Jakob – ‘Oran Mor’

Though we claim to be all about “New Australian Music”, sometimes the rule wanes somewhat and we slip in the occasional band from our Trans-Tasman brethren, New Zealand.  Case in point: Jakob.

Regular visitors to this site have probably caught onto my penchant for dark, moody instrumental rock.  It’s a classification than Jakob, who originate from Napier, slot into perfectly.  Their dirge rock leanings and amorphous song structures bring to mind similar bands such as Isis and Pelican, and indeed the band are supporting Isis in Auckland on February 10.  Although what sets them aside from the aforementioned bands is that Jakob focus extensively on the atmospheric elements of their music, and their heavier sections aren’t as heavy metal based as what other similar bands are: even when the distortion pedal is switched on, Jakob still work in the realm of soundscapes and atmospheric darkness.

2006 saw the release of Solace, their third album (having released two previous albums – Subsets of Sets & Cale:Drew – since their 1998 inception).  It’s an excellent album that encapsulates all the elements of this great band.  They made it to Australia for a brief tour in November, so hopefully they’ll be back sometime soon.

http://www.myspace.com/jakobmusic

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Riot In Belgium – ‘La Musique’

Welcome to the Earth’s 2007th orbit around the sun since the birth of Jesus (or so the story goes). With it comes New Year’s Resolutions made and no doubt already broken, a chance to wipe away the woes of the previous year and the return of Who The Bloody Hell Are They! 2006 will forever be remembered as the year that brought rock kids to the dance floor and dance kids to the pubs; where popular music became a pastiche of live instrumentation and dance-infused personality, and Australian acts like The Presets, The Valentinos, Van She and teenagersintokyo – just to name a few – blurred the lines between genres even more. So it seems only fitting that we’d start with one of the more popular tracks released in the past 12 months…

It’s almost unbelievable that ‘La Musique’, one of the dance floor anthems of 2006, is only the second release from Bennie Single and Joel Dickson, collectively known as Riot In Belgium. The duo are of the highest pedigree – Bennie’s alter-ego is DJ Damage of Sydney DJ troubadours The Bang Gang, whilst Joel was a one-time member of Melbourne’s Cut Copy.

Folktore tells that the moniker was derived from the boys’ love of “waffles, dark chocolate and Technotronic”. Their debut studio collaboration resulted in ‘The Acid Never Lies’, a similarly thumping anthemic dance tune that brought Riot In Belgium to both national and international attention, garnering them many a remix job for the likes of K.I.M. (a.k.a. Kim Moyes of Presets fame) and Sneaky Sound System. On the back of the success of their debut release came ‘La Musique’, which was in every DJ’s bag of tricks during ’06. Abrasive French vocals (courtesy of Gini) are backed by a bed of electro-infused synth lines and thumping digital drums. It’s rump-shaking, fist-pumping brillance for the 2AM peaking hour.

There’s a remix by Van She (under the Van She Tech moniker) floating around dance floors as well – but this track was always ripe for the remixing. No doubt disco heads are waiting impatiently for the next offering from these superstar DJs.

http://www.myspace.com/riotinbelgium

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In the fifth and final part of Who The Bloody Hell Are They’s wrap-up, not only am I running out of summary opening paragraph ideas, but we the people of Who The Hell are bringing you Top 5’s from those in the know – the men and women who are the backbone of the music industry… in fact, they are the industry. Here’s a vast array of individuals from all sections of the music industry, giving you their expert picks on what Aussie releases rocked their worlds in 2006.

In a couple of days we’ll collate all the selections and compile them into the ultimate Top 10 Aussie Releases of 2006 post.  Definitely some interesting results…

Brent Quincy Buchanan (Warner Music Australia)
Sarah Blasko – What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
Children Collide – Glass Mountain Liars
Darren Hanlon – Fingertips and Mountaintops
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
Shane Nicholson – Faith & Science

Claire Collins (Black Yak Records)
Dappled Cities – Granddance
Snowman – Snowman
Young & Restless – Satan
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
Red Riders – Replica Replica

David Benge (Speak N Spell Music)
Dappled Cities – Granddance
Shaky Hands – Cut Off Your Hands
Die Die Die – Locust Weeks
The Instant – Notes and Erratta
Snowman – Snowman

David Sayer (Premier Artists)
Wolf and Cub – Vessels
Dukes of Windsor – self titled
Subaudible Hum – In Time For Spring,On Came The Snow
Mary Trembles – ps…situation
Sugar Army – demo

Harvey Saward (Remote Control)
Home Team
Wolf & Cub – Vessels
Snowman – Snowman
Ned Collette – Jokes and Trials
Deloris – Ten Lives
Macromantics – Moments in Movement

Away Team
No Through Road – Too Much or Not Enough
Mountains in the Sky – Accipio
The Drones – Gala Mill
Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir
Dan Kelly – Drowning in the Fountain of Youth

Hugh Waters (Streetparty)
Young and Restless
Scientists of Modern Music
British India
Little Red
Saint james

Jason Spiller (Artist manager – Rizzo & Pizzo, Toydeath)
Ground Components – A Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick
The Drones – Gala Mill
Damn Arms – Patterns
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
The Tongue – Bad Education

John Mullen (Dew Process)
The Sleepy Jackson – ‘God Lead Your Soul’
The Grates – Gravity Won’t Get You High
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
Clare Bowditch and the Feeding Set – ‘I Thought You Were God’
Expatriate – ‘Only Wanna Love Ya’

Julian Marshall (Speak N Spell Music)
Snowman – Snowman
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
The Temper Trap – The Temper Trap
My Disco – Cancer
The Sleepy Jackson – Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)

Mark Bulgin (Select Music)
Paper Scissors – We Don’t Walk
Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir
Laura – Radio Swan Is Down
Macromantics – Moments In Movement
Midnight Juggernauts – Shadows

Myles Williams (Liberation Records)
Red Riders – Replica Replica
The Church – Uninvited Like The Clouds
Midnight Juggernauts – Secrets Of The Universe
The Crayon Fields – Animal Bells
The Temper Trap – The Temper Trap

Rob G (Select Music)
Midnight Juggernauts – Shadows
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
The Valentinos – Nightmoves
Macromantics – Scorch
Belles Will Ring – Mad Love
Young and Restless – Dirty Kicks

Sonia Esposito (Inertia Music)
Black Cub – Jesus East
Expatriate – The Spaces Between
The Cops – 80 In The Shade
Art of Fighting
The Presets – Beams

Steve Pavlovich (Modular)
Bumblebeez – Black Dirt 7”
Jack Ladder – Album
Wolfmother – Woman 12 “ MSTKRFT remix
Presets – down down down 12 “ digitalism remix
Wolfmother – Woman cd single avalanches remix

Tim Bull (Bootleg)
Children Collide – Glass Mountain Liars
Wolf & Cub – Vessels
British India – Black and White Radio
Teenager – Thirteen
Snowman – Snowman

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Love ’em or hate ’em, the music media are an essential part of music life.  They tell us what’s on, when’s on, and are the voice of the people, even if we don’t always agree with them 100% of the time.  But with their lives entrenched in music, it’s only fair that we give them a voice on the blog as well.  So here’s some Top fives from Australia’s top editors, radio DJs, VJ’s and journo’s.

Asha Kuerton (CD Live)
The Butterfly Effect – Imago
Kisschasy – United Paper People
Shane Nicholson – Faith & Science
Bernard Fanning – Tea & Sympathy
Eskimo Joe – Black Fingernails, Red Wine

Bomber (Bombshellzine)
Huntsman – It’s Just Four Songs
Frenzal Rhomb – Forever Malcolm Young
A Death In The Family – This Microscopic War
Forgetting Yesterday – Reds, Blues, Greens & Yellows
Horsell Common – Satellite Wonderland

Caroline Tran (Triple J)
Sarah Blasko – What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
Snowman – Snowman
Muph & Plutonic – Silence The Sirens
Dan Kelly & The Alpha Males – Drowning In The Fountain Of Youth
Laura Jean – Our Swan Song

Chris Wirashina (Pedestrian)
Muscles – One Inch Badge Pin
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
Red Riders – Replica Replica
Midnight Juggernauts – Shadows
Young & Restless – Dirty Kicks

Claire Stuchbery (PBS Radio)
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
Tobias Cummings – Join The Dots
Bushido – Bushido
Lindsay Phillips – When The Spirit Dies Young
Popolice – Forceback

Danny Clayton (Channel [V])
The Presets – Beams
The Butterfly Effect – Imago
Wolf and Cub – Vessels
The Veronicas – The Secret Life Of…
Wolfmother – Wolfmother

Dave Regos (FBi Radio)
Julian Nation – We Are All Writers
Macromantics – Moments in Movement
C W Stoneking – King Hokum
The Grates – Gravity Won’t Get You High
Dappled Cities – Granddance

Dan Zilber (FBi Radio)
Macromantics – Moments in Movement
Dappled Cities – Granddance
Crayon Fields – Animal Bells
Faux Pas – Entropy Begins at Home
Architecture in Helsinki – We Died They Remixed

Eliza Sarlos (FBi Radio)
Crayon Fields – Animal Bells
Macromantics – Moments In Movement
My Disco – Cancer
The Motifs – Untitled
CW Stoneking – King Hokum

Katie Owen (Inpress)
Pharoahs – Medicines
Batrider – They Said you’re Hideous
A Death in the Family – This Microscopic War
Eddy Current Suppression Ring
Flesh Vs Venom – Tales of the Parrot House

Kirsty Brown (The Brag)
Wolf & Cub – Vessels
The Instant – Notes and Errata
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
Sarah Blasko – What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
Howling Bells – Howling Bells

Kristy Bradley (Yen Magazine)
Teenager – Thirteen
Wolf & Cub – Vessels
Expatriate – The Spaces Between
Midnight Juggernauts – Secrets Of The Universe
Mercy Arms – Shot Right Down

Marnie Neck (Pagesonline)
Sleepy Jackson – Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)
Sneaky Sound System – Sneaky Sound System
Starky – Starky
Coda – Calling Mission Mu
Bernard Fanning – Tea and Sympathy

Sarah Norris (Drum Media)
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
The Grates – Gravity Won’t Get You High
Angus & Julia Stone – Chocolates & Cigarettes
Young & Restless – everything.
Special Patrol – Handy Hints From The Undertaker

Todd James (PBS Radio)
The Sleepy Jackson – Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)
The Instant – Notes and Errata
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
Wolf & Cub – Vessels
The Black Seeds – Into The Dojo

Woody McDonald (RRR Radio)
Ground Components – An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick
The Crayon Fields – Animal Bells
Macromantics – Moments In Movements
The Drones – Gala Mill
Ned Collette – Joes & Trials

Zan Rowe (Triple J)
Crayon Fields – Animal Bells
Ground Components – An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick
Macromantics – Moments In Movement
CW Stoneking – King Hokum
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance

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We’d be nothing without these guys and girls.  They’re the ones who make all the amazing music that allows us to keep updating this blog.  So a select bunch of Aussie muso’s have gratiously taken some time out to tell us and you what they thought were the best Australian releases of 2006.  If you like their choices, make sure to check out their own music as well!

Alex Grigg (Red Riders)
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
Macromantics – Moments In Movement
Children Collide – Glass Mountain Liars
The Sleepy Jackson – Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)
Snowman – Snowman

Ash St. Ives (Young and Restless)
My Sister The Cop – Animal Traps
Damn Arms – Patterns
Magic Dirt – Magic Dirt
Mint Chicks – Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!

Bob Evans
Sleepy Jackson – Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)
You Am I – Convicts
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
The Audreys – Between Last Night and Us

Deepchild
Stick Figures – Low Self Esteem
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
The Bamboos – Step it Up
CODA – Calling Mission Mu
Jamie Lloyd – Trouble Within

Grant Spencer (Paper Champion)
The Butterfly Effect – Imago
Gotye – LIke Drawing Blood
Ground Components – An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick
The Grates – Gravity Won’t Get You High
Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir

Hau (Koolism)
N’fa – Cause An Effect
Hilltop Hoods – The Hard Road
Blue King Brown – Stand Up
Astronomy Class – Exit Strategy
The Valentinos – Damn & Damn Again

Johnny (Children Collide)
Midnight Juggernauts – Secrets Of The Universe
Pharaohs – Medicines
Teen God – Seventeen
Muscles – Popular Music Is A Joke
Damn Arms – Patterns

Josh Pyke
Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir
Sarah Blasko – What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
Red Riders – Replica Replica
Holly Throsby – Underneath The Town
Bob Evans – Suburban Songbook

Laura Imbruglia
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
Darren Hanlon – Fingertips and Mountaintops
The Hard-Ons – Most People Are A Waste Of Time
Gallucci – You-Wrecker
The Sleepy Jackson – Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)

Lucius Borich (Cog)
The Fumes – Guns Of Gold
The Butterfly Effect – Imago
Mammal – Mammal
Carla Werner – Pure Things in Wild Places
The Living End – State of Emergency

Macromantics
The Ground Components – An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick
Crayon Fields – Animal Bells
My Disco – Cancer
Eddie Current Suppression Ring – Eddie Current Suppression Ring
True Radical Miracle – Cockroaches
Architecture in Helsinki – We Died, They Remixed

Maya Jupiter
Hilltop Hoods – The Hard Road
Def Wish Cast – The Legacy Continues
N’fa – Cause An Effect
Macromantics – Momments In Movement
Art Of War – Chapter 2: Waging War

Nikos Andronicos (Pomomofo)
Midnight Juggernauts – Secrets Of The Universe
Pinky Tuscadero – Look Your Best
Rizzo & Pizzo – Sherbert Balls
The Presets – Beams
The Valentinos – Damn & Damn Again

Stacey Gray (Trial Kennedy)
Sarah Blasko – What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
Bertie Blackman – Black
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
The Butterfly Effect – Imago
Horsell Common – Satellite Wonderland

Tim Hoey (Cut Copy)
The Sleepy Jackson – Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)
Gerling – 4
Wolf and Cub – Vessels
My Disco – Cancer
JP Shilo – As Happy As Sad Is Blue

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The second part in our 2006 wrap-up turns the microscope upon other bloggers.  There’s a tonne of great Aussie blogs and they’ve become essential viewing to keep up-to-date with what’s new and exciting in the world of music, both in Australia and overseas.  So we thought we’d give them the chance to tell you what they thought were 2006’s best Aussie releases. 

Daniel Boud (Boudist)
Sleepy Jackson – Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
Howling Bells – Self titled
Bob Evans – Suburban Songbook
The Valentinos – Damn and Damn Again 

Dave Slutzkin (Sympathetic Stupid)
Sodastream – Reservations
Faux Pas – Entropy Begins at Home
Because of Ghosts – The Tomorrow We Were Promised Yesterday
Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir
Dallas Crane – Factory Girls

Charles Magnus -a.k.a. Chucky (The Sandwich Club)
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
Panda Band – The Vital Chapter
Phoenix Foundation – Pegasus
Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir

Geoff Kim (Get Big Little Kid)
The Panda Band – This Vital Chapter
Ground Components – An Eye For A Brow. A Tooth For A Pick
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
Wolf & Cub – Vessels
Starky – Starky

Graham Preston (Regulate The Voice)
Bliss-N-Eso – Day of the Dog
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
The Grates – Gravity Won’t Get You High
Wolf & Cub – Vessels
Love of Diagrams – Love of Diagrams

Jonathan Nail (Brown Cardigan / Polaroids of Androids)
The Pharaohs – Medicines
Ground Components – An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick
Snowman – Snowman
My Disco – Cancer
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance

Matt Levinson (Fortune Grey)
The Crayon Fields – Animal Bells
Astronomy Class – Exit Strategy
Adrian Klumpes – Be Still
Seaworthy – Distant Hills Burn Bright
Amanda Handel/GL Seiler – Ghosts and Angels

Sean Beling (One Hundred Scenes)
Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
The Drones – Gala Mill
Snowman – Snowman
The Sleepy Jacskon – Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)

Sean Owen (A Reminder)
The Drones – Gala Mill
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
The Grates – Gravity Won’t Get You High
Faux Pas – Entropy Begins At Home

Steve Tibbets (Invasion Of The Reverb Snatchers)
The Sleepy Jackson – Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)
You Am I – Convicts
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
The Vines – Vision Valley
Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir

Wayne Massingham (Oceans Never Listen)
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
Youth Group – Casino Twilight Dogs
The Grates – Gravity Won’t Get You High
Crayon Fields – Animal Bells
Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir

Yvette (Y-Bother?)
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
Deloris – Ten Lives
CW Stoneking – King Hokum
Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood 

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Hello and welcome to Who The Bloody Hell Are They’s 2006 Wrap-Up. It’s been a big year for all of us here at the blog – some have got cool new jobs, some have started bands, some have started managing acts, but above all we started the only all-Australian (and sometimes New Zealand) blog on the internet. So we’d like to thank you for coming to the blog and reading our rants about Aussie acts that we like, and about our drunken advertures at various events during 2006. This is going to be the last post for the year while we go on holiday, but we’ll be back, better than ever, in 2007.

So to leave, we’ve contacted bands, bloggers and people in the media to see what their Top 5 Aussie Albums of 2006 were. It’s our little present to you for visiting us for all this time. Over the next five days, we’ll be presenting all of the Top 5 lists. Seasons Greetings and have a great New Year.

And here’s our list:

Dom Alessio
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
Switchkicker – Method 2
The Butterfly Effect – Imago
Triosk – The Headlight Serenade
Laura – Radio Swan Is Down

Jerry Soer
Macromantics – Moments In Movement
Snowman – Snowman
Gotye – Like Drawing Blood
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
Young & Restless – everything

Jonno Seidler
The Inches – The Inches
Children Collide – Glass Mountain Liars
The Cops – 80 In The Shade
Midnight Juggernauts – Secrets Of The Universe
I Heart Hiroshima – A Three Letter Word For Candy

Zoe White
Children Collide – Glass Mountain Liars
The Grates – Gravity Won’t Get You High
Dappled Cities Fly – Granddance
Love of Diagrams – Love Of Diagrams

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