Jamie Lloyd – ‘Michael’

Another Future Classic release; another fantastic, diverse record; another Sydney artist!  The profile of Jamie Lloyd has been growing steadily ever greater over the past 18 months since releasing his debut 12″ single ‘Adoris Kitchen’ which became somewhat of a favourite with DJs around the place.  Late 2006 then saw the release of Jamie’s first full length LP Trouble Within, which demonstrates Jamie’s wide musical influences. 

Jamie actually began his musical career singing (and later dabbling in guitar) in the more progressive rock band Element.  Australian TV junkies may remember a violin-weidling house member called Mirabai Peart in the second series of Big Brother Australia which aired in 2002.  Well she was a one-time member of Element. though once she departed from the group they became far more progressive and, in my opinion, a lot better. 

Like I mentioned before, Trouble Within really covers a lot of electronic musical ground, ranging from the more ambient/lounge sounds to trip hop, dance and even glitch.  It’s this earnestness to incorporate a wide variety of instruments and sounds that seems to be setting Jamie aside from the crowded pack of electronic artists.  His unique approach to composition also means that the end product is qutie different to what’s out there at the moment.

The track I’ve chosen from the album is ‘Michael’, which happens to be written about a friend of mine and Jerry’s, Michael Noel, who sadly passed away from cancer a few years ago.  Vocals on the track were contributed by Rachel Pike, singer of the now-defunct Sydney group Endusk, which Michael was a part of, and a band who often shared the stage with Jamie’s former group.  But to get a clearer overview of Trouble Within, I implore you to check out Jamie’s MySpace page to hear more tunes for this great record.

http://www.myspace.com/jamielloyd7

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Kidzen – ‘Um, Ah!’

I think the best description of the music of Kidzen I’ve read is “future jazz”, because it encapsulates the musical sensibility of the project so succinctly.  It’s steeped in jazz sounds and themes, but structurally it’s re-imagined, re-invented and re-thought to form a new jazz mold; one that is unafraid of embracing electronica, progressive and freeform ideas.

Kidzen’s self-titled debut album was one of the most diverse records I heard in 2006, running the gamut of musical genres: from the more jazz-based like the wickedly awesome ‘Um, Ah!’ to the more electronic/dub sounds of ‘Supersticious’.  World music rears its head on ‘Superpeople’ and tracks like ‘Burn’ (which features the unique husky voice of Inga Liljestrom) and ‘Calm’ demonstrate the band’s more electronic elements.

Kidzen is the brainchild of Sydney bass player extraordinaire Cameron Undy, who has leant his talents to bands such as Inga Liljestrom, Bugz In The Atttic, Jamie Lloyd and Numerology, as well as being a founding member of Jazzgroove, an organisation set up to benefit the Australian jazz scene.  The album also comes with a cool remix disc, with tracks from the album being given a once-over by a bunch of artists including Jamie Lloyd, Deepchild, Rephrase and Jimi Polar.  Kidzen was released by the record label Future Classic, known more for its electronica/dance releases, so kudos to the label for releasing such a challenging and leftfield record. 

It was basically impossible to pick a track that adequetly summarises the album, so I went with my favourite track off the record: opening song ‘Um, Ah!’

http://www.kidzen.com.au/
http://www.futureclassic.com.au

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Josh Pyke – ‘Lines On Palms’

Sydney troubadour Josh Pyke launches his excellent debut record Memories & Dust this week.  I’ve been lucky enough to have had a copy of the album for about a month now, and I can definitely say it’s a great album, built around Josh’s wonderfully engaging lyrics and sweet acoustic guitar melodies.  And who can forget his fantastic voice.

This is the second single off Memories & Dust, and there’s also a filmclip for ‘Lines On Palms’ on YouTube, and you can watch it here. 

I recently sat down with Josh to have a chat about all things Pyke-related for Fasterlouder, and you can read my interview with him here.

More Josh Pyke

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Mr Wednesday – ‘On The Tail Of Day One’

Hailing from Adelaide, Mr Wednesday play music that sounds like it’s eminating from a distant radio, from a time or place not of this world or universe, perhaps residing in another universe or another brane (depending if you’re a believer of String Theory).  It’s the music of old ghosts, of hazy memories; emotive, moving and haunting.

Call it what you will – post rock, perhaps, though it’s probably the least-favoured genre tag in all of music – but Mr Wednesday create ethereal pieces of music that gracefully wander along.  There’s no definitive structure, with the music lacking any remnants of verses or choruses.  The tunes are densely layered affairs, making use of soft piano melodies, reverb-soaked guitars, lush strings and what their bio aptly describes as “corroded electronics”.  You could point your finger at acts like Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mum, Radiohead and Boards of Canada as influences on their ambient movements.

Their debut album The Garden Where Parties Grow resurrects the long-lost art of the concept album.  The album is described as: “a thirteen-track album that follows a three day sequence in the life of Mr Wednesday as he comes to terms with the world according to Mr Industry. To put it simply, the title is the city. An almost uninhabitable place where social functions form the breadth of existence, work is a means to success and the art of being seen is an enviable talent”.  Self-indulgent, perhaps, but beautiful nonetheless.

http://www.mrwednesday.com.au
http://www.myspace.com/mrwednesday

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Tiptronik vs M.I.A. – ‘Uraqt’

Everyone loves a thumping bootleg mashup, and they don’t get much better, or illegal, than Tiptronik’s reworking of the M.I.A track ‘Uraqt’.  Rumour is M.I.A’s camp may be suing the Sydney duo because of this track.  So, in protest, we’re going to spread the love, exclusively on this blog!

So who are Tiptronik?  Well aside from being one of the most-hyped new acts on the Sydney electronic scene, they actually have a fairly well-known past.  Seshan Moodley makes up one half of the duo: he was a one-time member of rap/metal outfit Parkside Killers who supported Ice-T and The Beastie Boys.  The other 50% of Tiptronik is Ramesh Sathiah, who aside from being creative director at Song Zu also has a history in composition and production, having produced Grinspoon’s first EP. 

They’ve got a tonne of experience behind them, and they’re set to be the next big thing in the Sydney electro scene.  Check out their MySpace site for some more original material: you can get theirs track ‘Crash and Burn (nodoze)’ and ‘Away’ on iTunes but no doubt they’ll be an album sometime soon.  They’re also working on a track with Grinspoon vocalist Phil Jamieson too.  They’re making their liive debut in March so make sure you keep an eye and ear out for them.

http://www.myspace.com/tiptronikmusic

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My Disco – ‘Calling Cure’

My Disco are an odd band.  Amazing, but nonetheless odd.  I never thought I’d wholeheartedly enjoy a band which such monotone vocals.  But it probably helps that they’re one of the most rhythmically-addictive bands I’ve seen or heard in qutie a while.

There’s no genre you could tag this Melbourne three-piece with that would encompass their sound.  “Progressive” captures their lack of song structure, but it conjures up images of 12 minute songs a la Tool.  And even then real prog rock is bands like King Crimson and Peter Gabriel-era Genesis.  “Minimalist” is true in the sense that their simple lineup and lack of effects is minimal, but it’s by no means minimalist in the sense of ambient beat-less electronic.  “Indie” may be closer to the mark because of My Disco’s infectious groove, but then bands like Dappled Cities Fly are indie.  Maybe we’ll still to rock.  Or maybe My Disco are impossible to describe using words.

Benjamin and Liam Andrews used to play in one of my favourite Australian bands, Clann Zu.  My Disco was a side project during the time of Clann Zu, and a number of rough 7″ and CD-R recordings used to be available.  Once Clann Zu kicked the bucket, My Disco became a full time project.  They’ve toured fairly extensively around the world so there’s a lot of My Disco fans around the world.  The band released their first CD album last year, entitled Cancer, and I managed to see them support Mogwai at The Metro Theatre in Sydney last July.  There was so much bass the roof was rattling.  Amazing.

P.S. Someone called these guys “math rock”.  Way off!

http://www.mydisco.com.au
http://www.myspace.com/mdband

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The Instant – ‘Drifting Westward’

Here’s the new single of Notes & Errata, the brilliant debut album by The Instant.  Yes, who would of thought a plus 10 minute song would actually be a single! 

Though the album’s been out for a while, the band are officially launching it tonight in Sydney at Boobytrap (Melt Bar: 12 Kellett St, Kings Cross), with support from Warhorse, Pivot DJs and I’m sure there’s more, but it’s early in the morning and I’m still not functioning at full capacity.  But since I can’t go to the gig tonight, you must go instead!  Yes – you!

http://www.myspace.com/theinstantmusic

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