PHOTOGRAPHY: NATE HILL

WORDS: CHRIS BROOKS

Kikagaku Moyo graced the Melbourne Croxton Bandroom stage with a psychedelic aura that could be felt and seen immediately without the need of a Kirlian camera or even the assistance of a sense enhancing substance.  Hailing all the way from Japan, what a blessing it is to have such an act perform on a Aussie soil.

The musical chemistry within Kikagaku Moyo was electrifying as the energy was teaming throughout the hot and sweaty Croxton.  The band members reverberated musical notes of each with ease an effortlessness that usually only comes through a family like relationship or very close and intimate friendships, the passing of human emotion through musical notes is what in essence music is all about, Kikagaku Moyo are an extraordinary exemplification of music in form.

The Croxton audience were taken on a fun and sexy psychedelic/hypnotic roller coaster of love rock, at times reaching a euphoric sense of a transcending meditative state, a truly out of this world, out of body experience.

Kikagaku  Moyo performed with wholehearted finesse and a refined Japanese flavour that will always be leaving you asking for more.

PHOTOGRAPHY: NATE HILL

WORDS: CHRIS BROOKS

Melbourne’s Nat Vazer is excited to reveal her latest indie pop crooner ‘Grateful’.
Out today, ‘Grateful’ joins beloved 2019 latecomer ‘Like Demi’, to appear on Vazer’s forthcoming debut album arriving mid-year via Hotel Motel Records. The anticipated release follows in the wake of Vazer’s 2018 EP We Used to Have Real Conversations, which featured breaking single ‘Keep Away From Parks’ and crowd favourite ‘Struggletown’. Fans of Nat Vazer’s distinct vocal charm and tender lyricism can revel in the palpable slacker-rock energy of ‘Grateful’ live when Vazer and her band head up the East Coast for a run of launch shows this March.

In ‘Grateful‘ it’s as if Vazer is gathering her thoughts live on record. Her stream-of-consciousness ponderings are highly considered, eloquent and raw, strewn over cathartic outbursts of ‘90s grunge and powerful guitar licks. A song navigating social equity in Australia and beyond, ‘Grateful’ situates Vazer as a leading voice of her generation, nestling in comfortably beside such indie contemporaries as Courtney Barnett Lucy Dacus, or Stella Donnelly. Produced by Robert Muiños (Julia Jacklin, Saskwatch) and featuring a fiery solo from bandmate Andy Campbell, ‘Grateful’ presents a nostalgic trip down memory lane from angst-ridden adolescence to budding sisterhood and beyond.

“‘Grateful’ is an ode to all the inspiring female artists and role models out there, and a vent about the ongoing uphill battle for social equality. It’s about acknowledgement and respect, with a sprinkle of sarcasm and the kind of non-conformist attitude that used to make my Year 10 English teacher say, ‘girls like you are exactly what’s wrong with the world.’ In my head this song takes place in a hot, cowboy-esque desert town with smokey synths and tambourines in the same vein as The Brian Jonestown Massacre. In writing the guitar and drum parts, my artist child took a trip down memory lane and revisited old influences like Nirvana, The Dandy Warhols and The Beatles who had a real influence on my early days of guitar playing as a teen.” – Nat Vazer

Nat Vazer’s fast-growing reputation as an intricate songwriter and enthralling live performer have landed her support slots for Last Dinosaurs, #1 Dads, Carla Geneve, The Magic Numbers (UK) and a Victorian tour with Lime Cordiale. Performances at St Kilda Festival, Kyneton Music Festival, Changes, Not Fest and more have cemented Vazer as a prominent live force who can captivate audiences at large, both with and without her full live band. Nat is thrilled to be celebrating her latest release with an East Coast ‘Grateful’ single tour this autumn, hitting up Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Newcastle to support US band Twin Peaks. So be sure to head on down to your local to hear some of Nat Vazer’s whimsical storytelling with a bite of feminist defiance.

‘Grateful’ Single Launch Tour
Melbourne
Saturday 28 March – The Old Bar
Double Single Launch With Good Pash
Supported by Eaglemont + AM Reruns
Tickets: theoldbar.com.au

 Thirroul
Wednesday 8 April 2020 – Franks Wild Years
Supports TBA
More info: frankswildyears.com

Newcastle
Thursday 9 April – Small Ballroom
Supporting Twin Peaks (US)
Tickets: Oztix

Canberra
Friday 10 April – Smiths Alternative
National Anti Folk Festival
Tickets: smithsalternative.com

Sydney
Saturday 11 April – Golden Age Cinema
Support From Goodside
Free Entry
www.ourgoldenage.com.au/live-music

Melbourne
Saturday 18 April – Rocksteady Records
Record Store Day 2020 – Full Line Up TBA
Free Entry and All Ages

‘Grateful’ is out now via Hotel Motel Records

‘Grateful’ Co-produced by Robert Mui​ñ​os and Nat Vazer
Mixed by Ali Chant 
Mastered by John Davis

GRATEFUL – Lyrics
There’s that girl who you adore
Hanging on that poster wall
She climbed so high, she broke the ceiling

There’s that girl who you applaud
She paved the way for us all
So we can do it once more, with feeling

And they tell me I should be grateful

And I’ve been waiting for a girl like you
The broken system’s broken me down too
And I’ve been waiting for a girl like you

There’s that girl who you adore
Hanging on that poster wall
She climbed so high, she broke the ceiling
So we can do it once more, with feeling
They tell me it could be easy
And I should be grateful, I should be grateful

Grateful to my own mother?
Grateful to fill the quota?
Just somebody else’s lover?
Just a significant ‘other’?
And I should be grateful?
I should be grateful?

Nat Vazer Website Nat Vazer Facebook Nat Vazer Instagram Nat Vazer Spotify

APPEARING AT SXSW 2020

“Atmospheric rock music veering between noise and subtlety — so compelling …
a hopeful new chapter.” – Pitchfork

“Wynn’s talk/sung vocals still reverberate like a combination of Lou Reed, Dylan and Michael Stipe, but he has a unique voice that connects perfectly with this gripping music.” – American Songwriter

“This is passionate and rewarding music from artists still exploring new territory with truly satisfying results.” – All Music Guide

LA indie rock forbearers The Dream Syndicate are announcing their third ANTI- Records release today. Titled The Universe Inside, the mind-bending new album will be released on April 10. First single “The Regulator” kicks in instantly; at twenty minutes long, immerse yourself in the song and watch its new video HERE.

Directed by David Daglish, the video is a psychedelic journey through New York City, equal parts panoramic, psychedelic, somnambulistic and political in all the best ways. George Harrison once said, “arrive without traveling.”  This is your ticket to The Universe Inside.

Reminiscent of 70s Miles Davis and his chaotic brilliance, the track starts all fired up. Over of the course of the song, textures of eastern droning electric sitar (played by Stephen McCarthy of The Long Ryders), deep funky bass, haunting vocals, and saxophone flourishes by guest Marcus Tenney (a member of all-instrumental progressive ensemble Butcher Brown) grow into something delightful and unexpected.

When one thinks of The Dream Syndicate, it is not just the wild abandon with which singer/guitarist Steve Wynn, drummer Dennis Duck, bassist Mark Walton, keyboardist Chris Cacavas and lead guitarist Jason Victor perform; it is the carefully constructed songwriting of Wynn that comes to mind. By now every rock critic in the country has predetermined who he or she feels Wynn reminds them of and what they think of that style of songs. This time, don’t! For the first time, every song is a group songwriting effort.

““The Regulator” is a microcosm of the entire record,” Wynn explains. “It was just a formless, trippy mass as we all started playing together. There was an early 70’s drum machine—a Maestro Rhythm King, the same model used on “There’s A Riot Goin’ On”—with Dennis locking in and setting the pace. Stephen grabbed an electric sitar because it was the first thing he saw. Jason and I were kicking pedals on like lab monkeys in a laboratory and Mark was a lightning rod, uniting all of those elements into one tough groove. I collected a list of random, unconnected lyric ideas that I kept on my phone. I tried them all out in random order in my home studio just to see how they would feel and that one-take test run is the vocal you hear!. There’s just so much lightning-in-a-jar, first take excitement on this record.”

What seeps into this music are Dennis Duck’s knowledge of European avantgarde music, Jason Victor’s passion for 70s prog, Mark Walton’s experience in Southern-fried music collectives, Chris Cacavas’ hunger for sound manipulation and Wynn’s love of vintage electric jazz. This album could have been called The Art of The Improvisers – in one session, they recorded 80 continuous minutes of soundscapes. “All we added was air,” Wynn explained. Which is to say aside from vocals, horns and a touch of percussion – every instrument is live as it happened.

After humble lo-fi beginnings in the Australian art-pop underground, Donny Benét has expanded his cult-like following across the globe with a resonant array of danceable repertoire dealing with love and affection. His next album marks a new chapter informed by a wealth of musical and personal development. Enter Mr Experience, the new album from Donny Benét released Friday 22nd May via Dot Dash Recordings / Remote Control Records. 

To celebrate Mr Experience, Donny Benét will play a run of shows in UK & Europe throughout May and will return home to Australia in June. The east coast run of shows will begin at The Zoo in Brisbane on Friday 12th June, Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory on Saturday 13th June and finish up Friday 19th June at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel.

Sincerity has been a key component of Donny Benét’s output since the beginning. His songs deal with genuine emotion served on a kitsch platter. An alter-ego manifested at the beginning of the 2010s, Donny has blurred the lines of artifice to create a back catalogue that can embrace and challenge – often simultaneously – the notion of irony in art. Mr Experience moves further away from ironic notions as Donny explores lyrical and musical themes which embody observations of maturation in his audience, his tight-knit musical community, and himself. While ‘mature’ is a term that often rings hollow as an album descriptor, the term couldn’t be more apt for Mr Experience.

To push himself musically, Donny envisioned a soundtrack to a dinner party set in the late 1980s. While his earlier recordings drew inspiration from DIY pop conspirators such as Ariel Pink and John Maus, Donny channelled the stylings of Bryan Ferry and Hiroshi Yoshimura as the impetus for new material, evident on the intimacy found on current single ‘Girl Of My Dreams’ and its lush production (with a soothing whistle-along chorus for good measure).

Mr Experience will be available digitally and released on classic black vinyl as well as a special ‘fruit punch’ coloured vinyl available exclusively via independent retailers. UK and European distribution via Proper Music Group.

Pre-order and pre-save Mr Experience via https://donnybenet.lnk.to/mrexperience

Donny Benét – Mr Experience Album Tour

Friday 22 May – Nouveau Monde – Fribourg, CH
Saturday 23 May – Villette Sonique – Paris, FR
Sunday 24 May – Botanique – Brussels, BE
Tuesday 26 May – The Dome – London, UK
Wednesday 27 May – Paradiso Noord – Amsterdam, NL
Thursday 28 May – Loppen – Copenhagen, DK
Friday 29 May – Lido – Berlin, DE
Saturday 30 May – Futurum – Prague, CZ
Sunday 31 May – Moers Festival, Moers DE

Friday 12 June – The Zoo – Brisbane
Saturday 13 June – Oxford Art Factory – Sydney
Friday 19 June – Corner Hotel – Melbourne

Friday 21 August – Pstereo – Trondheim, NO
Saturday 22 August – Parken Festivalen – Bodo, NO

Tickets via donnybenet.com

Donny Benét | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Australia’s masters of brutality Thy Art Is Murder have announced the Human Target Australian Tour, set to cause carnage across the country in May 2020. Their first headline run since the release of their earth-scorching fifth record of the same name, The Human Target tour will be a night to remember as Thy Art Is Murder unveil their most ambitious Australian production to date with help from supports Dying Fetus, Fit For An Autopsy, Enterprise Earth and Aversions Crown.

Human Target is a bleak experience where Thy Art Is Murder exorcise the pangs of mortality and the pains of socio-political trauma to a soundtrack of authentic crushing death metal with blackened fury and flashes of knuckle-dragging stomp. In its crosshairs are a buffet of human atrocities from privatised prisons enforcing police states where non-violent offenders languish for decades to human organ harvesting for the wealthy. They also examine the false gods of social media while pharmaceuticals numb the minds of the dissociated.

We’re also confronted with the current state of politics riddled with hyperactive virtue signalling, extremism and disenfranchisement. And, while hyperbolic leaders promise to make everything “great” again, our planet lurches toward an inevitable climate disaster that will extinguish humanity. Grim.

Since the release of Human Target, Thy Art Is Murder have been on tour non-stop, leaving a trail of sold out shows in their wake. Between bouts of crisscrossing the Northern Hemisphere, the band briefly returned home for a stint on Good Things festival before heading back to Europe. The next stop on their itinerary is a headline run in North America this month with low ticket warnings all round.

The Human Target Australian Tour promises to be the biggest and most insane live show Thy Art Is Murder has ever done on home soil. If you’ve seen the photos from their recent European tour, you know this tour is going to be EPIC.

Tickets go on sale on Friday March 6 at 12pm. Thy Art Is Murder’s last Australian tour sold out over a month in advance (!) so don’t sleep tickets or you’ll be sorry.

THY ART IS MURDER HUMAN TARGET AUSTRALIAN TOUR WITH SPECIAL GUESTS DYING FETUS, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY,  ENTERPRISE EARTH & AVERSIONS CROWN SIGN UP AT THYARTISMURDER.NET FOR PRE-SALE TICKETS TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY MARCH 6 AT 12PM Friday May 15 The Triffid, Brisbane Saturday May 16 The Metro, Sydney Wednesday May 20 The Basement, Canberra Friday May 22 170 Russell, Melbourne Saturday May 23 The Gov, Adelaide Sunday May 24 Capitol, Perth

Thy Art Is Murder @thyartinstagram @thyartismurder

PACHA
CLAPTONE PRESENTS: ‘THE MASQUERADE’
EVERY SATURDAY AT PACHA IBIZA
MAY 23rd – OCTOBER 3rd

Enigmatic DJ and producer Claptone is bringing The Masquerade, his spellbinding event concept, back to Pacha Ibiza for a second season this summer commencing on May 23rd, with the weekly run of parties switching to Saturday for 2020.

‘The Masquerade’ has quickly become a highlight on the Ibizan calendar, promising magic, mystery and intrigue, within a supercharged environment of wonder. It’s a place where one can live out their deepest desires, an extraordinary atmosphere, full of masked faces, complemented by some of Pacha’s world famous and beautiful costumed dancers, held every Saturday throughout the summer.

It follows on from a massively well-received first season, which welcomed MK, Diplo, Purple Disco Machine, Duke Dumont, Kerri Chandler, Basement Jaxx and many more to the idyllic shores of the White Isle for a string of majestic parties.

“It’s crazy to think last summer was just the beginning, it already felt that perfect to me. To be honest, I can’t fully fathom that after that epic 2019 season, I’ll be back at Pacha for 2020, to present an even bigger, better and longer season of The Masquerade – on the weekend. There will be exciting guests, propulsive house music and all these great performers that your heart desires! in our sanctuary, each Saturday for 21 weeks. This is only the beginning.”

Originating in 2016, Claptone took his unique ‘The Masquerade’ show to select cities and venues around the globe, from The Brooklyn Mirage in New York to Electric Brixton in London, from Estadio Geba in Buenos Aires to Burnley Park in Melbourne, from Club Space in Miami to his own arena at Belgium’s iconic Tomorrowland.

A unique figure in modern music, Claptone is like no other. Playing over 260 shows around the world each year, his idiosyncratic, spellbinding very own house sound has caught the attention of many. The second iteration of his Ibiza residency is certain to harbour many more.

The Masquerade returns to Pacha Ibiza May 23rd

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