Her Songs release stunning new single ‘If We Try’ FFO Poppy Ajudha...

January 29, 2020

London’s Cross The Tracks Festival Reveals Further Names for 2020 Madlib, Sudan...

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Boiler Room announces the return to Sydney for tenth birthday celebrations –...

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NOBLE OAK SHARES VIRTUAL REALITY VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE “MORNING” LABEL DEBUT...

January 29, 2020

BOBBY ALU’s ‘Flow’ 2020 Album Australian Tour

January 28, 2020

RICARDO TOBAR UNVEILS NEW EP ON MUSAR RECORDINGS FUSING TOGETHER ATMOSPHERIC CUTS...

January 28, 2020

KYGO AND SANDRO CAVAZZA PAY TRIBUTE TO AVICII WITH SINGLE ‘FOREVER YOURS...

January 28, 2020

Tour Announcement | The Offspring Announce A Greatest Hits Australian Tour With...

January 28, 2020

Rock Relief! Sydney Northen Beaches Saturday 15 Feb 2020

January 28, 2020

Jackson Carroll Interview

January 28, 2020

MACEO PLEX ANNOUNCES M³ COMBINING ALL THREE MONIKERS OF MACEO PLEX, MAETRIK...

January 28, 2020

Debut EP from Autonomous out today on Avoidant

January 28, 2020

Listen to Valentino Khan’s Full “House Party” Remix EP ft. Tchami, Drezo,...

January 28, 2020

RIVILIN BRISBANE ALTERNATIVE RAPPER RELEASES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘NEUROSCIENCE’ + ANNOUNCES...

January 27, 2020

Rivilin

January 27, 2020

R3HAB Teams Up with Clara Mae and Frank Walker for Heartfelt New...

January 27, 2020

LUCIFOUR M

January 27, 2020

New Music Playlist

January 27, 2020

kaskade-brohug-channel-snaps-iconic-power-new-throwback-single-1990-now-arkade/

January 25, 2020

New Wales ‘Winnipeg’ Premiere

January 25, 2020

Minuscule ‘Lukewarm Love’ Premiere

January 25, 2020

Heartlake

January 25, 2020

Marc Rebillet’s One Man Show to make his AU & NZ live...

January 24, 2020

AVA KAYDO RELEASE DREAMY INDIE ROCK SINGLE ‘LUCID’

January 24, 2020

Dusky Announce Melbourne Show

January 24, 2020

OFFSÓNAR REVEAL FIRST LINE UPS FOR 2020 SERIES WITH MOODYMANN, INNER CITY,...

January 24, 2020

UNUM Festival Returns to the Albanian Riviera for Second Edition Raresh, Seth...

January 24, 2020

Fatboy Slim announces a return to Melbourne’s Revolver Upstairs this Tuesday 28...

January 24, 2020

ARCHIE ROACH NEW SINGLE ‘TELL ME WHY (FEAT. SALLY DASTEY)’ OUT NOW...

January 24, 2020

WOLFMOTHER – 2020 FESTIVAL & SHOW NEWS UPDATE & ANNOUNCE

January 24, 2020

HAWA Announces debut EP the One Shares first single ‘IPHONE’

January 24, 2020

The full Australian dates of the Intrepid Skin owner SPFDJ

January 24, 2020

TANYA RYAN TEASES NEW GENRE-BLENDING ALBUM MADE WITH DEEP LOVE, REFINED ARTISTRY,...

January 24, 2020

Inklines

January 24, 2020

Elements Festival announce 4th edition lane up – Headliners include Bonobo, Diplo,...

January 23, 2020

Morning Maxwell Interview

January 23, 2020

AWAKENINGS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES LINE UP FOR ITS 20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TICKET SALE...

January 23, 2020

ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL REVEALS PHASE 2 LINEUP

January 23, 2020

This week at Cherry! Don’t miss out on The Soul Movers, The...

January 23, 2020

Nix Northwest

January 23, 2020

STEPHEN MALKMUS Announces new album Traditional Techniques Shares first single ‘Xian Man’

January 23, 2020

Rising North London Artist Natty Wylah Releases Sublime Jorja Smith Sampling New...

January 22, 2020

SAINT LANE DROPS NEW SINGLE ‘HICKEYS’ ANNOUNCES HICKEYS TOUR

January 22, 2020

NOCTURNAL SUNSHINE IGNITES 2020 WITH ‘GRAVITY’ FEATURING RY X TAKEN FROM THE...

January 22, 2020

DONNY BENÉT Shares new single & video ‘Girl of My Dreams’ Announces...

January 22, 2020

King of Foxes 

January 22, 2020

Picnic Announce fabric Debut For 8th Birthday w/ Francesco Del Garda, Laurine,...

January 22, 2020

INTRODUCING THE LAZY EYES WITH THEIR DEBUT SINGLE ‘CHEESY LOVE SONG’

January 22, 2020

Music Interviews


Rivilin

Rivilin

What is your name and role in Heartlake?  Our roles vary between members and expertise, Noah usually spends his time on stage looking at his nicely crafted pedal board, Giac chooses to hit drums as a form of communication following speech therapy in his younger years (true story), Luca tends to play a couple notes on the bass with beer in hand, and Liam is a walking megaphone, whilst struggling with singing/playing coordination.  Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We’re based in the Northern Beaches, Sydney where there’s plenty young talented bands on the rise, and ones that have established themselves worldwide from the beaches that we all look up to for example Ocean Alley and Lime Cordiale who we supported for a couple shows on their dirt cheap tour in Dee Why 2018.  How did Heartlake form? It all started with Giac, Luca (brothers) and Noah who’ve known each other for many years and shared the same love for music and enjoyed playing Sweet Child O’ Mine on repeat, which led to asking Liam who played football with Luca to front the band about a year in at the end of 2017 and actually beginning to craft an original sound. Your new single ’Watching over you’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting? We had a number of different songs to choose from when deciding which would be the best to hit people’s ears first. We wanted to capture something that got into the hook fast to hopefully grab your attention, and something simple that can be remembered whilst exploring ways to build the instrumentation with a number of different effects to capture a demanding sound. We all have our own individual tastes and ways of playing and writing so therefore we carry a bunch of different influences whether you may hear them in the song or not. Some of these artists include The Wombats, RHCP, Lime Cordiale, Sticky Fingers, Kings of Leon, the 1975.  How did you go about writing watching over you? Liam had come up with a verse guitar part and melody, but we needed something that would bring this together and build into a song. So we built the chorus around the bass hook which we felt created a solid statement and platform into making the general flow of the song clearer. When developing the song in the studio, our aim was to caption an insight into our sound for those listening for the first time and wanting to explore us further.  How did you go about achieving the sound? We wanted to create a sense of punchiness and drive, which we achieved through the layering of guitars and vocals in the chorus, and locking in a bass and drum groove which we could build a song around, while creating interest with the use of delays and modulation for example throughout the verses and bridge. We’ve always had a lot of fun with effects when songwriting, and a lot of these sounds from our initial ideas were developed in the studio and we’d like to credit our producer for making that work.  Where did you record? We recorded our single ‘Watching over you’ at a home based studio called ‘Jaminajar Music Production’ in Narrabeen with Paul Najar. We got the opportunity to record here when we one the Beaches ‘Northern Composure’ which has been a sick platform to get going for younger bands on the rise. What programs/instruments did you use during the recording/production process? We recording bass guitar and acoustic drums simultaneously in the same room, and following that we mic’d up guitar amps and processing most of our effects through a number of different plugins.  Who did you record with? We recorded with Paul Najar, who has been great for us through his experience and professional manner in the studio really helped focus us and record the best possible version of our song. We’re so stoked with what he’s helped us achieve and we’re excited to get our music our out into the world. We hope you love it as much as we do. Please explain how you approached the recording process: We spent about a day tracking the drums and bass in the studio, this part was the most challenging as this is when we really critiqued the song and made sure we were doing what we wanted to do with the song and made small final adjustments with Paul, our producer. Giac probably had about 10 different takes on the kit as we were still experimenting with structure while recording. We moved onto guitars next and took a while exploring different sounds, and synths and vocals last once the rest of the song was laid down. Who are you listening to at the moment? We’re all different in our personal music tastes which is like a piece of the puzzle to our sound, currently we’re enjoying Tame Impala’s new stuff, the 1975, Lime Cordiale, the Weeknd, Mac Miller’s new album (Rest in Peace), Yungblud, Hockey Dad, Tora and Sticky Fingers ‘Yours to Keep’ album.  What do you like to do away from music? We’ve all got our different interests, from the surf, to the gym, enjoying footy season, eating, drawing and painting, having a couple (which usually leads to 10) beers on a fine Saturday night, the list goes on.  What’s planned for 2020? We’ve got a busy year ahead of us. We plan to get as many gigs under our belt as we can and get our name out there and release more music following Watching Over You, two of our members graduated high school last year so we’re gonna give it our all this year and see where it takes us. Favourite food and place to hangout? Favourite food is definitely burgers. We’ve been on a mission to find the tastiest burger around and can confirm that Bar Luca in the city is something else, the Blame Canada is the burger to beat (this is not sponsored). We keep ourselves entertained with anything that’s put in front of us, and enjoy taking the mick out of each other once every few minutes wherever we go.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heartlakeband/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartlake_/

Heartlake

What’s been happening recently? In between shows and our usual day to day lives, we’ve been hard at work behind the scenes preparing for a multitude of things, this single being one of them. We’re all keen to rip into 2020 and releasing this single is just the beginning for us.  Your new single ‘Wherever You Go’ is out on the 24th of Jan 2020, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? I think Will was listening to a fair bit of ‘Royal Blood’ at the time he wrote ‘Wherever You Go’, and that’s where the big bass and lack of guitar in the verses came from.  In terms of drums, I think the idea was really just, “keep it simple, keep it tight”, and that definitely worked for me. The bass and drum combo in the verses is what hooked me when I heard the first mix, and it still does whenever I hear it today.  How did you go about writing Wherever You Go? This track kinda fell together pretty quick, I seem to recall. Once we had established the basic structure of the verse, everything else just flowed on and clicked together. We definitely spent a bit of time fine tuning the details, but for us ‘Wherever You Go’ was really easy to connect with, and we had no problems laying it down. Where and when did you record/produce? ‘Wherever You Go’ was recorded with a bunch of other tracks, including our last single ‘Too Much’, in May 2019. We all spent a few days at the local ‘Housefox Studios’, and took our time getting everything sounding just right for these tracks, and we’re quite proud of how they all turned out.  Who did you work with during the recording/production process? As usual, the three of us bounced ideas off one another until we found the perfect mix to suit the song, but a big influence for us was Lachlan West. He helped us out majorly for our first two EP’s, and we didn’t want anyone else to be behind the desk when we walked into the studio this time around. He has an insane amount of knowledge and skills with all the equipment, and also its just a bonus that he’s an awesome as fuck drummer and mad legend. How did you approach the recording for this single? As I mentioned before, we recorded a few other tracks in the same session at the studio, but we made sure we weren’t biting off more than we could chew. We took our time setting up, and made sure every little detail sounded perfect before moving onto the next thing. Being a relatively straight forward song drumming-wise, it was a pretty simple process to lay down the track and then spend a bit more time focussing on the guitars, vocals and all the other little things.  What programs/instruments did you use? The drums on the track are played on a custom kit, based off a Pearl Reference Pure, and a variety of tasty sounding cymbals from Zildjian, Bosphorus and Meinl. We messed around with a few different sizes of snares and toms, but we ultimately landed on the usual 14 inch snare and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.  In terms of production, Lachy is the production wizard, so the ball is very much in his court. All that stuff doesn’t really make sense to me, I think he uses Protools. Who are you listening to at the moment? For the last few weeks I’ve had ‘The Vanns’ on repeat non-stop, especially their ‘Through The Wall’ album. I really cant seem to get enough of it, which is the best feeling to me. If I haven’t been listing to that, then I’ve been blasting some ‘Middle Kids’ as well which is always a safe bet. What is the average day like for you? For me, most days consist of work until about 4pm. I manage to listen to quite a bit of music while I’m there so I’ve always got my ear out for what’s on the radio/what’s up next on the playlist. After work is usually a quick swim at the beach and/or a bit of time playing drums. I try and get behind the kit every few days, and recently I’ve been investing a bit more time in my technique, instead of just thrashing away like a maniac. If its not one of those things, I usually hang out with Will and Dan for a few hours and we just chill out, have a few drinks and have a laugh.  Do you collaborate with other musicians? As a band we haven’t collaborated with anyone yet, or that I know of. However if any opportunity of the sort came about, I would be keen to pursue it and see where it takes us.  Have you ever dealt with performance anxiety? Yeah for sure. I cant speak for everyone when I say this, but I’m sure most performers have had some wobbly knees before a show or two, I think its just natural. Obviously as time goes on and you become more comfortable doing what you’re doing, the nerves will go away. But I have definitely been anxious before a big gig, but they’re the nights that tend to be the best shows we play, so its always worth it.  Any advice for aspiring musicians? Persevere! It sounds simple but it really is important. We’d all love to play our music and “make it” overnight. But the reality is that rarely happens in this day and age. However, if you’re good at what you do and you continue to put the effort into your practice/gigs/recording then you will 100% start seeing some results, you’ve just got to persist. What’s planned for 2020? A whole bunch of stuff, to put it simply.  Without revealing too much, I can safely say you will hear more new tunes, and you will see us playing more shows around the country and locally.  Stay tuned, we’ve got some cool stuff coming.

Inklines

You've had a gnarly 12 months, what's happened and what's been happening? Its been crazy! 2019 was hectic - I think I played about 200 shows :o  I released an EP and a single with Zoe Badwi, and I did a tour around Bali, Fiji and Oz the last two months of 2019! It was hectic.  Where are you at the moment? Currently I’m in Tasmania! Playing a show in Burnie Oz Day Eve! My new single just got released! YEEHAW! We're frothin on your new single 'Take It In' what influenced the sound and songwriting? Thanks man! Im super proud of it! About a year ago I stumbled across this dude Max Glyde. Absolute freak. The moment I heard is shit I wanted to make something with him. 12 months later we have a single and about 7 beats stacked up! I think his classy feel and my funk work super well together! Where and how did you go about writing/producing Take It In? We made the beat in a studio at his uni in Box Hill, and to be honest the crux of it came together in about an hour. Was pre crazy. We both work with Velvet Bloom so we got her in a week later and she smashed the top line. From there, we finessed it for 4-5 months after that.  What programs/instruments did you use to record/produce? Me and Max both use Ableton. And me and max both heavily use Massive and Sylenth for sounds! As well as Max on live guitar! How did you approach the recording/production process? Unless a vocal is sent to me, I pretty much always start with making a beat which is what Max and I did, then you approach a vocalist and re structure and do stuff from there! Who did you work with if anybody? Max Glyde (collab), Velvet Bloom (vocals), Lachie Milne (Mixing), Panorama Mastering (Mastering).  What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of Take It In? Rewarding for me was the dynamic me and max have in the studio. We just click and its so good. It was challenging finishing the last 10% of it. Really challenging. Most of it was there but we took several sessions to be completely happy with it!  How has your live show progressed over the last few years? My DJ set I feel has just become more versatile and I think as a performer I’ve become more confident in what I’m doing. Im also playing more and more originals which is great. I am definitely working towards my live show though with a full band. Watch this space :P  What have the fans been like live? They love it - and its great cause they vary so much depending on where you play. Blessed to be here.  Who are you listening to at the moment? Max Glyde, Tentendo, Dombresky, Blush’ko, heaps of slower stuff and Yoga music when I’m trying to sleep haha. What's planned for the next few months and 2020 as a whole? Definitely playing shows, but more importantly releasing music and making heaps of it. I have about 4 singles ready and raring and I want them all out this year ideally. 2020 for me is really honing in on the production side of things.  I hear that you've got a fun lil show coming up with The Partae, what can we expect? You must’ve heard correctly ;) Intimacy, funk, fun and a heap of taking it in ;)  FB - http://bit.ly/2zIHvtn Insta - http://bit.ly/2iXnYeZ

Morning Maxwell Interview

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I was born and raised in London and am currently still based here. Its a city that has given birth to so many cultural movements as well as adopting many others and making it our own. The jazz scene in the UK has exploded in the last few years, often crossing into hip hop, grime and rock and I feel that has definitely influenced my sound.   How did you first start playing music,producing rapping? I started playing piano when I was at primary school but I would say I got really into it when I was in my teens after hearing the likes of Bill Evans and Chick Corea and that seemed to spark something. I'd dabbled in a bit of production but it wasn't until I was chilling with lots of producers when I went to study music in Leeds that I got more and more into it. I'd also been writing bars from around 15 or 16 but never really took it seriously until me and Lausse were freestyling at a house party and he insisted that I come over to his home studio and record a tune and thats kind of where it all began.. You've just released - self produced  'Life's A Bitch, I Just Need An Early Night' through College Music Records and it has been gaining some traction, receiving  just under half a million streams on Spotify alone since the release, what influenced the sound and songwriting? I'd gone through a lot of self-discovery and personal change over the few years leading up to that project so I think conceptually a lot of it focuses on self-development and growth. I didn't really have a pre-planned or set way I wanted the project to play out, but the themes and ideas seemed to just develop as I found threads through the stuff I was writing. I think in terms of the actual sound I'll always be deep routed in jazz especially the more emotive styles of Bill Evans or Dexter Gordon etc.. and I've always been into all the hip hop greats as well I think if you want to be doing this thing you have to know your history and study the greats/people that came before you. The same goes for when you're learning the tradition of jazz i guess! I was always hugely into the UK hip hop scene as a young teenager like Klashnekoff, Jehst and Taskforce and I think elements of that sound finds its way into the music often. But I'm trying to aim for music that has depth of narrative and musical complexity, whilst still fully saying true to who I am and where I come from. How did you go about writing the music? The writing process is kinda different for each song - some I had a really clear idea of how I wanted the whole thing to sound from the get go and some I had the beat and then just saw what came out lyrically, often chopping and changing stuff all the time. How did you approach the production/recording? I recorded the entire project between about 3 or 4 different bedrooms across the UK..haha! Some of it I recorded it at my mums house in London, some of it was recorded in my old house in Leeds, some of it at friends houses in Leeds. Had all kinds of makeshift stuff going on including taping a duvet around some opened cupboard doors to get rid of some the room sound when recording vocals..I feel like theres something quite charming about the DIY thing and I'm probably going to record the next project in a similar way. I also find working in my own comfortable space is a bit more creatively freeing than in a more clinical studio.  What programs/instruments did you use? The recording process was really fun - I recorded most of it in Leeds with people I went to music college with so was a very collaborative project on the musical front. I wanted to do more than just having samples and the same drum loop the whole way through. In terms of live instruments on the project I recorded keys + piano, drums, guitar, bass, trumpet, tenor and alto sax and violin and I try and include as much of that in the live show as I can. I wanted to cross over more traditional programmed drums layered with real drums as well as having some of the other live instruments layered with more electronic synths etc.  How did you come to release with College Music Records and how has the experience been working with College Music Records? I met Jonny from College Music at a gig when I was supporting Joe Armon-Jones in Leeds once, but we only had a brief chat. After that I heard about what he had been up to with CM and I was keen to get involved in some way. I had the project nearly finished and wanted to approach him to ask if he'd want to put any of the tracks on the CM spotify playlists. We went for a pint and he was keen to put the project out under their label which they were beginning to expand. Its been cool cos it feels like we're both at an early stage of what we're trying to do so even though they're a label, it feels grassroots and DIY.  Please tell us about the video that you have accompanying  'Life's A Bitch, I Just Need An Early Night' where did you film? Who with? How the concept came about? The video that I am releasing is for 'See U In The Morning' which is the lead single off Life's A Bitch. It's quite an introspective song - like a lot of the album - and I definitely wanted to convey that through the video. I wanted to portray a scene where you've been partying all night to run away from the darkest recesses of your mind but once it gets to about 5/6am you can't run anymore and it all hits you at once. I teamed up with an old friend of mine Simon Aukes Stolland who recently D.O.P'd 'Blue Story' which released in late 2019, and was one of the highest grossing films in its genre. Aside from his work being top quality he's a really solid guy to work with, very on the ball and open to trying things out and generally really helpful and sound. I also had Alex aka Verbz The Gaffer who did an amazing job in bringing the vision to life. Big ups to PK who's always there helping with the ideas and general vibes for these things too.  The headline release show for 'Life's A Bitch, I Just Need An Early Night' at Notting Hill Arts club was a sell-out show in which you were accompanied by a full 9-piece band and included support from Enny, Eerf Evil and Joe beard.   How did the band come together and how was this experience? The release show was a huge success and managed to sell out completely, which was a bit of a surprise for me. The album had only been out for about 3 weeks and I've never put an event on in my life so was a bit nervous about numbers etc. But with a small team we managed to spread the word and it got far and wide so big love to everyone who was involved with that. The live band are a mixture of musicians I've been playing with for the last 3 or 4 years or so who are all currently based in Leeds. I wanted to stay true to the sound of the record whilst also bringing a completely new dimension to the live show to make it engaging in its own way and I think we just about managed to do that! The live setup consists of only live instruments including drums, bass, guitar, 2 keyboards (sometimes I rap + play keys at the same time, others just rap, others just play keys), trumpet, violin and BVs.  Joe Beard, Enny and Eerf Evil absolutely killed it and helped warm up the crowd and I'm truly grateful to know and be working with them.  I hear your main collaborator is fellow rapper and producer Lausse The Cat and we that you often collaborate with B-ahwe who is a singer/songwriter. You work under a collective name of Velvet Blues, how did this all come about? We all met in Leeds while studying music and spent a lot of time working together on Lausse's first project entitled 'The Girl, The Cat and The Tree'. Around that time me and B-ahwe started writing our own music and it kind of grew from there. Velvet Blues is still quite a young concept but I guess its a collective-type thing and we'll see where it goes! I believe you're much stronger as a unit of individuals all backing each other in this game.  You're heavily involved with Root 73 which is a community grass roots studio space in Hackney in London. I hear that you're are in the final stages of finishing off a collaborative album with about 30 artists and producers, how has the recording process taken place and what have you found most rewarding and challenging through out the process? Yeah man the guys at Root are all amazing people. I met them when I moved back to London from Leeds and because I hadn't been back for a few years I wasn't really sure where to find a group of people doing similar things to what I was doing. But they were really welcoming and encouraging and I'm humbled to be a part of whats going on there. We have a collaborative album coming out this year called the silhouettes project - the idea was to pair different producers and artists, most of which had never worked together before and to see what they came up with. The result is a community focused, ultra diverse album showcasing individual artists and producers within the Root 73 community. I've really enjoyed being inspired by what the people around me have been making and all the different characters I've met throughout the process and there will be much more to come in the future.  Do you have any singles coming out soon? I'm currently working on my next project, as well as some standalone singles to follow up Life's A Bitch but ill be able to give a bit more info on that as time goes on. Who are you listening to at the moment? Listening wise I've found myself returning to the same things, especially Good Kid, M.a.a.d City and To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar - I always find there is always something new I discover every listen both lyrically and musically. I've also been listening to a lot of Steve Lacy and some King Krule as well as some 60s/70s Brazilian music like João Donato and João Gilberto which I think will find its way into my next project.  Favourite food and place to hangout? All I need is a good full english brekky any time of day and a cheap pint in Spoons. 

Nix Northwest

What is your name and role within King of Foxes? Hi, I'm Olivia Street, and I'm the songwriter, singer, and guitarist in King of Foxes.  Where are you currently based? We're in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  How did King of Foxes form? King of Foxes is my solo project, but I'm lucky enough to work with some great musicians who contribute so much. I have some players based in Toronto and some in Edmonton, so the band is a little bit different depending on where you see us play! The first King of Foxes album came out in 2016, and we just re-released our second album, Salt & Honey, on vinyl this year. Your new single 'No Wrong' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track?  This was such a fun track to record, because it's definitely a departure from our usual sound. I had the opportunity to work with a producer named Beatchild when I was doing a residency at the National Music Centre in Calgary last year. We collaborated on "No Wrong," and I love the direction it went in – it's definitely electro-pop, but it has a vintage quality to the sounds in it. I love that this song became what it needed to be organically, but that the original essence and intention are so present in it. Please talk us through the creative and collaborative process: During that residency in Calgary, I did a lot of writing by myself in my hotel room in the evenings. No distractions: a Jazzmaster, a notebook, and a bottle of wine (and a king size bed, all to myself!) For this particular song, I had a clear vision of the melody, lyrics, and chord progression, but it initially had a folky vibe. I knew I wanted to take in a more contemporary direction. Byram (aka. Beatchild) has such a gentle energy and way of working; it felt like a natural progression to add the electropop elements. Now the song feels like it belongs to the 21st century. How did you go about writing 'No Wrong'? Lyrics, to me, are the fascia in the body of a song: the essential connective tissue that weaves everything together. Sometimes I'll hang on to a thought for years before it becomes a lyric, turning it over in my mind and trying to figure out why this piece of information is important. When I'm in the writing process, I do a lot of free-writing and object writing, as exercises to distill my abstract thoughts into imagery. The "thought nugget" of this song came from a vision I had when I was pregnant with my son. I had what can only be described as an out of body experience, where I saw that the baby inside of me was protected and unconditionally loved, by me... And that I, too, was unconditionally loved, by some higher power – my "light body" was holding me and caring for me, just like my body was doing for this tiny baby. The image I saw reminded me of Russian dolls.. so my entry point into this song was trying to describe the tiniest Russian doll, small enough to be swallowed, "like a pill." Where and when did you record and who with? We recorded this partially at the National Music Centre in Calgary and partially at Beatchild's studio in Toronto. His studio space is inside the Coalition Music building. (Coalition is a label that's home to some heavy hitting Canadian artists... I am a huge Our Lady Peace fan, and when I walk around in that building, looking at their pictures on the walls, I feel like a total fangirl!) How did you approach the recording process? With no expectations other than to explore where we could go with it.   Who did you work with during the recording/production process? In addition to Beatchild, Brandon Baker of Electric Religious, came out to Toronto with me and laid down some of the textural guitar parts.  Who are you listening to at the moment? Ariel Posen, Groenland, Don Vail, Zaki Ibrahim What do you like to do away from music? I spend time with my 4-year-old son and our yellow lab. I read a lot. I do yoga. I drink martinis. I buy more T-shirts than I probably need. I'm also a sweatpants connoisseur.    What's planned for 2020? We have festival dates lined up, and we'll be doing some pocket tours around Alberta. I'm currently writing songs for a new album (can't stop, won't stop!) Favourite food and place to hangout?  I've been working my way through a Costco-size box of chocolate truffles someone left at my house around Christmas... I don't have a sweet tooth, but I do have a soft spot for dark chocolate with a little sprinkle of sea salt on it. (Café Brio, in Victoria BC makes the world's best chocolate truffle, btw. It's also one of my favourite places to hang out when I'm on the coast.) We did a lot of travelling last year, and honestly right now my favourite place to hang out is my own home.  Website: www.kingoffoxesband.com Socials: @kingoffoxesband on all platforms

King of Foxes 

Bep Kororoti & Akin - Love is the only way

Bep Kororoti & Akin – Love is the only way

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I currently live in the college town of Auburn, AL, where we have a small but dedicated community of electronic music fans. There are several local DJ’s, including myself, who hold residencies and throw events for the EDM community, while also hosting a slew of new and established artists. How did you first start playing music? With both my parents being musicians, I started playing at an early age; first learning how to drum, then learning guitar, and finally piano. I participated in the music programs at my school for several years playing percussion, and once I even got to perform at Carnegie Hall. What's been happening recently? Things have been pretty crazy lately. Getting my EP picked up by none other than Gramatik has definitely helped expose my music to a lot of people, and I’ve been steadily booking shows for 2020 as a result. Between performing and visiting family for the holidays, I’ve been trying to find time to sit down and work on some new material. Your new EP 'Manufactured Moments' is out now via Lowtemp, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this EP? With this EP I really wanted to explore the sounds of 60’s-70’s psychedelia and create something that instilled a feeling of antiquated grooviness, presented in the form of modern nuero-hop beats. I take a lot of influence from the bass music community (obviously), but also from older psychedelic soul records and bands. I tried to bridge the gap between the two. How did you go about writing the music? I spent a little over a month preparing for this album by digging through old records and cutting samples that would serve as the building blocks of the tracks. During this time I also created a plethora of sounds using synthesis and cut samples of those as well. Once I felt I had all the building blocks, I spent a month straight working in the studio 9-5, creating ideas for beats. I generated around 10 initial rough ideas and then chose my favorite four to complete, and these four are what you hear on the EP. Where and when did you record/produce? I produced the entirety of the record in my home studio in Auburn. I prefer to begin working as early as possible so I can have all day to complete an idea. A good session often went into the early hours of the next morning. What programs/instruments did you use? I produce my music in Ableton and self-recorded the majority of the guitar heard in the EP. The electronic sounds were created using Serum and Operator (both are software synthesizers in Ableton) and a handful of analogue synthesizers. How did you approach the recording/production process? For this EP, I really wanted to take an organized and planned approach to the writing process with a lot of self-imposed deadlines. I find that when I just work based on how I’m feeling, a lot of tracks tend to get stuck in limbo and are never finished. For this EP I made a pretty meticulous plan for how I would go about writing, with deadlines for each phase of the process so I wouldn’t get bogged down with indecision. I think the results really speak volumes. As to me, this definitely feels like my best and most cohesive work to date. How did you come to release Manufactured Moments via Lowtemp? I have been working with Adam Stehr (Gramatik’s touring guitarist) for the past few years on guitar and music in general. Adam is extremely talented and knowledgeable. I’m very grateful to be able to learn from him. When I asked him to help me with the mixes for a few of my tracks, he ended up forwarding them to Denis (Gramatik). Apparently Denis dug the tunes, and he offered me to release on Lowtemp shortly after hearing the EP. It’s a huge honor to be featured on the label of someone I have listened to and looked up to for so long, and I’m extremely grateful to Adam for making it happen. He was even kind enough to lay down some guitar which can be heard on “Candlelight." What do you like to do away from music? My biggest hobby away from music is probably reading, I love books. Additionally I love film and video games. Anything with a story. Beyond that I enjoy creating digital art, either for my music or just for fun, and being outside with my dog. Who are you listening to at the moment? Electronic music wise i’ve really been enjoying the latest from Charlesthefirst, Of The Trees, and Jade Cicada. These guys all push the envelope when it comes to sound design but they present it in such a chill, laid-back way that I identify with heavily. Beyond electronic beats I really stay listening to albums from my favorite bands like Radiohead, Washed Out, and Tame Impala. I’m also always digging for groovy classic records and rare gems to add to my productions. What's planned for 2020? I’ve got another upcoming release this month with Wavecraft Collective (date tba) and I’m really excited to start the year off with this one because it’s an especially hard tune. I’ve also got a handful of collaborations i’ve been working on with some really talented people and I’m really excited to share them. Performance wise I think this will be my biggest year yet. I am working with the team at Electric Hawk to spread my wings as much as possible this year (pun intended) and have already booked a slew of show in new cities. Hoping for big things and a few festivals this year. Favourite food and place to hangout? Definitely Kung-Pao Chicken, especially if I made it myself. Favorite place to hangout is definitely my porch. I live on the second story and have a massive porch that overlooks downtown. Perfect place to read or work on music.

Common Creation

Reno

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I’ve lived in Melbourne since 1991.  It has a huge and diverse music ( and art for that matter ) scene that brings in more revenue than sport and yet, as everywhere else, the people making the art aren’t making any of the money. How did you first start playing music? I started playing music when I was 15 and I persuaded my parents to get me guitar lessons after I’d saved up and procured a $14 ‘Audition’ guitar (I saw Marc Ribot playing one of these a couple of years ago!) from Kmart. I’d been inspired by a lot of the music I was hearing on the radio – T rex, Deep Purple, The Stones, basically electrified Rock ‘n’ Roll. Your latest single is out now, what influences your sound and songwriting? A mixture of the prior mentioned ‘electrified rock n roll’, experimenting with  strange beats, unusual ways for generating sound ,weird harmonies, wordplay and stuff going on around me. You have an Australian tour kicking off at the end of January, are there any shows that you are particularly looking forward to playing, if so why? I’m looking forward to the Hobart, Brisbane and Beechworth shows because they’ll be just me and no band and those shows are always more rambling and story  telling, going places I can’t take a band. I’m looking forward to all of the other shows because I’ll have a different combo of local musos and musos that I’m taking with me in each place. How do you prepare for live shows? I put together a repertoire based on what musical configuration I’m working with and what I want to present for that show. I write all he songs I might want to choose from all down over 2 spread pages of and open book – about A3 size when opened out, so that I can look down on the floor and pick any song that takes my mood. I call this ‘The Book Of Swamp’. This is what I do instead of a set list. All of the musos I work with know this and know not to expect a formalised setlist. I then think about what I’m gonna wear. If I’m on my own it stops there but if I have a combo it depends on the people. Some people just can’t be tamed and others are good sports and want to help present a show of some sort. The challenge is to make it look like we didn’t all just meet at a bust stop…ha ha maybe that could be a look in itself. I always go on ‘cold’, don’t meditate or do vocal exercises. Actually that’s a white lie, I have been having a shot or 2 of tequila in recent times to get into ‘the vibe’ but am getting over(or bored with) the taste of tequila.  Your book 'Nine Parts Water, One Part Sand: Kim Salmon and the Formula for Grunge' is out now, how did this book come about and what inspired Douglas to write it? Doug and I hit it off straight away and he’d ask me about some aspect of my past before, after or during a lesson and that would just set me off into some ‘rock story’. I think after a while that got him interested to know if any of these stories had been compiled anywhere and of course they hadn’t. He plucked up the courage and asked me one night if he could write my biography and given the absence of such a thing, and given that I’d attempted it but never had the time, I said yes! You worked along side your guitar student/biographer 'Douglas Galbrath' how did the idea/concept come about to work together? You mean in my band? Obviously Doug is a fairly enterprising fellow. I knew he was already a drummer. He’d taken it on himself to try and be the booker at the local pub and booked some of me and my friends bands in there as well as his own. I saw he was a good drummer and even worked with him playing at his daughter’s schools bazaar, which he also booked bands for.  How did the story telling, story writing between the both of you take place and over what period? He’d invite me to brunch start recording and do what he did at the lessons. He got me talking. Basically he prompted me with a question and off I’d go. What did you find most rewarding and challenging through out the process? For me the most rewarding thing has been to see the threads that I’ve given Doug, get woven into a story. It seems something quite apart from me even though I recognise it all. The most challenging part was to know where the line between being a bit circumspect and censoring oneself was. Obviously I don’t want to fall out with people but there’s also a need for honesty. This is however just a story and not an exposé so there’s a balance to be struck. Any advice for anyone wanting to writing a book? Don’t know if I’m the person to give that advice yet. Maybe wait till I’ve written MY book. Where can we buy/read 'Nine Parts Water, One Part Sand: Kim Salmon and the Formula for Grunge' ? Ha Ha! In all discerning bookstores….but more importantly….and also in the highly likely event that all discerning bookstores don’t have my book in stock (because they’ve sold out ha ha),  at my upcoming shows where I’ll be selling the book and my 2 new singles and more… Who are you listening to at the moment? Bonzo Dog Doodah Band It was Neil Innes’s tragic death that dragged me into yet another You Tube vortex. What do you like to do away from music and writing? Painting and other things Please tell us about any new music that's on the way: I’m going into the studio with Tony Thewlis in 3 days to put the finishing touches on a brand new Scientists album. What's planned for 2020? Touring said Scientists album in the USA  Favourite food and place to hangout? Well right now it’s the roast that I’m about to cook and my fave place will be here when I’m eating it, because I’m HUNGRY.

Kim Salmon

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I'm based in Sydney & the music scene as you likely know has been better in the past. There's still some cool shows and warehouse party's though. Good music is still being made here too How did you first start playing music? My dad always had a lot of guitars around the house growing up. I used to try and play them when i was young but only recently started taking it a bit "serious" What's been happening recently? A few things happening lately - I've just released the first song under my new name, we finished shooting the music video for it yesterday with some friends,  finishing off the next songs now, some planning for the new year ahead & I recently just got a drum kit so I've been playing that alot Please tell us about your name change and how and why the change came about: I was at a cross roads creatively for a long time trying to work out what to create because I was making music I would never listen to, I was listening to music that was almost the complete opposite to what I'd made previously, It didn't make sense and lacked substance to me. After a lot of conversations with myself I got more confident in writing/singing songs myself which led me to realise this new direction was where I felt the most comfortable. Expressing more of myself seems like the right way to go with art, i guess? Who are you listening to at the moment? A lot of post punk from the late 70s/Early 80s. Bands like Joy Division, Television, The Cure. Also some modern artists like Alex G, King Krule, The Voidz, Yves Tumor, The 1975, Radiohead, Jadu Heart, Bon Iver, The Strokes What do you like to do away from music? I love skateboarding through the city with friends and finding places I've never been to before. Also enjoy photographing things I see while doing that  You have a new single out, what's the title? Just Be Over What influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? When I made it I was obsessed with the idea of blending psychedelic sounds with pop music Where and when did you record/produce and who with? I produced it back in 2016, in my bedroom. The vocals are from a friend in a band called Haiva Ru which as based in Santa barbara, California. How was the recording experience and what did you find most rewarding during the creation process? It was really fun, experimenting with different genres I like and trying to get them to sit with each other was rewarding when it started to work. Seeing an idea once from my head be transformed into a song is always really rewarding. The vocal performance still gives me chills too. What have been some of the highlights of your musical career so far? Seeing my older songs connect with so many people across so many countries has been so nice. Also my progress to being comfortable singing and songwriting myself has been an internal highlight Please tell us what we can expect from a Riley From Earth show: It's going to be a live 3 piece band. I want to create an atmosphere with the set design and visuals to make the audience feel comfy. I'm going to be singing and playing guitars/synths which is terrifying but I cant wait. What's planned for 2020? hopefully write some really good songs, release a few more singles, an EP, play the first few shows, quality content, hopefully make some nice meals, more music videos, I need to buy some more pot plants too Favourite food and place to hangout? A good friend has a pizza restaurant called Cranzgots. The "Jafrica" (with prawn) does great things https://www.facebook.com/rileyfromearth

Riley From Earth

What's been happening recently? With the help of Jordan Finlay, I recorded an album with my band! The other 2/3's of the band (Marlon and Jake) also just graduated high school, so good for them. We've been recording in our school holidays and songwriting throughout the terms, it was a bit of a tough balance but we did it in the end and got 8 songs out of the year. The songs have a mixture of solo, duo and full band.  Your new album 'Nihilism' will be released at the end of December 2019, what influenced the sound and songwriting? Jeff Buckley's 'Grace' and existential dread, mostly.  How did you go about writing the album? Wrote the songs acoustically by myself, then exploded the songs with the band and added spicy new compositional features.  Where and when did you record and who with? With Jordan Finlay, in the infamous 'Shed.' A very comforting and easy-going environment, great for creative expression.  What programs/instruments did you use to record? Ableton, synths, electric guitar, bass, drums all that alternative rock jazz.  Any favourite tracks from the album, if so which and why? I'm LOVING 'TIkaboo Peak' at the moment, for the CLIMATIC ending, with this crazy guitar solo and all the distorted psychedelic layers.  What do you have planned for Nihilism? Sharing it around as much as possible! Live venues, local radio stations and lots of Instagramming.  Where will we be able to buy/listen? All online streaming services (Spotify, Itunes, Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon Music) Also there'll be physical CDs for sale on our website.  Who are you listening to at the moment? I've been reading some fantastic Jeff Buckley biography books lately and I read how much he admired Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Pakistani vocalist and musician) and how expressive and creative Qawwali music is, so I've been listening to him a lot lately, the soul, passion and energy Nusrat puts into his melodic adventures is very entertaining.  What's planned for 2020? Going to be doing a small scale tour around Victoria in Jan/Feb, doing acoustic shows and full band. I'm super excited to play with some awesome acts from around Melbourne. So keep up with my social sites for gigs and dates!  https://bridgetallanmusic.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Bridgetamusic https://www.instagram.com/bridgetamusic https://youtube.com/bridgetamusic/  https://twitter.com/BridgetaMusic

Bridget Allan

What is your name and role within Cherry Dolls?  Josh - Ruler of all Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? MELBOURNE - music scene is great. Everyone’s gotta stop trying to sound like god but.  How did you first start playing music? I was 12. My sister had a CD of her boyfriends band In her 1956 Toyota Carona. He played drums. I asked pa for some drums he bought them for me. It was then and there I knew I was in for a life of heart ache and pain.  How did Cherry Dolls form? Moved to melbs with my old band. Only thing was no one else moved. I met Lachie and found out he played guitar when we were on a sender at 7am. that night we went to some doof club called surviour fell into a K hole and decided to start the band. Next morning we booked in a jam at Midean (rip best shit hole ever) and wrote who the hell, stars above & ain’t got no soul. It was love at first sight. Then I lost him. The one that got away. I still love him. Miss you Lachie.  Your latest single 'State Of Mind' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? We went into the studio to do some demos. Kobe’s had the lick. Joms had the bass line. I hoped on the kit and it came together within 10 minutes. Alex Markwell is a wizard so we ended up just tracking it as a single. Jim talked me into dropping the walls with my lyrics this song and laying down how I really felt and I’m glad he did now.  How did you go about writing State Of Mind? As above.  Where and when did you record/produce? We recording it at a secret recording studio in FITZROY with our trusty producer Alex Markwell How did you approach the recording/production process? Went in, got the job done.  What's on the schedule for future shows and touring? We just finished up the Australian tour. Heading over seas next year.  How do you prepare for live shows? Jamo’s lots of jamos. Then I’ll stretch and yell in Joms face for a good 5 minutes, then we get in a huddle and I tell the boys they are the best humans in the world and that I love them dearly. Then we tell each other we are the best band in the world and sing ‘sure know something’ by Kiss. Then we hug everyone twice and slap each other’s ass as we walk on stage.  What do you most enjoy about playing live? The connection between the band that Ozzes our into the crowd. It’s about feeling good. Making every person in that room forget about their lives for and feel like they are invincible.  Who are you listening to at the moment? Eddy Current. The Clash. Harry Styles. Heaps of funk disco.  What do you like to do away from music? Jimmy and I work together as social workers. We work with teenagers with disabilities. It’s pretty amazing. We love it and it’s fun to play them our songs and they usually let us know if they are hits or not. Besides that I play football (English) which takes up the rest of my life. And pokies at the Albion club.  Who have been some stand out acts for you and why through out this past decade?  Delta Riggs - Australias best punk rock band Batz - we like dur my sisters are unstoppable.  Eddy Current - like come on it doesn’t get any better than ECSP!  Bad dreems - last record was beyond fucked up stupid good. The Grogans - the boys are ganna be big. LIKE REAL BIG.  Bluey - so so good What's planned for 2020? Write. Album. Go over seas. I might take up fishing. Find a girl to love. Build a house. Cry. Fly fishing sounds good. Yeah let’s go with that Josh. Fly fishing Favourite food and place to hangout? Ramen. I hang out at the Albion Club most days. Playing pokies and drinking Guinness. Mmmmmm Guinness. Sponsor us pleaseeeee. That’s all thanks good bye god bless have a great life. Don’t call again yeah?  https://www.instagram.com/thecherrydolls

The Cherry Dolls

What is your name and role within Clouder? I’m Borna, Im the main vocalist and play guitar. Im also currently managing the band How did Clouder form? The band formed as the result of a university assignment, I wrote a very early version of ‘Stars & Clouds’ and teamed up with some classmates at the time to record it. We got Luke on bass for that track, he stayed on as we gathered Jackson a school friend of Luke’s. Tim jumped on through a friend of mine that reckoned Tim would fit well and we haven’t looked back! How did you first start playing music? I first started playing music in late primary school, my father handed me an old classical guitar and got a family friend to give me lessons. I kinda hated it to begin with but as I started getting better the idea of forming a band became my driving force. Had a high school band which was fun but dissolved as we grew up, I’ve been in a couple of other Sydney bands that I have since moved on from. Clouder was my baby side project for a few years and now it’s the main music project with Jackson, Luke and Tim. Your new single 'Stars and Clouds' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? My main influences for the track would be the sound of 90s alternative, bands like Duster, Idaho, Bedhead and Sunny Day Real Estate. The song started with the main guitar riff, I was jamming to Dusters album Stratosphere and out popped that 4 note intro. I wanted the track to be brooding but not depressive, heavy but not aggressive, that’s where the SDRE influence kicks in. Where and when did you record and who with? I recorded all the tracks, we did Drums at Def Wolf studios while they were still in Alexandria, this would’ve been back in January 2018. We did bass at the Australian Institute of Music a month or so after drums. I did the vocals and guitars in my old bedroom in my parents house, over the Easter long weekend of that year. We decided to pass on mixing duties to Fletcher Matthews and onto Jay Maas for mastering. How did you go about writing Stars and Clouds? It was my fender jaguar, guitar pro and myself, all in my room. As soon as I had that intro riff the rest just came together. It was originally meant to be 1 guitar/bass/drums with vocals, but when we started playing as a band I realised we’d be better off with 2 guitars. Writing the second guitar part, which Is the part I play, was difficult to come up with. It just follows the bass guitar throughout the song. What programs/equipment did you use to record/produce? Guitar pro has been a huge help with being able to plug in parts and see how they fit. I created a midi sounding demo there, then created a recorded demo using pro tools with programmed drums and instruments direct in. Then recorded the real deal also in pro tools, using the midi tracks to play along with.  How did the concept for the video clip come about? I’ve loved space and it’s endless beauty since I was a kid, we got my good friend Michael to design our spaceman character ‘B. Long’. I asked him later if he could animate the little dude for a music video and he agreed. Michael was at first a bit unsure of how to approach it, after listening to the song and reading the lyrics, he came up with a storyboard. The team and I loved it and we just said, go with it. What did you find most challenging and rewarding through the film creation process? Having patience, we had to wait for Michael to go through all the stages and let him set the deadline. When we asked him to make the clip we didn’t have a release date, or anything, we didn’t want to pressure him in any way. He gave us rough deadlines and was always prompt in giving us updates. The most rewarding was that I gave Michael just an idea and he gave us back something incredible, we couldn’t be more stoked! Who are you listening to at the moment? Still listening to Duster! They just put out a single and are about to put out a new record, I’ve been loving the latest Alex G album ‘House of Sugar’. On the national scene RAT!Hammock have been my favourite, I’ve been absolutely frothing their recently singles ‘Ghost’ and ‘Pick up’, I’ve been listening to a lot of Hatchie as well I think she is amazing, I managed to see her play at Oxford Arts Factory and it was truly a spectacular performance! What do you like to do away from music? I love 35mm film photography, I’ve been getting into that for the past year or so. Being from the beaches I bodyboard from time to time, low key bit of gamer haha What's planned for 2020? We are looking to kick off 2020 with an east coast tour with an overseas band, more shows really. Definitely be seeing more music within the next 6 months, hopefully going to hit the studios again in January for the next batch of songs! Favourite food and place to hangout? That would definitely have to be Japanese food! Place to hangout would be wherever my friends are at, don’t care where as long as the company is good.

Clouder

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I’ve lived in Canada my entire life, and I’ve been living in Vancouver since 2010. I moved here because the music scene is so much more expansive than Vernon, where I was living before. I was drawn into Vancouver more frequently for writing sessions, recording sessions, or other music related meetings. There’s such an rich history of amazing music in this city, from Bryan Adams, to Loverboy, to fellow Vernon originating artist Daniel Powter who’s huge hit single ‘Bad Day’ was an inspiration to me. It made me think “this guy comes from the same small town as me, if he can do it, maybe I can!” It was through the support of my Juno-nominated mentor Nancy Nash that I reached out to mix engineer Mike Fraser and producer Jeff Dawson (who produced ‘Bad Day’), and began my musician’s journey in Vancouver. It’s also been amazing living in a major city where so many major concert tours come through. I’ve been able to see some of my idols over the last few years, such as John Legend, Queen + Adam Lambert, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Gavin DeGraw, Tori Kelly, Troye Sivan, and many others.  What’s been happening recently? Lately, I’ve been celebrating the release of my new holiday single “Christmas Time This Year”, as well as my debut album which will be released early 2020. I’ve also really been focusing on my social media and uploading 60-second covers of songs I love, as well as sharing behind the scenes moments from recent photo shoots, video productions, or studio sessions.  Who are you listening to at the moment? These days, I’m listening to a variety of artists – Tori Kelly, the new Jonas Brothers album, Lauv, Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes, the new Coldplay double-album, Adam Lambert, Sam Smith, and Harry Styles. I always have a soft spot for new pop music that really puts an emphasis on strong vocals and songwriting. Who or what influences your sound and songwriting? I’ve been influenced by older soul sounds with the falsetto hooks of modern artists like Coldplay, the emotional lyrics of artists like Sam Smith, and recurring themes of love and friendship. I think music can be really healing, and I hope that mine can be an inspiring and encouraging influence on everyone who hears it. Please tell us about your work with Jeff Dawson especially regarding your new album: Working with Jeff has been amazing! Together, we have really been able to take time and make sure each song gets to a level we are excited about. We have written the majority of album together, as well as a couple of other great local artists like Téa Petrovic and Andrew Allen. Because of this, we have been invested in getting the best versions of these songs... whether that means late lyric changes, or adjustments to the production or mixes, we’re both excited to make the changes necessary to bring these songs to life. The lead single from the album is called “Anything”, which is a song I wrote way back in 2009. I recently re-discovered the demo I recorded in my parents’ basement in Vernon, I fell back in love with the song, and the way Jeff has produced it is just perfect. What can we expect from your upcoming album? With the full album, the focus has been on heartfelt lyrics, with strong melodies and vocal performances, backed by lush instrumentation. Several songs have a nostalgic vibe, with elements of soul and Motown, while others are more pure pop. There are piano ballads, up-tempo pop/soulful songs, and a song with a bit of a Latin-influence! But the throughline of passionate vocals with honest, heartfelt lyrics is there all the way through. How do you prepare for live shows? Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse... I try to make sure my voice is in as good shape as it can be. I try to relax beforehand so as to not over-think the performance and stress myself out. I find it’s great to be in the moment. Also having sufficient rehearsals with the band so everyone is on the same page is really important.  What do you like to do away from music? Outside of music, I am a pretty huge nerd! Since as far back as I can remember, my family had the original NES, and I would spend hours upon hours playing the original Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt video games, and ever since then, I’ve been a gamer. I’ve been playing tons of new games on Nintendo Switch and PS4. One of my fave things to do is have friends over to have drinks and play Mario Kart. I also love going to movies, attending concerts, reading comics, or going out to enjoy drinks and food. Vancouver has such a diverse palate of food choices so it’s always fun to try something new! What’s planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? For the rest of 2019, I am promoting “Christmas Time This Year” as much as possible. I have a beautiful acoustic video I just released for the song and will keep on releasing fun 60 second covers on my Instagram page as well as some full length covers on YouTube. In, 2020 things will really heat up with the release of “Anything” in February with an accompanying music video, and then the full album arriving shortly after! I’m going to be performing live a lot more in 2020 as well and really getting these new songs in front of people. I’m so excited! Favourite food and place to hangout? I love good pizza, and have a bit of a sweet tooth so I really enjoy going out for Gelato. Fave place to hang out is probably the movie theatre, I usually go at least once a week! I love seeing new films in all genres. I also spend a lot of time at different concert venues catching the major artists that come through town. Please tell us why you chose to come back with your latest single 'Christmas Time This Year': I’ve been in the studio a lot over the last year and a half, and I’m really happy with how my upcoming album has turned out. I decided to precede the album with a Christmas single mainly because I love Christmas music. The latest several years I really wanted to write and record a Christmas song, and with the album finally ready to come out, I figured that a romantic and nostalgic sounding holiday song would be a perfect lead in to that. I think it thematically and sonically really fits with the album, and that anyone who likes it will really be excited with what is coming with ‘Anything’ and the full album!

Kyle Richardson

What's your name and role within Ride For Rain? Hi I’m Dylan, I sing and play guitar :) Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We’re based in northern Sydney/ Northern beaches area. I think Sydney’s  scene is great at the moment. At least this what I see from the shows I’ve gone to recently. People are looking for a party so as long the bands keep giving that vibe it’ll only get better :) How did the band form?  Well me and Goran (the other singer and guitarist) played music through high school together. We didn’t really do much with it. Then at the beginning of 2015 we started playing with Tim (drummer) who also went to our high school. We made a few songs etc and then thought it was obvious to then get my brother Liam who plays bass. A simple story but a very close circle :) What's been happening recently? Lots of things! We’ve got a show coming up at AM//PM in Sydney on December the 28th for the song ‘Rules on Envy’ we’ve just put out! More material (songs and videos) will be out early next year followed by a lot more shows so it’s exciting times! Your new single 'Rules Of Envy' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? It started with the drum beat, I really liked the way The 1975’s song ‘Sincerity is Scary’ sounds, the way the drums sound a little jolty almost as if they are out of time. In ‘Rules on Envy’ every other snare hit isn’t where it normally is in most songs. It gave it a cool groove. After that was laid down it was just a matter of adding the rest of the layers. It was virtually written in an afternoon. How has the response been so far? Yea it’s been great so far, people have said a lot of nice things! It’s very different to our older material that’s why I wanted it to be the first song people heard. It makes it more fun haha You have a new EP on the way, where and when did you record? We recorded at Electric Sun in Blacktown with Stevie Knight back in Feb. He’s fairly well known in the scene and has worked on heaps of great bands coming out of Australia, including his own, The Dead Love! How did you approach the recording/production process? It took just over a week to track and was a lot of fun. Working with Stevie is great. He’s extremely enthusiastic with every project and can really understand what you want to create and how you want it to sound. I think a lot of bands/artists get scared when going into a studio with a producer, not just coz of the money but because of being worried it won’t end up sounding the way they intended. With Stevie you get more than what you pay for and he gets right in your head to help create something you’ll be proud of. The last song was the trickiest and took the most thinking because it’s the most different in the way the instruments were played, I also played the trumpet on it! What influenced the songwriting for the EP? Pretty much the music I was listening to at the time. I’m always trying to emulate something I’ve heard, usually it turns out completely different though haha! I did want every song to not sound the same as the next. I tried to combine everything I was listening to into the 5 songs. I think we’ve achieved that! You’ve have to wait and see hehe. How did you go about writing the music? Most of the time we come up with the songs individually on our laptops. Once theres a skeleton of a song we send them to each other to either learn or to have input on the song. You've also released a film clip for 'Rules Of Envy, how did the concept for the film clip come about? The director and I would just throw ideas back and forth until we were both on the same page. We wanted it be weird but also have a comedic theme running through it. Sam is very good at creating crazy visuals with the littlest of things.  Where and when did you film and who with? It was directed by Sam Asher who has been involved in Australian television for ages now (mainly the ABC), he’s done shows like The Chasers, The Check-Out etc. It was filmed at his studio in Redfern back in late July. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the film creation? Haha deffs trying to not be awkward. No of us are outgoing people, so getting us to somewhat ‘act’ is a little hard. Lucky the video has a comedic aspect to it so we can kind of get away with it. The most rewarding thing is always seeing it at the end. Who are you listening to at the moment? A range of things! From Darkthrone, Cradle of Filth to No Rome, The 1975, Egoism (one of the best Sydney bands going I reckon) What do you like do do away from music? Paint warhammer and buying old t-shirts haha What's planned for 2020? Lots of shows and more music coming out! Favourite food and place to hangout? Probably Ramen and wherever the people I like the most are hanging out. https://www.facebook.com/pg/rideforrain  https://www.instagram.com/rideforrainband/  https://linktr.ee/rideforrain 

Ride For Rain

What is your name and role within Okay Dane? Jake (vocals/guitars) and Liam (Bass) Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? J: We’re based in Melbourne, we’re spoiled for choice here as far as good bands go. L: It’s easier to build a following once you find your niche, there’s a lot of variety in Melbourne. How did Okay Dane form? J: Liam and I have been writing music together since graduating high school in 2013, and Okay Dane is the end result of trying different sounds and finding what we like over the last few years. L: There’s between a few iterations under multiple terrible-names and genre jumps, earlier we were really into Living End and jazzy chord progressions, Okay Dane is us once we’d found our sound and identity.  How did you first start playing music? J: I got my first guitar when I was 5 (almost 20 years ago!) and have been obsessed ever since, I think the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games are responsible for my love of punk and alternative rock.. L: I picked up the bass in year 12 to compete in battle of the bands with Jake. We won. There were also some years spent playing clarinet that we prefer not to talk about.   What's been happening recently? J: We had a productive year in 2019 going on 2 tours, releasing 2 music videos, three singles, and this latest EP. Winding down for December now to write some new tunes to take out on the road in 2020! You've just released your new EP 'Alienation' what influenced the sound and songwriting for the EP? J: Personally I was listening to heaps of PUP and Clowns before heading in to record this time around. We’ve also spent the last year or so also listing to heaps of Aussie bands like Smith Street Band, Violent Soho, Ball Park Music, and Courtney Barnett, and that’s definitely had a huge impact on our sound. L: Smashing heaps of IDLES and getting really into their minimalistic but huge sound, and trying to keep the music cheeky and fun while still being serious and genuine. How did you go about writing the music for Alienation? L: We’d bring in ideas and skeletons of songs and work on the arrangements as a full band, with our different musical backgrounds it meant we’d hear things in each other’s ideas.   Where and when did you record and produce and who with? J: We recorded this EP in June of 2019, and we’ve done everything since Pretend with Jon Grace at Homesurgery Recordings. We’ve been able to get great results working with Jon as we have a lot of mutual trust and Jon truly becomes a member of the band while we’re there. I remember getting a message in the early hours of the morning of Jon singing a melody idea into his phone; he doesn’t switch off the whole time and lives in the record he’s producing.   How did you approach the recording and mixing? L: We went in with a bunch of demos and an open mind, we all picked our top 5 and trusted Jon on what he thought the best songs were. From there we worked out all the kinks in pre-production and the songs began to take shape. With mixing we gave Jon a lot of room to do his thing, we gave him some reference tracks for how we wanted the EP to sound, but the vision for the end product was one we developed together so mostly we’d just give little mix notes here and there. Who did you work with and how was the experience? J: Jon Grace mixed, engineered and produced, Sam Sproull mastered, and Will Johnstone did the artwork for the EP, and its corresponding singles. Will definitely continue working with this team. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of the EP? J: Finalising lyrics was the biggest challenge, on songs like ‘Stupid Game’ and ‘Headache’ a lot of the material was similar to what we came in with, but on tracks like ‘God Complex’, ‘You’re Sick’ and ‘Weak’ we needed to rewrite several sections, it was really rewarding as it was an opportunity to get everyone involved in lyric writing and getting different perspectives on the subject matter. You've just released your single 'Headache' please tell us how this track came to be and what it means to you: L: I came in with the bass-line after smashing heaps of Bakers Eddy and wanting something fast to open the set with, the structure stayed pretty similar and it came together really fast. J: Lyrically this was the most fun song to write and I was able to vent about all of the shit that was frustrating me at the time. It became a really positive outlet for all anger and it was heaps of fun to track.   Why did you choose Headache to be your lead single? J: We led first with God Complex which was more in-line with what people have come to expect from us, very 90’s alt/slacker vibes on that song and we also toured in support of that single. The decision to release Headache second with a video was to surprise our audience with our new found punk-sound and keep them guessing! You've have an accompanying film clip for Headache, how did the concept for the film clip come about? L: We had the idea ages ago of wanting to smash up a set with one of our more punk songs, and setting it on a children’s TV show was a great contrast to the more aggressive music and lyrics. We took the idea to Nathan Klooger and he ran with it and came up with some killer material. He took the basic idea and developed a story and all of the surrounding set-pieces.   Where did you film and who did you work with? We filmed with Nathan Klooger at the Meat-Market Stables in North Melbourne. What did you most enjoy and also learn throughout the creation of the film clip? J: Punk and smashing things pair well. L: You only get one take when you’re smashing things so you better make it count. What's planned for the 2020? J: We’re going back into writing mode to come up with some new tunes to take on tour and into the studio, we had a busy 2019 but we’re going to up the ante in 2020! L: We’re going to steal the declaration of independence. Favourite food and place to hangout? J: Always down for a kebab, favourite place to hang is at band practice or in the tour van L: Indian food, love a good curry. Fave place to hang is a pirate-punk themed bar (Jolly Roger, Fortitude Valley) we found on tour in Brisbane, that’s where I want to be buried. 

Okay Dane

What's your name and role within All The Colours?  My name is Josh Mann, I get called J Mann, as opposed to Josh Moriarty who is simply called J man. The subtlety is strangely easy to interpret in day to day living. I am usually the one that says pathetically odd things to diffuse non-existent tension. I also play the guitar, sing and have been known to compose a tune every now and then... Call me George. What's been happening recently?  We have just released a new single "Trigger", on the verge of releasing Volume 3, which when it finally lands will be as a tonic for the fans. You've got to stay ahead of the game don't you? So of course we have the skeleton of Volume 4 slowly having strings attached to its limbs, which is currently in a cupboard in North Fitzroy, as opposed to Fitzroy North. My golf game is slowly improving.  Your new album is coming out next year, how did you approach the songwriting for the album?  Jamming out in the middle of Victoria at various haunts BnB. Josh Moriarty brought a lot to the table quality wise, I think that is why we've managed to release so many singles off the yet to be released record. We would go away together for a week and bring nothing but all our music gear and a playstation. Despite getting a massive amount done we still managed to jam and write most of the album together.  What or who influenced the sound and songwriting?  Everything that has led us up to this point, our limits and each other were the biggest "what" and "who". Though now it's said each of us had our own noise buzzing in our head that signalled the direction of the record. For me, it was the guitar solos, it was the first ATC record where I played all of them, well almost. Someone else's guitar bizz features on a track I won't name.  How did you approach the recording process?  We tracked some drums here at St Charles, and then went over to L.A and spent a week at Electro-Vox  tracking everything else. We had all our parts down so we only messed around with the instrument/amp choices for the sessions over there.  You worked with Chris Taylor (producer) and Cian Riordan (mixer), how did you come to work with these two highly acclaimed industry heavyweights?  When we were trying to figure out how to make the best of Vol III's material, J man happened to ask his (and now our) good pal Chris Taylor. I think Chris suggested Cian when we got to the end of tracking. When you highly acclaim yourself after so long it's only natural to associate with fellow H.A.I.H's in the bizz you know?  How was the experience?  Ear opening. Chris Taylor has to be up there with the best producers, and let's not forget Michael "Squirrel" Harris as head engineer at the Electro Vox sessions. It's hard to keep pushing the envelope, but if we manage to keep moving forward one day we would love to reunite the team and have another week together. Dreams do come true, it's just that other people are having them at the same time. Creepy. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the process?  I always get a bit apprehensive about singing in studios, a voice in your head is reminding you this is it, either it's good or it's not. The album is it's own reward, but just behind it is playing the '51 Tele they got there - easily the best guitar I've ever played. I'm now a Tele guy. That's right folks, I've buried the wiggle bar. What did you learn?  All The Colours and music is a family, and time together is like gold.  Does the album sound as you originally imagined it would? Please explain:  No it sounds way better! It's a combination of exceeding expectations and changing tastes evolving with the writing and jamming.  What can we expect from All The Colours in the near future?  Shows here and abroad. Hopefully we'll see you there! https://open.spotify.com/album/0MDWPj7yhViavYBiHntzgu?highlight=spotify:track:0mulTXIHNOA82nRtSYqp3I https://www.youtube.com/user/AllTheColoursMusic/featured https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/all-colours https://www.instagram.com/allthecoloursmusic/ https://www.facebook.com/Allthecolours

All The Colours

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I live in Tel Aviv, and I absolutely love the music scene here. There's a wide range of genres, from Folk, Pop, Alternative to Urban and Electro music. There are so many talented and inspiring artists here performing and recording. Hey, you should come for a visit!  How did you first get involved with playing music? I don't quite sure I really remember, since I was 3 years old, I'll probably tell you what I I've heard. My parents tell that by the age of three, I asked them to take piano lessons, and as they are perfectly supportive today - so they were back then, they got me started playing. What I do remember is me as a little girl sitting next to the piano, and my short girl's legs couldn't touch the floor so I had a footrest. I fell in love immediately with music, and not much later on with lyrics too. I started writing songs by the age of 5, and Singing a bit later. In time, I deepened my connection with music and songwriting in many ways.   What’s been happening recently? Our second album"The Flight of the Hawks" was released and drew radio, art journals, music blogs and listeners attention from all over the world. It was quite thrilling for me, and I had a blast. At the same time, I have been working on MARBL's third album, and in these days I enjoy writing, recording, and creating this new adventure of mine with Maor Shvartzberg the producer and my band that I absolutely love. You’re new single ‘The First Day of the Rain' is out 22.11, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? How did you go about writing ‘The First Day Of Rain’?  "The First Day of the Rain" is a moment of reminiscing, life is one complicated and irreversible timeline, a one way street. I love the way things are at the moment, I really do, but I find myself reminiscing, there are some things I really miss and would give so much to go back and feel them again. I lost two of my loved ones in the last years, Luccia my closest grandmother, and Bonnie my dog and my best friend. It caught me unprepared and I'm thinking about it every day. So there was that night when I was all by myself in my living room, feeling like a hole was beginning to shape inside of me, and I missed them, and I missed other loves, so I went for a walk down my memory lane and I wrote this song. Regarding the sound, I knew I wanted to keep it as intimate as it was when I first played it, and so we did. Where and when did you record and who with? We recorded this song a few months ago, with Maor Shvartzberg. I played the piano, and we recorded an amazing string quartet (Hagar Maoz, Noa Ayali, Avital Tsaig, Roni Seiler) and Uri Shreter is in charge of the strings arrangement. What programs/instruments did you use to record? Pro-Tools.  What did you find most challenging and rewarding through the creation and recording of  ‘The First Day Of Rain’? I will refer the music video. Tomer Levi, a very good friend of mine, directed, filmed and edited most of MARBL's videos. I told him that when I play this song, I miss my dog extremely and I get sad. So, we came up with an idea to turn to SPCA Israel (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Israel) and offer a collaboration. It was love at first site. We filmed the video clip there, and it came to be the official video for their dogs adoptions campaign. All the dogs by the end of the video are looking for a loving home and hopefully this video will help them to get one. I dedicate this one to Bonnie with all of my heart.    How do you prepare for your live shows? I have an amazing band, they're like family. We rehearse together. I also rehearse at home. There's something in the energy on stage, that you can never "prepare" to. It's magic. What do you most enjoy about playing live? The audience! The emotional connection we make. Neither alcohol nor any kind of drug in the world can become equal to it.  What do you like to do away from music? Sports, hang out, watch Netflix, cooking. Who are you listening to at the moment? Eduard Sharp and Aurora. Where and when are you playing next? November, the Yellow submarine, International Music Festival What projects are you working on at the moment? As I was saying before, I'm working on the third album, and writing new stuff. What’s planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? The show at the festival, the new single, that will lead the SPCA campaign, and lets see what else this month will bring. Favourite food and place to hangout? Port Said (Tel Aviv), the best food in the city. I live in central Tel Aviv so I have many places right next to my house, I'd say a wine bar down the stairs. 

MARBL

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? A small village in Lancashire, called Eccleston. There’s no music scene here...I am it! How did you first start playing music? I was very musical as child but when the Beatles Anthology came out in the late 90s it changed my life and I decided to learn the guitar and to be a professional musician. What's been happening recently? The run up to Christmas is always very busy for me; I’m not an elf or anything, but as a professional working musician as well as a songwriter and recording artist, I’m always gigging. That’s what’s happening at the moment, but look out for a new release soon! ;) Your latest album 'I Love Joyce Morris' came out on August 30, what influenced the sound and songwriting? I allowed the album to take whatever path it chose, drawing on a wide range of influences. It’s a record about and for my children so I didn’t want to impose rules. How did you go about writing the music? Most of the songs were written directly after my two children were born and often late at night...after a gig. Where and when did you record/produce? I hired a small local commercial studio called Northwest Recording Studios, owned by Paul Hutchinson, a fine musician and producer. I produced and Paul engineered, played some instruments and contributed ideas. I played most of the instruments but also drafted in some great players for specialist instruments. The album was made over an 18 month period and was is finished mid 2018. What programs/instruments did you use? We recorded the album into Protools using vintage analogue outboard gear, including a beautiful old desk. I played: acoustic and electric guitars, bass, piano, drums (on some tracks), percussion, synths and melodian. How did you approach the recording process? I went into the studio with the songs rigorously mapped out and with a strong sense of the instrumentation; but slowed each song to take on its in life during the recording process. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation? Making albums is always challenging and it’s easy to get bogged down by the enormity of the creative process and details such as finances. I tried to approach each session in isolation and take things one step at a time. It’s a big production and was made in a very traditional way, using real musicians. I’m proud of what we achieved, because to me, it sounds like the sort of record I would have loved before I became a musician. How has the reaction from fans been so far? So far people seem to be enjoying the album; fans and critics alike. Who are you listening to at the moment? I’m always listening to music and my tastes and interests are eclectic. I’m greatly enjoying the work of Julian Lage at the moment. What do you like to do away from music? When I’m not making music I like to spend as much time as I can with my children. Your new single 'Card' is out, please tell us about the story behind this track: The Card is a Christmas song that documents a breakup; but that’s not the focus. The focus is hope and to me, hope has always seemed synonymous with the Christmas story and also the coming of the new year in secular traditions. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? The rest of 2019 is just one non stop gig. Favourite food and place to hangout? Favourite food at the moment is my chicken curry and my favourite place to be, is home with my children. https://www.facebook.com/thisisandyclark

Andy Clark

What is your name and role within Psychological Strategy Board? Paul Snowdon, Hardware: synths & contact mics. Jonny Mugwump, Digital: textures & loops How did you first start playing music? Paul: I’ve been playing live and making music for around 30 years now. In the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s, I was in heavy guitar-based bands, It was just something I was driven to do. I started making electronic based music after studying Fine Art in the late 90’s.  JM: I’m still reluctant to describe what I do as making music really but that kind of self-critique is important to myself and to the PSB project. We utilise a lot of non-musical sound (the beat in Sophia for example is a non-musical sound lifted from a documentary and re-edited to be rhythmic) and use more obvious musical tones, sounds and instruments in non-musical ways. This is hardly radical in itself – those kind of ideas - that’s the whole history of experimental music – but when thrown into the mix with our two different personalities, motivations and skill-sets it does contribute to what we believe to be a unique sound. Which doesn’t answer your question really does it? I started using Ableton when I started my radio show for Resonance FM in the UK many centuries ago. Getting quickly bored of playing new music on a station that had no sonic restrictions of any kind I started playing loops in between things instead of talking, then over music then inviting guests to play live and very quickly pre-recorded music only accounted for about 10% of the show. Not much has changed in my approach now except I’m slightly more technically proficient. How did Psychological Strategy Board form? Live improvised radio broadcasts on Jonnys Exotic Pylon radio show on Resonance FM. Paul: Shortly after moving to London I met Jonny, who’d just started broadcasting his radio show, before long I was playing live on the radio almost every week, improvising and simply learning from other like-minded musicians. Us making music together stems directly from that radio show. JM: As Paul says above. Then I was approached by the Front & Follow label (with whom we have had a long close relationship with) to participate in a remix project. Now I could have just done this myself and cobbled something together but I just… well I am entirely disinterested in having control – I have no ego I wish to enforce and the more that is chipped away the better. So I asked Paul to do it in collaboration especially as we had built up such an intuitive working methodology over the years on air which was wholly organic and unplanned. What’s been happening recently? Paul: In the first quarter of 2019 I had a few live shows as Time Attendant, my solo project. We then knuckled down to writing a new Psychological Strategy Board set as we’d been booked to play a few gigs around London and to perform at the Supernormal festival here in the UK. We went on a mini tour of the UK in 2018 to promote our previous release, a soundtrack for the documentary ‘Penny Slinger; Out of the Shadows’ on Front & Follow records. JM: I just absolutely love playing live. This has come as a complete shock to me so we’ve had a good year this year playing several really great gigs in completely different environments in the space of a few weeks. And this with a new set that we feel is very much ourselves. Our first live set was good but maybe not wholly indicative of what we hear in our heads. Not that I actually have any idea of what’s in my head. You've recently released your new album, what influenced the sound and songwriting? Paul: After the live shows in 2018, we knew what we didn’t want to sound like. We wanted to reign-in and define our sound more by limiting the tonal range of our music. Anything non-musical and Music Concrete in general is really my biggest influence when it comes to PSB. JM: I find it hard to answer that question as I don’t really listen very much to the kinds of genres you might associate with us anymore. I have absorbed so much experimental music over the years but what I listen to these days is largely R&B, Hip Hop, Classical, Jazz blah blah and I try and keep up with whatever crazy underground dance stuff is going on around the globe. The kind of thing we do – I’ve always found it interesting that I have zero interest in making the music I actually listen to. How did you go about writing the music? Paul: We’d come up with sounds and ideas independently of each other, then when we get together to practice, we just try them out, the other response musically, verbally, philosophically and we decide what to keep. We practice and nail the first 10 minutes, then move on to the next 10 minutes. The music develops in blocks of sound and time, becoming more stripped back as the pieces lengthen. JM: The new set and eventually single took shape after Paul sent me 10 mins of sexy toothbrush action and I have never had such an instinctive reaction to anything in my life. I knew exactly what I wanted to add and as everything I do is sample-based I had to go find, edit and then play those sounds. I think Paul was kind of shocked! I think this is why we feel we’re finally us – the sound is just happening without any ‘effort’ at all now – we sound like this and that is really exciting. In answer to your question, and the reason I love collaboration is that for whatever reason, I have zero interest in making the kind of music that I listen to. Where and when did you record and who with? Paul: Dog Tunnel Records JM: Early August in Elephant and Castle (London) on a very balmy early August night. Quite drunk. How did you approach the recording process? Paul: We approached the recording process in the way a band using traditional instruments would, by writing music we knew we could repeat and play live. We had an idea that we might record some overdubs to add interest to certain parts of the set, Dog Tunnels philosophy was to not encourage overdubs, keeping the recordings live, so we just rolled with it. We recorded several takes of each song and left it to Dan and Pete of Dog Tunnel Records to choose what to mix down. JM: I mentioned earlier about control. I was so excited to be approached by DTR as I knew they would have some involvement with the sound – the mixing, their studio, their selection. We were desperate to hear it as we had no ideas what to expect. And it’s crazy and out of control and we love it! I am so interested in the role of the artist especially as I have never considered myself to be one. I am within this process and this sound but it’s warped by so many other factors. This is why I struggle to envision myself recording solo work. It would just be…me. What programs/instruments did you use to record? Paul: Dave Smith Mono Synth, Koma Field Kit, Moogerfoogers, TC Electronics, Danelectro & Electro-Harmonix effects. MXR EQ’s, homemade sheet-metal noise box with Toothbrush and contact mics. JM: Ableton live, laptop Please describe the experience of working in an analogue studio with a real plate reverb unit: Paul: Yea it was a good experience, we were introduced to the smell of freshly unboxed ¼” tape and to see the Lathe-cutting machine sat hunched and heavy awaiting our noise. JM: Reel to reel tape – the dream! How do you make your sounds? How did you come to use a electronic toothbrush? Paul: I’ve been mic’ing up objects for a while now, ever since I bought the Koma Field Kit a couple of years ago. I’d grown tired of hearing regular synth sounds and wanted to explore processing sounds in real time through various effects pedals. I’ve always used field recordings in the music I make, so this was just a natural progression. Eventually I’d acquired enough interesting bits and pieces of junk to build a small noise plate for percussive sounds and I was just looking around my flat for objects I could use to make sounds, the electric toothbrush was just a no-brainer, totally perfect. I now have a selection of brushes, half dead ones that vibrate slowly and gently, creating low hums, others that stop and start randomly and brand new ones, that are loud and harsh and seem to literally, want to jump down your throat! JM: I think in loops. They don’t have to be smooth or rhythmic. They need to be unexpected. We have several decades of sampling in music now and are going through a new golden-age of hip hop. Sometimes I want to emphasise the loop, sometimes I don’t. In the moment I just know what I need. I don’t know how or why and I don’t want to. I don’t even think that it’s me making those decisions anyway. How did you approach using both digital and analogue? JM: Maybe the way to think about this is actually less to do with the tonalities of sound and more about structure. Other than a minute of synth, the digital side of things – my bit – is loops of samples. I do not create any sound from scratch – everything is taken from something pre-recorded and then is looped. This places a huge amount of restrictions on what I can do but I have limited technical abilities so it forces me to dig very deeply into what I am able to do. I had a wholly new sensibility borne from the rave and jungle scenes in the UK a long long time ago and so I have a personal philosophy for operating in this way but I don’t need to say anymore than that. So Paul is a lot more structurally free and can move his sound more fluidly (although his equipment also places interesting restrictions on what he can do as well). Everything I’ve just said though was not an approach at all. We were just entirely cluelessly playing on live radio with zero planning and no prior discussion – I had what I had, Paul had what he had. It was only after a long period of time, in fact when we first worked as PSB on the Front and Follow remix that we even realised we had an approach. We then built a concept out of that but there was absolutely no intention initially. How do you approach playing live and how does playing live in London influence how and what you play? JM: Paul covered most of this earlier when asked about the recording process. There is now no difference. We are essentially a live project full stop. We did play a series of gigs in very different environments earlier this year culminating in a massive pagan-like shed at Supernormal – just a beautiful amazing festival. When sound-checking (something I have very little interest in anyway) we were distorting way more than we usually would and I was freaking out for a minute realising that this wasn’t going to be solvable. Then it suddenly occurred – what’s the problem – we’re literally playing the building. So then we emphasised that distortion and just played really fucking loud. It was just great. There is no pure playing environment so you roll with what you have and I think cos we’re quite raw at the moment it was just kind of perfect. As regards London, well Paul and I used to be very heavily involved in lots of things through my record label and the radio show and events I used to put on. I am entirely disconnected from everything now and never go to see live music and speaking for myself, London has never been an influence in and of itself (although there are many places in London that I love). Paul and I are both from the north of England originally and I am not one for scenes of any sort anyway Who are you listening to at the moment? Paul: Conrad Schnitzler, Moon Wiring Club, Pole, Witch Skull, Schneider TM JM: The Hyperdub label is better than it’s ever been, the Cherushii & Maria Minerva is by far my favourite release of this year just a beautiful inventive fun and madly melodic thing born out of awful circumstances. Hausu Mountain is the best label around right now – just crazy vaporwave shot through a thousand different angles. Miles Davis, Scott Walker, Coil, Debussy always and forever. Onoe Caponoe, Billy Woods and Kenny Segal, Angel Olsen, Caterini Barbieri – they’ve all dropped amazing things this year. Oh yes my joint-fave – Johanna Knutsson’s Tollarp Transmissions – like all the electrical devices in your house have turned sentient and are singing to each other. I’ll stop now. What do you like to do away from music? Paul: Art, Painting, Sculpture JM: Reading a lot of weird shit (post CCRU speculative stuff). Erik Davis new High Weirdness is wonderful. I have broadcast a few radio shows from home called The Neon Hospice but this is on hiatus now until January when it will become a regular weekly show. I am slowly building what will become a convoluted website around it that I would very much like to be psychedelic and I have no idea what that even means or how I will do it. What’s planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? JM: Upping our recording rate, possible self-released cassettes and hoping for as many gigs as possible. If you’re out there listening we’re very easy to deal with Favourite food and place to hangout? Paul: A Ploughmans, The Fellowship & Star in Bellingham London. JM: Like some deranged 70’s freak show I love and live for Fondue. I live in Margate and I suppose the hangout I love the most (although not great in winter) is cycling along the Viking Trail towards Reculver and stopping at various pubs. It’s really weird – bits of it are like a Brutalist sea trail. http://dogtunnelrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sophia-6-alter

Psychological Strategy Board

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?  Brisbane, hip hop there has been going strong for some time now. How did you first start playing music/rapping?  I first tried rap in high school, but started recording more seriously when I went to my cousin's studio in Vietnam. What's been happening recently?  I've spent the last year putting up a number of political hip hop videos online. The political landscape quite quickly so it requires a lot of effort to keep up. Your new single/video 'Save Our Seas' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?   Mark and I did a previous political track "March is Long", and we worked well together using gritty East Coast inspired production. I wanted to create something with a similar vibe but focusing on a contemporary topic.   How did you go about writing Save Our Seas?  I wrote what I knew about Vietnam and its maritime issues, and I spoke with others in the Vietnamese community about it. I recruited Mark, who wrote a verse that starts off with some of my phrases, but then he branches off to tell his own story as an artist from the Philippines, showing that there are both differences and parallels between our experiences. Mark has a great voice and speaks with authority. I heard about Mei's singing via a friend from med school, and her vocal harmonies worked perfectly on the chorus. She is quite the talent, and can sing in multiple languages. Where and when did you record/produce?  I recorded myself and Mark at my home studio, and Mei was recorded by Gareth David at Linear Records. Who did you work with during the recording/production process?   The instrumental is from Petrofsky, a versatile producer from Ukraine. Mastering was from Matthew Gray. How did the concept for the video come about?  I wanted a maritime setting and to use flares to create a sense of urgency - we want the world to pay attention, to help "Save Our Seas". Where and when did you film and who did you work with?  We filmed it along the Brisbane River. Our videographer was Dolan Funk, who shot some beautiful drone footage. Chris Harding helped with editing.  Who are you listening to at the moment?  Lucas Joyner, Kendrick Lamar, Strange Music, Triple One, G Yamazawa, to name a few.  What do you like to do away from music?  I enjoy travelling, spending time with my dog and friends and going to cultural festivals. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020?  I'm going to release another political track this year, and hope to have enough material for an LP next year. Favourite food and place to hangout?  Love phở. South Bank is great as it changes often.  https://open.spotify.com/album/6BPr4ErUq2H9HFGYEXm21u?highlight=spotify:track:5fDH9rYj5jpWWSFH83cBie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Av00c6T-8w&feature=youtu.be https://www.facebook.com/MCTuPham

TU P

What is your name and role within Dream Cities? Mike Solo - Drums What have you been working on recently? We just put out the new video for 'Angel's Call' but over the past 12 months we've been busy writing our second album and filming live videos for all the tracks from 'Everybody's Nobody'. There's loads of stuff to be released in the near future, which is exciting for us. You’re new single 'Angels Call' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? Alex (bass, electronics) and Andrej (guitar) came up with the main atmospheric introduction and the arpeggiated guitar riff a few years ago when we were still an instrumental band. It quickly became a favourite of ours to jam on, so when Ello joined the band as MC, we were really interested to hear his take on the vocals and lyrics. I think the music suits the theme of darkness and redemption in the vocals, with an air of hopefulness around it. Musically, there's a lot of world music influence in the samples we've used across many songs, but the rhythm and chords and chorus are probably everything from Phil Collins 'In The Air Tonight' to P.O.D.'s 'Alive.' That wasn't intentional, it just came out that way! Your new album is out now where and when did you record? We recorded 'Everybody's Nobody' at Megaphon Studios in Sydney, with Alex Wilson (sleepmakeswaves) engineering and mixing for us. We did a few guitar and bass overdubs at home or at his studio, whilst Ello did almost all his vocals himself at his place. It was cool going into a big studio to track and we had fun, but it took a long time for us to get all the details right due to the number of layers we kept adding to the songs. We might try to simplify next time haha. Who did you work with during the recording and production process? We self produced demos of everything ourselves initially, then asked Alex Wilson to help us record and mix the album. He had just enough time in between massive touring stints with sleepmakeswaves to fit in a couple days of recording, which was great. What programs/instruments did you use? Pretty standard instrumentation for the band - vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keyboard - but mainly Ableton for the electronics and Reaper for the mixing process. How did you go about writing the music? Alex & Andrej spent years coming up with riffs and melding them with world music samples they found by trawling the internet, whilst I would then come in and help arrange them or write additional melodies using my voice or a keyboard to add layers. This was during a period of 3-4 years when we were basically a part-time hobby instrumental band, so we felt free to continually thicken up the melodic content of songs with additional layers, trumpet samples, keyboard & synth lines, vocal samples etc. We jammed on these in the studio, played some gigs, listened back and refined things over time to be less 10-minute explorations and more punchy live tracks that people could groove to. Eventually when Ello joined as MC, we re-arranged most tracks to make space for him. But in some cases, he freestyled directly on top of what we already had and it actually worked out great - so we kept the best of both worlds! What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the recording/production process? The most challenging thing was the mix process, realising we had to invest a lot more time into getting it right due to the sheer number of layers we had created. Everyone wanted these elements we were used to hearing to be audible in the mix, so it took a lot longer than expected. It was a challenge for Alex in mixing all this too as we kept wanting revisions. Eventually we were able to finalise everything within a few days sitting on his couch listening back. The most rewarding thing was having it all done. None of us had ever finished an album before so it felt good to complete it and share it with people. Where can we buy/download the album? Feel free to stream or watch on Spotify/YouTube or you can support us directly at dreamcities.bandcamp.com Who are you listening to at the moment? Haha it's a bit unusual at the moment - I'm listening to unreleased mixes of music by sleepmakeswaves & Furnace and the Fundamentals (probably due out late 2019/early 2020). I've also been listening to some of my old favourite cartoon theme songs like Duck Tales and Denver the Last Dinosaur. Most days I'm listening to The Wiggles whilst my baby plays around on his playmat. Otherwise I've actually been listening to a lot of sports podcasts - The Lowe Post & JJ Reddick podcast (basketball), The Tennis podcast. What do you like to do away from music? Family time with the new baby (he's 9 months) is great Otherwise I enjoy exercising and playing tennis or table tennis (when there's time and someone to play with!) What’s planned for the remainder of 2019 going into2020? We're launching the new single/video at The Chippendale Hotel in Sydney on Thursday 21 November There'll be releases for the live videos we recorded pretty soon and then hopefully we can bunker down to finish writing the next album and have it out sometime in 2020 with more shows Favourite food and place to hangout? Broccoli & Hanging out at home!

Dream Cities

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We are from Camden south-western Sydney. The Music scene here is relatively small, though there are definitely a few people making strides as far as cultivating a progressive scene, not only by putting on shows for up and coming bands but also in terms of attracting bigger acts to the area and making making it a worthy stop for touring Australian bands. Waratah Records have been putting on All ages shows for a few years now and I OH YOU have just announced Out of Bounds festival for Jan 2020 which is all helping put the local area on the map. How did you first start playing music? I went to Homebake concert when i was in year 6. it was 2002 and immediately after all i wanted was an electric guitar. the trusty sammick saw alot of grinspoon riifs let me tell you.    How did the Dardi Shades Form? I had been mucking around acoustically for a few years when a local band who i knew had just parted ways. I invited a couple of the band around and we had a jam and then pretty much haven't stopped since.   What’s been happening recently? Recently we have been writing and recording. Played some cool shows and have the Sydney Beer Festival on December 1st where we are headlining the Sunday. Apart from that just gearing up to release more and more next year.  Your new single ‘Best Friends’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting? Our sound has always been very 'British'. with best friend we wanted to write a summer anthem and took cues from the likes of Circa Waves & Courtneers among others.   Where and when did you record/produce? We recorded earlier in the year at A-Sharp studios in Sydney.  Who did you work with during the creation of Best Friend? This is the second track we did with Adrian Breakspear, stoked with the output and definitely have a great relationship and plans to work together again moving forward! Who are you listening to at the moment? Some old, some new. The Courtneers, Whitney, Easy Life, Alvvays, Brittany Howard. What do you like to do away from music? Football (Soccer :/ ) and travel as much as i can.   How do you prepare for live performances and what do you most enjoy about performing? I enjoy engaging with the audience in a way that provides a unique and intimate experience that you can;t get simply listening to the record. What do you have planned for the rest of 2019 going into 2020? We are playing the Sydney Beer Festival December 1st. apart from that relax and gear up for a big 2020.   Favourite food and place to hangout? Nachos. Wherever has Nachos.

The Dardi Shades

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I’m currently living in London and the music scene is fantastic! There are too many gigs to choose from to be honest. I was lucky enough to spend 6 months here in 2014 and played a lot of shows myself which were such good experiences so I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve been able to come back.   How did you first start playing music? I think I had a little plastic xylophone from about 2 but I started learning piano when I was about 5 or 6. From there I played saxophone and everything else has come since then.  What's been happening recently? My focus has really just been on getting the EP ready. I finished university up in Durham earlier this year so I was really keen to put out a larger release.  Your new single GMT is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting? I’ve always loved making quite lush soundscapes so that was the basis of the sound for GMT. I’ve always found artists like Bon Iver and James Blake to be massive inspirations because of the way in which they combine acoustic and electronic sounds in their music, and that is something which I have always tried to achieve in my music. Mood has always been a big part of my writing so the process of finding the right sound was a lot of trial and error in finding something which fitted.  How did you go about writing GMT? I actually wrote the bones of the song a few years ago but never really did anything with it. I wrote it last time I was in London and noticed (while I was walking around as a tourist not doing much) the rush hour and everyone with their heads down charging for their next appointment. So that’s what stemmed the idea for ‘living off time’ as a metaphor for being present.  Where and when did you record/produce and who with? I write and record with a good friend Luke Gerber, who has been heavily involved in this EP. For GMT, it was quite a strange process since we were on the opposite side of the world to one another. I produced a demo which I sent to Luke which he then worked his magic with until we had the finished product. A lot of the parts were recorded in my bedroom though! We were lucky enough to have a studio for the rest of the EP though!  How did you approach the songwriting process? Lyrics are something which usually come last because I am a piano player originally. I will normally find a chord progression I like then try to create a sound around those which hopefully inspire lyrics which fit the song.  You have a live video of GMT about to be released, where and when was this filmed/recorded? I suppose fitting in with the nature of the track itself, I recorded it all and filmed it myself at home. I think the song when it’s played solo is quite raw so for the first time playing it live, I wanted to capture that.  What do you like to do away from music? I’m a big sports fan so I love watching and playing cricket. I’ve had the ideal summer with both the cricket and rugby world cups and the ashes on!  Who are you listening to at the moment? There is a guy who recently put out his first EP, who is called Beau Diako. He’s got some really beautiful tunes.  What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? All focus is on the EP! I’m hoping to play some live shows soon but I can’t wait to get the new music out there.  Favourite food and place to hangout? Good Japanese is hard to beat. Also difficult to beat a pub garden in Summer. 

Ed Wells

Where and when did you start recording ‘Thirst’?   I started in the middle of the Charlotte Gainsbourg album production and the participation of the Frank Ocean’s “Blond” album. The Balance between the two styles and the two different human being were a source of inspiration to me. Charlotte Gainsbourg moved to NYC and Frank Ocean was traveling between Los Angeles & London, and I was Djing at the same time. So everything started in the middle of a bit everywhere.   What is the collaborative proves like for you? How does it shape the music?   When you are producing for somebody, you have to hide yourself to let emerge the project of the artist. You’re really here entirely for the project, even when the artist don’t know exactly where he want to go. You’re kind of a midwife in a way.   You've called upon an impressive list of artists to feature on the 14-track album, how and why did you decide on which artists to invite to collaborate?   Even if I deliberately chose most of them, I didn’t really “decided”. That just happened by traveling, meeting some artists. I started making some tracks and collaborations without knowing that it will be an album. It’s just after few tracks that I realized that the album will have this shape.   You are known for bringing different styles together as one on the new record – from European techno and electro to classic pop and R&B, hip-hop and American gospel – how do you approach the blending of different styles and what do you like most about blending different styles together?   I am not blending voluntary all this. It just comes out of my head as something already blended, that’s probably how my brain digest and reject all the informations.   You are involved heavily in fashion and culture, what inspires/influences you in these area’s? & How did you first get involved in fashion and culture and eventually playing runways for major high end labels such as YSL?   The Saint-Laurent’s team approached me when I was finishing the Charlotte Gainsbourg’s album. Her A.D. and video Director, Nathalie Canguilhem had the idea to make bridge between them and me. I didn’t know nothing about the fashion world. The lonely idea I had about this concept was to create entirely the music especially for each shows. To musically “dress” the show. Like a soundtrack. We tried once with the Artist Director of  Saint-Laurent Anthony Vaccarello, and cause it worked and the feeling were good, we continued all together since almost 4 years now.   What are you currently working on in the fashion/culture?   For now I am just working with Saint Laurent cause we have a good feeling together. I am a faithful person.   Which other artists are you listening to at the moment?   I like JPEGmafia, A.K. Paul, The FKA Twiggs’s “Cellophane” is beautiful, or the band Lightning Bolt.   What do you like doing away from music/fashion/culture?   80% Music, 20% reading. Literally nothing else.   What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020?   Don’t want to think about it, I couldn’t breathe anymore. But Great Things!

Sebastian

What is your name and role within Imperials?    Our names are Josh (Guitar + Vocals) Ingrid (Guitar and Vocals) & Joey (Drums + Percussion) Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?  We are based in Sydney as collective, Ingrid is south of Sydney in Wollongong, Josh is in Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches and Joey is in the inner West of Sydney. This is a hard answer to give as Sydney suffered from the lock out laws which saw it harder for up and coming bands to really have a venue to start out small and have a place where we can build a fan base, but with that being said there are a number of amazing venues that are fighting to keep live music an integral party of Sydney’s culture. It is sad that when we started out as musicians 10 years ago I guess a lot of those venues are gone and don’t exist anymore but it hasn’t stopped our community and it’s been inspiring to see how it’s got people thinking out of the box. How did Imperials form? Ingrid and Josh originally started the band as a duo about a year ago. When it came time to start putting a live act together we asked one of our mates who is Joey to be our live drummer as more of a session player but when we started rehearsing it came very apparent that this was meant to be a trio of three like-minded and spirited people in which we feel is pretty special to us.  What's been happening recently? We have been very busy, writing, recording, filming, rehearsing all in preparation for the release of our new single and the future of IMPERIALS What or who influences your song and songwriting? Life is probably the biggest influence and well music in general.  We aren’t a band that is necessarily influenced by any one genre or artist more so by great songs. It can be in any format but that’s the amazing thing about a great song it’s just……. A great song. As songwriters that’s what we love How does the band go about writing music? It could be from humming a vocal hook or mumbling driving in the car using our phone (whooopps) or just playing an instrument. Most of the time it starts with a feeling or emotion and then trying to get the chords to connect with that and we go from there.  What programs/instruments do you use live and to record? We record using Pro tools within that we produce the tracks using a combination of live samples and electronic samples that we find through splice for the drum beds  then record guitars, bass, an electric piano that we have in the studio. We like to run it through analogue gear for that really nice warmth. Once the track is feeling pretty good, but we feel like it needs live drums incorporated, then we mic up a really simple drum set up that feels warm and organic and using analogue gear capture a vibey sound. For live shows, Ingrid and Josh are on guitars and vocals and joey has a hybrid kit using acoustic drums various percussion and a spd sample pad then anything that we cant do between us live, we use tracks at this stage. How do you approach the recording process? We throw all ideas down into pro tools and see what happens. It’s not un-common to have 2 – 4 versions of the same song for us. We tend to pick the best parts from each version and mold it all together. We have a habit of ‘butchering’ our songs for the sake of trying something new. (To make sure it doesn’t work haha) it’s a real push and pull! We try and stay true to the essence of the original feeling and make sure the song is as honest as possible What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? To be very honest… a 9 to 5 is not for us. We love writing and we intend to do this for life. Favourite food and place to hangout?   Hanging out Imperials HQ (aka Arthur st studios) eating Oregano bread from I love mannish

Imperials

What's your name and role within The Chats?  Matt Boggis I wack tubs  Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? we are based on the Sunshine Coast Queensland. It’s pretty chill here, not too much of a scene but there’s some great bands from here like the unknowns and hobo magic. How did you first start playing and writing music? We played a lot in school during classes we didn’t really like and lunch. After school we spent a lot of time jamming and writing songs in our good mates shed. Who or what influences your sound and songwriting? We listened a lot to the saints, wire, cosmic psychos, and eddy current suppression ring. So I guess we got a lot of inspiration from those bands  What equipment does the band use live?  It changes around a fair bit but at the moment,  Eamon plays a fender super bass man with precision bass, josh plays through a fender twin with his jazz master and I just play cc drums with ziljian cymbals.   How do you usually go about writing music? We always seem to write songs while we are just jamming, so we just jam and see what happens usually.  You're currently heading towards the end of a massive Aussie tour, favourite show to date and why? Our favourite place to play so far on that tour was probably the triffid in Brisbane, all the people there we really nice and, the sound is the best.  How do you prepare for each show? Bit of drinking. Who are you listening to at the moment? Been listening to a lot of sheer mag, the smarthearts and twin peaks. What do you like to do away from music? Been skating since I was 7 so when I’m not playing music I like to skate heaps.  How do you usually go about recording and who do you usually work with during recording?  Lately, for the album we been working on we have been recording down in Geelong with Billy Gardner, and working with mikey young getting it mixed and all that stuff...  What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? We are currently in Europe till 15 dec, then we have a bit of time off until laneway festival which we are all real keen for! https://www.facebook.com/thechatsband/

The Chats

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?   We are based out of beautiful Vancouver, Canada. The truth is – the cost of living here can sometimes make it challenging to maintain a thriving music scene. With that said, we consistently get amazing support at our local shows!    How did you first start playing music?   I always wanted to play the drums as a kid. I used to skateboard with my friends and we’d listen to pop punk music, I became obsessed with Travis Barker and knew I wanted to be a drummer. In seventh grade, I started in music class and chose the drums as my instrument. That’s where it all kicked off.    How did CIVILIANA form?   Sitting right beside me in that seventh grade music class was my friend Spencer Daley. He chose to play the bass and we instantly formed a band. That was almost 15 years ago and we haven’t stopped playing together since. During high school, we met a guitarist at a neighboring high school named Adam Wilson. The three of us had great musical chemistry, so it was a natural fit. We stopped playing together for quite a while, but reunited in Vancouver in our early 20s and got the band back together. Shortly after, we added our fourth member, Daniel Ponich.    What's been happening recently?   We’ve been playing a ton of shows in support of our 3 singles (“Carry a Light”, “Void”, and “Melt”) that we dropped this year. Any bigger city in Western Canada has been our target to play a show at and this year we’ve pretty much hit them all. Besides that, we are currently writing a new batch of songs that will likely be our next recordings in 2020. You've just released your three part musical arc, please tell us what these three singles represent:   My early 20’s had a couple of failed relationships. The experiences I had led me to write lyrics that encapsulated the feelings of loneliness, isolation and longing I was going through.   “Carry a Light” is about the feelings that exist after a relationship ends, as if you’re stuck looking in the past and wanting what you used to have.   “Void” represents the self reflection and ability to find meaning in yourself over anything else.   “Melt” is the stage when you’re ready to move forward, as well as the raw intimacy and messiness that comes from seeking new connections.    What influenced the sound and songwriting?   Our sound is heavily influenced by the artists we grew up with, along with the technology that we have access to. The Dead Weather was a big influence and contributed to the gritty and rock sound we have in some of our songs. Adam, Spencer and Dan are always up to date with the newest music equipment and synthesizers so that will always be a part of our sound.    How did you go about writing the music?   Adam will generally bring an idea to the band during a rehearsal. We’ll play it a couple times to get a feel for it and then it becomes a free-for-all of suggestions and alterations from every member. It’s a very organic process. Sometimes the song ends up sounding similar to Adam’s initial idea, but sometimes it’s wildly different.    Where and when did you record and who with?   We recorded our songs at Echoplant Studio in the summer of 2018 with Matt Di Pomponio and Ryan Worsley.    What programs/instruments did you use?   Outside of the traditional instruments you can hear, there were a bunch of random elements and instruments added. Harpsichord can be heard in the bridge of “Carry a Light”, and we literally dropped a massive bag of chains in an Echo chamber to get the drum sound for “Void”.    How do you prepare for each live show and what makes your life show different?   The preparation starts at rehearsal. We try to rehearse at the same energy level and attention to detail that would exist at a live show. One thing that makes our live show different from other bands is our stage set up. We slide the drum set to the front of the stage, so it’s right in the audience’s face.     How did you come to be the drummer/vocalist?   Spencer and I were a duo for a couple of years in the early days of learning our instruments. He doesn't really sing so I just learned how to do it out of necessity. I never really thought of myself as a vocalist but after years of practice and developing my voice, it’s really become part of my identity.    Please tell us about the music video's and how the concept for each came about?   The music videos were all shot by a Vancouver film production company called Radiodial and led by Kaio Kathriner. Kaio and I would meet up for a coffee to throw ideas out. We ended up landing on using projections as a theme for all 3 videos. “Carry a Light” projects some really wild visuals that we actually use for our live show as well. “Void” projects the lyrics of the song upon us. “Melt” uses projections in the form of silhouettes.    What did you find most challenging and rewarding whilst creating each video?   Being the drummer, the shoots are usually around 10 hours and about 75% of that I’m drumming the entire time. It’s physically exhausting but I also enjoy the grind. Our editor Tom Melancia did an unreal job with “Melt” and you can tell the visual effects he used were very time-intensive.    What do you like to do away from music?   Outside of music, I am involved with a company that supports entrepreneurs. I learn a ton about marketing, branding and exactly what it takes to run your own business. A lot of that is directly applicable to running a band. Besides that, I love cooking and since I’m Canadian, watching and playing hockey is a big part of my life.    Who are you listening to at the moment?   Courtney Barnett, Alexandra Savior, and St. Vincent are probably my heaviest rotation. There are a lot of amazing female musicians out there making awesome music.    What planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020?   We played a couple of shows in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Kelowna this fall, but the biggest focus right now is on writing. We have so many new ideas and we’re trying to refine it all and choose the best songs of those bunch to move forward with in 2020.    Favourite food and place to hangout?   Phnom Penh Restaurant in Vancouver’s Chinatown district is a must if you visit. I take all my friends from out of town there. 

Civiliana

What is your name and role within Papaya Tree? My name is Lee McDermott and I do as little as possible for Papaya Tree. Sometimes I sing out of tune and play rhythm guitar even more out of tune. Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We are from sunny sydney, God's country. Sydney ain't dead, not yet at least. How did Papaya Tree form? Papaya Tree formed when myself and Jack Johnston (Lead guitar) met working at a butcher shop. We decided to put together a mishmash of old school mates from years back and uni mates. Fun fact, Jordan Tulinsky (Lead Trumpet) was my younger brothers best friend in primary school, they went separate ways and we stole him. What have you been working on recently? Staying together.  You’re new single ‘Covered In Weeds’  was released recently, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? The song is about my personal split between my old 9 to 5 city life and my life in music: finding time for both being in the scene and pretending to be someone I wasn't.  Sonically, we love all things weird and left of center - we kind of stretch out our sounds to reflect this, whether it be the glitchy drums towards the back end of the track to the erry guitar tones placed in the verse which of course all serve the story of the song!  Where and when did you record and who with? We recorded the track at Parliament Studios in Leichhardt earlier this year. Home away from home truly. How did you approach the recording/production process? Our producer Phan Sjarif has an amazing skill of tearing apart any track we bring in (that we think is finished) and building it back from the ground up.  Just add Reverb  and pull it down 2db - Papaya Tree Proverb  Who did you work with during the recording and production process? Phan Sjarif, the co owner of Parliament Studios - the only producer that can take Don Buri Uber Eats as payment.  We have our tracks mastered by Darren Zeising, the man behind the inbox. What progams/instruments did you use? We recorded on pro tools! We are a big pedal band... blessing and a curse (playing live and running five separate pedalboards, gotta watch your step! We run all our horns through pedalboards which we use to distort the traditional tones of the instrument! What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the recording/production process?  Challenging: each other Rewarding: getting the track finished after agreeing  Who are you listening to at the moment? Loving some awesome Aussie bands like Georgia June, CREO rat!hammock ect - its a good time for Australian music but I also fail to remember a bad time for Australian Music. What do you like to do away from music? Think about music and collect lighthouses - up to 26 lighthouse magnets, minature sculptures, lamps ect. Not for sale. What’s planned for 2019/20 Aussie Summer? We are hitting the studio once more, we have a huge 2020 planned!  Favourite food and place to hangout? Come find us at Bar Italia in Leichhardt - Order the "bogan meal", dont ask why just order. https://www.facebook.com/papayatreemusic/

Papaya Tree

Five influences for Society of Beggars new single ‘God Mode’

renn picard

Renn Picard

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?  Mert is based in Istanbul and the music scene has grown so much that there are multiple large scale events every week. Emre moved from Berlin to Seattle and the scene there is still growing with the help of a handful of clubs. Along with that, festivals like Burning Man and Lightning In A Bottle are helping our kind of music grow on the west coast of the US. How did you first start playing music?  It all started when we were building a music streaming app with our friends, who took some courses on Ableton during the time we worked together. They helped us see how amazing it is to create tunes, and since then it has been all about learning and discovering. What’s been happening recently?  We’ve been touring separately. Emre is introducing Lunar Plane to the Americas and Mert is touring on the other side of the world. We will get back together from time to time and play a few shows as a duo. Also, one of our tracks, Olappa, made it to Beatport’s #1 in Afro House and stayed there for two months. That was a great highlight from last summer. Your new remix for Marcus Meinhardt is out soon, what influenced the remix?  We wanted keep the bass groove and add our own synth sounds and drums on it. We ended up experimenting with different synths and transitioning from one to the other.  What programs/instruments did you use?  We produced it on Ableton and most of the synth channels were made with Diva. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of the remix? The most challenging part was having multiple lead sounds and making them work together.  How do you decide on tracks to remix? We usually look for a groove or melody that is unique and that could fit our sound.  When you have chosen a track to remix, how do you then approach the task of remixing the track? We tidy up all the channels, eliminate the ones that we won’t be using, keep the characteristic aspects, try recreating some parts and add some bits that could fit the track. Pretty simple formula haha =) Where and when will you be touring next? All over the world =) An India tour for Mert and a South America tour for Emre could be happening in 2020. We can meet up for an Asia/Australia tour. We’ll see! How do you prepare for shows?  We prepare the tracks that we are working on for road-testing, and then update our USBs with some of the new tracks that we like from other producers.  What do you like to do away from music?  Reading is a big part of our lives. It’s great for ear recovery and taking the eyes off of screens. It also helps pass the time when we travel for shows. You're signed to MFM Booking Agency, how is being apart of the MFM Booking Family and how have things progressed since becoming apart of the crew? We’re really excited to be a part of it. Although it has only been a week since we started, we can say that working with MFM is going to be great. What’s planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020?? To wrap up the year, we have a new single coming out on Disco Halal. We’ve been playing this track for almost a year and the responses have been amazing. We’re really excited for that one! Favourite food and place to hangout? Third wave coffee shops are perfect to get some work done and they have great coffee. Drinking coffee definitely sparks some inspiration in us.

Lunar Plane

What's been happening recently?  I released the first single “1985” a few months ago so it’s been all about that up until now. It’s been received pretty well and the official video was screened at a film festival here to great praise. It’s been fun getting it out there and just excited to release the full album now. Also I’ve been writing more music, good times.  You have a debut album 'Cowboys & Africans' coming out on November 5, what influenced the title for this album?  It came from the concept that all humans originate from Africa (at one point in history) so as laymen, we are all ‘Africans’. The ‘Cowboys’ reference is to the people in positions of power, who take advantage of the everyday person (or those they have power over). Basically - Hacks, who are bluffing it, but with our quality of life. The songs challenge how we see ourselves in today’s society.  What influenced the sound and songwriting?  Big sound influences are Fela Kuti, Talking Heads & Ennio Morricone, Production sounds were inspired by D’Angelo (Russell Elevado), Bowie (Tony Visconti) & of course Joel Hamilton. Joel produced my last two ‘Federation of the Disco Pimp’ records, he changed it all for myself & Ross Saunders (Dusty Reel, who engineered & mixed ‘Cowboys & Africans’). He literally changed how I listen and write music. Them coupled with lots of African percussion & Baritone guitars. A major songwriting influence is Bill Withers – he just always has a way of saying the ordinary but making it art! I just try to write in my own voice with that in mind.  How did you approach the songwriting process?  This album was way out my comfort zone in regards to it all being based around the lyrics, that up until this point, I’d never really written much of. It’s always been instrumental but then I just started writing down words. This was mainly because I spent a lot of time either travelling to and from gigs, or looking after my (at the time) baby girl Maya. Both meant I couldn’t really sit at the piano and write like I usually would, so I just wrote down what was going on around me, and in the world. Turns out it’s been a pretty interesting few years for this place we inhabit.  How did you go about writing the music for this album?  It all was based around the lyrics & melody. Every step of the way from writing guitar lines to mixing the strings – they all had to serve the message of the song. It’s all just a platform for the message of the lyrics & melody to sing out. Again because this was a new process for me it was exciting to serve a different ‘voice’. That age-old question you hear everyone asking artists – ‘What do you write first, the lyrics or the music?’ For me it’s the lyrics/melody, how can it not be when they’re the most important part of the song. They inspire every last part of the process.  What programs/instruments did you use to record and produce?  This being my first solo album, it gave me the freedom to put whatever instrument / sound on it I wanted too. When writing for my band in the past, I’ve always known I’m writing for a certain bunch of instruments, but this time it was all about what would serve the lyrics. I wanted to use instruments & sounds that you’d recognise but they’re not what them seem, for example the piano isn’t an acoustic one but rather a Yamaha CP-70 that is electric/acoustic (the one Prince & D’Angelo use), I went for a Hammond L-100 rather than the classic B3 because that’s what used in a lot of African Funk, there’s African bells rather than your standard triangle, baritone guitar rather than electric in some places, you get the idea. There’s old school 80’s synths like the Korg Poly 800, & of course the LINN drum. It’s all small moves that combine into giving these songs their own sound. Ross had fun with some great plug-ins including ‘Taupe’ & a bunch of ‘Acustica’ ones (too many to mention – ask him!).  What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creative process for this album?  The most unexpected but rewarding part of this process was that I ended up inviting so many of my close friends to be part of it. That wasn’t my thinking initially, but after I got my core rhythm section sorted (Ross Saunders, Michael Berrich & Ross Whyte) who I’ve had for nearly 18 years on and off and trust no one else as much to have my back when recording and performing. I then realised these songs where autobiographical and I was baring all in them – it just clicked at that point, I want to surround myself with people I love, that will make this album with me. I had the most fun inviting friends I’ve not seen properly in a LONG time to come guest on it, to newer friends who are all as equally as close – it was the best time and never for a second did I realise it was going to go this way. Bringing all these amazing people together and some of them  meeting each other for the first time inspired more energy and creativity in the studio. Also I have to point out I couldn’t fit everyone on this album, so just means I can invite them for the next.  The most challenging part was just logistically getting them all in the room, that coupled with working on a tight budget. It never stifled the creativity or energy thankfully though.  Please tell us about how and why you came to be involved with Kickstarter for this album, what you learned through the process and what advice you would give to other artists intending to use Kickstarter:  I had little (or no) money to make this album initially, I knew the scale of what I was writing was ambitious, and I’ve been spoiled with the last few albums being able to go to Brooklyn to record them. That led me to launching a crowd funding campaign for two reasons. One I needed money to make it, and Two, I wanted to see if there was an appetite for me to do this. I set a target of £5k, that would show me if people would want this album to be made plus I knew it would cost a lot more, but it would give me start I needed to make it right. I choose Kickstarter as with all their campaigns you need to hit your target or you get nothing! I liked that – all or nothing, I subscribe to that a lot. I knew if I didn’t hit the target I wouldn’t want to make it anyway – thankfully I smashed it.  Another unexpected gift I got from crowd funding was that I had this instant community and family who I could connect with about the whole process and I am still interacting with. It’s actually amazing, getting feedback and the incredible messages and love sent my way has been wild. I had no idea this would happen but I would TOTALLY recommend this to ALL artists who want to actually connect with their audiences. THANK YOU ALL MY KICKSTARTER FAMILY – you made this album happen as much as anyone.  When campaigning I’d recommend showing everyone who you are outside of music too, what makes you tick and your influences. They want to know about you and where the inspiration comes from. It is scary being that open and honest publicly but they’ve got your back and they’ll respond with what you need!  What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020?  Promote & start gigging the album – I want to take it everywhere I can. Who wants it? Invite me and I’m there!!  Favourite movie and holiday location?  Hardest question by far – I love movies as much as music so can’t pick one sorry. I’ll cheat and give you Top 5 (in no particular order)  – A Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver, American Psycho, Vertigo & Last Tango in Paris.  I love Brooklyn but would rather be working there than holidaying. Rome is one of my favourite places too & I want to go to Tokyo (I’m cheating again but I don’t care!)  Please include links to socials and website.  https://cafolla.bandcamp.com www.cafollamusic.com FB / Instagram / twitter - @CAFOLLAMUSIC Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2BDS1ll 

Cafolla

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I ́m based in Offenbach (Germany) and my studio is in Frankfurt, both cities belong to the so called Rhein-Main-Area. We have quite a rich history in electronic music. If you have a look at all the artist or labels who've left their footprints in the scene, you'll see that a lot of them are from here. But over the past years it has become a little quiet about the local scene.  How did you first start playing electronic music? I produced music first and after my first release on Kindisch/ Get Physical, which was back in 2012, I got into performing my music. I started as a live-act before becoming a DJ too.  What's been happening recently? This year has been a great year for me personally, because I took some time off to spend it with my family, and that was honestly one of the best decisions I could come up with in years. Music-wise I'm spending lots of hours in my studio or I use the time when I travel to my shows to work on new music.  You recently released your EP Anela, what influenced the sound and songwriting? Anela was released on Mobilee Reocrds and it was quite special for me because over the past years I basically only released my music on my own label RKJVK. With the release on Mobilee I kind of get myself out of the comfort zone and I am more than happy with the result. The follow up of Anela, which is called “Time“, will be out on Mobilee on December 6th, 2019 to be precise.  How did you approach the songwriting process for Anela? The process has been very natural to me. I always try to catch the mood I'm into the moment I sit on a production.  What programs/equipment did you use to create 'Anela' and where and when did you produce it? As I mentioned before, I try to use the time when I travel to work on new music and usually I keep it simple, so I used my MacBook, Ableton, a midi-keyboard and headphones.  How has the response been from fans? The response was and still is very good. I feel a strong connection to my audience in and outside the club. I can feel a lot of respect paired with trust and both has been growing over the last years of touring and releasing music.  Please tell about any new music that you have on the way: My next EP is “Tohon/Ajala“ on my label RKJVK, the release: date is November15th, 2019. And, as I aforementioned my last EP for this year will be „Time“ on Mobilee. I am really looking forward have them both out there.  Where and when are you playing/touring next? I just came home from Dubai and soon I will play some shows in Germany, France, Turkey, Poland and the Netherlands before heading to Asia after. You can find all my shows on my website www.rkjvk.com and I would be very happy to see you on the dance floor out there.  Favourite food and place to hangout? There are so many great places but right now, thinking about the tour- dates I ́m looking forward on the food courts of Singapore and the incredible street food in Bangkok.  Who are you listening to at the moment? The Voices of my Family, the most beautiful thing I can listen to.  What do you like to do away from music? I ́m a family and sports man and I like to do all kind of art. That ́s the most important to me and basically everything I have time for in-between touring.  What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? 2020 sounds pretty amazing to me. I can feel good things will happen. Till then I'll enjoy life with my beloved ones,try to be positive every day and avoid stressful situations.  http://rkjvk.com https://www.facebook.com/rkjvk https://soundcloud.com/rkjvk https://www.instagram.com/rkjvk

Rey&Kjavik

Where you are currently based and what is the music scene like there? I’m based in Cambridge, a city that I fall in love again every morning that I wake. The music scene here is fragmented & broad in different genres with the largest proportion of the multinational student population consumed by commercial chart music, house, techno & D&B promoters seem to come & go quite quickly with only one or two long standing established parties moving in phase with the terms of the universities. It's something we've struggled against with our own Motherchip Conexxion parties. How did you first get into playing music? the moment I first heard synth music on the radio as a child, I knew I wanted to make music, my first experiences of DJing was at a youth centre, I was 13, I was trained on the basic use of a mixer & turntables, I left home early aged 17 to move into a small flat which I used as a base to buy music gear, I've always worked hard to be able to buy my gear & that mind-set hasn't changed. What's been happening recently? Nothing out of the ordinary - work, come home, turn the rig on, write, mix, record, sleep, sleep, repeat. I recently took my first holiday since 2005, which was lovely, well deserved. Your new EP 'Scorched Earth' has just been released, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this EP? Most of the influence in this works came from the current global, political/social climate of which I find myself at odds with, fear, frustration, anger & brief phases of elation & triumph are the biggest human ingredients. How did you go about writing the music? It varies when I write an entire EP over the period of a year, some of it starts from samples, "The Air Beneath' started with a selection of industrial field recordings I took last year & gradually layered it up, tracks like 'chant #1' started with just a kick drum & my ranting about Brexit, I took the Alpha juno "The What" patch & manipulated it to match the vocal rhythm & pitch, an incredibly detailed & time consuming process but also rewarding, it's the timbre that keeps on giving when used well. The idea with the vocal came from the pure confusion & differing opinion experienced by the British current affairs & social media consumer. Where and when did you record/produce? I recorded 'Scorched Earth at a variety of locations & pieced it all together at home over the last year, it was produced as the dance floor friendly Right-hand alternative to the abstract/Industrial ambient 'Trepidation Ladder' which has also just been released at the same time on Opal Tapes. What programs/instruments did you use to record/produce? The most prolific instruments I used was the Roland Alpha Juno 1, a Strymon timeline, digitech reverb, Korg MS20, Roland JP-08, Roland TR-09, Akai S2000 sampler, earlier this year after a lifetime of waiting for the right moment I acquired a Roland Jupiter 4 which I multi-tracked over the whole EP in places  which was very exciting. I arranged & recorded using Cubase 5.0 & a Tascam DP008 multi track. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of Scorched Earth? Without a doubt Chant#1 riff was the most challenging part of the works & took a few months of fine tuning & sculpting. Trepidation ladder was the most rewarding track to make because of the diversity of sounds used its rich analog nature. What's your impression of the techno scene at the moment, how it operates and what do you think of it at the current moment? I think for the most part pure techno is still a thriving genre, it's disappointing that the heavily commercialised EDM/techhouse festival sound is being mixed up with purist techno, two very different things. Who are you listening to at the moment? Surprisingly I'm not listening to anyone at the moment, during extended seasons of writing I rarely listen to any other artists as I like to remain unmoved & uninfluenced, I sometimes listen to classical radio whilst driving, lately my DJ sets have been more about playing only my own production with just a few other artists that I appreciate. What do you like to do away from music? I like photography & art, 3D modelling, graphic design, I've spent a lot of time this year trying to become fit again & look after myself, I'd also spent a couple of years with a University Kendo club but had to retire due to surgery, hoping to return when the time is right. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? I've got some unheard works I'm trying to get signed as well as working on some organic new wave/disco type numbers, of course more techno, I always keep numerous recording projects running to avoid writers block or becoming stale. I have two video projects coming as collaborations with Rufus Ho - one for 'Trepidation Ladder (Ossicle phases mix)' & one for 'The Air Beneath' which is on Opal Tapes, I don't like to be idle or grazing. Favourite food and place to hangout? I don't have a favourite food, I'm trying to refrain from eating any type of meat & I don't eat a lot, I likeMilled Flaxseed, Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Walnuts & Co-Enzyme Q10 in smoothies, I eat of lot of fruit & vegetables, my only food vice is chocolate! . https://www.subdermic.com/interface

The Subdermic

My name is Dylan Mattheisen! I sing and play the guitar! Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We are born and raised in Benson, MN. It’s a tiny town with a population of only 3,000 people. There’s not much of a music scene, so we knew at a younger age if we wanted to play to more than a few people, we'd have to travel to Fargo and Minneapolis. The scenes there are awesome and seem to be booming! How did Tiny Moving Parts form? Matt and Bill are brothers and I am their cousin. We’ve been family and best friends ever since we were babies! We loved bands like Blink 182 and Sum 41, after watching their music videos countlessly, we knew we wanted to be a band. When we were graduating high school and heading to Fargo for college, we bought a crappy van off Craigslist for $500 and started touring the US whenever we could! What's been happening recently? We finished our EU/UK tour a few weeks ago, and currently on a 6 week US tour right now. Staying busy and playing fun shows is what’s been on our plate lately, having a great time! Your 5th album 'breathe' was released on the 13th of September 2019, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this album? There wasn’t a specific thing that influenced the record, it’s kind of a mix of everything we enjoy about music. We love writing crazy instrumentation, but also enjoy catchy choruses. In the van we always jam bands anywhere from The Fall of Troy to Paramore. We even enjoy listening to country!   How did you go about writing 'breathe'? We always start with a guitar riff. I’ll be in my bedroom and create a riff or even a full song, and the next day bring it to the guys at band practice. Band practice is where we finalize and spice up al the songs, and then I’ll go home after to write the lyrics. Song writing in general is a lot of trial and error, so it’s important to not get down when a song doesn’t go as planned. We have a million songs that haven’t made any record but that’s the way it goes sometimes! Where and when did you record and who with? We went with our friend Greg Lindholm from Blane, MN. He’s done a majority of our records, and we knew we wanted to go with him again for breathe. We experimented with another producer John Fields from Minneapolis. We did three songs with him and it was awesome! Very cool seeing how different producers work and how it helps the songs. What programs/instruments did you use? All the guitars and bass were Fender. I also used my Fender SuperSonic amplifier. Billy rocked his Ludwig drum set that he uses live! You'll be touring Australia in Jan/Feb 2020, what can we expect from these shows? We promise to provide a fun high energy show! We love great sing a longs with the crowd. Truly so excited to be back in Australia! How do you prepare for your live shows? I’ll do some minor vocal warm ups since I'm terrified of losing my voice on the road. Other than that, we do little stretches and make sure we’re relaxed and in a good headspace. A couple PBR’s before the set doesn’t hurt us either haha. Any area's/shows that you're most looking forward to visiting/playing? It’ll be sick to play Perth again! We’re hoping at some point to make the trip to Rottnest Island and see some quokkas! What do you find most challenging and rewarding whilst being on tour? Hearing how our music has helped people through tough times in their life or in anyway is the most rewarding. It’ll never get old hearing how special music truly is. One challenge on the road is making sure you’re okay. Long drives every night and lack of sleep could result to feeling tired and down. Make sure to take care of yourself in general is very important, and stay hydrated! What do you like to do away from music? We love golfing so dang much. We had the whole summer off from touring, so we golfed 6-7 times every week. Now with winter coming, we’re going to miss it terribly! Who are you listening to at the moment? Oso Oso released a wonderful record this year. We’re currently on tour with Fredo Disco and Standards, and watching them every night has been a treat! What's planned for the remainder of 2019/2020? We have Australia, SE Asia, and other touring plans in line. Very excited for everything! Favourite food and place to hangout? In our hometown there’s a new bar and grill called Hanny’s! It has very awesome food and a great sports environment just a few blocks from my house. We love chicken wings and football! Website: http://www.tinymovingparts.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tinymovingparts Twitter: https://twitter.com/TinyMovingParts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinymovingparts/

Tiny Moving Parts

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I am currently based in Melbourne, Australia, and the music scene is bloody fantastic here at the moment. So much incredible new music and people breaking down boundaries between music genres and working across disciplines. I like it when musicians act like artists and there’s so much of that happening now. It’s great. How did you first get involved with playing music? I first got involved with music from listening to the wind whistling around the eaves of the haunted house I grew up in, and howling along with it. Shortly afterwards I discovered the beautiful sounds of the theremin and have been waving my hands around in front of that instrument to try to create similar sounds ever since. What’s been happening recently? I’ve been recording theremin, making videos, planning costumes and generally preparing for the release of my new album The Gateway which is coming out on cult UK soundtrack label Death Waltz in the new year. I’ve also been playing with my new theremin and harp project The Narcoleptor which is a collaboration between myself and classical harpist Mary Doumany. You’re new single ‘Shudder Speed’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? The theremin is a relatively young instrument and as such it doesn’t really have any clear genre that it belongs to, which is fantastic. With each body of work that I wrote I like to try to place the theremin in a new musical context. In the past it’s been prog rock, industrial, noise rock, neoclassical, dark wave and synth pop. For this record I thought it would be fun to try it out in a high NRG nu-Italo electronic space. I suppose it’s some kind of theremin party music. Usually the theremin is associated with spooky of melancholic music, so I thought it would be fun to step outside of that and see how it works in a new musical space. How did you go about writing ‘Shudder Speed'? This one just sort of popped out of nowhere when I was jamming along with my SH-101 synthesiser and a classic goth 3/4 beat on the drum machine. Where and when did you record and who with? I moved around a lot when making this record – this track was made in a room above Sameheads - my favourite Italo club in Berlin. I also recorded at Die Hit Fabrik in Berlin, and the Castle of Terror in Melbourne. This is album is a totally solo effort - no guests this time around - and it was mixed by the wonderful Tony Espie at Tufftones in Melbourne. What programs/instruments did you use to record? My music is made 100% analogue hardware instruments. On this album I used a Moog Etherwave Pro theremin, Moog Slim Phatty, Roland SH-101, Roland RS202, Roland JX-3P & Oberheim Matrix 1000 synthesisers, and a bunch of drum machines recorded into ProTools. Please tell us about how you came to learn and play the Theremin: I was introduced to the theremin by my dad who is an electrical engineer and had the plans to build one from a 1970s science magazine. I was just discovering analogue synth music and really getting into Moog synths. My dad explained that Moog synths were actually based on a theremin circuit design - Bob Moog actually built theremins before he invented the synthesiser. I was totally fascinated by the the fact that the theremin is played without being touched (you wave your hands around near the instrument to play it) and I thought the sound was one of the most human and haunting things I’d ever heard. Then I began the long slow process of trying to learn how to play it. How did the concept for the ‘Shudder Speed’ music video come about? I’ve always wanted to work with Geoffrey O’Connor as he is one of my favourite Australian artists. He also has a great sense of humour which is always one of the strengths of his video work. I sent Geoff the album and he came back with the idea of reanimated mannequins / undead goth hipsters in an art gallery. I love 80s videos that exist in a weird dream space where strange things happen and Geoff and I looked at a bunch of super fun weird videos where this vibe was really strong. Then we invited a bunch of our most fabulous mates into the studio and went for it. Where and when did you film? We shot the video at IDEA studios in Brunswick a few months ago. The shoot involved a colossal amount of smoke machine, blue champagne and dancing. How do you prepare for your live shows? Playing the theremin requires a lot of concentration and physical control because the instrument is actually your body - every little movement you make effects the sound of the theremin including breathing. So I do spend a lot of time practicing before a show and trying to be extra healthy. When I first met my theremin teacher Lydia Kavina she listened to me playing and told me that she could hear that I didn’t sleep enough and drank too much! So it’s important to try to keep a clear mind so you can drop into the meditative space that good theremin playing requires. What programs and equipment do you use whilst performing live? My music is all hardware based so I use the Moog Etherwave Pro theremin, Roland SH-101, Moog Slim Phatty, Moog Sirin and Roland SP404 for live shows. What do you most enjoy about playing live? The music on this record was composed for a live party environment and I love working with a crowd and playing with expectations to take the music into a super fun place. It's also great seeing people react to the theremin especially if they haven’t seen one before. I also really enjoy dressing up for shows - my live performance character is some kind of sci-fi Nosferatu - so it’s fun to take things into a heightened over-the-top space for live performances. What do you like to do away from music? Music is what I like to do most! I also work as a music curator and I love helping other artists to create new work - especially if they are unusual and push the boundaries of what is expected in their field. Who are you listening to at the moment? Right now I have been really enjoying the music of Greg Hawkes (synth player from The Cars), the great new collab EP by Francsico & Malkuth on Giallo Disco records, Essaie Pas, Chela, A/N, Mariah (the Japanese band) and Cale Sexton. Where and when are you playing next? I am launching my new single Shudder Speed this Thursday 31 October at The Curtin for a huge Halloween party with support from Australian electronic legend Black Lung, gloom rock heartthrobs Venetian Blinds, my new classical harp and theremin duo The Narcoleptor and DJ Kate Fox playing Halloween bangers all night. What projects are you working on at the moment? I have two new solo records coming out next year - one is a sort of adult contemporary theremin record full of super melancholic lament-style music, the other is a super dark heavy electronic record. We also have another Narcoleptor record ready to go and I’m also working on a new record with my band The Night Terrors. So lots of new music in the works right now! What’s planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? I’ll be planning my 2020 tours for The Gateway, doing some more Narcoleptor shows and putting the finishing touches on the new records in preparation for next year. 2020 is the 100th birthday of the theremin so there will be a lot of fun stuff happening and I know the international theremin community is planning a lot of special stuff. Favourite food and place to hangout? My favourite food and place to hang out are both the same - I love Laser Pig in Collingwood. Excellent food, fabulous music and the most delightful bar staff in Melbourne. Where else can you hear cutting edge electronic music DJ’d live over delicious pizza? It’s the best. http://www.facebook.com/m1le5br0wn https://www.instagram.com/miles__brown/ https://twitter.com/milesssbrown

Miles Brown

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Hey guys, I’m currently based in Paris. The music scene is big over here we have many clubs & locations for any kind of sound  (from deep house to techno)  We have really nice crews & Collectives, like Drome, Iceberg Intel, Unplug, Bloom, also big festivals now ( Marvellous Island, Weather Festival..). The Scene is alive & involving over here ! How did you first start playing music? I’ve always been a fan of music, when i was a child i remember that i was already scratching my mum’s vinyls collection from Motown Rec. & all. So that was for me natural to get into art of Djing at the age of 18 or 19. I raised in Nantes (Britany-west of France) and we had so many parties at that time influenced by Crews from uk like « Spiral Tribe », so it was easy to play. My first gig was in a warehouse around the town. Your first EP ‘Dada’ on Anja Schenieder's label 'Sous Music' is coming out on the 25th of October 2019, what influenced the sound and song writing for this EP? First of all i wish to tell you how proud & happy i am with that release, and very thankfull to Anja for her belief & support about my music. On this Release the 3 trax have different influences.  « DADA » has been written after my gig at Womb (Tokyo) and this track is for sure influenced by japanes artist like  « Drunken Kong » or « SUDO » « Last Day In Space » has been written after i played in Berlin, this track is obviously influenced by what i heard at Tresor or Sysiphos. With « SolSol »  you can also see my inspiration from American techno style, with simple chord and minimalistic drums, I really enjoy stuff from Truncate, Victor Calderone, Avision, Damon Wild… How did you go about writing the music for the EP? Every track has been writing differently, for « DADA » i wanted a Club track with warm bass before all & groovy drums, For« Last Day In Space »i wanted to create a analogue sounding with a kind of Berliner cold wave touch with synth sounds. Concerning « SOLSOL » i wanted to combine the groove from drums and low bass with  analogue type of chord. How did you come to release on Sous Music? Well i’ve been in Touch with Anja for a while, she uses to play a lot of my trax in her dj sets, so i wrote to her and we kept the connection. From then on she asked me for Trax on Sous Music ;) Where and when did you record and produce and who with? All trax have been produced at my place, i have a simple but unique home studio. I produce alone and i do the mixes by myself. However i ‘ve asked to my friends some advices & pre masters are made at my friends Studio (Benjamin Joubert & Gael Brusseleers both are huge sound engineers) What do you have planned for this EP? I see This Ep as a test of a project of Lp, showing all my universe of creativity. What programs/instruments do you use? I produce on Fruity loops, i love the intuitive way of song writing, it’s easy & fast. I use my own samples (drums, perc, basses) & also samples from official packs (top loops, vocals). I use « Sylenth » synth (i love it) for bass lines & lead sounds, also« Massive » & « Absynth » (more for pads) Then i bounce all stems in audio & i open it in « Protools » from Digidesign for doing the Mix. Protools give a better color to audio & stereo.  How did you learn to produce and what do find most challenging and rewarding through the production process? I start learning production with friends, but i knew something was missing. So as i wanted to get professional in my music i’ve then studied music production at « SAE  Institute » In Paris, i learnt a lot from that school. However the point is that you also learn by producing every day, working hard & asking advises with other producers ! This is very important. I think that the most challenging is make sure you right in the challenge. Of course you start with an idea and sometimes you going to another way, the point is don’t be afraid to have explored all different ways offered by your imagination.  The most rewarding is when you see how it works on crowd ! How has the French electro music scene evolved since you first started taking notice and where do you see the French electro sound going? French scene has uncredibly involved the last decade ! I mean what was french scene before? For most of people it was French touch type (House & deep disco), which was of course, but this was hidding the rest of the scene, we have also a underground culture for years here and nowadays French electro sound is going more into a basic & hypnotic techno like Dutch or Germen do. Which French artists are you listening to at the moment? I listen a lot of Zadig stuff, also Dj Deep, Agoria, Shlomo. Noaria also electro pop from Paradis. I mean french scene is so various !!! Which clubs do you really like at the moment and why? My favorite clubs are Sisyphos , Panorama Bar, Tresor In Berlin, i love the spirit of free to party like you want clubs there are a unique experience, and the music is mad !! Womb, Ageha Tokyo, i’ve played there already and both are crazy, huge sound system and crazy people…. Paradiso Noord  / Tolhuistuin  (Amsterdam) A small club but a huge atmosphere & a mad sound system, i experienced playing there for my man Minitech Project label Party i had a blast Dehors Brut (Paris) : the Ex Concrete doesn’t look like a club , more like a open air party, the vibe is cool What do you like to do away from music? Going to Sport (Martial Arts) and hanging out with my lovely family, watching a lot of history Documentaries, andwalking in the street of Paris we have many cultural exhibition in town ! What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? End of 2019  is going to be great for me , with my release on SOUS MUSIC, i also have nice gigs coming up, and 2020 will be a big year i have many project in production and i feel my music rising up.. Favourite food and place to hang out in our hometown? Well i like all sorts of food, you have many many fantastic places to eat delicious meal, i often go close to my place at « Marché des Enfants Rouges » which is a street food market. It’s a must go to if you have never been there.

ASIO (aka R-Play)

What is your name and role within FOSSA? Hey! I’m Nick, and I compose, produce and perform synths and bass with Fossa.  How did you first start playing music? I started playing music back in primary school with piano and the recorder, before moving on to clarinet and sax in my later school years. Having had an upbringing with jazz music, I followed this path to study jazz saxophone at uni, before more recently diving into the realms of production and syntheses which brought me to creating Fossa in 2017. How did the band form? Fossa was initially a bedroom project taking huge inspiration from Tycho’s album, Epoch, as well as Bonobo’s Black Sands, and our debut EP, Bamboo, almost never saw the light of day. Following on from some tough curveballs that life threw at me and my partner, and some positive words of encouragement, I finally took the material it to Greenmount Studios in Leeds to track all the parts. At this point it was simply a studio band, but when we heard the final mix, we knew we had to turn it into a live project.  What's been happening recently? We had a good run in 2018, playing our first headline show, supporting Australian band Cub Sport, and taking stage at our first festival, Beat-Herder. We have put out two singles, 53rd Street and Tamar, and have recently just finished another week in the studio with producer Tom Orrell, tracking some brand-new material. We hope to have another single out by the end of the year.  I hear that you've just been in the studio recording three new tracks of which you plan to release a double single and a single within the next 6 months or so, what influenced the sound and songwriting for these tracks? These new tracks have definitely taken a different sonic path to our previous releases. I’ve learnt a lot more about synthesis in the past year, and this music definitely demonstrates that. It’s darker and more progressive in a more electronic sense than before. I’ve certainly taken a lot of influence from some of the incredible music that’s been released in the last couple of years by Floating Points, Jon Hopkins, Bonobo, Flying Lotus, to name a few.  How did you go about writing the music? I’m an Ableton nerd through and through, so that’s where nearly every idea starts. I’ve tried asking myself this question many times in the past actually, and have never landed on a specific method or routine. Sometimes I’ll have a melodic idea, or bass line, sometimes a drum groove in mind, and I’ll transcribe it to the DAW. I usually know within an hour if the idea is a good one and whether to pursue it though, and if I do, the rest kind of comes naturally through experimentation and more often than not, good luck with pressing buttons and twisting knobs!  Where and when did you record and who with? Everything that’s out at the moment has been recorded at Greenmount Studios in Leeds by our good friend Lee Smith. Weirdly enough, we always tend to get in the studio in the autumn, with our Bamboo EP being recorded in September 2017, our singles 53rd Street and Tamar in October 2018, and our most recent session being a few weeks ago, in September 19. We took our latest studio venture to a new studio however, The Nave, where it was captured by long-time university friend, Tom Orrell. We don’t have the final mixes back yet, but the first drafts are sounding incredible.  How did you approach the recording process? This time we did things very differently. Previously, we’ve gone in, recorded drums as a whole kit (why wouldn’t you right?) and gone from there. This time, we wanted a more electronic sound to the tracks, but without losing Tom Higham’s (drummer) awesome feel. We therefore went about recording each part of the drum kit in a separate take, which isolated the sound, and allowed us to manipulate the wave form as you would when sampling for example. The Nave studio has an incredible synth room which we had a lot of fun in as well, sending our parts through and experimenting with new sounds to the ones I initially came in with.  What programs/instruments did you use to record? Ableton all the way. A lot of my syntheses comes from a great synth plugin called Serum, amongst many others, and used a hardware Moog for a lot of the bass. The drum kit is all live, played by the ridiculous Tom Higham.  Who are you listening to at the moment? I’ve been pretty obsessed with Floating points recently, his new stuff is really opening my eyes to a lot of things in the electronic world. I’ve always been a Bonobo fan, and have also gone deep into the Jon Hopkins rabbit hole as well. All of these guys put on an incredible live show as well, which has always been a focus of mine, and is probably why they’ve ended up being such influences for my recent works.  What do you like to do away from music? I love to cook. It really relaxes me and I take a lot from the creativity of it as well. I also love to travel as much as possible, and It’s been a dream of mine for many years to own a taco truck and travel the world in it! What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? We have one show left in 2019, headlining a local venue called The Lending Room, alongside our good Leeds friends, Slow Loris (check them out!). We’re going to put out a new single as well, as well as a couple more at the beginning of 2020!  Favourite food and place to hangout? Has to be Mexican. Tacos for days. I’m not really one for going 'out out' that much anymore, but really enjoy the company of friends at home or a good local pub!  https://www.facebook.com/fossamusicuk

FOSSA

What is your name and role within Understory? I’m Caiden and I play guitar in Understory. How did you first start playing music? Probably in grade 6 I think - I started taking drum lessons in and out of school. How did Understory form? Nick, Doug and I started jamming and covering songs for a while. And somewhere along the line, I decided to get Ableton and an interface and start writing demos. I finished writing a couple of instrumentals and the 3 of us saw there was a vibe there so we reached out to Jayce (guitar) and Joel (drums) to complete the lineup we called ‘VRLS’ around mid-2018. We’re now stoked to call each other our best mates. What's been happening recently? We’ve had a quiet last few months as far as shows go but we’re constantly busy behind scenes. We have an EP on the way so preparing a few things for that cycle. Also, just recently dropped a single and music video. Your new single and video 'Windbreaker' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? Instrumentally, I was investigating what major/minor flips could do for a song and went on to explore that throughout the rest of the EP as well. As for the lyrics, that’s more Doug’s department but to summarise it mostly focuses on a lost soul seeking guidance in a world where status often influences our actions or ways of thinking. It recognises that we tend to put so much pressure on ourselves to meet others’ expectations that we lose ourselves in the process. How did you go about writing Windbreaker? I wrote the main riff back in 2016 and didn’t touch it for ages - it just sat in my voice recorder as music was really just a hobby at that point. It wasn’t till early 2018 that I committed to writing full instrumental demos at home. Funnily enough there were actually pieces of Windbreaker and our previous release Blindside (as ‘VRLS’) that were originally joined together until I separated them into different keys. Where and when did you record and who with? We recorded in Brisbane with Troy Brady and was mastered by Forrester Savell. What programs/instruments did you use? We used a variety of different instruments, including a PRS, a baritone ESP 7 string tele, a couple of Matons, a Fender Strat and a Dingwall bass. How did you approach the recording process? We went with open minds and put our faith in Troy - allowing the songs to become susceptible to change if need be. And so we were happy to try and/or revisit things we hadn’t thought of prior. His acute ear and guidance really helped us bring these songs to life in the best way. Please tell us how the concept for the video came about: We opted for something fairly clean cut, and there’s some vibrant colour blast going on too. “Clean” was a reoccurring adjective whenever we discussed visuals/promos for this release. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the filming process? Doug actually copped a nail to the knee a couple of days prior and somehow managed to get through the shoot - solid effort there. It was our first time in a studio so that in itself was rewarding for us. You have an EP coming up, what can we expect and when will you be releasing? Without giving too much away, there’s a bit of variety on there and some nice grooves. You’ll be able to hear it in full on Friday 15 November. What do you like to do away from music? The boys and I are pretty family oriented - we like to spend time with our folks. And we hang a lot together too. In my spare time, I like to kick the footy, watch horror films and sometimes seek some peace and quiet at the library or the beach. Most of us live very close to the water. Some mornings I might grab a coffee and go for a walk along the beach, it’s heaps nice there. Who are you listening to at the moment? Disclosure, Kendrick Lamar, Snarky Puppy, Anderson .Paak and I’ve been jamming a heap of future funk and chill hop playlists lately. If we’re all together we’ll likely jam some Limp Bizkit or Northlane. Collectively we have a very eclectic music taste - I don’t think there’s a genre that goes untouched. You're playing with Hands Like Houses on the 26th of October at the Wharf Tavern, Mooloolaba, what's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? There’s currently a lot of work going on behind the scenes for our EP cycle and we plan to head up North soon. As for 2020, we will look at taking the EP interstate and seeing some new places. Favourite food and place to hangout? GYG and also our local coffee spot Evolve Espresso. https://www.facebook.com/pg/understoryau/  https://www.instagram.com/understoryau/ 

Understory

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We’re currently based in Melbourne, and the music scene is so expansive and heavily saturated with artists that its insane. If you meet someone from Melbourne there’s a 90% chance they’re in a band. How did you first start playing music? My dad is a musician so I pretty much grew up around it from the day of my birth. ever since I could hold a guitar or drum sticks I’ve been playing music.  How did Pretty Bleak form? My dad used to teach Kyle guitar at my house, so we always sort of knew each other. When we were about 14 or 15 we decided to start a band with Kyles friend Brandon, and another one of our mutual friends on bass. We went through a few different bass players until we met Sanji and now we find ourselves in the modern day as PRETTY BLEAK. What's been happening recently? Recently we’ve just finished recording an EP full of the best songs we’ve written so far in our lives.  Your debut single 'Jawline' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track, how did you go about writing Jawline?  The origin and evolution of Jawline was definitely pretty arduous. I had the idea for my guitar riff in that song for a long time, and ended up writing three different songs using it before I finally fit it into something I was happy with. I recorded a demo for each one of the ideas and every time I wasn’t satisfied with the result. None of them seemed to fit with the rest of the songs on our EP, and they weren’t really ‘single’ kind of songs. I guess the intention behind it was to write a pop song that we could use as a single, but also not overly conform to typical pop song conventions. Basically I just wanted to write a song that could come on in a playlist and grab someone’s attention, even if it’s just merely out of curiosity.  Where and when did you record/produce and who with? We recorded the drums with Jon Grace at Homesurgery Studios, and then recorded all the guitars, keys, and vocals at my place. The mixing for Jawline was also done by Jon.  How did you approach the recording process? We always approach recording hungover. What programs/equipment did you use?  Homesurgery has heaps of awesome recording gear and mics that we had the pleasure of using for the drum tracks. In terms of the guitars we just recorded straight into my mac with a couple of mics. I always use logic pro to record/produce, its got a lot of good software instruments and synths that serve as starting points for  sound design. Usually I’ll take a preset and morph it into an interesting sound that serves as the underlying tone of the song we’re working on.  You also have a film clip for Jawline, please tell us about the concept and how it came about, where and when did filming take place and who did you work with? It was definitely our intention from the start to make a video that complimented the more sombre undertones of the song. We worked with our collaborator Tom Thomas, and he was definitely the right fit for the video because he understands the one between decadent, exaggerated pop stereotypes and the dark obscurities that our music exists within. And he has a vision about how we can manifest that in the visuals. Creating a dirty and menacing looking set and then lighting it with strikingly vibrant colours and smoke effects is a really complimenting analogy for the sound of the song. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the filming and editing? The most challenging thing was definitely the equipment we had to work with. It was a very low budget production and every singly shoot there was some kind of technical problem we had to overcome at the last second. Whether it be the camera fucking up or the lights or smoke machines not working at the crucial moment. The most rewarding thing was being able to end with a finished product that we are really happy with despite all of those obstacles.  Who are you listening to at the moment?  The new album by Bon Iver is the last thing I listened to.  What do you like to do away from music?  I don’t do anything away from music, I’m involved in it all day every day in some capacity.  What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? We’re playing a single launch show on November 15th at the Grace Darling Hotel which will pretty much see out the year for us. Going into 2020 we’ll have a new single out around Feb, and then our debut EP is set later in the year.  Favourite food and place to hangout? Favourite food is fear.  https://www.facebook.com/prettybleakband/

Pretty Bleak With Sam Thomas

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I’m in Melbourne, and the scene is pretty huge! There are a million bands and loads of places to play. It’s great meeting other musos and checking out all the venues. It would take a lifetime to play at all of them. How did you first start playing music? Both my parents played guitar and sang, and my mum performed professionally. I was always into writing songs, which I started doing when I was about 14. I learned classical singing, as well as clarinet, piano, guitar and bass guitar over the years. I love singing more than anything, and writing songs and performing are my main passions. What's been happening recently? There are 3 big things happening at the moment. 1. Stories EP which is a collaboration between myself and Perth producer Craig Cumming. 2. Misha Bear Band, my 5 piece band which are playing gigs all around town as well as recording. 3. Full length album currently being recorded by Melbourne producer David Herzog, which should be out in January. Your new EP 'Stories' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for Stories? Craig and I wrote most of the songs together, with him on the computer and me writing lyrics and singing vocal melodies. Stylistically we were drawing inspiration from the sound of the 80s and early 90s, such as a lot of the early Eurythmics, Culture Club and the Human League. How did you go about writing stories? The whole album was written, produced and mixed in Ableton, in Perth. For the most part, Craig gave me the backing track and then I came up with lyrics and the tunes. Crash and Burn was a song I had already written and that Misha Bear Band often plays, and Project 1 was completely written by Craig. All the others we wrote together. Where did you record/produce stories and who with? I lived over in Perth, Western Australia for 9 years, and for a few years Craig and I were in a band and worked together on our previous releases, Ladybug and Mouche. The songs for the Stories EP were coming along (as an electronic side project to the band), however 2 years ago I moved home to Melbourne. In order to complete the project we worked long-distance, with me recording all my vocals here with David Herzog.  Craig was actually visiting Melbourne during the week we launched and was able to come to one of the gigs where my band were playing the songs for the first time, which was pretty cool. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of Stories? Because we have been working on the music since 2015, it has been a long time in the making. This has been both a challenge in that it required a lot of patience, but also a rewarding aspect since we have had a lot of time to refine and work on the sound we were after. Being able to toil away bit by bit on tracks and add to them and tweak them over time really appealed to Craig, which was one of the reasons he decided to focus more on using programmed drums and synths. The songs have really evolved and progressed over both time and distance, since now we live on opposite sides of the country.   What do you have planned for stories? The Stories EP is out now on all digital platforms, and can also be purchased via Bandcamp. We are selling Download cards at gigs, rather than CDs, as these seem a bit more practical for this day and age. Who are you listening to at the moment? I recently went thru a big LP phase (an amazing singer from New York), but now I’m loving Sahara Beck (QLD). I can’t get enough of female singers – Sia is my all time fave. I have a guilty pleasure for 80s female power ballads. This is pretty embarrassing but my car CD player is so old that all my CDs wont’ work anymore, except for one – Music Box by Mariah Carey. Luckily I can listen to something on repeat and not get sick of it, and it’s good music to practice my singing to. For something different I listen to Flume or Childish Gambino. Anything really, depending on the mood – except heavy metal. What do you like to do away from music? I love catching up with family and friends, and hanging out at the beach, going for walks and runs, etc. I like yoga and pilates too. Perth is a really warm and outdoorsy city with beautiful beaches. In Melbourne you tend to go out to eat and drink a lot more often, which is also fine by me. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? My 5 piece band Misha Bear Band recently recorded 5 tracks in the studio, which are currently being mixed and will be released pretty soon. We do covers as well as originals, and are playing gigs around the city, suburbs and regional areas. I am also wrapping up recording a 10-12 track album with Melbourne producer David Herzog. This will once again bring me away from the traditional band sound and back to electronic pop, only this time it’s more modern and not so 80s. And once these 3 albums are out (including Stories) I will get back into my song writing and see what’s next musically for me. It feels so great to actually be making good progress with recording and releasing music, as there is nothing more frustrating than not having an outlet for all my song-writing. Favourite food and place to hangout? I would have to say going out for Mexican in Chapel St, especially for brunch. I love scrambled egg wraps, burgers and anything spicy. St Kilda beach is one of my favourite places to hang out, and now we are just hanging for summer! 

Misha Bear

https://www.facebook.com/ModernMeasure/

Modern Measure

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Currently i`m based in Cali, Colombia , my town, the scene here is one of the most important of the country with top artists like Harvy Valencia, DJ Fronter and others.. The people is very underground. How did you first start playing music? Always had passion for the music, Some friends who were already working in the electronic music industry introduced me to this world. My first experience front to a public playing music where it was in 2014, I will tell you a little how was this experience; I still did not start my stage as a producer, I stayed in my room with my headphones preparing the set for a month, there were days when I stopped eating because of anxiety, I listened to music all day, trying to select the best. My hometown, it ended up being the place where I would debut in the decks, I had a lot of anxiety, nerves, stress and desire to do it well, it was something very local ... the nerves disappeared when I played the second song and finally I felt more liberated, although I couldn't stop drinking beer, in the end it was perfect for me, which marked my start in the decks and people seemed to be as satisfied as I was. What's been happening recently? Recently i`m in the studio ending some new tunes for some big labels and closing some tours around south Amèrica and Europe. Not too long ago you released a two track EP called Discow with Hot Creations, how did you come to release with Hot Creations? It was a personal objective, and was not easy, Jamie Jones already play my music, releases on another labels, it was proccess of a lot months and send many music to Jamie Jones, until after trying for a long time I managed to create a blunt track that pleased Jamie, he tried it on the dance floor and people enjoyed it, it was then that Jamie contacted me back and told me that he would like to take it out in Hot Creations, and it was like “the duty fulfilled” for me, It was great. How has Discow been received by fans/industry? The EP and the track had a fantastic and incredible acceptance by the public around the world, I really did not expect such massive support from fans and great artists of the industry. What influenced the sound and songwriting for Discow? Discow is a proposal with soul influence, experimental jazz, funk and disco tones at its base. The cherry on the cake is a strong voice in the breaks, that adds expectation and euphoria. How did you go about writing the 2 tracks? I was in the studio for months, creating a loud sound with a mixture of some influences that could be remembered and that was true to my style, something “groover” focused on the dance floor. Where and when did you record/produce? It was in the months of February and March (2019) in my studio located in my town Yumbo, Valle del Cauca, Colombia Who are you listening to at the moment? Right now i`m listening a lot Dirtybird, the label of Claude VonStroke and the last works of Max Chapman, one of my favorite artists. What do you like to do away from music? I`m Painter and cartonist so i like to dedicate time to these passions, also i like a lot go to movie theater.. Horror, comedy or action movie preferably. You've recently signed with MFM Booking, how did this come about? After of this massive “boom” with Discow EP on Hot Creations, they contact to me and Harald told me of his ideas with me and i liked his proposal so we did it.. How has the experience with MFM Booking been so far? It`s a great experience, they are very professional and they give me a lot of confidence. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? I has a tour with 3 gigs in Ecuador, gigs in Nicaragua, Honduras, Chile and my Colombia. I`m closing some releases in some important labels i like them. Will be a good close of the year and a nice start of 2020. Favourite food and place to hangout? My favorite food is the Sancocho, a typical food in Colombia , it`s a type of soup and a place could be the cerro de cristo rey, It is a place where you can observe the entire city of Cali, ideal to hang out and disconnect a little.

JHOLEYSON

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I'm currently based in London, where I live in close proximity to some really exciting spaces and music venues. There is so much music happening here it'd be hard to explain a general scene and list everything, but there's definitely a commitment to DIY and people are keen to make stuff happen. How did you first start making music? As soon as I had access to a computer I tried to make music. I remember finding an old educational copy of Logic express at school and trying to conjure beats and writing melodies on the computer keyboard. Frustratingly, my mums computer never had enough RAM to make a clean bounce of the tracks so sadly I'll never be able to reflect upon these compositions ! You recently released Cellex Lobe EP on Bass Agenda, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this EP? Since the EP was written as a dedication to a friend, I had a pretty clear idea of the sound before getting to work. I knew I wanted to reflect upon some of the experiences I’d had at the Electric Sweat nights and I wanted to draw upon the composition of Nacho's djing and bring it into the tracks. These parties would usually be a sturdy 9/10 hours of electro, drifting from new stuff coming out of the UK and older bits from The Hague and Detroit with lots of acid in between - I guess the EP sticks to some of the formulas celebrated in these records in terms of the programming of the drums and synths. How did you go about writing the music for Cellex Lobe? I started writing the EP whilst I was living in Berlin and at a point when I was missing the music happening in London and my friends who were putting stuff on. In Berlin I conceived the first half of the EP before taking a months break from the writing. In that time friends of mine played out the tracks and I got a chance to re-evaluate some things and get a bit of feedback on the music. The other two tracks were written in an intense week whilst back in London having sold most of my synths so I could travel back to London from Berlin ! Where and when did you record/produce and who with? The EP was written alone, except when I'd ask for advice from my partner about certain sounds and things like that. I’d have my gear set up in a little room in the roof of the house and I'd usually start work on the tunes when it was still and quiet at night. What programs/instruments/equipment did you use and why? The EP features Nanozwerg heavily as its my most favourite synth ever. There a couple of tracks where Nano is doing most things. There's also lots of bits of gear I'd get hold of in swaps whilst in Berlin and just spend a day tweaking and recording with, so the actual sound sources in the tracks are from all over. My voice is also in there too mostly in vocoder form. How and why did you come to release with Bass Agenda? I've been a fan of Bass Agenda for a while and the radio show was highly important in my formative years of making electronic music. I've listened to every podcast online and was stoked when it became regular on Deep Space Radio. I really admire Andy's approach and dedication with Bass Agenda and I leaped at the chance to have my music on the label. Who are you listening to at the moment? I've not been buying many new records recently, although I've been rinsing the most recent Stilleben releases as usual. I was playing lots of early 2000's stuff on Over-X-Posure at the time of making the EP and I recently got hold of some of my favourite World Electric releases from Chromatix and Bolz Bolz also. I'm also pretty locked into a few really exciting people regularly putting stuff on Soundcloud. Go check out R 325 and the User 338750207 and user979318782● accounts. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? I've got a couple of shows coming up in London before the new year and lots of music to finish as always. Next up is a track I've got coming out on a compilation CD on Infant Tree and I'm also tweaking a split with Kalli on his Permanent Repetitive Language label which I’m really excited for. Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/setrus__/ Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-901478232

Setrus

'Why so goddamn sorry?' It is the question that swirls throughout the new single from Melbourne’s All The Colours. Returning off the back of the release of the ballsy ‘Tear It Down’ single earlier this year, the trio have dialled things up another notch in bringing thundering rhythms together with heavy, rich guitars and vocals. A wake up call and a refreshing hit of rock, All The Colours are back and ready to take on the last months of 2019. Like ‘Tear It Down’, All The Colours recorded their latest out in LA, posting up at Vox Studios in Hollywood and working with noted engineers Cian Riordan (Mini Mansions, The Wombats) and Joe LaPorta (David Bowie, The Killers) on mixing and mastering. The sound of the single itself has that classic Weezer-esque sound, mixed in with the swag of Queens of the Stone Age and flair of The Killers. Vocals weave in and out hypnotically over the top of almost four minutes of precisely arranged rock music, percussion crashing on over great riffs and bass. “‘Why So Sorry?’ is a song to turn to when things become too much, when anxiety manages to bash you down or love just hurts too much. It’s a cry that we hear everyday, it’s not a genuine question, it’s more a threat. The question is powerful, yet is usually used with mock concern. Most of the time, people could deal if they felt it was ok to be miserable. Maybe we all need a little forgiveness. This song is a reminder, the question, why so sorry? Sometimes won’t have an answer, and that’s okay too.” ALL THE COLOURS   PRAISE FOR ALL THE COLOURS “Your voice is positively dripping in salty sludge, especially in the verses.” Triple J Unearthed, Tommy Faith “Punchy guitars and furious drum sections come together perfectly. Hearing some of the fury and fire of Royal Blood bleeding through.” Triple J, Declan Byrne “Echoing the classic 90’s loud-soft-loud structure made famous by Nirvana (who borrowed it from The Pixies), the group sway between melancholic verses and headbanging choruses with ease.” Life Without Andy “The Melbourne trio’s penchant for injecting moody, rich textures into classic garage alt-rock is as vital as ever…” The AU Review   Hitting the road with ‘Why So Sorry’ this October and November, All The Colours are rolling out another trio of hectic live dates in both Melbourne and Sydney. Primed for a huge 2020, these last few months of 2019 are going to be bright for the rockers as ‘Why So Sorry’ finally sees the light. ALL THE COLOURS ‘WHY SO SORRY’ TOUR DATES   Saturday, October 5th Globe Alley Melbourne  with Bleach, MEZM3R Event Saturday, October 12th Frankie’s Sydney Event Friday, November 8th Globe Alley Melbourne Event   ‘Why So Sorry’ is released Friday, September 20th Facebook | Instagram |Twitter | Triple J Unearthed | YouTube

All The Colours

 Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Hey guys, thanks for chatting to me! I am based in Portsmouth in the UK, which is by the coast, south of London for those that don’t know! The music scene there over all is good, but it’s still very early days for electronic music. There are a couple of festivals a year and some good venues in the city, but these are geared more towards bands and live music. How did you first start playing music?  I went to Slinky in Bournemouth (The Opera House) and I loved it. It was quite an impulsive move, as I went out and got a loan and bought some decks after that, along with the whole speaker set up. Off I went and started to teach myself. Dream venue to play and why? Hmmm I would have to say Privilege in Ibiza, as I remember the first time I walked in there and was just stunned by the sheer size of the place. It was amazing and quite overwhelming if you have never seen a super club like that before. The DJ booth was actually over a pool when I went the first time – but I know that's changed now. Your 3rd EP ‘Kiss’ is coming out on Alan Fitzpatricks label We Are The Brave on the 18th of October, what influenced the sound and song writing for this EP? Well, I think that I have somewhat my own sound, I’m trying to achieve a dirty subby bassy vibe and the rest just sort of happened whilst making the tracks. So to be honest, nothing specific really influenced me when making this EP, and I didn't have anything in mind, sometimes that's the best way to make a track I think. Of course, with the help of a close friend and a talented engineer (Reset Robot) – the EP was done! How did you go about writing the music for the EP? I always start out with a few tracks which I really like and have something about them which caught my ear. I pick things from them, and also write notes when I am out and about as that's often when more ideas come into my head, and then I get back into the studio and work with them.  Where and when did you record/produce? With this next EP ‘Kiss’ I did this a few months back in Reset Robots studio. He is a friend and also a local Portsmouth lad too, with an insane studio. Thanks Dave! What programs/equipment did you use to record/produce? For this EP, I used Reason and Sub 37. You're juggling family life/normal job whilst working on breaking the scene, how do you manage all of these responsibilities and what do you find most rewarding and challenging? Try and get a good balance of both is the key, but also, I am trying to make music my full-time career and I guess at the stage that I am, everyone has to have a normal job to be able to make ends meet. It’s not easy, and the industry is very hard to break, so a lot do not have a choice, but to make juggling family, travel and studio time work. We all have to start somewhere, but playing shows leaves me that incredible feeling and pays off all that hard work and dedication. What drives you to do what you do? Passion for music is always number 1 for me, followed by the people. Whether that's industry people, who I have been fortunate to meet some amazing friend’s over the years, but also the crowd – all those people who buy your music and pay to come and see you play. Seeing all sorts of people united having a god time is magical. What advice would you give to artists who are trying to get shows and make a career in the music industry?  Don’t rush and have A LOT of patience. I’ve actually been doing music for over 16 years now….. Who are you listening to at the moment? Absolute 80’s. What do you like to do away from music? I like to stay fit or try to at least! I love tennis and golf. Also I have kids, so watching them play football and spending time with my family and friends is priceless. I have a few mates who all love to go fishing too, so I have started to go and really enjoy it, it’s quite an escape and calming! What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020?   Got few We Are The Brave showcases coming up and I have a collab coming out in December with 3 other tracks. But more to come on that towards the end of the year! Favourite food and place to hangout in your hometown? Ohhhh I’d have to say Shorties restaurant, really nice steak house. A.S.H’s EP ‘Kiss’ is out this Friday on We Are The Brave: https://WeAreTheBrave.lnk.to/Kiss https://www.shortiesrestaurant.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ashwatb/ https://www.instagram.com/a.s.h_turner/ https://soundcloud.com/this_is_ash

A.S.H

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I'm currently living in Tel Aviv, my hometown. The music scene here is very interesting, quite a lot is happening, lots of artists from Tel Aviv are working very well outside of Israel at the moment, huge amount of the hottest names in the international scene are coming to play here. Tel Aviv has a special blend of people and you can feel it in the music that's coming out of the city.  How did you first start playing and producing electronic music? I got into music many years ago, was working with few known singers and produced few of the most successful albums in the Israeli music and radio stations during the '90s,  then during '2000s I had my own projects, in the beginning, I had a Dub/Reggae project, I travelled with this project around the world till I moved to Australia for 2 years cause the project went well there. later on, I came back to Tel Aviv and decided to combine the Turkish roots of my family with my music and opened the Laroz Desert Groove project, I got myself a sampler during the work on this project and got in loved with it.  Since that moment I am working on electronic music every single day for almost 10 years.  What's been happening recently? I just released my music on Diynamic Records, and during the last year I am playing abroad much more than before so I am really happy about it.  What new music do you have on the way? I have a few tracks that coming out soon, can't reveal everything yet, but next week my track Shanal Matar is going to be out on Magnetic Moon by Rob Garza from Thievery Corporation, also very soon my track with Yost Koen (Innervisions, Watergate) that already getting great feedbacks will be out on Eleatics Records.   How do you approach your music writing process? Usually, I have a melody in my head that I just want to put out, then I am excited from the creation during the process while I hear the melody that was in my head through my monitors.  What influences your sound and songwriting? I am influenced mostly from old school music, mostly '90s music such as Prodigy, old school tribal house and many more.  How do you approach producing? I am waking up, sitting in front of the computer, opens the software and then everything starts to happen, I am producing music for so many years so it's my internal operating mechanism.   What programs/instruments/equipment do you like to work with and why? I am working with Cubase for many years, I have lots of experience with it so I am doing everything in a fast and easy way for me. On the other hand on my live shows, I am using Ableton.  How do you prepare for live shows and what do you most enjoy about playing live? Usually, 80% of my sets are my tracks so I am just listening to music that I like and think which tracks can complete the package of my set in the best way.  I am enjoying the most in playing live from seeing the faces of the people while they are getting excited and enjoying my music, that was exactly my main intention when I created it in the studio.  What do find most challenging and rewarding whilst on tour? Of course, the lack of sleep hours, but also being only with new people most of your weekends, but in the same breath I have to say that meeting new people and to see new places is the most fun part also.  What do you like to do away from music? Family, doing some sport and most of course travelling.  Who are you listening to at the moment? There are many things that I really like from many genres, I have a strong attraction to World Music, but if you asking about the electronic side the artists that I hear the most lately are Super Flu, JOBE and Sobek.  You've recently signed to MFM Booking Agency, how did this come about? Harald sent me an email and suggested me to join the family, I did some checkups with promoters, producers and friends, I got great comments and reviews from everyone so I discussed it with my manager that already knew Harald and we thought it would be a great idea. We just started working together so I am really looking forward and already waiting for lots of fun and travells.  https://www.facebook.com/LarozCamelRider/

Laroz

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Im based in Odessa, Ukraine. There are some good clubs and places which bring great artists today, such as Solomun, Lehar, HOSH, Who Made Who, e.t.c. I think such scene is rising fast here now. How did you first start playing music?  I was 15 when father bought me my first guitar :) But i took music production seriously only since one year ago, as i’ve made home studio. What's been happening recently?  Im producing music a lot now, sometimes playing in local places, hanging out with friends. Your EP Cabora is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this EP?  I like to design sounds in different plugins, and they inspire me to create melodies that fit to them. Thats how Cabora EP was written. How did you go about writing Cabora?  I was inspired by melodic house and techno, indie house cultures, and wanted to try to do something new from myself. Where and when did you record/produce and who with?  Half year ago by myself :) What programs/equipment did you use?  FL studio, and midi keyboard. What do you have planned for Cabora?  Don’t understand this question :/Explain please what do u mean. How do you prepare for live shows?  I look up for tracks that fits to my own music, and rehearse a lot. What do you find most rewarding and challenging when on tour and playing live?  to feel an audience and lead their mood. Who are you listening to at the moment?  A listen a lot of different music, not only dance, but punk and hip hop too. Starting from like Adana Twins and ending up with Yung Lean or Misfits. What do you like to do away from music?  Spend time with friends and family, also i like snowboarding a lot. You recently signed with MFM Booking Agency, how did this come about?  I had few requests to play, but didn’t know how to deal with them. And in the same time Harald wrote me about his agency and i agreed with his proposal to help me with this requests. How has your experience been with MFM Booking Agency so far?  I think its nice and fast :) What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020?  Making more music. Favourite food and place to hangout? Favorite food is pizza i guess :) a places with a good view are my favorite: seaside or mountains. https://www.facebook.com/AngelovArtis

Angelov

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?   I am based in Casablanca,Morocco.  I don't think we can talk about a "scene" for the moment, but we really have some interesting things happening around and also some really talented peeps.   How did you first start playing music?   I started music at very young age, maybe when I was 15/16 yo, I used to throw parties with friends in high school where I DJ, and at that time already I have known that music is what I wanna do in life. I started getting in touch with people in the business and then I have started learning things about music seriously and getting bigger and bigger.   What's been happening recently?   A lot of things actually, i have been traveling a lot this summer, I played in Greece, Spain, France.. and whenever I had a moment i would go to the studio and finalize my projects.   Not too long ago you released your single NGINGUMZULU, who or what influenced the sound and songwriting for this single?   The track is kind of a "Nervous" afro tribal house with an electronic twist. There is no specific influence, but it is absolutely a mix of all styles I like.    Did you work with anybody else on NGINGUMZULU? If so, what role did they play and how did they come to work with you on this single?   Yes, the track is with a collaboration with south african singer "Viiiictor May".  I have found out a super nice track from him accidentally on Spotify and really loved his vibe. I contacted him straight and then we decided to work on this project directly. Im so happy about the results because he really added a super powerful touch into it.   How has the response been from fans/industry for the NGINGUMZULU single?   The response is really nice, the track is supported by some of the greatests in the game now like Pablo Fierro,Rocco Rodamaal,Themba,Hyenah to name few. And it is actually #20 on the Traxsource Afro House Chart.   How do you usually go about writing music?   I really have no specific process, I just follow my feelings and go with the flow.   Where and when did you record/produce?   I produced the track in my small home studio in Casablanca, the vocals were recorded in South Africa.   What programs/instruments do you use to write/record/produce?   I am mainly on Fruity Loops 20.   Who are you listening to at the moment?   I am listening to many artists, and differant styles. But Im really into Vince Watson’s new album "DnA" It’s a masterpiece!!!   What do you like to do away from music?   More Music.   You've recently signed with MFM Booking, how did you come to partner with MFM Booking?   I have been contacted by Harald who is MFM’s boss who showed interest in having me and I said YES with no hesitation because ain’t nothing but a pleasure to belong to such a Roster and work with such an agency.   How has the experience with MFM Booking been so far?   It is really nice, we are moving step by step, discussing very often with team to make sure everything is on the right way.   What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020?   I have many planned releases with some well respected labels. Also confirming many gigs all around. So get ready to catch me soon in your city.   Favourite food and place to hangout?   Favourite food is absolutely the moroccan one! I like greek food as well especially Souvlaki and Tzatziki. My favourite place to hangout is my studio.

Cee ElAssaad

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like? I recently moved to Nashville and started performing on the Songbird Tour Bus here as a singer-songwriter. We play our original songs while we tour around Music Row, sharing secrets and history. It’s just such a great opportunity and I’m fortunate to play with Emmy Award-winning artists like Trey Bruce. Living in Nashville is a dream come true! The talent in this city is crazy. I’ve learned so much just from watching amazing artists that when I recently returned home to Canada for some shows, many people were surprised with how much my performing has changed.   How did you first start playing music? My mom tells the story that when I was 18 months old, I was standing in my crib singing “Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen” by Patsy Cline. The song was on a tape of nursery rhymes and I had picked it that way. By the time I was in Kindergarten, I had already taken cello and violin lessons. Towards the end of elementary school, I started a band with some friends.  I later attended a school of the arts in high school and just finished a degree in music this year from Carleton University in the Singer Songwriter stream. What's been happening recently? My new single “Driving In the Dark” was released digitally in August and went to Canadian radio on September 30th! In addition to that, I did a show in Calgary during Canadian Music Week as part of the Diamonds in the Rough series and I’m participating in the Wild West Songwriters Festival in South Dakota before going back to Canada for single release shows in Ottawa on October 19th and Toronto on October 25th! Your new single 'Driving In The Dark' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? This song is meant to be a high energy, feel good song that is great to listen to while driving. The idea emerged on the way to Nashville with my twin brother, Thomas. We were making the very long drive from Ottawa to Nashville – it’s about 17 hours – and while Thomas drove me, he talked about his love of driving – not only at night, but all the way into the sunrise. That adventure became the inspiration for the song. How did you go about writing Driving In The Dark? By the time we got to Nashville, I took the melody and hook that I had come up with over to Jason Matthews and Phil Barton, an acclaimed Australian songwriter who now lives in Nashville. We explored it together and it was such a fun writing experience! We were finished in 3 hours. From there, Phil and I created a work tape at his studio. How do you usually write music? One thing I do is keep a running record in my notes on my phone of hook ideas. Ideas come from everywhere! Conversations, movies, news, and experiences. If I’m writing alone, I need a spot that is quiet with a solid chunk of time set aside. Sometimes there’s a lot of noise outside my apartment, so I will go into my walk-in closet and sit on the floor with my guitar. I usually start with the melody first, then the lyrics. I take my time. I try to go deep and try to have twists or plays on words if I can. If I’m struggling, I’ll take an idea into a co-write for fresh ideas.   Where and when did you record and who with? “Driving In The Dark” was recorded in Canada by Jason Barry in Barrytone Studios. Jason is one of my favourite people. He understands me well and is patient and collaborative. I’ve recorded about four songs with Jason and it’s been great every time. How did you approach the recording? Jason had the working tape for a few weeks and then I went to his studio and we discussed the song and the instruments I wanted and then we laid down the vocals. Jason took it from there and worked his magic like he always does! What programs/instruments did you use? For instruments, we used lead guitar, rhythm guitar, base, drums, piano, violin, cello and shakers. Jason has great mics in his studio for different voices and did a great job with the harmonies.   What did you find most rewarding and challenging during the creation of “Driving In The Dark”? Writing with Phil and Jason and having it produced by Jason Barry was the most rewarding. I feel really fortunate to have these people believe in my music. The most challenging was waiting. Waiting to hear the produced song and waiting for it to be released!   What does the single Driving In The Dark mean to you? The song means a lot to me. I’m really proud of it and grateful to the people who made it possible. Releasing it to streaming platforms and having it added to the “Down Home Country” playlist on Spotify has been really exciting, as have our early plays on radio!  You also have an amazing film clip to accompany the single, where and when did you film and who with? Thank you! The music video was all filmed within three miles of my house in Smiths Falls, Canada.  I was going to film it in Ottawa or in Nashville but we realized we had everything so close to home. My good friend Matt Martin acted in the video, Jesus Fuentes filmed it around the beach, the Rideau Ferry Bridge, and captured the lakeside sunset. It was a lot of fun filming and of course, renting the convertible Mustang was a riot. It was hard to return the car the next day! How did the concept for the video come about? We didn’t want to dwell on the elements of the song that deal with not seeing the difficult times that can lie ahead when you are in love. Instead, we kept things fun and wanted to capture the energy of the feelings of early love and leave people feeling happy. Please describe the filming experience: Filming was a lot of fun. We really worked with the sun and the timing was complicated. We wanted to use the golden hour lighting and then wanted to catch the sunset over the lake all in one night. We knew it would be hard to shoot the sunset and it was. We started running out of time and I became a silhouette which I didn’t want but it actually turned out kind of cool. During the road, shot the filmmaker was actually standing up with his head through the sunroof of a jeep to catch the shot. What do you like to do away from music? I’m trying to get better at cooking. It’s a bit of a slow process but I’d like to think I’m getting better. I also don’t love it but I’m hoping I will the more I do it! I have some dates set with my nan in October and she’s going to help me make butterscotch pies. My latest endeavour at baking was marshmallow peanut butter scotch squares and they’re to die for. Aside from music, I also love to work out. I switch back and forth from running to weights or the mat. Whenever I get too stuck in my head, it’s the easiest thing to do and I feel so much better after.   Who are you listening to at the moment? I’m currently listening to Caitlyn Smith, Ingrid Andress, Tim McGraw, Alec Benjamin, and Maggie Rogers!   Right now I’m really enjoying…. Writing every day in Nashville! What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? I’m looking forward to October shows and then in 2020, I’ll be working on my EP which I plan to release in the summer next year. Any secrets that you care to share? Can’t say. Then they wouldn’t be secrets! Favourite food and place to hangout? In Nashville, I love to hang out at Winners and Losers or Geist! When it comes to food, I like Adele’s or City House in Nashville.

Amanda Jordan

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I’m currently based in Berlin, and the scene here is, well, Berlin ha ha. There’s something for everyone here, but definitely lots of techno. It is very cool though to go out and be able to hear music all across the spectrum (ambient to deep house to techno for instance) without travelling too for and for a reasonable price, or for free. How and why did you first start playing music? I got into music at a super young age, singing and playing the piano. Then later my dad introduced me to classic rock in my early teens - that’s when I started playing guitar. I then got into electronic music from all my favourite skiing and snowboard films, and during my late teens one of my best friends introduced me to dj’ing.  How would you describe your sound in 3 words? Contemporary, dynamic, stimulating. What did you go before you were a DJ, and do you do this full time? I was a bartender in Toronto for a few years. I enjoyed it actually, it was fun to talk to people all the time and it taught me some good work ethics. You recently released an EP alongside Drumcode mainstay Bart Skills, how did this collaboration come about? Bart and I become good friends over the last couple years and I always send him my new stuff and ideas when I finish them. There were a couple ideas that stuck out that he really liked, so we combined forces, and after a lot of back and forth ‘Polarize’ and ‘Lost On You’ came about. EP: https://soundcloud.com/iamweska/sets/bart-skils-weska-polarize How did you and Bart decide on how the EP should be produced and sounds that you wanted to create together? Bart’s a great guy so the EP went really smooth. We had all the ideas very quick, it was just how we were going to arrange them and mix them. We spent a lot of time on that, as I believe it’s one of the most important components of the track. Regarding the actual musical ideas in ‘Polarize’, I had this hook that Bart loved and really thought he could contribute to, so I sent him the parts and we went from there. We’re both super happy with the way it came out. For ‘Lost On You’, we combined our grooves and baselines to get the intro and the track fell into place after that. We thought the track was done but Bart dug up the eerie prominent vocal and dropped it over top which really kicked the track up a notch. He sent it back to me to do some FX stuff with certain words, I had a lot of fun doing that. Where did you record/produce? Was this done together, or remotely? I had some ideas and Bart had some ideas, so we swapped back and forth for a bit and then ended up finishing the ep in his home studio in Amsterdam. What programs/instruments did you use to write and record this EP? We both use Apple Logic Pro so it made working on the project super easy. As for the synths, I love using uHe Diva and Xfer Serum, they’re my go to favourite synths digital synths at the moment. Where did you mix and master and who with? Bart and I did the mixing together, and then towards the end of the project Bart did some final tweaks and ran it through his outboard mixing bus. Regarding the masters, we chose my master for ‘Lost On You’ and Beau’s master from Ten-Eight-Seven for ‘Polarize’. What did you find most rewarding and challenging whilst creating this EP with Bart? To be honest, this project went very smoothly. Bart is a super chill guy and we get along really well, so we didn’t really disagree with anything. What I really enjoyed and learned a lot from was how Bart took some ideas I had and flipped them in his own way, and a way I didn’t see they could be used, like with the synths in polarize for example. They’re not drastically different from how they originally sounded but the groove placement and arrangement made all the difference in the end. This is what I find extremely valuable when working with Bart, who’s got 20+ years of producing under his belt: learning how to arrange and see ideas from a different perspective. You travel a lot between Toronto and Berlin, how do the influences of both cities contribute to your music and life? I will never forget the upbringing Toronto gave me and the opportunities I got when growing up there. I got to open for a lot of different people which allowed me to introduce myself to a lot of different people in the scene. North America is a bit behind Europe in terms of techno popularity and acceptance, so moving to Berlin really allowed me to experiment more with different sounds and venture a outside of my comfort zone when djing. Toronto has a really great and tight nit scene though, full of heads and music lovers alike, and the crowd really knows their music. I get so excited every time I get to play in my hometown. What do you like to do away from music? Skateboard, ride my bike, cook, work out, play frisbee, camp / be outside or in nature. And sometimes I like to play Fortnite. Who are you listening to at the moment?  Lake People, Cut Copy, Tame Impala, Dreamville, Tiga, Allah-Las, Peter Schilling What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? Some secrets and more releases which you’ll find out about soon ;) https://www.facebook.com/iamweska/ https://soundcloud.com/iamweska https://www.instagram.com/iamweska

Weska

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We’re from Sydney’s Northern Beaches. There is a small scene – 3 or 4 decent venues and generally the same suspects on rotation. It’s nice and tight knit, everyone knows everyone, which I like. But outside of that, not much happens until you get into the city. How did you first start playing music? I grew up around it. My parents were both fairly musical and my two eldest siblings played guitar – looking up to them definitely played a big role. There was always an acoustic lying around the house. I used to play that all the time, but I was too small to reach over and play properly, so when I was 4 or 5 my parents got me a little nylon string and I just taught myself on that. What’s been happening recently? We’ve been fairly quiet since our tour at the beginning of the year. Most of the time since then has been spent pre-producing, recording and mixing the new songs. Your new single ‘Too Much’ is out 4th October, what influenced the sound and songwriting? There wasn’t any specific influence or goal in mind with the sound of the song, at least in the writing process. The chorus just popped into my head one day and it all got built around that. A lot of the overall tone of the song definitely came from the guitar intro, which was one of the first parts that was written. Where and when did you record/produce? We recorded the instrumentation at Housefox Studios in Brookvale, which is our local, across three days – May 3, 4 & 5. We finished up some overdubs and vocals at our little home studio over the following weeks and we only finished mixing in August though. We did seven songs. Who did you work with during the creation of Too Much? Lachlan West. The man, the myth, the legend. He plays drums for a band called ‘The Vines’ who we all grew up loving. We’ve recorded all our stuff with him – he has such a specific vision every time, which is always on the money. He understands what we’re doing better than we do ourselves, so it always feels really safe to start a new project, knowing we’re going to get a good result.       What do you have planned for Too Much? We have a Sydney launch show at Frankies Pizza on October 9th. We’ll be doing a few interstate shows early next year and will have a new single ready by then too. Who are you listening to at the moment? I try to mix it up all the time but “New Songs For Old Problems”, the Middle Kids album, has been getting a fair go in the car recently. I’ve also had “All The Small Things” stuck in my head for about a week now, for some reason. I never really listened to Blink 182.. What do you like to do away from music? Just spending time with my better half – Jessy. I’m so lazy when it comes to pretty much anything not involving music or her, so there’s not heaps going on at the moment haha. How do you prepare for live performances and what do you most enjoy about performing? There isn’t really any particular thing any of us do before a show. Having a jam, or watching other bands play beforehand, are always good ways to get hyped up. The best thing is to just see that people are enjoying the music and having a good time.   What do you have planned for the rest of 2019 going into 2020? Back this single hard. Play some shows. Get festive. Move house. Play more shows. Any secrets that you care to share? Nup. Favourite food and place to hangout? We used to get salads from banana blossom after almost every rehearsal, but we ate too many and got sick of them. I’d still have to say, collectively, that is our favourite food though – Tokyo classic. Favourite place to hang out is the studio.

Inklines

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like? We are based in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and we think the music scene is incredible! There are gigs on anywhere and everywhere. It's this incredible melting pot of different styles, genres and sounds. How did GraceJean form? We were introduced by Fiona's partner at University, and after having a play and writing a song or two together (these said songs may have been about pizza, but no one can confirm), we recognised that there was a special musical understanding. And from this GraceJean and a pretty beautiful friendship was formed. What's been happening recently? SO glad you asked. We have been busy getting ready for our album launch on Saturday the 5th of October at the Thornbury Theatre, arranging violin and cellos, trying on sparkly costumes and practicing our banter. Fiona has some solid tales about her cat ready, and Ailsa is poised to deliver her best dance moves. Your new album 'Long Black Road' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this album? This album is a musical time capsule for the first two years of our songwriting, so thats a pretty big question for us. I guess a big thing that shaped our music at this point in time was taking the songs we wrote in our living rooms and performing them, seeing how they sat with the audience and what effect they had, and if that effected was the one we wanted to create. Celebrating if it was, changing or scrapping a song if it wasn’t . Alongside the experience gained from playing we also listened to a lot of music, and often (and still do) shared bands we like with each other or head out to see gigs together. As we said before, the Melbourne music scene is a bustling riot of all different kinds of diverse music so that’s been awesome to live amongst and has definitely influenced us. Specific artists like like Wallis Bird, Oh Pep, The Staves, The Gloaming, Joseph, Haim, The Maes and the Paper Kites were all bands we were listening to and taking inspiration from over this time period as well. How did you go about writing the music? We sometimes write parts of the songs by ourselves and then bring that in to develop together, but as we’ve grown the trust in the duo, we more and more find ourselves writing the whole songs together- someone bringing in a concept and then both of us map out the chords, lyrics and melody, usually getting the majority of the song done in one sitting. After that we might let it sit for a bit and refine it through testing it at gigs or listening to a recording we’ve made- analysing it to see if we can make any improvements. Ahah, that parts a bit arduous but really satisfying, when at the end of it, the puzzle pieces click into place and we have a finished song. Where and when did you record? We recorded in two lots. The majority of the album was recorded September 2018 at Newmarket studio. We then, early in 2019 decided that the album simply must have drums. So we went back in to Newmarket and did retrospective drums which is just as fun and carefree as it sounds ahah, but our drummer, Sean Newell, did such a brilliant job with it so it all worked out. What programs/instruments did you use? We keep things really acoustic at the GraceJean headquarters. We like acoustic steel string guitars, electric bass, voices, banjo, mandolin and drums all dosed in a healthy coating of reverb. Who did you work with during the recording, production and mastering process? We worked mainly with the brilliant Anna Laverty, who did the bulk engineering for this album and coaxed us through the recording. She also did all the mixing for the album and we were stoked with the way she listened and understood the sound we were going for. For engineering and recording the drums Guus Hoevenaars was superb and mastering was masterfully handled by Joe Carra at Crystal Mastering. What influenced the songwriting for your new single 'Turn Away' and what does this single mean to you? Turn Away is a love song and our favourite opener for a set. We wanted a song to get the audience excited for what was to come and so we’re influenced by that desire, to make something loud and fun and exciting. What do you like to do away from music? Spending time with our friends and significant others, getting our into nature, reading, listening to other peoples music, taking photos, watching movies, having a causal existential crisis. You know, the usual 20 something hobbies. Who are you listening to at the moment? Oh Pep! and the Mae's recent albums are certified bangers, and right up our alleyways in terms of style of musical musings. We've also had the Staves Album "Dead, Born and Grown" on repeat for the last two years, as well as the self titled album by the Irish Band 'The Gloaming. You have a tour coming up and an album launch this weekend 5th October at the Thornbury Theatre in Melbourne, what do you have planned for this show and the upcoming tour? As previously mentioned there will be sparkles, but there will also be heartfelt songwriting, intricate melody lines, delightful storytelling and possibly tales of well loved cats names Hazel. Whats really cool about the show at the Thornbury Theatre, is that it's going to be with the full extended line up which includes violin, cello, drums and bass. The theatre itself is gorgeous and the whole thing is going to be filmed. The tour is also really exciting for us as we'll be making appearances at Queensclif Festival, Tablelands Folk Festival and Happy Wanderer. How do you prepare for each live show? A barbaric sacrifice of tea and cookies. And a fair few strange sounding vocal warm ups. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? We’re heading on a regional tour of Victoria after the album launch, playing at Queenscliff festival, Happy Wander, Tablelands Folk Festival (QLD) and then continuing with an easy coast tour in January 2020. We also have plans to head back into the recording studio in 2020, which we are excited about. Favourite food and place to hangout? Hot Chips, CERES https://gracejeanmusic.com/

GraceJean

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?  We live in Milan, Italy. Fortunately this city is growing day by day and event and music scene are one of the main character of it. Huge venue, small reality, clubs, underground, rap, techno, live, dj set, everything lives here.  How did you first start playing music together?  We just wanted to mix our own style to make some club banger and have fun making it and playing outside as well. We already did some tracks together but this project is like the real begin.  Please tell us about the relationship between the two of you, Phasz being  the rapper and the music coming from Distorted Drill:  We produced, edited, developed and mixed all the tracks together, and that was the easiest part. We just started producing focused only with instrumentals and after first vocals on Acid Jungle we decided to use Phasz vox for all the project, with an entire verse for Booyaka Booyaka, first single.  How did you two first meet?  We met in Milan, we were studying Audio Engineering together, same classroom.  How did you both first starting being involved in music?  P: Listening good music all my life thanks to my sisters, later I started with a rap group in Alghero, I discovered the fantastic world of beatmaking and I decided to study Audio Engineering and take it more serious. Party and DJ set in summer of course. DD: First experience where I felt in love with Electronic was with hardcore music, going to rave party and Dutch events, than I extended my interest in techno and electro. I started studying music production and then Audio Engineering to refine my productions.  What's been happening recently?  We make beats under the name Bamboo, we have already some ready project and producing constantly after summer break. We will love to started with live performance with this project so keep going and working everyday.  What influences your sound and songwriting?  Life, desires, thought, feelings, everything is human, inspirations is everywhere that’s why we can’t stay only in one music genre.  How do you go about writing music?  It’s like gym, more you train it better grown, but right lyrics always come in a second.  What programs/instruments do you use?  Our DAW is Ableton, for sure, than we love to use lot of gear, pretty cool stuff like eurorack modular, analog synths, keys, pedal, and still looking to take more.  What influences your lyrcis and melody?  We use to listen all genres, Phasz lot of female voices, R&B and classic Hip Hop, something more chill, Distorted Drill all genres too, more acid techno, dark beat, gabber music, everything that create that good sensations of listening good music, and so trying to make it too. Italian Rap of course.  How would you describe your music?  We don’t mind to make something like “Electronic Rap” or “Acid Hip-Hop”, we love to take the element of our favorite music and mixed together to create tracks that works on the dancefloor.  Who are you listening to at the moment?  DD: Loving Assembler Code & Jensen Interceptor Ep on Mechatronica P: Top Boy Soundtrack now. For Bamboo project we are oriented to collaborate with Asian Grime scene.  What do you like to do away from music?  P: Make my own T-shirt, discover new places, art, ladies, weed, I’m a normal guy. DD: Actually my new favorite hobby is eurorack modular so not so far from music but really interested into this world now.  What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020?  Pushing our music and let grow our audience, work work work, because unexpected moments are the coolest, and do what we love is the best way to reach.  Favourite food and place to hangout?  P: Hard to say between pizza and sushi, so burrito. Hangouts priority is with whom, not where DD: Pizza! Where there is people and music I’m good. 

Distorted Drill & Phasz

What is your name and role within No Label Necessary? My name is Thony Remy and I'm an artist and one half of No Label Necessary. Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like? I'm based in Gold Coast, Creepah is in Sydney. The music scene in both cities and all round Aus has been growing stronger and stronger ever since I've been here (Originally from Brooklyn), it's dope seeing it slowly creep its way up to the forefront.  How did you first start playing music? I started rapping at around 16. My friends and I back in Brooklyn started a group called "Bombsquad". That only lasted a few months as i headed out of the country for uni. How did No Label Necessary form? After a show in Sydney I was with a few artists sharing ideas at a kebab shop. Everything just felt right and we started with a group of 7 artists. After a little while it eventually led to 4 artists in the group du, then to two and we've been riding ever since. What's been happening recently? We've been working on the release of our debut E.P "MIDN9T X" and for all our plans in 2020. What influenced the sound and songwriting for your single Boss It Up? I was inspired by the beat at first. Then hearing Creepah's intro gave me goosebumps. I really wanted to do something special to it. Around that time frame I was playing a lot of Joyner Lucas, Eminem and Tory Lanez for inspiration. How did you go about writing Boss It Up? After playing around with the beat and freestyling a few things I found my rhythm. It was all magic after that. Where and when did you record? We recorded our whole MIDN9T X E.P in Sydney with MixedbyEspa a few months back. What programs/instruments did you use and who did you work with? We mostly use Protools for everything we do. You have a video coming out for Boss It Up on the 3rd of October, I hear that you collaborated with iiiConic to produce the video, how did the collab come about? The collab came out great. IiiConic was super easy to work with, once we knew what we wanted it was a green light from there. Please tell us about the video production and how the concept came about? We definitely wanted to do something different from the norm. We wanted to make it like an event or almost like a scene from a movie. After a little look around we were hugely inspired by the Mad Max theme and thought it would be nuts to shoot something in that category. Once we had the concept we hit up team member and videographer Kyle Watson and started the organising of cast, locations, props and everything else. What did you find most challenging and rewarding throughout the creation on the video? One of the challenges we faced was Creepah's early morning flight getting cancelled by bad weather. The next available flight was 2 hours into the shoot at night which he managed to get the last seat, so we had to do what we could to prepare and shoot what we could and prepare for a Plan B if he couldn't make it. There was over 50 people there from make up artists, safety advisors, stunt people, best believe we were stressing. What do you like to do away from music? I like to work on video/film projects with the team. We do alot of skits, and short videos that we release on our Youtube. Who are you listening to at the moment? At the moment I'm listening to a group from the U.S called Francis And The Lights. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? We will be releasing our E.P before the end of the year then 2020 we will be focusing on expanding NLN as a brand. Favourite food and place to hangout? Gotta be Italian food. I love a good old fish pasta. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC2aiCDLnmE&feature=youtu.be  https://www.facebook.com/nolabelnecessary/  https://www.instagram.com/nolabelnecessarynln1/  https://twitter.com/nlnecessary?lang=en

No Label Necessary Interview + ‘Boss It Up’ Video Premiere!

What is your name and role within Coumarin? I’m André and I’m the singer and guitarist of Coumarin. Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We are currently based in Stuttgart, Germany. We as a band are fairly new to the scene here so we have only been able to dip our toes into it a little bit. But in terms of going out, you won’t have any problems finding somewhere that plays your type of music. What's been happening recently? We just released our second single and video called 'Make It Right', which we are really excited about: https://youtu.be/VYp8_OmUhD0  Your new single 'Make It Right' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting? The main themes that inspired the sound and songwriting were regret and forgiveness. I always wanted to write a song about these seemingly simple but actually complex things and their interplay and find a sound and melody that could package that in a song that is not a super slow piano ballad. Where and when did you record?  We recorded the song mainly in our rehearsal space and in my bedroom over the course of this summer. What programs/instruments did you use to record? In terms of programs, we use Logic Pro X exclusively to record and mix our stuff. The instruments on the song would be pretty much the standard line up, nothing exotic there: Guitar, Bass, Drums, Synthesizers and Vocals. How did you go about writing Make It Right? The idea for the song itself is almost four years at this point, it changed a lot over the years and a lot of experiences have left their impact on the final version. Since mid 2015 I always had kind of a line out for the song, the idea for the lyrics and a part of the instrumental. A few months ago we had the version that I had known for years - already recorded and pretty much ready for mixing. One night around that time - at about 3 a.m. - I just started to play a whole new synth line along to the track that changed the entire character of the song, but in an amazing way. That synth line is what can now be heard as the main synth line in the chorus. So long story short, we recorded everything but the drums from scratch and we couldn’t be happier with it. What do you like to do away from music? I love to go to the movies or just to watch something at home when I find the time. Earlier this year me and a very good friend of mine wrote our first short film that I directed which we are currently putting the last finishing touches on - our keyboarder Pascal does the sound design on it. Who are you listening to at the moment? I can’t get away from the last War On Drugs record somehow, it’s so damn good. In terms of more recent music I was really surprised by the Brittany Howard solo album which is pretty rad. Our drummer Maksim and I share a love for Northlane who just put out an awesome album as well. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? People can expect a lot more music coming from us later this year and going throughout 2020 and beyond. We had a whole year long gap between our first single and Make It Right, which was unfortunate but necessary for us on a creative level. We are really excited looking into next year and to our future releases. Favourite food and place to hangout? We all love hamburgers, and our drummer really loves chocolate brownies. I like to hang out where good and inspiring people are. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYp8_OmUhD0&feature=youtu.be Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coumarin_music/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coumarin Website: https://www.coumarin.org

Coumarin

What is your name and role within The Good Minus? I’m Matt and I’m a songwriter, singer and guitarist in the band.  Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We’re based in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne has a pretty thriving music scene. Some good venues have closed down due to development but there are still lots of great places to play. How did you first start playing music? I started playing piano as a child but then switched to the guitar as a teenager because I thought it was “cooler”. I’ve always enjoyed writing songs and performing but may biggest influences as a child was probably my grandfather. He used to write and perform songs he’d to my family as a child with my grandmother accompanying him on the violin. How did The Good Minus form? We’ve been friends for a long time and played in our own separate projects. In 2015 we decided to join forces and create The Good Minus. What's been happening recently? We’ve just been fine tuning things and getting ready for our album launch gig on October the 11th. We filmed a video clip for our song, Mechanical Shark which was at an old ruin about two hours out of Melbourne. That was a really fun experience. You have album coming out on the 27th of September, what influenced the sound and songwriting? We’ve all got very eclectic tastes in music. I think our sound draws from everything we like but hopefully doesn’t sound too derivative of one artist in particular. We basically enjoy writing and performing songs that excite us.  Where and when did you record and who did you work with? We recorded the songs in two main batches. They were recorded at Tender Trap Studios in Melbourne and David Kean our bass player recorded and engineered all our songs and mixed most of the tracks. Greg J Walker (Machine Translations) mixed I’ll Decide For You and Rohan Sforcina (Head Gap Studios) mixed Blood Brothers, Shadow Love and Catch Us Up. Alan Douches of West West Side Music (NY) mastered the album. What programs/instruments did you use to record? Our album was recorded on Pro Tools. We recorded vocals, guitars, bass, drums mainly as that’s how we perform the songs. There were some other instrument overdubs such as sleigh bells and a piano accordion too.  How did you approach the recording process? We recorded the songs playing together live and then overdubbed the vocals, harmonies and extra guitars or parts that needed to be tweaked etc. For Mechanical Shark we also sang around one mic for the choruses to give it a really full sound.  How did you go about writing the music? Most of the songs we workshop and jam on together to get them to their final structure. I (Matt) often bring in ideas or half songs that we work on. Stu wrote the main riff for Lovers Disguise on the guitar even though he’s mainly our drummer and David (bass) wrote Shadow Love. I think some of the best songs we have are the ones that we’ve worked on together as a group. What does this upcoming album mean to you? It’s nice to have a collection of great songs that we are proud of. They are all quite different and I think it’s a good representation of who we are and what we sound like. What do you have planned for this new album? We’re looking forward to launching it and hopefully a few different people hear it who wouldn’t have found us otherwise. Who are you listening to at the moment? We’re really liking Stella Donnelly and also Ainslie Wills’ new album. What do you like to do away from music? Hanging out and going to gigs or catching a movie.  What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? Keep playing and writing songs. Any secrets that you care to share? The hidden track is called The Elements of Eloquence Favourite food and place to hangout? Pizza and hanging out at Kean Studios.  https://www.facebook.com/thegoodminus/

The Good Minus

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?  Madrid, it's getting better now, used to be an amazing place to party but many places have closed in recent years due to some changes in the local government and the credit crunch, luckily things are looking a bit better these days. How did you first start playing music?  Bought a pair of second-hand 1200 Technics Turntables when I was 13, didn't know much about what I was doing at the time, all I wanted was to experiment with music somehow... What's been happening recently?  Quite a lot, just got back from a small tour in the US, we are opening a new Deeplomatic Recordings office, preparing everything for the release of my EP Jungle Fever and working on the Asia Tour 2019 - 2020. Your new EP ‘Jungle Fever’ will be out on September 27, what influenced the sound and songwriting?  Wanted to create something a bit different, mixing natural and animal sounds. I used to live in Africa for 2 years and always wanted to add a bit of this African experience, but keeping the same music style. How did you go about writing the music for Jungle Fever?  Found the perfect jungle sounds, then I build the track on top of them. Where and when did you record/produce?  Various locations, but mainly in my studio in Madrid or while touring in the planes. What programs/instruments did you use?  Ableton Live, Push2, Roli seaboard, Komplete 11, OP1, TR8S, etc... What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of Jungle Fever?  Trying to match and adjust the jungle sounds with the rest was a bit of a challenge. Where and when will you be touring next?  Europe during October and November and then Asia / Australia, from December to mid February. How do you prepare for shows?  I look on the clubs social media to see who has played there before so I can get an idea of the public and what they would like. Most memorable performance and why?  Difficult to mention just one, but I'd say Colombia Burning Man 2016, it was the first time they were doing this event in Colombia, the people were really looking forward for that event, there was an incredible energy and vibe among these people, really enjoyed playing there. You're also the Deeplomatic Recordings Label Manager, how and why was Deeplomatic Recordings created?  I had been working for the Spanish Embassy for a couple of years, and was a bit tired of all the office live, even though I got to travel a lot, I wanted to do something I really liked..... guess where the name Deeplomatic comes from hahaha Please tell us a little about what you do on a day to day basis at Deeplomatic Recordings?  A bit of everything, but I’m mainly managing the label´s releases and the events and showcases at Deeplomatic. What projects do you have coming up?  Working on several things in the studio at them moment, but not planning to release anything at least till 2020. How do you decide which artists to work with?  Trying to find people that you get along with, and also have the same music criteria. What else are you working on at the moment projects/businesses?  I am also the co-owner and content manager at Hype TV (www.hypetv.es), a Spanish production company that focuses on traveling, entertainment, food, music and lifestyle. We are also about to launch a new jewellery company called Hades Creations (www.hadescreations.com). It's a brand that aims to keep age-old traditions alive by processing each jewel and metal by hand, all pieces are customizable and one of a kind. What do you like to do away from music?  I'm a technology freak, so basically anything that has to do with futuristic gadgets gets me entertained, also like to travel to strange and remote locations, like the feeling of uncertainty and getting lost. Who are you listening to at the moment?  Lately I'm listening to a lot to Marvin & Guy and Palms Trax, grrreat music! What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020?  Playing this week in Paris and Vienna, then got 2 label showcases in Spain and a festival in Ghent (Belgium), then starting the Asia tour in the beginning of December (back to summer again! haha) Favourite food and place to hangout?  Unagui (Japanese style served Eel), The Loft (current house, best place for fun & after parties) Website: www.alexferrer.eu Instagram: https://instagram.com/alexferrermusic Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexferrermusic Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/alexferrermusic Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/alexferrermusic Spotify: http://bit.ly/afspotify  Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexferrermusic Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/alexferrer

Alex Ferrer

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I´m in berlin - considering the amount of aussies living here i assume everybody knows whats going on here ). How did you first start playing music? Like instruments? learning by doing, pressing keys). How did Lovebirds come about? It was 1999 and i had just started a house project with a friend called kneedeep when i was doing a few tracks by myself which were a bit deeper than what we did. then i decided to release 2 EPs back then and revived the name in the late 2000s when disco boogie and deep house had a comeback. What programs/instruments do you use? Since i got my new large format mixing console in january (64 channels) i have everything connected and ready to record at all times. so at the moment i am using logic almost as a tape machine - just to record all my vintage synths and drum machines & FX. i had tracks where my favourite synth is my prophet 5 which unfortunatly is broke since almost a year. good thing is it made me use my OB8 a lot more which is a beauty too. also my rhodes and my solina string ensemble are almost on every tune i make. recently bought a lot of behringer guitar pedal clones which are great fun too. What's been happening recently? I did a few remixes (winston surfshirt, sounds like franco) and had some great fun with my modded drumtraks which now holds sounds of linndrum 1 & 2 and the DMX. i´m doing a lot of 80s inspired music - but more like new wave / pop stuff. Who are you listening to at the moment? Totally in love with a track called "the hollow sound of the morning chimes". Who or what influences you sound and songwriting? I guess my mood mostly and which instrument i am sitting in front of. You're playing Grapevine Gathering this November, what do you have in store for these run of shows? A compacted 1 hour set of energetic disco influenced house music. and "in the shadows"). How do you prepare for each live show? I´m usually going through my music collection and making a playlist of what i think could go down best with a crowd of that size. Why did you decide to play Grapevine Gathering and what are you most looking forward to? Its my third time now and its been absolutely stunning each time so far - if i show people the scenes when 10.000 people sing along to "in the shadows" - i feel a bit like a rock start haha. What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019? I will spend my european winter in asia and australia completly this year. i´m taking a small music setup with me and i´m looking forward to produce and write in a new and different surrounding. Any secrets that you care to share? My new console used to be the one of a famous tv show here in germany. Favourite food and place to hangout? Ramen!!!! shinjuku ramen on russel street changed my life . that i can say. Website: https://www.watartists.com/lovebirds Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovebirds.official/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovebirds.official/?hl=en Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lovebirds Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4UW65n6QZ8YmanLPuUXVui

Lovebirds

How did you first start playing music? I grew up in a super musical household – my dad had a wild collection of instruments (including a harp, kalimbas and assorted flutes), and he hosted a world music radio show so he was always bringing home new records and sharing them with me. I was always singing and writing songs so my mom signed me up for music lessons when I was around 6.   You recently released your single 'Soft' what influenced the sound and songwriting? Soft is definitely the most stripped-down R&B song off my debut EP Like Moons. The rest of the tracks have a stronger electronic component, but this one was recorded with an actual piano and bass guitar. It’s also the only love song. I was feeling pretty dreamy and romantic when I wrote it and I think those sensual vibes come through.   Where and when did you record and who with? This song was recorded in Montreal with producer Jordan Esau, keyboardist Francis Arseneau, and bassist Alex Dobson. They’re all good, talented pals and I love what they brought to the track! Francis and I were in jazz choir together in high school.  What programs/instruments did you use? We recorded my vocals using Ableton and then Jordan produced the song in Logic. I’m an Ableton girl myself but I respect his software choices nonetheless. You also have a video for Soft that's coming out on the 17th of September, how did the concept for the music video come about? The director and I came up with the concept back-and-forthing over Instagram. I wanted to keep things simple and have the visuals complement the song, rather than tell a super specific narrative story. We went for a very dreamlike, hazy, vintage film aesthetic, framed in classic 4:3 aspect ratio. She suggested shooting the whole thing in slow motion to amplify that, and using gauzy fabrics both as textures and DIY filters. I played with body glitter of different shapes & sizes and pearl & diamond face stickers to add a bit of a surreal, magic vibe. Where and when did you film? On a Toronto Island beach this past August! Who did you work with? Paris-based video artist Amanda Louise Macchia shot, directed and edited the whole thing! She’s an all-star. What did you find most rewarding and challenging during the creation of the Soft video? The most rewarding part was just doing it. I’ve never made a music video before and kinda built it up to be this big mountain in my head. It felt good to realize you can pretty much make one anywhere, anytime, when you’re working with cool like-minded creative folks. The most challenging part was getting over a bunch of strangers staring at you when you’re frolikcing like a sparkily fairy around a public beach. What did you learn from the filming/editing experience? That you probably won’t use ¾ of the random props you bring to set, but it’s always better to be over-prepared. Where will we be able to see the video? The old YouTube! What do you like to do aside from music? I’m a pop culture and fashion junkie. I spend too much time on the internet keeping up with whatever is trending, and hitting up vintage pop-up sales. I enjoy all things paranormal – horror films, conspiracy theories, hanging out with fellow witches and learning about the occult. I like languages and am a part-time translator. I’m overall shit at visual arts, but I really love photography and doing photoshoots with friends. Who are you listening to at the moment? Mostly womxn artists currently...Banks, Jesse Jo Stark, Faye Webster, Lana Del Rey, Megan Thee Stallion, Rico Nasty… I’m also going through a permanent emo phase, so a lot of Taking Back Sunday and Fall Out Boy? I may have recently bought tickets to see FOB for the 4th time next summer. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? I’m performing at the POP Montreal festival September 27th and then going on a mini tour, stopping in Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec, Vancouver and Victoria. I have a collab with Mouth Breather (who you’ve chatted with) coming out around Halloween and another new video this winter! Favourite place to hangout in Montreal? The Diving Bell Social Club. It’s a multimedia arts and music venue I help run with a rad group of friends. I’m not big on bars or clubs but it feels like a super safe/friendly space. We host music and drag shows, movie screenings, vintage sales, comedy nights...You should come by sometime! https://www.instagram.com/maryzemusic/ https://www.facebook.com/MaryzeMusic https://twitter.com/maryzemusic Website: https://www.maryzemusic.com Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2mlvANL 

Maryze

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? • I live in Italy in my city Caserta, near Naples. the scene here is very strong, techno music is loved by many people .... we have many important artists here and one of them is Joseph Capriati. • How did you first start playing electronic music? I approached the world of electronic music at the age of 11 thanks to my father's passion for artists like Pink Floyd, Rockets, Kraftwerk and many others ... at the age of 15 he gave me my first synth a Yamaha dx27. I inherited from him a large collection of 80s vinyls. electronic music is part of me, I love long melodies, warm bass lines and disco sound. What's been happening recently? • 2019 started out great, I did a lot of shows around the world, I visited lots of new places and met lots of nice people. I am very happy that people appreciate my music this has always been my dream You released your new single 'Neon' on September 6 2019, what influenced the sounds and songwriting for this track? • Neon is a great track, maybe my favorite track. I wanted to create this track entirely with the microkorg. Neon was born in one night in April while I was listening to an old 1989 album by Depeche Mode, in fact, it reflects their sound a lot. What programs/instruments did you use to create Neon? • I created Neon entirely with live ableton, micokorg and nord lead Where and when did you record/produce? • until 5 years ago I was producing in my room with a computer and a midi keyboard. today I finally created my studio at my house, all my music are recorded and produced in my studio How has the response been from fans? • the response of the fans was fantastic, so many important DJs support my Neon track around the world including Solomun, Magdalena and many others ... I am happy that my music manages to get so high. Neon was released on Monaberry, how did you come to release with this record label? • Monaberry was a great achievement for me and it wasn't easy. 1 year ago i had my the first release with Nativity. That i release on monaberry I have to thank my great friend CIOZ an incredible artist. 1 year ago he played my nativity track and the Super Flu fell in love with my music and after 2 weeks I was contacted to release nativity on Monaberry. I think this is the best way to get to great labels, in a very natural and stress-free way. Monaberry is a large and beautiful family and always offers quality music. Please tell about any new music that you have on the way: • I have a lot of music coming up, the next release will be released on Eklektisch (Edu Imbernon Label) the Reflected Effect EP. in 2020 there will be many surprises are coming up... Where and when are you playing/touring next? • I had so many requests for the coming months, I will be in Beirut, Moscow, Jerusalem, Malaga and many other cities. On 21st September I will play in Belluno (IT) for xtreme Festival. You're with MFM booking agency, how did you come to work with MFM and how has the experience been so far? • MFM Booking is a large agency full of great artists. Harald is my manager, he is a good person and he knows how to do his job well, he is an excellent agent. Harald has made me grow both as an artist and as a person and I hope to continue working with him in the future. I was contacted by Harald 1 year ago after my release Uzhù released on D-Floor, an ep that gave me great success and so I joined - being part of MFM booking. Who are you listening to at the moment? • I listen to a lot of old music and old artists ... my reference artists are Solomun, Adritique, Acid Pauli, Todd Terje, Prince Thomas and many others but I like to listen to so much different music also in style different to create my own sound. What do you like to do away from music? • in my life I always made music, my father run a radio show and my mom is a dance teacher. I was a dancer and then but I stopped to dance to dedicate myself completely to music. today my father and I have a villa for private events and weddings, I like the world of catering and I love cooking, riding and practical fencing for 15 years What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? • I hope to close so many shows by the end of the year and make lots of new music. in 2020 there will be many surprises, stay in touch with me ☺ Favourite food and place to hangout? I am a Neapolitan living in Naples and I love Pizza

IVAN MASA

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Montreal/Fabulous How did you first start playing music? Firas: Started playing guitar in his teenage years out of boredom. Fanny: Started playing violin in her youth. Your single “Brumaire” is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting? The main influence for ‘’Brumaire“ is the wave of French techno mixed with elements of pop led by artists like French79. Sadly, the wave hasn’t hit North America yet. You’ve created an amazing video for Brumaire, how did the concept for the video come about and what were the influences? The story behind the Brumaire video is a bit wild. A couple of months ago, I got a message on Facebook from a friend's sister, Ophélie Thiébault, studying Cinema in Paris. She explained that she liked ‘’Brumaire“ and was offering to produce a clip for the song. A couple of months later we started receiving pictures from the set, and we started understating how serious the project was. A few lines from Ophélie: ‘’The idea for the clip really came from something silly. Do you know that moment when you walk barefoot home, get into bed and your feet are full of dust because you haven't swept for a while?... Well, there you go....’’ ‘’Inspirations come mainly from French pop clips made by Alice Kong or from Antonin Peretjatko's universe with some inspirations from David Lowery's A Ghost Story for some of the shots. But the inspiration comes mainly from my relationship, from my wild conversations with my sidekick Iris (Head Operator on the clip) and especially from our personal tastes. Almost all the decoration of the clip comes from our student rooms. We couldn't find an apartment that suited us to shoot and we had to do the interior scenes in our school's studio. We both did all the preparation, which was very intense! There were a lot of unexpected events and constraints, but we could count on each other to motivate us and fortunately Beige-à-Coeur was patient and gave us the necessary time while we had our diploma to validate at the same time. I kept them waiting but they were incredibly confident despite the distance!’’ You have an EP coming out on September 16 called “Moonshine” please tell us about the creation of this EP and what you learned through the process: We started working on Moonshine last summer, before knowing that eventually all the songs would end up on an EP. Where will we be able to listen/purchase? Literally all the platforms out there. What do you like to do aside from music? Binge watch the office. Who are you listening to at the moment? Beirut and any mix of jazz and pop What’s planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? Tons of sleep – eventually working on new material in the summer 2020 Favourite food and place to hangout? Bananas and park Lafontaine

Beige-a-coeur

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I'm currently based in Tel Aviv, the underground scene is in ever-growing development. Many of Tel Aviv artists are very successful at the moment, like Red Axes, Guy Gerber, Moscoman, Lonya, Chaim, Guy Mantzur, Khen, Jenia Tarsol, and the list goes on. How did you first start playing electronic music? I was playing Hip Hop in a club that was usually playing Deep House and Techno. I heard it over there and got addicted to it. Note to the curious - I still really like Hip Hop :) What's been happening recently? I've recently opened my new label, Frau Blau, together with my partner Omri Guetta, one of Tel Aviv most talented underground DJs. Things are progressing at a fast pace and we are very excited about everything that is happening. I am touring on a weekly base and feeling blessed about meeting many new friends around the world. You recently released your new single 'Frau Blau' with Yost Koen, how did you come to work with Yost and how was the experience? 3-4 years ago Yost and I were among a small group of producers that were creating a Tech House/Minimal so the collaboration felt right, we already wrote few tracks together and we had a great connection so we wanted to take it to other directions as well. We decided to create a Melodic Techno with tribal touch, this experience was new for both of us and it was amazing and fun for both us. Yost is very talented and a brilliant producer. What influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? We didn't have a specific influence for this one, we just had an idea to combine our mutual taste with extreme melodic-tribal spice in it. What software did you use to create 'Frau Blau' and where and when did you produce? It was around a year and a half ago, I was working on Cubase and Yost with Ableton. I've sent him the parts and he sent it back, we did some 'ping-pong' with it until we reached the final result. How has the response been from fans? Wow, that was hysterical. We got so many great comments from people who searched this tune in every possible way and asked about it in many ways till he got released. We both felt that we did something right here. Please tell about any new music that you have on the way: Lots of new music is coming soon, I can't tell you everything yet but I can say that there are few collaborations with artists that I admire like Re.You for example, remixes from Adana Twins, Musumeci, Ruede Hagelstein, Monkey Safari, releases on labels that I really love like MicroCastle, TAU and more. Also there's a compilation that I compiled together with Ivory during the last 6 month and is planned to be released soon on my label Frau Blau, That's just what I can reveal for now. Where and when are you playing/touring next? During October and November, I will play in Tel Aviv, Tallinn, Roubaix, Szczecin, Aachen, Rome, Hamburg, Berlin, London, Brunswick and more. You're with MFM Booking agency, how did you come to work with MFM and how has the experience been so far? My manager and I have heard about this agency from a few people, we got impressed by the roster and really liked Harald vibe from the first moment, it took a few months and it happened. It feels great to be there, everything is super professional and it really helped me and Moti, my manager, to feel at home. Who are you listening to at the moment? I am listening to so many different kinds of music, from Jazz, Fusion and world music of artists such as Hiroshi Suzuki and Khruangbin to electronica and house of artists like Marcus Worgull, Nandu, Jepe and many more. What do you like to do away from music? I really like cooking and of course, travelling and see nature at it's best. What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? First unique EP that will combine my style with Italo-disco and Indie-trance that will be out around January. Stay tuned! Favourite food and place to hangout? That's a hard one, I like many things but I guess the Israeli kitchen will always be my favourite. . I really like to hangout at Voodoo Bar, the vibe there is very special, If you are travelling to Tel Aviv I really recommend visiting there MFM Artist Profile • Facebook • Instagram • Soundcloud

Kadosh – Innervisions, Watergate Records / Tel Aviv, Israel

What is your name and role within the band?  My name is Dom Littrich and I smack the drums and do some back up vocals.  How did Pacific Avenue form?  Myself and Ben used to live about 100 meters apart and we always knew each other from when we were real small. Sometimes I would be banging away on the drums and In between the brief intervals of silence I could hear Ben also playing away from down the road. So It seemed like the obvious thing to do, was to link up and start jamming. Ben then recruited Jack, who was a good mate from the same local high school, to play bass and we started to jam away. Our first gigs together were under the band name ‘Tropical Wax’ with our friend Grace on lead vocals. A year or so later down the track in 2017, Ben introduced Harry Obrien to us at a jam and some serious musical fusion went down. Harry went to a different high school, however we would often bump into him in the local area at gigs and in the surf. It really felt like it clicked right from the start, and about a week later whilst having a surf at Werri Beach in Gerringong we found a name whilst staring at a nearby street sign, ‘Pacific Avenue’.  How did you first start playing music?  I was lucky enough to be born into quite a musical family. My mum and dad both sing and my dad also plays the guitar. When i was in Kindergarten I spotted a violin at a garage sale and begged mum to buy it for me. She agreed but only on the condition that I promise to get lessons and practice. Turned out I wasn’t as big of a fan of the violin as I thought i was but due to the conditions I was stuck with the instrument. Around the same time I started learning the drums, and this was a whole other story. I loved the drums from my very first lesson and it wasn’t long before i was gifted a drum kit. After some very tough years for mum, I eventually learnt how to hold a beat and i was recruited in the family band. The first band of my own was formed when i was in year 5, under the name ‘Pinstripe’ we were the regular entertainment at the school fete and talent quest. Music has always been a huge part of my life and also largely responsible for the connection to my family, which i am very grateful for.  What's been happening recently?  The most recent thing thats been happening with us is the release of our debut EP and all the stuff that goes along with that. We have been planning and preparing for a tour to support the release and also just keeping busy trying to get on top of merch and all that sort of stuff. Both myself and Harry have just returned from a little holiday as well to europe and America to get a bit of R and R in preparation for a big couple of months ahead.  You have an imminent tour, where are you headed?  We do indeed! So the tour starts locally with shows at Berry and Kiama, and then heads south down the coast to Melbourne, stopping off at Ulladulla on the way. For the october long weekend we are playing at Canberra on the friday evening, then cruising on in to Yours and Owls festival, where we will be playing on the Sunday. We then stop in for an all ages show at Sydney, swing by Newcastle  and then head up to the Gold coast and Brisbane for the ‘Hidden Lanes’ festival. Our final stop on the tour is a big hometown show down at the North Wollongong hotel. This is definitely our biggest tour yet, so we are all super keen to be on the road, performing and seeing a bit of the countryside.  How do you prepare for each live show and what do you have planned for this upcoming string of shows?  In the weeks leading up to a gig we try to get together as much as possible and really plan out how the set is going to run and how we can make it a show rather than just us standing there playing our instruments. We have been working on this quite a bit lately, so prepare yourself for some synchronized dance moves and extended outros!  We tend to have a bit of an unofficial ritual on the day of the gig where we practice during the day of the gig, eat some dumplings at the local dumpling house, then try to find an outfit through a process of mixing and matching clothes with each other. Sometimes I think we maybe sorta pull it off but definitely not always haha. After sound check and when we are just about ready to go on we have a bit of a warm/psych up session where we do some drills and stretches we learnt from playing under 8’s rugby league for gerringong. We then do our hand shake and head out onto the stage.  You're touring in support of your new EP, what's the title of the EP?  The title is ‘Strawberry Skies’. This is a hook line from a track on the EP called ‘Someday Soon’. We kind of just liked the image this line painted in our heads, and it reminded us of the place we all lived in together when the majority of the EP was written. For some reason it seemed that where we lived in Woonona always had insane sunsets, and so ‘Strawberry Skies’ just really gave a title to this period of absolute freedom in our lives.  What influenced the sound and songwriting?  The songwriting, particularly the lyrics, were influenced mainly by all that was going on moving out of home to a different area for the first time. For us as a band living together, life was made up of; new relationships, studying and working very little, surfing, jamming and playing our first gigs as a band, and just all the wild times which go with having full on freedom for the first time.  The major influences on our sound came a lot from what we were listening to at the time, combined with the classic aussie and brit rock which we have always loved. Big influences on the sound of the EP came from bands such as; Powderfinger, Silverchair, Foals, Arctic Monkeys, Oasis and Gang of Youths.  Where and when did you record?  We recorded at Sony Studios with Adrian Breakspeare in Sydney. Adrian was such a wonderful mentor and producer for the EP and we feel his input really created it as a polished body of work rather than just a collection of songs. We recorded throughout the later half of 2018 and the start of 2019.  How did you approach the recording/production process?  We would often head over to Ben’s place, where we would construct a bit of a home studio to create some demos. We would then listen over the tracks and see how we can alter the structure and parts to create contrast and dynamics through the songs. A couple of the songs however were just taken  into the studio as crappy phone recordings and we would then work on them there.  Once in the studio Adrian would listen over the tracks and get us to play them live in the studio, to see how he could add or take away parts to create more concise, punchy and powerful tracks. Whilst recording we would often come up with ideas on the spot and then we would run with that. For example we came up with the idea of creating a prelude to the track ‘You’ whilst we were all in there playing away. We thought it would be cool having an opening track to the EP which built some suspense and flowed straight into the second song with no pause. Also during the production process we would often add quite a few different layers to the songs, we actually even had Adrian playing some synths on the last track on the EP ‘Something Good’.  What do you have planned for the EP?  Your tour also includes a few festivals, being: Hidden Lanes, Lost Paradise, and Yours And Owls, what do you most enjoy about playing live and what can we expect from these huge shows?  For me playing live is everything. From when the first note is strummed or the first skin is hit I kind of just go into this weird space where you take on a character and just give it everything. Such an insane feeling and energy when the crowd is getting into it and an even weirder one when people sing along. For Yours and Owls I’m so keen to be playing in our hometown and to a whole bunch of our best mates. We always love putting on a bit of a show and when it is to a bigger audience on a bigger stage, it just gives us so much more energy and options to give it our all. We are super keen for the Hidden Lanes festival as we are playing alongside our local mates ‘The Vanns’ and ‘Tyne James Organ’ in a city we have only played once. Super keen to get to Brisbane and party the night away.  What do you like to do away from music?  All of us surf quite a bit so thats a really cool hobby we can all share together. We are all fond eaters of dumplings, so thats a big part of our lives too. I guess we all like dressing up a bit too and sometimes we film little skits. I’m not sure if they are actually overly funny but we seem to enjoy ourselves. I would also say partying takes up a bit of our time too, so you could catch us at the local pub every now and then.  Who are you listening to at the moment?  At the moment we are all been listening to a bit of Led Zeppelin, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Parcels. Recently saw parcels overseas at a festival in Budapest and it blew my mind!  What's planned for late 2019 going into 2020?  Well we have our EP tour which takes us through to the end of October so that takes up a bit of time. We will be playing at Lost Paradise festival over new years so thats also something we are super excited for. We plan to release a bit more music at the start of next year, so keep your eyes peeled!  Favourite food and place to hangout?  Would have to lock in Dumplings and Bahn Mi for food, and favourite place to hang out would have to be Kiama Leisure centre when they have the Pool Toy inflated. What a time!  Please include links to socials and website.  https://www.facebook.com/PacificAvenueAU/ https://www.instagram.com/pacificavenueau/ http://www.pacificavenue.com.au/ 

Pacific Avenue

What is your name and role within British India? My Name is Will Drummond and I play bass on stage. Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I live in Melbourne. The music scene here is thriving as always, hubs shift from year to year but there are always new small venues popping up and always the stalwarts that never close creating a diverse music culture that people from all over Australia and the world love coming to play for and to come and see. How did you first start playing music? I was the youngest of five children. In my house there would be Linda Ronstadt playing in one room, The Presidents Of The United States in another, Metallica emanating from the strange smelling bungalow out the back. So when I was cognisant enough to find the guitar with very few strings on it I wanted to replicate all the sounds I had been listening to as a younger kid. How did the band form? Four bored teenagers in high school who were stealing beers from Nic’s Dad’s bar fridge one Friday night when we started writing songs. We never looked back. What's been happening recently? I was recently in Europe travelling. I went to Hellfest to see Refused, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Sumac and Kiss to name a few. It was in a small town in France called Clisson and it’s easily the best run festival I have ever been to. Highly recommend a pilgrimage for any lover of Punk and Metal. You have a new guitarist Jack Tosi in the band after your last guitarist left, how's the band dynamics now that you have Jack on board? Those dynamics will play out on tour. We have been rehearsing and Jack is a supreme guitarist. But the real dynamics of a band play out when you spend a lot of time together. The band will be touring Australia in October to November, what do you have planned for this tour and what do find most challenging and rewarding whilst being on the road? This tour is about playing with Jack, he’s toured Australia many times himself however every band does things differently so it will be interesting to see how he copes with our entrenched habits and intricacies. The most challenging is always missing things back home, seeing friends, celebrations etc. And the most rewarding is easily playing the songs to people who have travelled to come and see them. How do you prepare for each live show? I have no great ritual. I usually get to the show an hour before hand to hear the noises, get the vibe have a drink and maybe run into some friends. Who are you listening to at the moment? My favourite albums of the year so far are. Craig Finn - I Need A New War Fontaines D.C - Dogrel Helado Negro - This Is How You Smile The Hold Steady - Thrashing Through The Passion What do you like to do away from music? Travel without working. I love being able to get on a plane with nothing but carry on and landing to walk around a foreign city. What's planned for late 2019 going into 2020? This tour, playing shows with a new guitarist is a daunting thought, Jack is very talented but we will not know what it’s going to like until we stand up on the stage together for the first time. Favourite food and place to hangout? I’ve been living in and around Fitzroy for a long time now and it’s such a great place for food and hangouts. If you want a cheap Bahn Mi, Trang is my old faithful. The coffee is always great at Everyday or Terror Twilight. I love trying new and different beers at BeerMash and The Catfish, having Pina Coladas at Shady Lady, catching a punk band at Old Bar, or a doom band at the Bendigo.

British India

YEEVS x The Partae What is your name and role within YEEVS? My name is Bradley and I sing and play guitar where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We are based in Sydney but we normally meet up in the Blue Mountains as Tom, our drummer, lives up there. The music scene in Sydney has a lot of pockets of communities that feel very vibrant and healthy despite the debilitating effect that the lockout laws have had on venues and nightlife culture. Wherever there are passionate people, there will be something going on. There’s always something on at any given week in Sydney and I feel at times spoilt for choice when picking a local gig to go to. How did you first start playing music? I started playing the drums when I was 10 and had lessons for a few years. Then I switched to guitar and was awful at it for quite a long time until I started to really hone in on how I wanted to play. I then picked up singing by again being quite bad at it for a while until I persevered. I never gravitated to anything else growing up quite like I did to music and it is a passion and a comfort that has been constant. How did YEEVS form? The three of us met at uni while studying music. Sean and I met on the orientation day and we’ve been in bands together over the years. Tom and I met a bit later on after uni and decided to jam one day. We thought it was great but didn’t pursue it any further until we bumped into each other again at the Glebe market fair and both agreed we should jam together again. The next time I went up to the mountains, I brought Sean with me and it solidified what we have been working on ever since.  You've just release your self tiled debut album, what influenced the sound and songwriting? In terms of sound, all three of us have overlap in what we like and our tastes but we all come at it from differing angles. The main thing we wanted to come back to was capturing how we sound as a live band and to have high quality songwriting. We recorded it over two weekends at a farm in Wiseman’s Ferry and I think that environment definitely assisted with how it sounds. We didn’t need to rush and we could set the pace and be able to play day and night. In terms of lyrics, it’s about feeling much more at peace with yourself and being able to feel more comfortable in your own skin. Parts of the record sound really emotional and cathartic because in order to get to a place of calm, sometimes there needs to be turbulence.  How did you go about writing the music? It was hard work. We demoed consistently the year prior and we were able to see the best parts and sections that could be worked on at a later date. When we finally got to the farm, Dan Holdsworth who produced the record, challenged us further to expand upon those ideas and to create more ‘moments’. Following on from that, I was still finalising what I wanted to say and how I wanted all my vocals to be phrased and Dan guided me with that too. Suffice to say it takes ages to write music that you feel completely happy with and sold on. Our expectations within what we’re doing as musicians have gotten higher the longer we’ve been doing this and I think this album has shaped our writing process going forward. What does this album mean to you? It is a document of where the band is at right now and it feels completely authentic to how we sound, imperfections attached. I’m really proud of it and I feel like the three of us can breathe easy knowing that we’ve made an album completely independently and we can now just enjoy it as a snapshot as we move on to play the shows around it and then eventually writing the next one. Where and when did you record and who with? We recorded over two weekends in April 2018 with Dan Holdsworth. Dan’s a friend of the band and was the right choice for the album. Following on from those sessions, him and I would meet up to overdub and finalise vocals which took about 6 months on and off. What programs/instruments did you use to record? We’re a three-piece rock band so it’s predominantly vocals, guitar, bass and drums with a few embellishments here and there like keyboard and glockenspiel. How did you approach the recording process? We approached it in a way that meant we weren’t going to settle for versions of the songs that would rely upon bigger production techniques in order to maintain interest. The versions of the songs needed to be of a high standard for all three of us. That meant potentially rewriting parts as we went. When you’re playing music, it feels great but when you also are looking at it through the lens of other people are going to listen to this, it changes how you think about the thing you’re creating. We just wanted it to be strong and concise in its execution. We also knew we needed to be in a comfortable environment where time wasn’t an issue. We all lead busy lives so to carve out a few weekends to do this meant that we could inhabit the whole process rather than it feeling like a rushed 6-hour session at a studio you’ve never been to before. What did you find most challenging and rewarding whilst creating the debut album? For me personally it was starting a new job while still being in the recording process and working in the evenings to get good vocal takes. In hindsight, I wouldn’t do anything differently but there was a month there where we were playing a residency, I had just started the new job that same month and I was spending a lot of evenings driving out to Western Sydney to keep working on a record that felt far from finished. I think the other two were really challenged in the initial stages with making sure their parts were locked in together and also cinematic at points. I’m awful at music theory so invariably the other two picked up the slack for that. What do you have planned for the album? We’ve got a seven-show east coast tour lined up to support the album, which we’re really excited about. After investing so much time and energy into the album, I’m looking forward to playing the songs live. It feels especially exciting now that people have had a chance to hear the album. Our favourite part of all of this is engaging with an audience and we can’t wait to do that with the new songs. Who are you listening to at the moment? I’m listening to the new Empty Country single and B side that came out recently which I’m loving. Also at present it’s been a fair bit of Oh Reach, Aldous Harding, Art Of Fighting, Jack Ladder, Augie March, Foxing and American Football’s new album. It’s been a bit all over the place of late! What do you like to do away from music? It might sound like a cliché, but I don’t think I do much else outside from music. Maybe just catching up with friends and family or sharing a good meal. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? I think for us we are focused on preparing for the tour that’s to take place. We’ve been rehearsing a lot to make sure we are ready for this run to make it as impactful as possible, both for us and the audience. Once that’s complete, I think we’ll start talking about ambitions for next year. We definitely are keen to start piecing together new material. Favourite food and place to hangout? Right now I’m craving a Mary’s burger so that’s probably my favourite food. In terms of hangouts I would have to say Red Eye Records. I’ve grown up going there to buy music, my partner used to work there and it’s just got some really lovely people that work there. Red Eye’s my happy place.

YEEVS

It's been a little while since we last spoke, what's been happening recently? What’s been happening recently you ask? A lot actually. I’ve been quite busy working on multiple projects; executive producing, planning, plotting and watching a lot of TED talks. Things are rolling quite nicely for you in Australia now, what do you attribute to your success? Hard work, dedication, and self-belief.    What advice would you like to pass onto emerging artists? YOUR. GOD. DAMN. SELF! Someone’s opinion of you does not have to be your reality.   Please tell us about your plans to mentor musicians at the London workshop and how this came about? There a quite a few things I want to touch on at the workshop over in London, which by the way I’d like to thank the lovely team at Nando’s for blessing me with the opportunity to do so.  I want to lead the MX workshop into determination, drive, hunger, relentless thinking and one topic that I’m so passionate about, self-belief. The opportunity came about when I sat on Nando’s MX Sydney panel at Studios 301, it was a similar setting to what the London workshop will be like. It was interesting sitting next to ‘industry’ people, I felt like I was representing the people. Unheard voices, whilst many may look at me and claim I’ve ‘made it’ I’m still fighting battles every single day. There’s still so much to fix within the Australian music scene, I’m truly excited and honoured to have a hand in making a difference.   Why are opportunities for international exposure so important for artists (especially artists from Australia!) International exposure is everything, connecting with the world to change lives and make the earth a better place is the mission. I personally believe that the music scene here is 10 years behind, Australia is still adapting to a culture that has been happening right in front of our eyes. It’s a must for anyone to gain international exposure, why limit yourself. Who said you should be for that matter?   Who are you listening to at the moment? Artists I’m listening to include Bon Iver, James Black, Shoah Aalegra, Blood Orange, Megan Thee Stallion, Rico Nasty, dvsn, Aaliyah, ABRA, Earth, Wind & Fire, FKA Twigs, Young Thug, Future, Lanye West, 070 Shake, Giggs, Keyon Christ, Kraftwerk, The Moments, Kirk Franklin honestly the list goes on!   What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? Monopolise and infiltrate the market. Any new music on the way? TOMMY’S IN TROUBLE When and where are you playing next? Next show I’ll be playing is Yours & Owls Festival in Wollongong on the 5th of October, see you there!

Kwame

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I’m currently based in Bondi, Sydney! The music scene in my opinion fluctuates a fair bit. There is always a good live gig to go see throughout the week, however I find that these gigs can be quite restricted by time restraints and just general stringency. In saying all of that, I thoroughly enjoy living and making music over here, but hope to make a move somewhere overseas in the near future! How did you first start playing music? My thirst for playing music kind of began at high school. I had a few close friends at the time that were into the same music as I was, and then we would always just kind of jam in our free time. It wasn’t till after school however I started taking music a bit more seriously. I found myself writing something nearly every day and I was always spending the spare money I had on new instruments and music tech etc. What's been happening recently? I have recently just released my second EP last week! This has been my biggest project to date however has only just spurred on my desire to release even more music. I’ve nearly finished my music degree at university and currently assessing my options! Other than that, I’m always spending my spare time at the beach, which basically gives me the rest to keep writing music and working! Two years ago, you had heart surgery that left you with a pacemaker, how has your life been since this point onwards? My life has definitely progressed in regard to my heart and the position it was in two years ago. It was a time which definitely taught me a lot of things, the biggest being how important my body is. Can’t really sing and make music if I don’t have a working heart! You have a new EP out 'Three Oh Three' what influenced the sound and song writing for this EP and please tell us about the EP title? The EP as a whole is quite diverse in its creation and end product really. There were songs on the EP which had a certain direction, yet others in which I just wanted to flow naturally. I’m really happy with the result in terms of all of that. The influence for the EP was a mixture between new artists to which I was listening to at the time, new/old relationships and just generally how my life was going at the time of writing. Where and when did you record/produce and who with? Initially all the recording for each song in the EP was recorded in my home studio. Most of these songs were recorded over a period of about 5-6 months. Obviously a lot can happen in this time so the recorded process would constantly change as the songs and their structures changed etc. Once I was happy with the first 3 singles for the EP, I took them to a studio in which I’ve been using for the past couple of years called ‘A-Sharp’. I’ve been working with a producer there (His name s Daniel Natoli) who’s been pretty integral in helping most of my songs flesh out and be as best as they can be. What did you find most challenging and rewarding about creating Three Oh Three? I think the most challenging thing about Three Oh Three were the reactions in which I thought I might receive. I think as artists we constantly feel we are under a tiny bit of scrutiny, and the thought that other people are in a sense, in charge of our success or failure. I think the challenging thing with this EP and any writing process to be honest is the struggle to keep these things apart, and just write where you feel the most love and natural instinct to be yourself. You have shows coming up in September, where are you looking forward to playing and what can we expect from these shows? I’m excited for any show really. I think these ones are particularly special because I get to play new music to the people that have supported me for so long. I think I’m most excited for my next show supporting Slum Sociable. I’ve listened to these guys for quite a while now, so it’s something I’m really excited to play. What do you like to do away from music? I like to keep fit and surf and exercise as much as I can. Other than that, I like to spend as much time with my friends and family as I can. I don’t think there’s anything more relaxing than spending time with the people that make you happy. Who are you listening to at the moment? It seems like I can’t really put Spotify down at the moment as there’s so much good music coming out. I’ve really been loving a band called Far Caspian. I’m a bit of a sucker for ambient guitars backed with a strong beat. Another band which I’ve been a massive fan of for years is Palace. A London based band, their music has always been sounds I’ve tried to really emulate. Still yet to see them live L What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? After all these shows are done for this year, I hope to release a new EP early next year, and then hopefully take my music overseas. Favourite food and place to hangout? I don’t think anything could really beat a decent burger for me. And I also don’t think I can go past a beach hang ;)

Oly Sherman

What is your name and role within the band? My name is Armando, I am the drummer in Electric Kif. Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We are based out of Miami. The scene is relatively small but is full of killer original music that I think the national scene is only just catching on to.... How did you first start playing music? As a drummer, I began when I found my uncle’s drum kit in a closet in his house and forced him to set it up. From there I played along with my favorite records until auditioning for music school at University of Miami.  How did Electric Kif form? The Kif started as a trio when Eric (our guitar player) met Digo (our bass player) and immediately connected on records they both loved. They decided to start a band and formed a power trio along with the original drummer (Ale Fernandez). The Kif’s first record - sessions - is this trio. What's been happening recently? After some time touring and creating with the Kif, as well as other projects, our new album JEFE is finally done and ready for release. We could not be more proud to share it, and we believe it is the best representation of ourselves we have ever achieved on record.  Your new album 'JEFE' will be released on September 17, what influenced the sound and songwriting for JEFE? Apart from our musical influences like Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Jimi Hendrix, and all the usual suspects - I believe the record was influenced most by our experiences in the last two years. The touring, the many shows, and our relationship as a band grew and evolved to the point where it infiltrated our musical identity in a deep way. How did you go about writing the music? We actually booked three days in the studio with very little music prepared, and began to create as much as possible, avoiding distraction. We really liked the idea of having our gear set up and coming in and just “pressing record” each day. A lot of the record was created off the cuff and it honestly surprised us. We left this session with a new energy to create something next level for us, and spent the next year crafting those ideas into what the record is today. Where and when did you record and who with? We recorded in Miami at a place called The Bridge, which is a somewhat musicians hub where people rehearse, record, etc… It was tracked by our good friend Brian Robertson, who absolutely helped form the sonic pallet of the record. What programs/instruments did you use to record? We used standard Logic Prox through an Apollo 8p. As far as instruments, many were used! It is certainly a power quartet record so drums, bass, guitar, and keys are the foundation. However, electric and acoustic guitars, synth bass, Rhodes and organ, countless synths such as moog and prophet, percussion instruments, and many different tools were used to get the sounds we wanted. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of JEFE? The most challenging aspect of JEFE was probably the way in which the compositions came about. Since there were no written compositions when the day came to record, a lot of the writing happened after the fact, piecing together ideas that were recorded. However, this almost backwards process, while challenging, proved an insanely rewarding part of the process. It developed a different avenue of creation that resonated with the band and played to our strengths. Where will we be able to listed/buy JEFE? Any and all platforms! ElectricKif.com, Bandcamp, ITunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc etc.. What do you have planned for JEFE? In the immediate future we have our local record release party on September 14 at Lagniappe House in Miami. Soon after that, we will go on tour along the east coast and a couple other new cities as well!  Who are you listening to at the moment? All four of us listen to a lot of different music, so it’s hard to list everything. But some music that we have been digging into includes Anderson Paak, Kamaal Williams, Khruangbin, Aaron Parks, Thom Yorke, Tigran Hamasyan, Salif Keita and a ton more. What do you like to do away from music? Away from music we all have different interests that include reading, film, art, poker, sports, video games, and mostly just learning new things. What's planned for the remainder of 2019? Our upcoming JEFE tour is our primary focus, and possibly beginning a new record? Who knows… that along with some of our side projects who are all putting on shows for the rest of the year. (Twyn, Roosevelt Collier, Nu Deco Ensemble, Aaron Lebos Reality, TRIP, and couple others ...) Any secrets that you care to share? Nope ;) Favourite food and place to hangout? My favorite food changes depending on the day you ask me, but right this second I could go for some Pho. For us, some of our favorite places to hang out in Miami are Lagniappe, Jada Coles, Las Rosas, Citadel .... to name a few. https://www.facebook.com/Electrickif/

Electric Kif

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Im currently based east of Manchester in a little village called Tintwistle. The music scene is pretty non-existent but I’m only a thirty-minute drive from Manchester, which is a musical hub for the Northwest. Having lived in Central London and Manchester it’s been nice for me to have a bit of quiet. It’s really allowed me to take that downtime but also given me the freedom to be in a city pretty quickly.  How did you first get involved with playing music? When I was 13 my mother told me I could have any musical instrument for Christmas. I’m actually not sure what preempted that. As much as I liked music, I don't think I had really expressed an interest in playing anything. Anyway… I picked the drums and she stuck true to her word and that year I got a drum kit. I had zero clue how to play, and I stuck at the drums and after years of playing I fell into production. What's been happening recently? More recently I’ve been trying to take a bit of time out with my family, Go on long walks or bike rides and take in a bit of nature. It can be quite easy to isolate yourself when making an album so its been a bit of a breather. You're new single 'Coming Back' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? Thinking back, night-time driving has played a big part in recent writing. It’s been one of the more consistent times I’ve had to be alone, reflect and listen to new music, which has in turn kind of shaped my musical intentions. How did you go about writing 'Coming Back’? I start every track I write differently. ‘Coming Back’ started with experimenting with synth sounds. I wanted to create something warm and analogue sounding. Something groove based that would have a bounce but didn’t feel overly dance music. Where and when did you record and who with? I have a studio in my attic where I do all my writing and recording… I rented a Neumann U87 for a couple of days and got Ben P Williams round to lay the vocals down one afternoon… What programs/instruments did you use to record? I use Logic Pro X as my main DAW. I use a plethora of percussive instruments that I've acquired over the years. The main synth line was made on the Korg Minilogue and under-pinned with the Moog Sub Phatty. How did the concept for the 'Coming Back' music video come about? Simon Brooks produced the music video, who always seems to capture the essence of a track. We had spoken about influences previously and I had mentioned a few ideas.  He included the late-night driving vibes i mentioned earlier and just generally got the tone of the video right. Simon has worked on every Frameworks video because he just gets it.  Where and when did you film? We filmed the video on the 11th of June at Sitcom Soldiers, Manchester.  What did you find most challenging and rewarding through the creation and recording of  'Coming Back’? I think the most challenging thing was probably the mix-down.. It can be a laborious task mixing sometimes and trying to get the right balance and feel across the board. I mix with Gareth Metcalf at studio-nyne not so far from me. I’ve been working with Gareth some years now and he gets what I’m going for. It’s a massive help having a second set of ears on mixes that I trust.  How do you prepare for your live shows? I generally lock myself in my studio for a while basically. The studio can be an overly critical listening environment sometimes which is great for fine tuning things, but I think there is a lot to be said for just getting out there on a system and finding out realistically what’s working. We also have the full live outfit which is a bit more time consuming to organize, but all the musicians involved are super talented and have helped create something really special. What programs and equipment do you use whilst performing live? For live i’m using Ableton Live with a PUSH, the Korg Minilogue, SPD-SX and a Pioneer DJ mixer. What do you most enjoy about playing live? I think I get the most out of finishing playing and feeling it went really well. When the energy is right in a room and you just seem to hit the road-running is a great feeling… Being in the flow.  What do you like to do away from music? Spending time with my family. I have an amazing wife and two kids that keep me busy outside of music. Having children has been my greatest inspiration and fuel for work.  Who are you listening to at the moment? I’ve been listening to the latest Jungle album recently, the production is great.  Also here’s a link to a playlist I try to keep updated regularly with things I'm listening to. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/513wJiNd4pBvnCtY1B4CnG?si=Geruhy1VTlOeP8CIDOtIug Where and when are you playing next? I’m taking a minute off playing right now but we have some things in the works for early next year to keep an ear to the ground on that. What projects are you working on at the moment? Im always working on new music… Right now I’m also working on a remix or two which should be out later in the year.. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? Any secrets that you care to share? I'm really excited to be sharing a lot more content VERY soon, and early 2020 will see a large tour with two other artists i'm a big fan of! Shhhhhhhhh haha  Favourite food and place to hangout? Right now, I have a thing for Tacos! My brother in law came round and made the best tacos ever and since then i’ve been on a regular taco fix. Favourite local would be Harvey Leonards in Glossop which is a bar that specializes in imports, Really lovely place.  https://www.facebook.com/Frameworksmusicuk/

Frameworks

What is your name and role within DZ Deathrays? Simon Ridley - Percussion / Hospitality Rider Enthusiast. Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I live in Brisbane, Australia. The music scene here isn’t the biggest but it’s a very supportive, eclectic one and I think it’s because of that there are a lot of amazing artists constantly coming out of this town and onto the national/international touring circuits. How did DZ Deathrays form? Shane and myself were initially in a 3 piece band however once our drummer left we then decided to start a new project just as a two piece and that was it. What's been happening recently? This year started with us recording our new record: Positive Rising: Part 1 in Los Angeles. Then we came back to Australia, did a 3 month regional tour before hitting up a few shows and festivals over in Central Europe. Now we’re just about to go into the studio again to finish part 2 this month. Your new album Positive Rising: Part 1 will be out August 30 via I OH YOU, what influenced the sound and songwriting? A major influence of both parts has been the introduction of our session guitarist Lachlan Ewbank joining the writing process. He’s been quite the driving force behind the record and we’re all really happy about the overall outcome of the tracks because of it. How did you go about writing the music and how long did the album take to write? We began writing mid 2017 and tried to get ahead on demoing it before the release of our last record Bloody Lovely. Then we continued writing in between tours for that album. Where and when did you record/produce and master and who with? We recorded the album in L.A. with Miro Mackie in his studio in North Hollywood. We wanted to get out and try something different to the last few records we had done at the Grove Studios which are like an hour out of Sydney. How did you approach the recording/production process? Miro has a pretty set format for recording so we stuck fairly close to that. Basically working 10am to 10pm for about two weeks straight. A bit of recording everything each day, burritos for lunch and ending with a nice whiskey night at the end of each session. What did you find most challenging and rewarding whilst creating this album? I think just getting the US visas to record it in America was the hardest part. Everything else was actually pretty great! I think having Lach on board and us all working together as team was the most rewarding part. We also had a bunch of friends come into the studio and add extra parts. Kirsty Tickle was able to come in and put down some backing vocals and Sax. Matt Caugthtran also came in and put down some vocals which was something really special for Shane and myself as we’re massive The Bronx fans. What programs/instruments did you use? It was a fairly standard Pro Tools setup. We kinda just used whatever gear they had at the studio as we were limited to bringing our own due to the flights. I think the main plugin we got behind was Sound Toys’ Valhalla Reverb. That’s in there a fair bit. What did you learn through the creation of this album? I think each time we just push ourselves to see what we can pull off without taking the band too far from what it is that we and the fans enjoy from it. So for this record adding things like saxophone and having friends around brought the vibe up. You're touring Australia in October/November, how do you prepare for live shows? Drink the rider and crack dumb jokes along with a couple of stretches. We’ve got a great team with us now so there’s not a lot of stress backstage and we’ll do a few days pre production to make sure everything is going to work for everyone involved. Any shows in particular that you're looking forward to playing? I love playing at the Forum in Melbourne and this is the second time we’ve been fortunate enough to be able headline so I’m very excited to get back in there. We’ve never played at the Astor before so I’m also looking forward to how that goes too. What do you like to do away from music? I don’t really do much else to be honest. Pizza and movies with the Mrs. Who are you listening to at the moment? Press Club, Alkaline Trio, Electric Zebra... I guess I’m going through a bit of punk rock thing again according to my Spotify history. What's planned for the late 2019 going into 2020? We record Positive Rising: Part 2 this week. Release Positive Rising: Part 1 at the end of the month. Album launch/signing parties start of Sept. Eu/UK headline tour in Sept/Oct. Aus headline tour Oct/Nov. US/Canada tour in Nov/Dec. European tour with The Darkness in Jan/Feb. Then a few more tours that aren’t announced yet along with the release date for Positive Rising: Part 2. Any secrets that you care to share? My Wifi password is: 6E36FBD890. (Go easy on the torrenting please!) Favourite food and place to hangout? Thin base pepperoni pizza, Mountain Dew, my couch.

DZ Deathrays

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I'm currently based in the Northern Rivers region, near Byron Bay. The Music scene is good here and there are a of professional muso's and established musicians have been moving here a lot over the last decade. We were actually overseas in Bali for the last three years but we've come back now to embark on this next phase of my career and launch my book and my album.  How did you first start playing music, singing/guitar? I grew up in Melbourne and I got a guitar at the age of 10, I used to play a lot with my Grandad.  I would listen to a lot of Triple RRR and PBS then in my early 20's and moved into inner city Melbourne and that's when my music career really started.  What's been happening recently? Last week I released a new single called 'Ain't My Problem' which features The Teskey Brothers so that's pretty exciting. The last single was 'Whispering Voice' which featured Kasey Chambers. I've got a Podcast called 'Soulful Conversations' which my first interview was with John Butler then I had Ziggy Alberts and Kim Churchill, Harry James Angus and Josh Teskey and a handful of other amazing people My debut book 'Surf by Day, Jam by Night' was released this week where I interview Kelly Slater, Steph Gilmore, Jack Johnson and many others. I interviews 15 surfers and musicians and it's everyday wisdom and habits that get people in flow states and live their best possible lives.  I have a company I co-own with my wife, called Earth Bottles and we've been going around the country doing beach clean ups and shows. Earth Bottles is a single use plastics company that is trying to eliminate plastics. We make water bottles, coffee cups and all sorts of reusable stuff so we don't have so much plastic clogging up our oceans.  Your new album MOJO; drops on August 30, what influenced your sound and songwriting for MOJO?  Most of Mojo was recorded in American and it's my guitar blues album and to introduce me to American and the rest of the world. I've got some amazing guests on all of the tracks and it's my ninth studio album.  To me it represents getting my Mojo back and coming out of a little bit of a mid life slump. I believe their are seasons in life and I feel like i've just come in to a new one.  Where and when did you write the music for the new album? Much of the album was recorded in LA about 5 years ago which a lot of old school blues legends from America. I got it back 4 years later when I started trying to turn things around. I got a new manager who was able to track it down and we got the album finally and I ended up adding in Byron Bay some new tracks and some overdubbing and some amazing Australian special guests. So it was recorded between LA and Byron over the span of 5 years.  Who did you work with during the creation on Mojo? We've got some amazing special guests on Mojo given that it was a guitar blues album, it was a huge honour to have Joe Bonamssa on a track. We got Harry Angus from The Cat Empire on two tracks who's a really good friends, Kasey Chambers appears on one track, The Teskey Brothers who are on 'Ain't my Problem' and 'Waiting Around To Die' which is amazing, we got Kim WIlson who is one of the best and more respected harmonica players in the world he's on a couple of tracks then my good buddy Ian Collard from melbourne who is such an amazing harp player. Then I have Mahalia Barnes who kills it on three tracks on the album she bought some really special moments to the record. I've also got Terry Evans who is no longer with us and one of my all times idols and Eddy 'The Chief' Clearwater they are two old African American blues guys who are just lords. It was a huge honour to have all of these guests.  What programs/instruments were used to record? It's a very live sounding album and was doing with the traditional methods of going through really good old school analogue gear and done in a pretty standard classic way really with an emphasis on the playing.  How did you approach the recording process? There was a lot of layering as I say some of those sessions were recorded five years ago in LA then added to in Byron later by me. Adding guitar oberdbus and solos, I really took the time to craft the guitar solos and give them a lot of meaning. It's the first time i've done that giving as much detail as my singing voice on the album.  What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of Mojo? I guess the most challenging part of the album was A - it was lost for so long and I didn't even know if was ever going to get my hands on it. Which was tough because I had talked about it some much since returning. After that it was spending the time and the money doing it justice and we really put a lot of time and effort into it and I'm really happy iwth these results.  Who are you listening to at the moment? I'm looking around thinking about my next album and what I want to achieve, I'm going to be doing a lot of co-writing in America for the next record, I'm listening to a lot of Bluesy stuff like The Black Keys new album, Rag N Bone, Gary Clark Jr - really combining that modern blues pop sound. That's something I've been into for a long time but I've left it behind on the last few albums. It's really cool to see what's been happening in that world, it's not really a genre being Blues Pop but it seems there's a few great artists in that area.  What do you like to do away from music? I love surfing obviously and I love reading and listening to podcasts when I get the time. Along with Meditation, Yoga and Whimhoff breathing.  I'm fascinated with trying to maximise the happiness in my life and the life of my family, it's not quite a simple as it seems. THere's a lot of head work that can go into being content and cruisey which is how I like to keep it.  You have a massive Aus/NZ tour kicking off in early October, what do you most enjoying about touring and playing live? I think one of life's unalterable equations is that you get out what you put in. I've never probably put in so much to my music in terms of the musicianship side, practicing my instrument and singing. So now when I get to the gig, it's something I'm keenly anticpating. I've been having such a ball in the lead up to the shows and I cannot wait to get the album out and get on the road and tour it. They are far from empty words I'm absolutely frothing the idea of getting out there and playing these shows. I'm very suited to touring, I'm happy to travel and cruise and in my own world - I'm always learning and you can do that anywhere. I don't like being away from my family but it's all part of it.  What do you have in store for these shows? We're really crafting a show an actual show, rather than just off the cuff. A lot of my shows in my career have been off the cuff whereas now I'm excited about crafting this show and going in with a really solid battle plan.  What's planned for late 2019 going into 2020? The rest of the year with me is touring for music and the book. I'll be doing a lot of in stores to promote the book.  We'll also be going over to America to do some showcases in LA and New York and tackle that behemoth. 

Ash Grunwald

What made you decide music was the way you wanted to communicate your art and ideas to the world? I think I had a pretty late start getting into music, with much of secular music outside the realm of my everyday listening till I was about 12 (I could read half the bible from memory though, a must-have on most resumés). All it took was 5 minutes on my brother’s shitty Sony Walkman, listening to a bootleg copy of Simple Plan’s “No Pads, No Helmets, Just Balls” for me to realise how music made me feel, and I’ve been hooked on chasing that high ever since. What’s your favourite thing about playing shows in Australia? Definitely the audience. It’s hard to describe, but I think fellow Singaporean and incredible supporter of the arts Danny Loong puts it best: “There is a natural response to art and to music in countries like Australia that should be aspired to everywhere.” I still remember one of my favourite gig moments ever, playing an original to a rowdy crowd at Melbourne’s Whole Lotta Love Bar, and realising by the end of it that it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was one of those moments that remind me why I do this, and it’s something I’ll always look forward to when I head over to play for you guys! Can you talk us through the themes and emotions presented in ‘Losing’? Losing is basically about a person who does the “Eat, Pray, Love” thing and leaves everything to travel around the world in an attempt to forget someone, but ends up being reminded of that person in every amazing sight he finds. It’s about the inevitability of ghosts in our lives, of how places and memories are marred by whatever trauma you go through, even when we try to forget it. For me personally, the song was an exploration, both lyrically and musically, to capture the quiet moments between the big ones. I feel like songs often talk about the highlights in relationships, but ignore the years in limbo trying to figure out who you are again, and I feel this song really captures that struggle. What’s a bucket list achievement of yours? To play at Glastonbury. Nothing fancy.

LINCOLN LIM

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I'm currently based in Melbourne. The music scene is lively and fresh with new talent popping up all the time! How did you first start playing music? I used to study ballet full time, and left at 16. At my new school I immediately enrolled in music performance and vocal lessons, and picked up guitar. It grew pretty quickly from there. How would you describe your sound/music that you play? My music is constantly evolving but I like to label it alternative pop. What's been happening recently? I've been writing, heaps. I also had my birthday recently and maybe had a little bit too much fun at my party. You've just released your new single 'Even When We Let It Go' what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? Honestly, "Even When We Let It Go" was one of those songs that popped into my head and I had to pick up a guitar and write it immediately. There were a few production influences however, such as Jeremy Zucker, Vera Blue and Lauv. How did you go about writing 'Even When We Let It Go'? It just flowed out of me - I didn't have to think too much during the process! Where and when did you record and who with? I recorded the track with Sb90 (Stuart Le Brander) at his studio from April - June. How did you approach the songwriting for this track? For this song, I tried to be a bit blunt and direct, whilst painting pictures in the verses to really capture the audience. I wanted the words to feel and sound like they were falling off my tongue, so I was really picky with the rhythms to accompany my melodies. How do you usually go about writing music? Usually, I tend to dream up lyrics and melodies and write them down in the morning, and then I'll sit at the piano or with my guitar and start to piece together a chords progression that accompanies one or more of the melodies I like, and go from there! What programs/instruments did you use? I play piano and guitar, but also use Ableton Live to program and produce music. What do you have planned for 'Even When We Let It Go'? I plan to bring it on tour early next year!!!  Where can we listen/buy? You can listen to/buy "Even When We Let It Go" on Spotify, Apple Music and iTunes. What do you like to do away from music? I love cooking, seeing my family, dog and friends, watching shows on netflix, baths, eating cheese and exploring nature. Who are you listening to at the moment? Lately I've been spinning Charli XCX, Hayley Kiyoko, Flume & Reo Cragun, Chelsea Cutler and Gryffin. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? For the rest of 2019 and start of 2020 i'm planning new releases and hopefully a tour!! Where and when are you playing next? No details yet, but stay tuned. Any secrets that you care to share? As a child I was the worlds biggest bookworm. Reading sessions could go for 12 hours and I made a point to choose reading after school instead of socialising. Favourite food and place to hangout? My favourite food is definitely pasta and my favourite place to hang out is definitely my bed, with parks/forests coming in a close second! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Odyssey S

Photo: Sam Wong What is your name and role within City Calm Down? Lee Armstrong and I play drums Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Currently based in Melbourne, Australia. The music scene here in Melbourne is incredible. You can go out any night of the week and see an incredible band. Bolstered by the numerous amounts of incredible venues I haven’t really been to many places like it. How did you first start playing music? When I was about 14 years old a friend of mine told me I had to join his band. I advised him that I didnt play an instrument but that didnt really matter to him...He said "nah, you're playing in my band..ask your parents for lessons".. Not willing to let the team down, I asked and the rest is history, I guess. City Calm Down has been in the game for over 10 years now, how has the scene changed since the band started?  I think one of the main things I’ve seen change over the last few years is that festivals and radio are starting to focus on having a more diverse and inclusive program. While it still has a ways to go it’s positive that the conversation is happening. How has the band changed since the band started? Well, one of the most obvious changes to the band to me is when I joined. I took over from the last drummer just before we recorded the Movements EP. Musically, I’m finding its evolving with each record. You can still hear some elements of CCD that were present in our early releases but I guess over time, listening to different music and finding different inspiration changes how your ideas come out. Your new album Television is out August 23, your sound has gone down a new, fresh path, what influenced the sound and songwriting for the new album? I think bands like Trex, The Velvet Underground and The Rolling Stones are bands that I can hear coming through on this latest record. We went into this record wanting to write something that was more to the point, with it being more pop focused. How did you go about writing the music for Television?  For this record a majority of the initial ideas would come from our singer, Jack. These would then be brought to the band to work through.  Rhythmically, I think the record went through a lot of changes even when we were in the studio. A couple of the tracks had to be completely changed, which was pretty stressful at the time haha. Where and when did record & who did you work with? We recorded at The Grove Studios outside of Sydney, NSW with Burke Reid. What did you find most rewarding and challenging during the recording and production process? Because the sound we were creating is quite a departure from our last record, i think you sometimes second guess what you are doing. Because you’re so far out of comfort zone. For me, that was probably the most difficult and rewarding part at the same time. Where did you mix and master, and who with? Burke Reid mixed the record at The Grove and it was mastered by   What programs/instruments did you use and how did you come to choose the equipment? Was recorded in pro tools. We used a bunch of acoustic guitar and piano on this record. We haven’t used these instruments much previously but thought they were necessary to achieve the sound we were after. In New Years Eve we used two cymbals stacked on top of each other to get a trashy sound. That was something that came through experimentation in the studio. Did Television turn out as you expected? Not really. A lot of the rhythm and the overall feel of the record changed quite a bit in pre production and then again in the studio. You have a massive UK/Europe tour coming up in Sept/Oct, and then a headline Aussie tour… what do you have install for these shows? Some old stuff and some new stuff. We have a more guitar focused sound so should be fun to take that on the road! Any secrets that you care to share? I ain’t no snitch. Favourite food and place to hangout? Currently meat pies and the pub.

City Calm Down

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Montreal; vibrant and huge. How did you first start playing music? It's always been something I do.  Your new single 'I Love You' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? I was listening to a lot of Sophie, especially *Faceshopping" and I wanted to explore my own version of that sound. The lyrics are playful, sexy, and a little confusing, which I did to mimick the multitude of feelings humans experience when we're attracted to one another.  Where and when did you record/produce 'I Love You'? At my home studio, Studio Banane Géante. I usually compose lyrics as I'm walking home from events.  Who did you work with during the recording/production process? I bounced off some ideas to Woulg, but mostly it was all me.  What programs/instruments did you use? Ableton Live 10, ozone, minor third up, etc.  What did you most enjoy about the process and what did you learn? I really enjoyed playing with layering, and that breathing sample is something Iève been looking for FOREVER so I was really happy to finally find it.  Your new single 'I Love You' is off your upcoming EP, what will the EP be called? The working title is Inspector Knife What does this EP mean to you as a whole? It means following this new, entirely electronic direction for Blue Odeur. I want to see people dance and I feel like I’m finally figuring it out. What did you find most challenging and rewarding whilst creating this EP? The most challenging was trying to edit down all my ideas to beautiful, uncluttered cohesive tracks. I feel like that is a challenge I’ll be happily facing for a while. The most rewarding part is listening to “I Love You” and being so freaking proud of it and what is gonna come after it! Any new music video's on the way? If so, please tell us more: Always in the works, will let you know ;) You are involved in the local Montreal DIY scene ever since you were involved with big underground spot 'Poisson Noir', please tell is about the Montreal DIY scene, what takes place?   The DIY Montreal scene is a truly inspiring community to be a part of; we are carving our own spaces out of this city, and classically, the best shows I’ve ever seen were at DIY venues. The empathy and compassion of this community is really amazing. My friends from Poisson Noir are definitely friends for life. How did you first become involved in the Montreal DIY scene? I joined Poisson Noir shortly after moving here, and the rest is history :) What do you like to do away from music? I love reading, mostly fiction and theory. I listen to podcasts like SRSLY WRONG and Reply All, and I dabble in making midi controllers and some light coding.  Who are you listening to at the moment? SO MUCH LIZZO! And Lekeli47, Sevdaliza, and “Voices” by Flume and Sophie.  Any upcoming shows?  Where and when? Hot Tramp Festival!! At Diving Bell Social Club on Sept 1, with Sorry Girls, Bodywash and Beige-a-coeur, then onto Pop Montreal at Brasserie Beaubien with Winona Forever, Peeling and Sauna. In October, Halloween with Petra Glynt.  How do you prepare for live shows? I choose my set list, then lay the base tracks out in Ableton, and create my vocal tracks with all of the appropriate FX laid out. I also try to take a moment of silence before I play, and do breathing exercises.  You're playing shows at Hot Tramp Fest and also you Halloween show with Petra Glynt, how did these shows come about and what do you have in store for these special shows? These shows came from Sarah Armiento, my wonderful new manager! She’s an absolute powerhouse and I’m overjoyed to work with her. I have some new hijinx in store, and some choreography.  What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? The rest of the Inspector Knife EP, some videos, and besting what I’ve already accomplished.  Any secrets that you care to share? YOU DO BELONG, YOU ARE IMPORTANT, PLEASE DON’T GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS.  Favourite food and place to hangout? Dim sum and Studio Banane Geante. 

Blue Odeur

Roger Kemp: Visionary Modernist is the first major exhibition to chart the development of acclaimed Australian abstract artist Roger Kemp’s career. Best known for his large-scale tapestries that hang in the National Gallery of Victoria’s Great Hall, Kemp is recognised as one of the great inventors in abstract art, striving ‘to make visible the invisible’. Featuring several never before publicly exhibited works, the exhibition is the most comprehensive retrospective of this artist’s work since his death in 1987. Comprising paintings, prints and sketches, the exhibition explores the artist’s extraordinary career, beginning with his earliest paintings of symbolic landscapes and angular dancing figures, through to his late works, which reveal an artist whose concerns go beyond the physical world. A unique and enigmatic artist, his interest was not in the overriding traditions of figurative and landscape art, nor the prevailing trends in non-objective art, but rather something much deeper and more metaphysical. In Kemp’s later works – highly resolved paintings of the 1960s, 70s and 80s – the geometric structure heightens the symbolic richness contained within. His works from this period are charged with great emotional energy and are the pinnacle of an artistic and spiritual journey. Tony Ellwood AM, Director, National Gallery of Victoria said, ‘The four large-scale tapestries that hang in the Gallery’s Great Hall are among the Gallery’s most identifiable pieces of art and this exhibition presents a timely and comprehensive review of these and other dynamic abstract works from the artist’s career.’   The NGV is publishing a comprehensive monograph to coincide with the exhibition, which features the artist’s work and new scholarship from Australian experts. This solo exhibition follows recent major solo surveys at NGV Australia, including Rosslynd Piggott and Darren Sylvester, and kicks off the next season of upcoming solo exhibitions, showcasing the work of Australian designer Lucy McCrae and photographers Petrina Hicks and Polixeni Papapetrou later this year.   Roger Kemp: Visionary Modernist is on display from 22 August 2019 to 15 March 2020 at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square. Entry is FREE. Further information is available from the NGV website: NGV.MELBOURNE.

Roger Kemp: Visionary Modernist opens at NGV Australia – The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia | 22 August 2019 – 15 March 2020 | Free Entry

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I’m based on the Sunshine Coast, QLD at the moment and the music scene isn’t bad at all. It’s definitely been improving and will get a big boost when NightQuarter opens up later this year.  How did you first start playing music? I remember being dragged along to family guitar lessons when I was about 8 and thought it was just so boring. Then throughout primary and high school I played violin, clarinet and saxophone in school bands until I eventually came full circle and realised how cool guitar actually was, so I taught myself from there! What's been happening recently? I’ve been doing a lot of songwriting (like a lot) and recording.  Your new single 'Sunburn' was released on August 22, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? Well the main idea behind Sunburn came after I got badly sunburnt and realised the similarities between that and heartbreak and thought hmmm this could make a cool song!  How did you go about writing Sunburn? The melody was actually inspired by pop punk music – probably because I was listening to All Time Low non-stop at the time #guiltypleasure. I wrote the chorus first and then kind of worked backwards to write the bridge and verses around it, which is the order I follow for most songs I write. Where and when did you record? I recorded Sunburn in May at a home studio in Sydney. It’s a fairly new song so it was really cool to see it finished so soon after writing it. What programs/instruments did you use? There’s a mix of programmed instruments, synths and electric guitar. Xavier Dunn produced Sunburn, how did you come to work with Xavier? I slid into his Instagram DMs of course! But I had previously heard some other tracks he’s worked on and loved the vibe so I thought why not reach out. What was it like working alongside Xavier? Please describe the experience: Let’s just say it didn’t take me long to realise he was a musical genius. Like whoa, that man knows how to turn a chill song into a banger! We had so much fun working on Sunburn together and I know I’ve made a life-long friend and can’t wait to work with him again. What do you have planned for Sunburn? The plan is to get as many people as possible to hear it and, fingers crossed, love it! What do you like to do away from music? So many things! I really love playing tennis and I’m also in an oztag team with some friends which is super fun. I’ve recently started getting my own amateur cook book together with vegetarian and vegan recipes so that’s something I like doing in my free time. Who are you listening to at the moment? I’ve been listening to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ album non-stop lately. Sooooo good. If you could spend a day with any person, living or dead, who would it be and why? That’s a tough question but I would probably have to say David Tennant. I have an unhealthy obsession with Doctor Who so I’d love to hang out with him and pretend I’m the Doctor’s companion for the day.  What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? Just releasing some new music and playing more shows. I’m playing at Caloundra Music Festival in October so that should be really fun! Any secrets that you care to share? Hmmm well let’s just say if you like Sunburn then stick around because there’s plenty more new songs coming soon. Favourite food and place to hangout? Judge me all you want but my favourite food is, and always has been, olives. There’s usually a jar wrapped up under the Christmas tree for me and it’s just the best thing ever.  To make this answer even worse, my favourite place to hang out is probably my house. It’s got food, Netflix, and my music gear – what else could you ask for?  www.facebook.com/IsabelWoodMusic  www.instagram.com/IsabelWoodMusic  www.soundcloud.com/IsabelWoodMusic  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZk3SvM9lx6FdPJ3QzrC1DQ

Isabel Wood

What is your name and role within Allola? Singer, producer and songwriter  Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like? I am very lucky to have grown up here in Melbourne. We have a crazy live music scene where you can hit up a show almost any night of the week and discover new music. We have a great little community of female electronic artists as well which is so amazing to be a part of!  How did you first start playing music? I was a classically trained singer and pianist from a young age and eventually moved into studying a Jazz and Contemporary vocal course at University. We had access to a lot of great production tools there and I would spend a lot of time in the studio making my own tunes.  How did Allola form? I had gone through a period of writer’s block after completing my course. I found I was constantly writing piano ballad after piano ballad and this made me super frustrated. I picked up a drum machine one day and began experimenting with beats and this suddenly opened up a whole new world for me. I invested in a Roland synth which has a sequencing and recording feature built into it and I created a lot of my tracks using that in the beginning.  I had a gig opportunity with a band called “Tora” come up while I was in the middle of writing my setlist, and I had about 2 weeks to finalise half an hour worth of songs. The show went well...and that’s sort of where it all started! What's been happening recently? I released my first single “High Horse” last November, which I worked on with an amazing US based producer (and now one of my best pals) Mark Eckert. It had an incredible response gaining airtime on Triple J and featured in the CHVRCHES episode of “If You Like” on Triple J Unearthed. Since then, Mark and I have been working on a bunch of new tracks which are set for release later this year.  On August 16 your new single  'Carry' will be released, what in influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? “Carry” is an observation on how different people tackle mental health and how it effects those around them. I think it’s important to continue to encourage your mates to talk, listen without judgement and give them a little love.  How did you go about writing Carry? I was listening to a lot of Broods at the time. There’s this really cool arpeggiator in the track “Hold the Line” off their Conscious record and I was vibing on that hard, so I layed down a few different sounds and took it from there. My producer had flown out to Melbourne to work on this track with me and we were writing the middle 8. I really liked the idea of having some uplifting vocal chants through this section so we spent a couple of hours recording this one vocal line sung from different areas in the room - we must have done at least 50 takes! Mark got back to the US to work on post prod and he suggested putting in the sax solo which I was totally down with! He got his mate Adrian Crutchfield in and he slayed the solo in 1 take. I later found out he had been the touring sax player in Prince’s band. I think that solo is my favorite moment of this track.  Where and when did you record? We worked on this record in my home studio in Melbourne. In other words the tiny second room in my two bed apartment.    What instruments/programs did you use? To form the basis of the track I used my Roland JD-Xi, the final track still features some of these sounds. Then we recorded through Ableton using a Roland Juno and a live tom to fill out some of the beats. The rest of the sounds mainly come from plug-ins on Ableton and there’s also a little live guitar in there too.  What do you have planned for Carry? The track talks about that inward battle you can find yourself facing at times, that constant chatter in your mind telling you nasty things, creating unnecessary anxiety in your life. I hope people can listen to this if they’ve ever felt this way and just understand they are not alone and there are always people to talk to. I also hope people can have a little boogie with this one!   What did you most enjoy and find most challenging during the creation of Carry? Creating this track was actually a very quick and painless process, all the sounds came together quite quickly and the vocals kinda just fell into place. I found adding all the small nuances and the finalisation of the track to be the most tricky, its a fine line between getting too messy with sounds, so we just had to make a call in the end of what to keep in there and what to get rid of. But super happy with the result! What do you like to do away from music? I love cooking! I find it really creative and I love eating delicious food so it’s a win win really.  Who are you listening to at the moment? At the moment I am in love with this group Fickle Friends from the UK. They have such a sweet and fun vibe, you should definitely check them out!  What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? There is another release on the cards but I can’t say when just yet, and a short tour planned for the end of the year, so stay posted. 

Allola

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I am currently based in Toronto, Canada.  Toronto is a big city, with a lot of music opportunity and amazing people to work with.  We have tons of amazing talent here, and I find everyone in my city loves music.  There is always a place you can go to see live music, and we have lots of music festivals throughout the summer.  How did you first start playing music? I have been singing since I was about six.  I remember singing for everyone at a family wedding, and from that moment I knew it was something I wanted to do professionally.  I discovered how my voice could move an audience and bring happiness to others and that was an amazing feeling. What's been happening recently? On July 26th I released my most recent single, ‘BUBBLE.’  It came out on three major Spotify playlist such as New Music Friday, which was so fantastic for me. Your new single 'Bubble' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? The influence behind the sound and the writing for this song totally came from a particular mood I was in at the time when I began to create this track. How did you go about writing Bubble? This particular track just seemed to flow out after I was able to create the sound and melody.  There was something about the sound and my mood that day that just brought this song and its lyrics to life. What is the meaning behind Bubble? This song is about feeling like you are trapped in a bubble, where breaking out could be just as good or bad as remaining inside.  Struggling to know if you will be able to break free, a state of confusion in a particular point in life. Where and when did you record/produce and who with? I recorded this song in Toronto with my producer Adam Tune. What programs/instruments did you use? This track has piano, synth and drums with some vocal effects that accomplished a very current chill pop sound that I was after. What do you have planned for Bubble? My plans are for all the pop music lovers to hear this track, love and share it and add it to their own playlists. What are you up to at school? I am looking forward to completing my final year in high school so I can work on music even more. How do you balance your school and music career? This is one of my current challenges.  It can be troublesome at times, but I am in an arts school that is understanding and will work with me to arrange makeup dates on tests and assignments. It creates for lots of homework. Who or what influences you in life and music? There are many things that influence me in different aspects of my life, but with regards to music specifically I would say all the other musicians that I love, such as Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Halsey and another fellow Canadian Alessia Cara. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 to 10 years? I will be continually writing and releasing music and hopefully sooner than later performing in very large stadiums, fingers crossed. Has music always been a big part of your life? Music has always been a very big part of my life; in fact to me life without music would just be unimaginable. What do you like to do away from music? I love performing for charity events and participating in raising money for different causes.  I am also very into the production side of music as well, but I guess that’s still music.  There really isn’t much for me that isn’t musical these days. Who are you listening to at the moment? I am listening to the new Ed Sheeran album as well as Bazzi’s new album.  Rumor has it Ariana Grande is coming out with new music that I am patiently awaiting. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? I will be continually releasing new music, keeping my vocals in tune with my coach, conducting interviews and working towards finishing my final year of high school. Any secrets that you care to share? Hmmm..well if I do that it wouldn’t be a secret.  Ok maybe I’ll share one; I am secret lover of makeup. Favourite food and place to hangout? My favourite food is Pizza, and I would say the mall gets to see me an awful lot!

Zoelly

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?   I’m currently living in Alliston Ontario. I’m still newer to the area and discovering the music scene here, but the town has been pretty great about welcoming me into the music scene. Shout out to Sandra who owns The Coop here in town. She has turned her venue into a go to live music spot and she is opening another venue in town to host more live music! How did you first start playing music?   Well my mom always says I started making up songs before I could talk, so I guess I always knew I wanted to play music. I began voice and piano lessons back in elementary school days and I was always that girl in the school musical and going off to music camp. Your new single 'Unfinished' is out TODAY, where and when did you record?   I recorded Unfinished back in January of this year in Vancouver, BC at Armoury studio. What influenced the sound and songwriting for Unfinished?   Unfinished is a song title I’ve had on my list to write for quite a while now. The inspiration for this song came from a personal story from my real life. What is the meaning behind Unfinished?   Unfinished is definitely coming from a personal place, it’s pretty much word for word my life experience. I. was with a guy back when we were 18 and we dated for just over a year, we eventually broke up and went our separate ways, but I always felt a tie to the relationship, that our story was unfinished. Four years later and we are back in each other’s lives writing the rest of our story together. How did you go about writing Unfinished?   The writing and recording process for Unfinished was actually a pretty cool experience. I recorded this song in BC with amazing producers Brian Howes and Jason Van Poederooyen. I flew out and we wrote, along with Nolan Sipe, and recorded two songs in two days, one of them being Unfinished. The experience really pushed me outside my comfort zone in the best way, I didn’t have time to over think how I wanted to sing the song, I just went in the booth and put my emotions out there. What do you have planned for this single and future music?   I’m excited to announce I will be going on a Canada wide radio tour with Unfinished. I’m really looking forward to travelling to all the stations to catch up with everyone. I’m also working on a music video for Unfinished right now and can’t wait to share that with everyone as well. As far as the future, Unfinished is actually part of a new EP I’m releasing soon called “All Woman”. Who are you listening to at the moment?   These are straight from my recently played on Spotify!   The Bones- Maren Morris Uh Huh – Jade Bird Good Time Being a Woman – Emily Reid I Got This – Jerrod Niemann Letter for God – Abhi the Nomad What do you like to do away from music?   Other than music I’m passionate about food, fitness the tv show Friends and hanging with my 5-year-old dog Noko. What is your opinion of the current state of country music in Canada?   I think we have SO much talent in country music here in Canada! Sometimes it still seems as if Canadian artists are seen as less talented or you have to make it big somewhere else to be recognized here in Canada and I’ve never understood why that’s the case. I think we can compete with American artists and that the artists here are equally if not more talented. I wish I knew the solution to change the stigma about the country music scene in Canada not being seen as important as elsewhere. What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020 and beyond?   Well like I said I’m excited to hit the road and visit all the country music stations across Canada. I then have plans to release my new album at the end of 2019. I’ve always said 2020 would be my year, in 2020 it will be 10 years since I graduated high-school. I plan to accomplish big things in 2020 and soar to new heights in my music career. Any secrets that you care to share?   Hmmmm…..  I used to Irish dance as a kid haha. Favourite food and place to hangout?   Pizza and home J https://www.facebook.com/NicoleRayyMusic/

Nicole Rayy

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Nelson BC, with support from surrounding small towns. Nelson is better known for EDM, but we have a small and devout punk/metal/indie scene that runs under Nelson’s pristine tourist-friendly surface.  How did you first become involved in music? Everyone on our board is a music lover or musician. (MASSif is a non-profit, volunteer-run festival run by a board of 6 people.) For me, I started with my mom’s K-Tel records when I was old enough to lift the record needle, and I later stole my brother’s heavy metal tapes in elementary school. I couldn’t decide if I was goth or grunge in high school and now I play drums in an instrumental kraut rock band with my husband and best friend, who are also on the board.  How did MASSiF fest come about? MASSif started as the brainchild of two of our board members, Nelson and Jay. They hosted live to air punk shows in the basement of the community radio station (CJLY) for a few years, and there was always a good turnout. Dayglo Abortions, Shooting Guns, Solids, Bison, LSD and the Search for God, as well as tons of local and touring acts going between Vancouver and Calgary/Edmonton. Eventually we came around to the idea that the town could likely support a heavy music festival. There’s nothing of the sort around here and clearly people would support it.  What does MASSiF aim to achieve? The Kootenay region has great appreciation for arts and culture, but heavy/dark stuff tends to get missed. Knowing the role heavy music played in our lives growing up, we wanted to give the locals the opportunity to see and to inspire them to play indie, punk and metal, which are not well represented around here. Exposing youth to these genres and giving local bands the opportunity to play alongside and meet touring bands are our priorities. To make this happen, MASSif is open to youth and a minimum of 30% of our bands are from the Kootenay region. We regularly hear from people who’ve come to our fest that they get inspired to play, knowing there’s a place they could eventually be on stage. Please tell us about the importance and meaning behind MASSiF focusing on inclusivity: When we hosted our first festival, we had the unanimous observation that with the exception of four people, every musician there was a dude... and we were kind of embarrassed. It wasn’t intentional, but that’s how it goes if you don’t make the effort to include women and non-binary people. So we made a bigger effort to seek out bands with non-male members in our second year, and now it’s our policy that a minimum of 50% of our bands must include at least one woman or non-binary person. We’re also supporting youth by hosting a workshop for teen girls and non-binary to teach them to write music.  We have the privilege of choosing who gets to play our stage. So we choose to use this opportunity to make space for women and non-binary people.  MASSiF has sold out already, what makes this fest so unique and special to attendees? It’s the only heavy festival in the Kootenay region. But we really shouldn’t call it a festival—it’s two nights of really loud music from lots of bands in a sweaty old lodge. There’s no press passes, no guest or VIP lists, no pretensions, no riders, no special treatment for anybody. No jerk-ery or cry-babyness is tolerated, but people are generally super cool and stoked to be here. Everybody in the room appreciates this kind of music, and they all know how special it is to be able to see so many bands of this kind in a small venue.  What does an event like MASSiF mean to BC? BC is really focused on the lower mainland but the province is GINORMOUS. We bring a solid, intentionally diverse festival to BC’s interior. Promoters have to make the effort to expose youth to diversity or else we’re just going to keep repeating ourselves. We have to do better. I think having this festival in our province beyond the west coast helps BC to be part of heavy music’s evolution.   What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? Grants! We take a bit of breather in October then start planning again in November. Band submissions open January 1st! We have a couple giant, amazing irons in the fire so if our grants pan out, our fifth anniversary is going to legendary.  Who are you listening to at the moment? I tend to listen to Shellac just about every day. They’re just infinitely fascinating to me and they’re nice people! MASSif alumni Dead Fibres, storc, and Kinski are in regular rotation, and I’m gearing up for 2019 by listening to Propaghandi, Summer Cannibals and Wild Powwers.. as well as couple we can’t wait to announce! What do you like to do away from music? Trail running is my favourite thing. We’ve got two dogs, Spicey Chicken Linda Loo and Harlan the darlin', that I run in the mountains with. I’m a documentary photographer so I do something photography-related every day, too.  Where do you envision MASSiF being in 5 years? We’re discussing whether and how to make it multi-venue. But we also really love what we have going. So…. stay tuned! Where do you see hard rock in the future? As long as there is adolescence, there will be a need for hard rock. I just got back from an alpine adventure camp with teen girls where I introduced them to Bikini Kill and Sleater Kinney. Based on their reaction, the future of hard rock is safe in their hands.  Any secrets that you care to share? I am an open book.  Favourite food and place to hangout? Eggs! Damn I love them. Also, potatoes are disgusting unless in kettle chip form.  I love hanging out in my hammock on my deck overlooking the lake, but any mountain summit is pretty sweet, too. 

Bobbi the Co-Creator of MASSiF

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I moved to Toronto about six months ago and I'm absolutely loving it. The music scene is perhaps the most diverse in Canada and the genre crossover here is incredible.  So many great bands I can't even count. How did you first start playing music? I grew up in a musical family so I was exposed to music at a very young age.  I think my first instrument was the banjo when I was in 6th grade, before that I mostly stuck to using the family's Karaoke machine with my brother.  Nickleback's "This is how you remind me" was a pretty integral part of my musical development. What's been happening recently? Shit's been going down in Kashmir I've heard.  And a guy named Andrew Yang wants to offer every American a thousand dollars a month.  Personally though I've been taking it pretty easy.  The summer has been very kind to me, lots of reading in the park, shooting hoops and chatting with friends over drinks until the wee small hours of the morning.   Where and when did you record your debut album 'Listerine Dream'? Listerine Dream was a three-year process and recording took place across the three cities I've lived in during that time: Victoria, Montreal and out here in Toronto.  It might sound grand and expensive but I record everything on my laptop, which means I can basically just keep working wherever I go.  Maybe I'll record the next one in Japan! How did you go about writing the music? Rhythm and melody first.  I've had conversations with friends who say that they can write a song by starting with the lyrics first and I'm always quite jealous of that.  I can only imagine that writing all the lyrics before starting anything else can really help deepen the message behind the song.  Personally though I always start with a little beat, hum a melody and then finally insert syllabically appropriate lyrics at the end. What influenced the sound and songwriting? Oh man, everything really!  I love discovering new art and artists but the joy of discovery is exponentially greater when I hear music from a genre I wasn't previously familiar with.  This year I've taken a pretty deep dive into metal - something I never really listened to before, and that has yet to really influence my sound.  But man, everything.   Music is so cool and there's so much out there, what's crazy to me is that for every popular band, there's probably thousands of other artists of equal measure that I may never get the chance to hear.  I'm going to try and workout a listening regiment so I can burn through as much of the world's library of music as possible before I'm gone. What programs/instruments did you use? I'm a simple man, Logic Pro X with a midi keyboard and my roommate's electric guitar is my usual rig.  However I do find it limiting at times, so I try to jam out ideas live with friends whenever I have the chance too.   What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation process? The creation process is incredibly rewarding.  It's exciting and cathartic and just so healthy.  I feel very lucky to be in a position where I can create art all the time.  What isn't so fun however is the "finishing" process.  I can write songs all day but when it comes time to mix them or do overdubs I get cranky and bored.  My friend Andrew Feels is a good ally for stuff like that.  He's a finisher alright. How did the concept for the 'Shoes' video come about? Stylistically it's a play on Vulfpeck's video editing style.  No need to work on getting fancy zooms and perfect shots right off the bat, instead, shoot wide and have a laugh in the editing process.   Conceptually I think Shoes is sort of a hodgepodge of half ideas synthesized into a single video.  It's funny, I have a few good friends from out west who produce videos under the moniker Ft. Langley.  They're usually my go to guys when I'm in Victoria, but anytime they're not around I find it difficult to justify spending money on a video directed by anyone else.  Instead, I just try and focus my energy on learning how to do it myself, I figure it will help me out in the long run.  For example, my last video, Cinema, was done by me as well, painstakingly, frame by frame, over the course of a week.  It's not easy, and perhaps not as traditionally pretty, but It's fun to be in the driver's seat for both the music and the visuals, and I really like the finished product! Where and when did you film and who with? Shoes is split up between shots of Toronto and shots of Victoria.  It was filmed by myself, Noah O'Neil and Charles-Émile Camiré.  Choreography was handled by Noah O'Neil and Jolen Maclean, and the dancers in no particular order are Me, Shane Hooper, Noah O'Neil, Pierre-Louis Camiré, Andrew Feels, Jen Severtson, Chloé Finch, Nick Joy, Rowan Mackenzie, Ben McCormack, Connor Head, and Gordon Cains.   Also Hazen. What did you most enjoy about the film making process? The spontaneous creation and collaboration.  You may be surprised to know that we actually didn't have a script going in, instead we walked around with some beers and my Huawei P20 (with a built-in Leica lense) and spitballed ideas like "Wouldn't it be funny if Connor walked up a wall?" or "what if instead of shoes, I wore sandals?".  It was a really good time. What's planned for the Shoes video? Total viral domination.  I see you Lil Nas X  Please tell us about your involvement in culture and fashion and what influences you: Brand wise, I'm really into Stór Hestur and Brutto Bambino right now.  Other than that I feel like I'm not much loyal to anything, if I see something I like (within an affordable price range) I will get it and wear it, baby.  It's all about what fits you, we can't all be wearing Polos and Birks. What do you like to do away from music? I'm a huge nerd.  So basically the typical nerd tropes other than D&D, that would require having friends.  I like making and editing short comedy sketches, reading Wikipedia and talking to anybody who will listen. Who are you listening to at the moment? Well god damn, the first single for the new Abbey Road 50 years remix is out and Jesus it sounds good.  Other than that I've gotten back into that classic Laura Nyro record "Eli and the Thirteenth Confession" and I'm also really into YBN Cordae's new project "The Lost Boy", he seems like a really nice guy. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? Lots of content, album two is almost ready to go so expect a couple of singles before Christmas.  I'm also hoping to take a little trip to Japan so if you guys have any contacts lmk. Any secrets that you care to share? Bryce Dallas Howard is Ron Howard's daughter. Favourite food and place to hangout? Favourite food is probably Poké and my favourite hangout spot is most certainly Ted's Collision. https://mouthbreather.ca/  https://soundcloud.com/themouthgod https://www.facebook.com/themouthgod https://twitter.com/themouthgod https://www.instagram.com/themouthgod/

Mouth Breather

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I’m a Melbourne based artist. Music is a vital part of Melbourne culture, we have a passionate music community who support multiple genres, stand up for equality and help create an opportunity for the industry as a whole. I feel very blessed to be apart of it! How did you first start playing music? I’m not a theory-based musician so my music talent is purely self-taught, although from a young age I developed an appreciation for Electronic Music. I would buy all the Ministry of Sound compilations and play them through my dad's old audio system on repeat, it was probably all the focused listening that lead me to experiment with sound with no real intention. Somehow it turned into a career. What's been happening recently? So much, life’s presenting so many positive challenges that I’m so grateful for. I’m growing into a better version of myself each day which is allowing me to harness my creativity in a new light. I’ve been writing/experimenting new music, developing new visual concepts and re-structuring my live show. Your new single 'Stay' (ft. Blush’ko) is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? I wanted to create something fresh and innovative that reflected my own emotions but also allowed me to steer the brand down a new visual avenue. I experimented with some simple synth sounds and came up with the distinct sound that you hear at 0.51 of ‘Stay’, from there my creative juices spilt and the foundation was created. In terms of songwriting I wanted to create a story that reflected ‘taking ownership for your growth’ I feel at times we’re so quick to blame others for our internal issues or rely on another’s energy to hold us up so I sat down with Blush’ko who helped bring that vision to life. How did 'Stay' come about? I was at a breaking point late last year where I lost total control of my vision and purpose for this project. I wanted to write something that represented the push and pull emotions that I was feeling but also shared a fresh perspective. When I listen back to the record I can hear this delicate yet exhilarating pulse which reflects my emotions at the time Where and when did you record/produce? I produced the record in my home studio (a spare bedroom I've claimed as my own) and recorded the vocals in Blush’ko’s studio. What programs/instruments did you use? I use FL Studio 20 as my DAW. Majority of the instruments I use are in the box, I tend to gravitate towards Serum for a lot of my sounds but also find myself experimenting with U-he’s Diva. For a lot of the drums, I tend to mess around and manipulate with samples until I get the vibe right. How and why did you come to work with Blush’ko? I have been friends with Blush’ko for years, it just so happened that we gelled on this track. He’s a born talent with an incredible tone that I’ve loved for so long! What did you most enjoy about working with Blush’ko? I feel comfortable working with him, I can express how I’m feeling and he helps bring the constructs of my life into the lyrical content. He also has a crazy sense of melody that allows the top line to work well in conjunction with the instrumental.  You're playing Beyond The Valley Festival! What do you have in store for this show? Yes! I’m in the process of developing new innovative themes I want to bring into the show that celebrates all that is and all that will be moving forward. I’m developing some stage design concepts and I will most likely bring some feature vocalists up onto the main stage with me! How do you prepare for live shows and what do you most like about playing live? I like to relax and stay calm, not exert any energy and just chill out with the supportive people I have around me. I come from a DJ’ing background so the fact that I get to trigger sound and be busy on stage is really fun.  Please tell us about upcoming releases: I have another single coming out later on this year called ‘Back To Life’ featuring Emma Whines. The record has a distinct energy to it which I love. I’m so so excited to share it with everyone!  Will you be touring any time soon? If so, where and when? I am! I’ll be doing my biggest headline show to date later on in the year. Plus I’ll be performing at For The Love and Beyond the Valley. There’s a few more but I’m unsure if I can say anything right now, keep an eye on my socials! What inspires you to write and perform music? I have so so much to say and express in this life. I feel like I’m this ball of love that sometimes gets misinterpreted because I’m deeply passionate about inspiring others (I just got a little bit emotional writing that haha). So I guess it’s the inspiration comes from wanting to send out ripples of my soul into the universe to help inspire human emotion. If I can inspire one person then I’ve left the world in a better place.  Triple J's Richard Kingsmill + Linda Marigliano have been giving you a good spin lately, what has the effect of this been on you and your music? It’s amazing, besides fist-pumping in my studio by myself it’s an incredible motivator and indicator that what I’m doing is being recognised by presenters who I have listened to for years. This encouragement allows me to delve deeper into my craft and continue to evolve and innovate.  Stay is doing well on Spotify with over 40k streams and playlist adds from New Music Friday AU&NZ (298k followers), House Party (250k followers), Top Shelf Electronic (109k followers), New Dance Beats (88k followers), Indie Arrivals (57k followers) how do you feel about all amazing attention that your music is getting? It’s so surreal, never in a million years did I think it would get received so well, I’m so grateful. It’s kind of funny though, I always have this moment of reflection after a release where I get so overwhelmed that this is my life, I’m just a dude creating music in a spare bedroom at home in Melbourne and somehow I’ve been given an incredible opportunity to share it with the world. What are you listening to at the moment? My playlist selection is all over the shop at the moment. My top 3 tracks right now are -  Claptone - Stronger  SAFIA - Ivory Lullaby  Hmmm what else, oh and I’m loving that Ed Sheeran single ‘Antisocial’ with Travis Scott. When I listen in my car I put the volume on 40 (max) and drive around like I’m in a Grand Theft Auto simulation.  What do you like to do away from music? I’m deeply invested in personal development, I love spending spare time watching educational videos, learning new left of field concepts and developing skills and values that I can bring into my music and life.  What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? I’m going into laser focus mode as of now. I start filming new visual content for the next single while preparing my live show and working on new music for 2020. I’m also just taking life as it comes a bit, I’m learning to enjoy the process a lot more as of late, who knows where I’ll be in 6-12 months Any secrets that you care to share? I always close my cutlery draw with a pelvic thrust  Favourite food and place to go out? I love Asian Tapas. My favourite place to eat is Rice, Paper Scissors in Fitzroy, I highly recommend! https://www.facebook.com/londontopazmusic/ https://www.instagram.com/londontopaz_/  https://twitter.com/ldntpz?lang=en

London Topaz

How did Swervedriver form? ADAM: Swervedriver formed out of the demise of another band Shake Appeal. We became bored with what we were doing and decided to do something else. I wrote some new songs and bass player Adi lived in the same house, heard these new songs and said “we should get the band back together but with you singing these songs”. I wasn’t really sure about singing but I had been thinking about getting a new band together so the idea of continuing working with these guys who were like brothers - and one actually was my brother - was a no-brainer. How did you first start playing music? ADAM: I owned a little acoustic guitar when I was about five or six but didn’t really start playing until maybe thirteen. At first the guitar was just a tool for writing songs and I didn’t have it tuned to a recognised tuning, instead I had the bottom two strings tuned low so that I could record ‘bass lines’ with it and the top four I made chords out of. When I say ‘record’ this was just with two portable tape machines where I would overdub very crudely. Despite your inclusion in the “shoegazing” genre, you sounded very different to the majority of the other bands (who also sounded quite different to one another) - was it a hinderance or a help to be lumped into this genre ? ADAM: It was irritating at first because it was a diss but now it’s a hip thing all around the globe, it’s turned out great. There were all sorts of indie rock genres springing up in the music weeklies of the time in order to try and sell the papers. ‘Grebo’ was a term for the psychy punk bands coming out at the time or there was ‘lurch’ which was London’s grunge before grunge really. I feel we could quite easily have been ‘co-opted’ into either of these scenes but we had this more melodic thing happening and the trippier guitar sounds and everything so when we got signed to Creation we got lumped into the ’shoegaze' category instead - so many thanks to whoever chose to do that!  What are your memories of that early 90s scene? ADAM: It seemed a very creative time - a lot of bands running around town playing gigs and putting out debut EPs. It was fun seeing bands when they started out, playing small rooms like the Falcon pub in Camden before they had any records released. We once saw The Flaming Lips play at that place and there were about ten of us in the room, all from bands including all of Swervedriver. Tell us your favourite story about a night out at Syndrome club? ADAM: This is really dumb but has come to mind. A UK music journalist - who now lives in Australia - was writing a weekly gossip column in one of the papers which involved going to all the drinking spots around London and basically writing a load of old crap and one week he showed up at Syndrome with a band but was refused entry. When he wasn’t let in the next week or the one after that he started asking why because he couldn’t write his gossip column properly without access. Eventually someone tells him “oh you know the guy that runs Syndrome also manages Swervedriver right? Didn’t you write a scathing live review of them the other week?” In the end our manager jokingly agreed to let him back in but only if he called him to apologise for the review - which, ridiculously, he then apparently did. That probably illustrates that scene as well as anything else - it could all be a bit like high school sometimes.  You toured with Soundgarden back in the 90’s, can you share a story about the late Chris Cornell from this tour? ADAM: I once played drums live for Soundgarden at the Trocadero in Philadelphia and I’m not sure Chris Cornell ever knew. There was a song he would play solo acoustic and the rest of the band would come off stage before Matt Cameron the drummer went back up to play a drum fill right at the end to close out the song. One night I was hanging around side of stage and I joked to Matt that even I could play that drum fill because I’d seen them play it so many times by this point. Matt said “do it!” and they all pushed me out onto the drum riser. I played the part, Cornell never turned around and I quickly exited stage left. JIM: I taught him the English term for the toilet - “the bog”. The band will be touring Australia in September of 2019, what can we expect from these shows? JIM: A bunch of new numbers and a few regulars. A few new guitar effects pedals to be spotted on the floor no doubt! It should be everything a Swervy fan will have come to expect. We love Australia and the vibe is always positive when we’re there. How do you prepare for each live show? JIM: There’s usually a lot of laughs to be had, and a few drinks. Sometimes we eat together, sometimes apart, sometimes we don’t eat anything at all or not until after the show. Sometimes members are fast asleep right up to stage time, sometimes members are nowhere to be seen. It’s fair to say we have no set pre-show approach or rituals. What do you find most rewarding and also challenging when on tour? JIM: Exploring. We visited the Andy Warhol museum in Pittsburgh earlier this year and took a cab to Pearl Harbour when we played Hawaii – it cost him a fortune to get back to the hotel. Challenges: It’s easier to keep in touch with everyone at home these days obviously with smartphones and so on but those big time zone shifts can create really deep communication issues after a while, beyond the obvious simple time of day differences.  The band released its latest album Future Ruins earlier this year, what influenced the sound and songwriting? ADAM: Lyrically there's a lot about the human condition in the modern electronic world I suppose, digital relationships and being alone in a cyber crowd and how much simpler it could be without it all. It's fair to say there's a modicum of despair at how it can all make your head explode! Musically it all comes from lovely places though. How did you go about writing the music? ADAM: Cherry picking, mixing it all up. Every song isn’t written on a guitar, some songs are even imagined first I would say. You might write something and already have an idea of how it could sound and which instruments to put on it. What programs/equipment did you use to write and record? ADAM: Digitally but all the sounds went through analogue processes also of course. One day in the future people will crave the retro chic of cracked screens on their iPhones I'm sure. Reels of tape are so expensive and hard to get these days it's like writing a novel with a quill.  Where and when did you record and who with? ADAM: We recorded at MAKE Records studio in LA and Seaside Studios in Brighton, England with TJ Doherty engineering. Neither of these spaces exist as a studio any more - they've already moved on Both places had great outboard gear and amps as well as guitars except the owner of the studio in LA is left-handed and so he had all these beautiful guitars which you had to be a southpaw to play properly. How has the bands sound changed over the last 30 odd years?   JIM: Not much! It’s still the sound of a two guitar, four-piece. Sometimes just one guitar riff and sometimes two playing against - or with - each other. Has the process of writing music and recording changed since the early days? JIM: It’s pretty much done on laptops these days: if you want to keep it simple, do it on a laptop, if you want it way more complex, do it on a laptop. Who are you listening to at the moment? JIM: Today I was listening to Billie Eilish, Thom Yorke, The Beatles and the new Africa Express album. And I only just recently discovered the fantastic live Led Zep album “How the West Was Won”. ADAM: The Focus Group and Cavern of Anti-Matter lately spring to mind. What do you like to do away from music? JIM: Pretty keen on gardening in the summer months – very rewarding stuff. Cinema trip once a week. Eating al-fresco is a highlight right now in the British summertime and I just discovered an amazing Mexican restaurant (best I’ve been to) is just down the street from me. World politics: it’s hard to not take a heavy interest these days. What's planned for the remainder of 2019? ADAM: Band-wise we have live shows in Japan, Taiwan, US and UK coming up, as well as Australia of course. Any secrets that you care to share? ADAM: Jimmy only has one leg. That’s why you never see him in shorts. Favourite food and place to hangout in Australia? ADAM: Had an amazing meal at the Jasmin Indian Restaurant in Adelaide once. I think the Aussie cricket team were in that night. Of course we're not playing Adelaide this time as many people have pointed out to me. I always push for it, for the Indian food as much as anything - official word this time was "Adelaide is really tough at the moment". So there you go - don't shoot the messenger!

Swervedriver

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We are kind of spread out at the moment, but we have been spending some time in LA and that place is humming! It blew our minds how many musicians or producers you would bump into on the street.  How did you first start playing music? We all got into it differentl. Leon was really into electronic music while he also studied piano when he was younger, Phil did the singer-songwriter gig around pubs in the South West of WA, Liam studied classical music as a kid and then progressed to the drums. It’s a good fit because we can all bring different things to the table. What's been happening recently? We just played our first round of American festivals and the scene over there is truly something! We went from the enormity of a festival like Bonnaroo with 90,000 attendees, to quirky, little festivals like Electric Forest. They were all awesome and proved that the States has a pretty strong festival game, even compared to Australia! Who are you listening to at the moment? Channel Tres. Dope. Who or what influences your sound and songwriting? We get influences from all over. There might be a cool little lick or fill in one track that we incorporate with a groove from another genre and then play around with that. We do try and stay away from listening too closely to what other people are doing otherwise you might start to forget your own direction. You're playing Grapevine Gathering this November, what do you have in store for these run of shows? We have a really energetic live show. We like to start off slow and end with a big dance! How do you prepare for each live show? We get together a few days before the show and make sure we have the set down and make any adjustments we need. Then it’s a few push-ups, a little suckle of Jameson and a good little pre-show warmup speech before we hit the stage. Why did you decide to play Grapevine Gathering and what are you most looking forward to? Because who wouldn’t want to play a festival in the middle of a winery?! Also, really looking forward to seeing Touch Sensitive and Flight Facilities. What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019? Can’t say yet, but we will play a few more shows around the country! Any secrets that you care to share? After a big rinse, we always get a Pho the next day to wash away our sins. Favourite food and place to hangout? South Dowling Sandwiches. Saturday 23rd November - Grapevine Estate, VIC Saturday 30th November - Roche Estate, NSW Sunday 1st December - Sandalford, WA https://www.facebook.com/CrookedColours/ https://www.facebook.com/grapevinegathering/ https://www.grapevinegathering.com.au

Crooked Colours With Liam

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?  For the past 6 years I've been based in Alice Springs, which is known in Arrernte as Mparntwe. The Arrernte people are the traditional custodians of Mparntwe.  Mparntwe/Alice Springs is a unique place that attracts diverse, interesting people which is reflected in its vibrant music scene. There are supportive 'everyone have a go' open mic nights, andbig festivals like 'Wide Open Space' and metal festival 'Blacken'. There is experimental electronic music, bush bands from Aboriginal communities singing in language, an African women's choir, DIY bush doofs…I could go on… How did you first start playing music? My parents got me into guitar lessons at primary school when I was about 10 years old. It was peak Spice Girls/Backstreet Boys era, and I wasn't very enthusiastic but learnt the basics, before quitting in my first year of high school. In my early teens, I got into rock music and I picked up the guitar again, with the desire to learn to sing and play my favourite songs. Writing my own songs grew from there.   What's been happening recently? Right now, I'm at the end of the second day of my 2,297km solo drive from Alice Springs to Melbourne. This is the beginning of my EP Launch Tour.  Before I left I played a very heartening EP Launch show in Mparntwe/Alice Springs to a supportive home crowd.   Your self titled EP is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting? It was really important to me that each song on the EP created the right atmosphere. I wanted the listener to be able to immerse into the feeling created by the song. So this was the main influence on the sound of the EP. Sonically, I was also influenced by Angel Olsen, PJ Harvey and Melody's Echo Chamber.   How did you go about writing the music for the EP? Being my first release, the EP brings together songs that were written over a number of years. The songs on the EP reflect on the creative process - inspiration, struggle and release. From the struggle that is involved in putting your art out there. To cathartic release I've experienced when songwriting and performing.  Where and when did you record? The majority of the EP was recorded last year in Mparntwe/Alice Springs with Dave Crowe (Resin Moon) at Sing Hum studio which is based at artist-run gallery Watch This Space.   Who did you work with during the creation and recording/producing for the EP? In early 2018, I put together a band of local musicians- Rob Wards (drums), Nick Raymond (bass guitar) and Dave Crowe (synth). I recorded my own rough demos of the EP tracks and brought the demos to the band. My demos would generally have ideas for the guitar, drums, synth and bass parts. We further developed the arrangements together as a band. I worked with local producer Dave Crowe (Resin Moon) who recorded the EP in his studio. My collaboration with Melbourne producer Evelyn Ida Morris grew out of a remote artist mentorship, which began with fortnightly Skype chats, and progressed to me traveling to Melbourne in March to work with Evelyn on the mixing of the EP.  What programs/instruments did you use? On the EP I do the vocals, play electric guitar, a bit of keyboard and had fun with a reverb drenched clarinet line - having not played much clarinet since high school. The EP also features my band on drums, bass guitar and synth. It was fantastic to be able to bring in some local guest musicians who played flugelhorn, french horn, trumpet and cello.  What did you find most challenging and rewarding whilst working on this EP? It is challenging to know when to let go of your creations. At times I felt that I could go on refining and adding to the recordings and the mixes forever. There were many rewarding moments, what stands out in my mind now is listening to the final mix and master in my headphones, while walking up a hill in the bush land near by where I live, and realising it has all come together.  What are your plans for the EP? It was so exciting to release the EP out into the world, just over a week ago, and to launch it in Mparntwe/Alice Springs. It was a dream come true to be able to print the EP on vinyl. I can't wait to share it on my EP Launch Tour.    What do you like to do away from music? I love reading, taking our dog Bowie for a jog in the bush near my house, and sharing a meal and wine with friends.  Who are you listening to at the moment? Today, on day two of my solo drive from Alice Springs to Melbourne, I was listening to South Korean band JAMBINAI. It surprisingly was the perfect accompaniment to the rugged vast landscape, and particularly the stretch where the red sand dunes meet a glimmering salt lake.   Otherwise, lately I've been listening to Sharon Van Etten's deliciously dark and synth-filled new album, SASAMI, Jenny Hval and Kevin Morby.   You've got a few tour dates lined up, where are you headed and what do you have in store for these shows? I'm pumped to be playing in Brunswick, my old stomping ground, on 22 August at The Retreat Hotel supported by Hannah Potter and Numbat. Followed by a road trip to Adelaide, where I'm playing an afternoon show at the Grace Emily Hotel supported by Elli Belle on 1 September. I'm also playing Darwin Festival, a free show at the Festival Hub, on 16 August.  What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? After the EP Launch Tour, I'm planning on doing some overseas travel to recharge my batteries. And when I return, I'll focus in on songwriting and planning the next phase.  Any secrets that you care to share? The lyrics of 'Feast', the most angst filled track on the EP, were actually written on day two of a yoga and meditation retreat. Not what I would have expected to come out of that experience. But worked for me in the end I guess?! Favourite food and place to hangout? I lived in Melbourne for 6 years before moving to Alice. For me, Melbourne is synonymous with good food. However, Alice has opened me up to the joy of dinner parties, cooking and sharing food with friends. I'm avoiding the question of what is my favourite…up there would have to be the blissful combination of 'fancy' cheese and a bottle of good red wine. 

BB Sabina

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I am currently based in New York. The music scene here is as eclectic as the population which makes it such an inspiring place for any music lover. How did you first start playing music/singing? I started singing and taking singing lessons when I was twelve.  What's been happening recently? I just released my first track which is something I always wanted to do but waited forever to do. I'm now taking in the fact that my music is finally out there and that "I did it!'. It really feels like I'm willingly stepping into unknown territories and becoming more of myself through music.  I'm also working on new tracks and Dj'ing.  Your new single 'Desire' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting? The sound of "Desire" was inspired by African sounds with a bit of 80's pop. I feel like we live in a world where it can be so easy to forget who we are and let the world around us take us for granted. So I wanted to write a song about the acceptance of my own greatness and about the fact that our time on this Earth is precious therefore we need to give each bit of it not only to what matters the most to us, but also to people who value us. Where and when did you record/produce? The sound of Desire was initially produced and recorded in my home studio in Brooklyn.    Who did you work with during the creation of Desire? I got helped and guided by an incredible producer who goes by the name of Kuvie (currently living in Ghana) who also helped with mixing and engineering.    What do you have planned for desire? We just finished shooting the music video so I’m impatiently waiting for it to come out.    Who are you listening to at the moment? I'm listening to Banks, like a lot! Also Burna Boy's new album, African Giant.  What do you like to do away from music? I just love to create. I have another love and its Fashion, I began a brand called Madame Baloge a few years ago. It focuses on Jewellery and accessories. I also like to spend quality time with good friends. How do you prepare for live performances and what do you most enjoy about performing? I usually need some time with myself in a calm environment so I can prepare myself mentally and what I enjoy the most is sharing my energy and music with others. That's when I feel the most alive.   What do you have planned for the rest of 2019 going into 2020? I have new music I'm working on so I definitely want to release more tracks before the end of the year and DJ more. Any secrets that you care to share? Haha,  it would not be a secret if I shared it ;) Favourite food and place to hangout? Favourite food? Ghanaian jollof rice and favourite place to hang out is by the beach at night! Kind Regards Remina Nair Digital and Print PR Account Manager (by day, gig goer by night) - Ten Letter PR 

Patricia Baloge

Miss Elm x The Partae Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I'm based in Brisbane. I think it's a great scene! There are so many fun mini and bigger festivals (like Bigsound and Valley Fiesta to name a few) to be part of and there's a really healthy emerging artist scene in the folk/acoustic/singer songwriter realm. How did you first start playing music and especially the Ukulele? I started very young as my father was a jazz musician and was taught classical violin since I was 7. I found the Ukulele when I was bored at a music store and just fell in love with it's diversity and simplicity (simple being the fact you can play so many chords with 1 or 2 fingers, diverse being the size and type of Ukuleles available) What's been happening recently? I just released my new single, and have been developing my new sound as a solo artist. I've been incorporating live looping as well as a blend of different Ukulele sounds. Your new single 'Clean Slate is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? I first wrote the song as part of an online community called "I Heart Songwriting Club", where the theme was clean slate and renewal. At the time I'd just left a relationship, and a job, and moved house... so it was very appropriate and the words just fell right out of me within an hour. As far as sound influence; I've been enjoying artists like Billy Eilish and Vera Blue. I love the diversity and simplicity in their music (same as Ukuleles...) I wanted to blend acoustic with electronic sounds like sampled drums etc. How did you go about writing Clean Slate? I plugged my Baritone Ukulele into my new amp, wacked on a whole lot of reverb to set the mood... and sang into the microphone with my phone on record. I think the song wrote through me... it felt like a higher power or something. What is the Meaning behind Clean Slate? Rebirth. Restarting when it seems too late. The truth is... it's never to late to begin again. I had to face a lot of truths at the time of writing, and it was my way of detoxing. Please tell us about the creative process involved with Clean Slate? I would say it was a smooth process... it was a matter of being mindful and non judgemental and letting whatever words and chords come through me without second guessing them or trying to control them too much. Where and when did you record? I recorded the song earlier this year in April at my friend Shaun O'Brien's apartment. He's an amazing producer (check him out). What programs/instruments were used? We used Logic, my Baritone Ukulele, a bit of electric guitar, LOADS of layered vocals and plug ins to create a fun poppy sound. Who did you work with during the creation, recording and production? When I was first writing it.. it was a solo project but I enjoyed getting a 2nd opinion with Shaun regarding production and recording. What did you learn through the process of creating Clean Slate? I learnt the beauty of creating something with full acceptance of whatever came out at the end of the tunnel. Who are you listening to at the moment? Aurora, Billy Eilish, Kim Churchill and a mixture of artists from the 60s, 90s and 00's What do you like to do away from music? I love to spend time in nature, and have recently got into tap dancing! Tell us more about your passion playing Ukulele: Ukulele is like a lifeline to me. It brings me so much joy and you can really find a way to play anything on Ukulele. I've played everything from ACDC to Chopsticks... it's potential is unlimited! How did you first begin to teach Ukulele and what do you most enjoy about teaching? I first began as a side income to continue working in music... but it quickly grew into an obsession. The most rewarding thing is gifting people the chance to play something they never thought they could (particularly adults who might have missed the chance to play music as a child), and seeing the ripple effect of joy. Just today I had a student sing beautifully (for the first time in front of someone) and play the Ukulele after telling me she never believed she'd be able to create music for herself. She had spent so much time helping her son learn an instrument that she had no time for herself. She is now one of my best students and absolutely lights up when she plays..it's magic. Please tell us about the Ukulele workshops that you run: I run workshops for all different kinds of groups and ages. I have worked with sporting teams, children, aromatherapy and adult ukulele classes. I'm always on the lookout for new collaborations with Ukulele and Mindfulness, and now also run a group community class once a week for all levels. You're also making Ebooks, please tell us how this came about, what's involved and what is within the Ebooks: I make Ebooks to help people learn the Ukulele (my side project is called Elmukulele..Google it..) I make ebooks on everything from chord charts to fingerpicking. I enjoy creating things for people that might not have musical backgrounds to understand and get started on the Ukulele when I can't physically teach them. I also do Youtube Tutorials. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? I have a music video coming out soon for Clean Slate which I'm excited to share (there's some beautiful animations involved). I'm also looking forward to more live shows and recording as I'm writing a new song a week and can't wait to get back into the studio. Any secrets that you care to share? In January I went on a tangent and half booked a trip to work at a Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica.... but once I wrote Clean Slate I decided to spend the money on the single instead... I think it was a good decision (you be the judge?) Favourite food and place to hangout? Food; Stir Fry, Place: The Botanical Gardens

Miss Elm

ARNO FARAJI

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Melbourne. I think it’s pretty notorious for its diversity. It’s a thriving scene and Victoria has great initiatives that support live music and the arts. How did you first start playing music? My parents bought me a Casio when I was, like, 5 and I started writing them songs. What's been happening recently? I’m just wrapping up a mammoth national headline tour off the back of a national tour with Peking Duk. I’m looking forward to finishing up my debut album and reading books in sunny locations. Who are you listening to at the moment? Tyler, Kaiit, Katy Perry, Kllo, Thelma Plum, PNAU and I’m smashing Silverchair’s Diorama on a daily basis atm Who or what influences you sound and songwriting? I’ve always been inspired by strong, iconic lead females like Cher, Grace Jones, Madonna, Celine, Aretha, Nina, Rihanna, Janet, etc. In terms of writing, I am really enjoying just making myself laugh. I’m a sucker for a pun or a dirty joke. You're playing Grapevine Gathering this November, what do you have in store for these run of shows? I have some new tunes of the upcoming record that I’m road testing.  I’m most excited about that. How do you prepare for each live show? These days I like to spend as much time alone as I can, blast my humidifier and do a long warm up and just relax. Right before we go on, my band and I do a shot of vodka and bounce around to strong tune before coming out. It’s usually Pnau’s Save Disco. Why did you decide to play Grapevine Gathering and what are you most looking forward to? They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I love wine ... so I guess the wine? I’m sure the whole thing will be great. What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019? I’m mainly going to focus on my album. Any secrets that you care to share? Not really Favourite food and place to hangout? Los Hermanos in Melbourne do a mean taco and Good Times is lit. http://www.kirapuru.com/ https://www.facebook.com/kirapuru/ https://www.instagram.com/kirapuru/

KIRA PURU

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I’m currently based in Mollymook NSW, there isn’t really a huge music scene there, but it connects up to Wollongong and the amazing community of festivals and concerts in that area.  How did you first start playing music? When I was 4 I started learning the violin, then piano, then wrote my first song at 9 or so about a farm being developed into blocks of land.    What have you been up to lately? Swimming, working, writing, working on the next chapter of Jack River.  Who are you listening to at the moment? Tame Impala.  Who or what influences you sound and songwriting? Honestly, everything, but: my heart influences songwriting, and how I feel about the world influences the production and sound I wanna make.    You're playing Grapevine Gathering this November, what do you have in store for these run of shows? We will very likely have some brand new music to give audiences, along with a list of the best songs from Sugar Mountain. The sounds I’m making are changing, I’m excited to see how they play out live.  How do you prepare for each live show? Preparation for shows involves a couple of days of rehearsal with the band and production team, thought and planning on styling and imagery, preparing physically (running, chilling, swimming), and then travelling to the show and staying healthy along the way. Being a singer means your body is the instrument, so I stay pretty aware of that and don’t drink alcohol for a week or two in preparation for shows too!  What makes these run of shows to special? Playing outside in places outside of the city is very special.  When you're not playing music what do you like to do? I work fulltime on my music business, and direct two music festivals (Grow Your Own & Electric Lady). Along with these things, I love to write, surf, swim, read the paper on a Saturday and keep up to date with the planet haha.  What do you have planned for the remainder of 2019? Working on my next release and festivals, hanging out with my new pup and learning more! Any secrets that you ? Hmm, a music related secret is that I am extremely excited to share a whole new chapter and realm of music/vision with my audience.    Favourite food and place to hangout? Raspberries are my favourite thing at the moment haha, and home, by the sea, is my favourite place to hang out ; ) https://www.jackrivermusic.com https://www.facebook.com/jackrivermusic/ https://www.instagram.com/jack_river/

Jack River

What is your name and role within AM RERUNS?   Andy Campbell - guitar player, frontperson, singer, writer. Mostly guitar player. Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We're from Melbourne and based here. There are a lot of little music scenes here for different types of music, and to a degree they're starting to converge which is really exciting. You can see diverse bills here the likes of which just wouldn't have happened four to five years' ago. I'm very proud to be from a city that so actively pushes for diversity and inclusion. And I genuinely think some of the best music in the world right now is being made here.  How did you first start playing music? I saw this long odd shaped thing with strings on it, and thought, "I can do that." It was really like that. I was mesmerised by guitars as a kid. When my older brother got one it was immediately the most important thing in the house to me. And then one day, I took it to school and that was it. It was mine and he never got it back! How did AM RERUNS form? Hmm… well, I just called up Dan our bass player and Pam (our first drummer) and we got together. None of us were sleeping on Venice beach, sorry to say! We knew each other from Box Rockets gigs at The Great Britain Hotel (RIP). Shauna and I started chatting on Instagram about WIRE. And then we hung out and I asked her to play some shows with us.  What's been happening recently? We'll I've been listening obsessively to The Only Ones. I've been trying to find the clothes that Peter Perrett wore in 1979. I've been writing some new riffs. And in the past month our gigs have been the best we've played.  Your self-titled album with be released on the 9th of August, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this album? A few things… The Replacements, a bit of Berlin by Lou Reed, and my favourite classic new-wave and rock'n'roll. So, The Everly Brothers, Johnny Marr, Magazine, Patti Smith Group, Iggy and The Stooges, Blondie, The Plimsouls. The words are about… adolescence, people I've lost in my life, and various ways of describing panic attacks and ways to disappear. Then again some of them are a big joke. "Looking For A Victim" is largely a list of absurd fears propagated by News Corp/the Department of Homes Affairs. "Formal Night" is an Everlys pastiche about going to the school formal on your own. How did you go about writing the album? I lived alone when I started writing the music. Flunking uni, watching B grade horror films on SBS On Demand and wearing my guitar 12 hours a day. This was probably my first decent 'batch' of songs, so to speak. I had to figure out how to write songs… there was a lot of trial and error. I wrote all the music first, and did the vocals and lyrics at the end. Most of it was written over an eight-month period. I learned not to get attached to any one riff or song. You're always better off writing another one before you get too attached to your latest one. And with that detachment your work will be better. Once the band was formed we arranged all the music together, Dan wrote some outrageous bass lines and started singing harmony. Pam's drum parts are very unique, maybe on the slicker side of post-punk. Her playing is not unlike Dennis Davis' playing on Bowie's LP "Low." And that's not excessive praise at all. What programs/equipment did you use? I used a Japanese Fender Jaguar for the whole record, plus my white Strat and a custom made T-Guitar. The Jaguar belonged to our recording engineer Robert Muinos and he's sold it since. So it's out there somewhere. I did the vocals in my partner's house, and made a pop filter from black stockings, a coat hanger, a rubber band and a toilet roll. There's a pic of it on Instagram. Where and when did you record/produce/master? We recorded the album in The Curtin Hotel in Carlton. I put some more guitars on in Robert's home studio, and then Dan and I did most of the vocals in my partner's house. Robert mixed the album and it was mastered by John Davis at Metropolis Studios London. The album is a mixture of super high-end and DIY technology. Who did you work with during the creation of the album? Robert Muinos, as stated; Rhea Caldwell from Baby Blue also does some backing vocals on a track, as does Siobhan McGinnity from MAGNETS. Carl Breitkreuz did the LP sleeve. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the production process? The singing. And writing the lyrics. I enjoy singing and writing words, but this is the first band where I've taken those duties on. I did lots and lots and lots of vocal takes. I basically learned to sing as we recorded. That's why it took a good 12 months to finish the album! What do you have planned for the album? It'll be out on all the digital stores/streaming services on Friday 9 August. There's a vinyl LP release planned which should be in stores in early September. You'll be playing shows in August and September across Australia to support the album, what do you have planned for these shows? Let's see… we are a loud rock'n'roll band. It will be our usual, x 10. There will be lot of attitude, style and volume, and 10 banging new-wave songs. Our supports are absolutely excellent, and you'll be able to buy our vinyl LP! How did you prepare for live shows? I must have done 300, and to be honest I still don't know. I do my hair, I dress sharp. In small pubs you don't necessarily get "alone-time," so I just try to go with the flow of whatever's happening. Matching the vibe of your surrounds is important. At a festival I play my guitar for about 30 mins before a show. I usually play "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others", "Gimme Danger", or the "The Last Time." I think about what I love so much about rock'n'roll. What do you like to do away from music? Not a lot to be honest. But I read the classics - I'm reading Percy Byshe Shelley and Susan Sontag right now - and I write comment pieces and occasionally send them to magazines. I drink a lot of coffee and hang out with my partner and our cat. Who are you listening to at the moment? The Only Ones! "Even Serpents Shine." Also "Moving Parts" by Pinch Points. The Best Of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. What's planned for the remainder of 2019 going into 2020? After our tour, there will be more shows to see out the year, and we'll carrying on writing the second album. We've already got 5 songs. We'll probably begin early next year with a new single. Any secrets that you care to share? Yes, and they're secreted deep within the songs on "AM Reruns." Favourite food and place to hangout? Donuts of all kinds. Hangouts are Rocksteady Records and Nighthawks. TOUR DATES: Friday 9th August 2019 - The Last Chance, Melbourne Wednesday 11th September 2019 - Valve Bar, Sydney  Thursday 12th September 2019 - Sideway, Canberra  Friday 20th September 2019 - The Eastern, Ballarat  Saturday 21 September 2019 - Nighthawks, Melbourne https://www.facebook.com/amreruns/

AM Reruns

What is your name and role within the band? John Barrett, principal songwriter/guitar/vox. Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? NYC. It’s really good right now, there are a bunch of bands like Surfbort and Dirty Fences that are really smoking it at the moment. How did Bass Drum Of Death form? In my room in Mississippi like 11 years ago. I started recording by myself and it just kinda went from there. How did you first start playing music? My parents got me an electric guitar for christmas one year; I had been fooling around with guitar for a minute before that, but getting an electric guitar really ramped it up. How has the music and dynamic changed since the early beginnings? The production/sound quality has gotten a little bit cleaner, but I always try to keep the same energy songwriting-wise that I’ve had since the beginning. What's been happening recently? We just finished up a big fall/spring touring cycle, which included 2 US tours and 2 EU tours. Your album Just Business was released late last year, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this album? I tried a few things that were kinda out of left field compared to my past stuff (“heavy”), and we put a lot of time into crafting the production to be as interesting as possible, with backing vocals/percussion etc. How did you go about writing the music? I had written a bunch of the record kinda gradually over the previous 2 years, but we did a couple in the studio on the spot. What programs/instruments did you use? We had a pretty simple setup.  i only used one guitar i believe, and we did it in a studio to pro tools. How has the album been received by your fans? It’s been great!  it was nice to try a few new things and have people dig it. Who are you listening to at the moment? Faux Ferocious, Strand of Oaks, Young Dolph. What do you like to do away from music? Play golf. You last toured Australia in 2015 with DZ Deathrays and Hockey Dad to raving reviews, you'll be hitting Australia again in October 2019, what do you have in store for these shows? Well I think we have 2 more albums of material since we were last there, so it’ll be good to rip some of the newer stuff for people that haven’t seen it live yet. What are you most looking forward to? VB tinnies. How do you prepare for each show? 2 beers and a shot of tequila. Any shows that you're most looking forward to playing? If so, why? Farmer and the Owl fest will be fun, we played it in 2015 and it was amazing! What's planned for the remainder of 2019? Working on a new record, and continuing to tour after that’s wrapped up. Favourite food and place to hangout in Australia? Meat pies, the Brightside in Brisbane. TOUR DATES: Thursday 3rd October 2019 - The Curtin, Melbourne Friday 4th October 2019 - The Lansdowne, Sydney Saturday 5th October 2019 - Yours & Owls Festival, Wollongong Sunday 6th October 2019 - Crowbar, Brisbane

John Barrett of Bass Drum Of Death

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