least we know that this was good enough.”
Offering insight into the song, Ukiyo says,“For me, Good Enough is all about being happy with what you have. I’m a person that struggles to keep my mind away from thinking about what ‘could’ve’ or ‘should’ve’ instead of focusing on reality. This track came about at a time that was very much a turning point for me with how I chose to view the world. I think it’s an important message for people to hear, especially in a time like now.”
Working with production company Blacklake who have made clips for OTR, Shallou, Martin Garrix and more, Ukiyo explains how the video for Good Enough came about, saying, “Some of the most common things I hear about my music is it’s a great soundtrack for travelling & adventuring. I guess that makes a lot of sense with all the vlogs and videos I’ve seen it combined with. At its core I think those two things represent movement & escape, which is what this video and the ones that come after represent. It’s pretty difficult to make a conventional music video in the current times, but the situation has opened my eyes to things I might not have usually tried. I had some basic concepts I knew I wanted to explore in the videos which I took to Blacklake and they made them a hundred times cooler.”
This is a 23 year old with a clear vision for his art, and an impressive host of accolades to hang his hat on. Will Smith and Casey Neistat borrow his songs for vlogs, US pop star Pharrell Williams and Dutch DJ Martin Garrix added him to their playlists – it’s promotion that money can’t buy and thanks to some big name fans, Perth’s own Timothy Arnott has amassed near on 30 million streams, and landed syncs with big brands like American Eagle, Ripcurl, Microsoft, Volkswagon, HBO and Netflix for the relatively small handful of electronic songs he’s released under his Ukiyo moniker.
And with his LP completed and set for release later this year, Ukiyo drops some exciting info on exactly why we should be prepping ourselves for a killer debut album, enthusing, “I’m absolutely in love with the Australian music scene, so in the unique position I’m in as a producer, I knew I wanted my album to be a showcase of some of the incredible talent we’ve got here. These singles and the album are as Australian as it gets with production (obviously), and all features, mixing, mastering and artwork all done by Aussies.”
Ukiyo’s decision to release his tunes despite Covid-19 wreaking havoc on the global music industry was a no brainer, explaining, “There were talks within my team about delaying this music because of the virus and I’ve seen so much of that happening, but I think it’s times like these where we need music to help us through. All the tracks on this album were made at times when I was by myself. I find it’s the only way I can make what I perceive as a ‘Ukiyo’ song, so I think it’s a little poetic that a lot of people are going to be stuck listening to it by themselves too.”
Ukiyo is Tim Arnott.
Good Enough is released today on Pack Records.
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Today, Australia’s notorious pub-punk kingpins Private Function have announced a new label deal with Damaged for the band’s impending 2020 LP release, with marketing and distribution handled by Caroline Australia.
The deal, which sees the recently arrived label snag the hot-property band, marks as the debut signing from Damaged, which was founded by Australia’s ARIA-nominated punk outfit Clowns in 2019.
According to label director and Clowns frontman Stevie Williams, signing Private Function to the Damaged / Caroline roster was a no brainer.
“We started Damaged to shine a light on our favourite bands that we had discovered through years of touring and working on Clowns. In our years we’ve never come across a more entertaining, infectious and magnetic band than Private Function,” Stevie says.
“Whether you’re listening to their records or catching them live, you simply can’t turn your attention off from this irreverent, hilarious, crackerjack punk-rock act. Further expanding our label facilities to Private Function’s new LP is not just exciting but feels oh so right. PF STILL ON TOP!”
Private Function’s guitarist Joe Hansen agreed it was important for the band to align with a label who always had the band’s best interests in mind.
“We decided it was a good idea to sign with a label like Damaged so we could have a good middleman between us and the inevitable legal issues and public outcry”
New music from Private Function will be released via Damaged in the coming months. Stay tuned for more details.
SONGS FROM NORTHERN TORRANCE
Acclaimed California-based four-piece Joyce Manor have announced Songs From Northern Torrance. The 10-track compilation is a collection of early material that offers a glimpse into the band’s humble beginnings as an acoustic two-piece. Originally recorded between 2008-2010, many of the tracks have become fan favorites over the years previously existing in a live setting, or on rare CD-Rs sold by the band during their early days on the road.
The newly remastered tracks will be available on streaming services this Friday, May 29 and on vinyl September 18. The vinyl is currently available for pre-order here.
STREAM / PRE-ORDER SONGS FROM NORTH TORRANCE
Today, the band shares “House Warning Party,” a one-minute blast of upbeat suburban angst. “A lot of early Joyce Manor songs are actually leftovers from earlier bands, but ‘House Warning Party‘ was the first song I wrote specifically for Joyce Manor,” explains vocalist Barry Johnson. “I was working at the Long Beach Aquarium and the first line of the song came to me while I was perusing the vending machine on my break. They had some LifeSavers and on the packaging it said ‘five flavors’ and the opening line of the song just popped in my head. The rest of the lyrics came effortlessly and the song was fully written in about the time it takes to listen to. Listening to it ten years later it sounds young and inspired and I’m impressed at how much of a story I was able to tell in just over a minute.”
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