Divisions  – ‘Witching Hours’ (mp3)

I don’t think I could come back from Brisbane and not blog about some Brisbane bands.  I managed to catch a couple of shows while I was up there – This Collison, .hinge (awesome as always) and De Ja Dan Dah (not the reggae band I was expecting) at The Globe in Fortitude Valley on a Friday night, then the next day I headed to the Turbot Street Party (which was obscenely loud) to catch Nina May tear through a great set.

Another band that played at the Turbot Street Party that I didn’t manage to catch because they were on too early in the day and I was holed up in a window-less recording studio was Divisions.

My main issue with this band is that there’s a blatant Muse influence, right down to the bass-driven verses, distorted vocals in parts and epic guitar lines… but that’s not to say these songs are bad.  If this Brissy three-piece found their own sound I reckon we’d be in for a treat.  Tonnes of potential for these kids, so keep an ear out.  I’ll be sure not to miss them next time I’m in the sunshine state.

And speaking of Brisbane music, the Courier Mail (that’s a Brisbane newspaper for you out of town folk) have an excellent blog set up called BrizBands – check it out at http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail/brizbands/index.php.

http://www.myspace.com/divisionsmusic

Karnivool – ‘The Only Way’ (Gotye cover)

Hey folks, I’m back!  Yep, I spent two weeks in Brisbane enjoying the warmth and sunshine (because I don’t think it’s rained there since the Jurassic period) but now I’m back, and I’ve got a lot of blogging to catch up on.

A fave of this blog, Gotye, is currently travelling around Australia on a massive sold-out tour; his first tour since the release of his breakthrough album Like Drawing Blood.  To coincide with the tour, Gotye’s just unveiled Mixed Blood, an extremely diverse remix/covers album with a myriad of artists re-arranging songs off Like Drawing Blood and Gotye’s debut Boardface, or just performing a completely new version of them. 

While it’s hit and miss, there are a number of gems on the disc which I’ll probably blog about in the coming weeks, but I thought I’d start at one of the more left-field collaborations on Mixed Blood – WA’s masters of the heavy, Karnivool, doing their version of ‘The Only Way’, which is found on Like Drawing Blood.

In the context of the album, it’s definitely the odd track out – there’s no other versions that sound like a metal song!  It’s a fairly straight-up rendition of the original, expect it packs much more of a punch with a massive two-guitar attack and Ian Kenny’s soaring vocals.  And you’d swear this was actually a Karnivool song – now that’s the marker of a good cover.

Who ever thought you could mosh to Gotye?

http://www.myspace.com/karnivool
http://www.myspace.com/gotye

A fanmade clip for the very popular Ice Cream song. An official one will be made soon. Muscles is playing at Splendour in the Grass this weekend.

They’re back!

www.myspace.com/thebrunettes

Bagraiders – ‘Fun Punch’

Almost a subset of Bang Gang, Chris and Gus of Bagraiders are popular remixers around the clubbing scene who made some waves with The Valentinos Kafka remix. This track is I believe the lead single from their upcoming EP.

www.myspace.com/bagraiders

Batrider – ‘Legs’

New Australian growlers with NZ roots, Batrider announce their local album debut with a double-sided single. Legs sets the trickle drip of one guitar against the skulking threat of another, while singer Sarah Chadwick mutters and threatens her way over the top. Pink Guitars takes a different route, with a humming, lo-fi rhythm section and a gentle pop melody that moves away from the art rock threat of their reputation. Both tracks are clever and beguiling, promising big small things for this unique indie outfit.

www.myspace.com/batrider

Bang Gang – LSD Minimix

One night whilst hanging out in Kings Cross’s watering hole World Bar I bumped into an old housemate Rashida who told me she was on her way to the Bang Gang party (not the Icelandic band) up in the Moulin Rouge, just around the corner from where I was. The venue was an old strip joint turned nightclub and access inside was strictly for the overly fashionable so I didn’t go that night. I did however get a ticket for a show for the very popular (back then) Mylo who was riding high on his Destroy Rock n Roll album was in the country to tour said album doing DJ gigs. He was quite ordinary as a record spinner, but I clearly remembered the vibe of the night, of what became the beginnings of the electro movement in Australia’s clubbing scene.

It was a good year or two before I went out to another Bang Gang night, this time at the venereal Club 77 on William St. This time the scene has fully exploded, punters were decked out in very expensive Tsubi (now Ksubi) jeans and apparel, hell bent on getting wasted on whatever rainbow mix was available at 78 that night. The Bang Gang DJ collective was now familiar names in raves, clubs and festivals around the country. Led by Ajax, the night also made names out of the younger djs Jaime Doom, Gus Da Hoodrat, DJ Damage and Dangerous Dan, also known as Dan Single, founder of the Tsubi label. When Ajax won some DJ of the year awards last year, he said in an interview that in the beginning only he was making a living as a professional DJ, but now all these guys are in the same category. The night and the culture turned these partyheads into a significant player in the dance music scene in Australia.

Many might scoff at the suggestion of calling Bang Gang DJs musicians, some still think DJs are like cover bands, they’re just replaying someone else’s art. I used to think the same way but the more I go to these nights the more I realized that for a lot of the punters, these are the only chance they get to hear new music, a lot of them original Australian productions. Kind of like how music videos are the only chance many young people get to see abstract art, clubs are very often the only place where they get to hear music very often not available on commercial radio playlists or even on CDs. The music that gets played here are also the ones that gets noticed in parallel scenes overseas in the Europe and America. Regardless of intent, Bang Gang and their fellow electro artists in the scene are getting heard on dance floors of clubs to thousands overseas.

Of course the natural step for Bang Gang, just like UK’s Ministry of Sound, is to start a label and put out dance compilations. So now they are releasing the Light Sound Dance double disc out through Modular. This ten minute minimix is a sample of what headspin you can expect from this release when played in the right party. Rainbows optional.

http://www.myspace.com/thebanggang