Posts By Melissa Tan

LISTEN: Vol. 8 Mixtape

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It’s been far too long since I received a mixtape. The last I was given was a flimsy cd with some tacky love notes etched into the front and a list of songs waiting to be interpreted too literally. Still, mixtapes are a nice gesture. Kind of like the thoughtfulness of a pal buying you fresh vinyl or a pre-release, but not really as thrilling as doing a music hard-drive swap and discovering your friend’s skip-hop collection.

It’s our job to siphon out the good stuff, so we’ve compiled a load of our favourite new tunes for your essential summer listening. Our Vol. 6 mixtape is nearly notching 40K listens, so if that’s some indication that we can probably DJ at your backyard party, then hit me.

 

Vol. 8 from whothehell.net on 8tracks Radio.

 

(see below for full track list)

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WATCH: Love Migrate – ‘Dirty River’ Live

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There should be a syllabic limit on album titles. Love Migrate are excused because their debut album is so damn good (and also because Dave said Eddie was Oz’s answer to Chris Martin).

Here’s a stunning performance of ‘Dirty River’ recorded at Paul Maybury’s ‘Secret Location’ warehouse in Fairfield, Vic.

The band are launching the new record next week, Dec 2nd at The Toff In Town.

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LISTEN: The Canyoneersmen

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Professing to the world I love alt-country is probably as useless as calling an Uncle Tupelo listening party for my 20something pals who only have time for slacker pop and wearing shit beanies anyway. After spending some time in Austin during SXSW earlier in the year, I did on numerous occasions, overindulge in more than my share of alt-country by default. Americana obviously left an impression on The Canyoneersmen too. The guys from Newcastle recently pulled together their collective memory of a roadtrip across the US for new EP Serpico’s Garden.

The Canyoneersmen is the songwriting wagon for Newcastle’s Jay Sullivan. Along with “sometimes lover” Frances Bully and Patrick Sullivan (drums and djembe, respectively), the band have already put out four EPs.

Don’t be fooled by Frances flipping the bird in her Mariah Carey+horses tshirt on the cover art… she’s really a sweet girl. Frances’ vocals are the perfect offset to to Jay’s zealous vocal squawk. Really recommend you have a listen to their older stuff too – Jay has all the chutzpah of Liddiard’s imaginary little bro backing on The Drones Gala Mill or something. Wooden panelbeaters, burger wrappers and other Newcastle via Nashville offcuts over at the Canyoneersmen bandcamp.

For your bonus viewing – a glorious, glorious track they released last year.

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LOOK: Good Sniff draws ‘Pig City’

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Local illustrator Good Sniff has gone to the liberty of sketching more than 300 individual faces belonging to 106 Brisbane bands.

“It got to a point about midyear where I’d be scooting around in the Valley and I’d recognise people because I’d drawn their faces. Which is creepy.”

She describes it as “character design exercise that got waaaay out of hand”.

Do take a closer look at this. It’s scarily accurate, even if there’s at least one member of every act who looks a little seedy <Gung Ho>.My favourites are Violent Soho looking doing 50 shades o’ Nazareth, JSS’s hair diversity, typical bong-eyed Dune Rats and the left Origliasso twin who looks like Julia Zemiro on meth.

Apparently she’s doing more revisions to this one, but I’d definitely like to see her take on another state.

Find the full res image here.

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LISTEN: Flight Tonight – ‘Lines’

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This track brings me back to the few months I spent wandering in the thick of a New York winter. Cosmopolis lives up to the impressionable catacomb it professes to be; bagels, another construction zone erecting tall stuff, crumply dollar bills, good looking dudes in suits.

After hours, it’s a real lonely place though. Loneliness becomes more apparent stumbling out of Death By Audio alone at 4.30am, discovering the Manhattan bound E train is closed for repairs, being chased by Donald Sutherland’s hobo ghost and having nothin’ but a soggy subway churro in your bag to point you in the right direction.

Flight Tonight producer Adrian ‘Edo ‘Rafter has created a real gem here. The vocalist who sounds like Lykki Li fronting Portishead on ‘Lines’ is Leure, the solo project of Ash Hendriks (Wolves At The Door).

Formulaic beat samples and the purity of song blur on this track. It’d be easy to write this off as another shot at sexy minimalism (Seekae have already siphoned the threshold of all good stuff said about that on this site). There’s that familiar thump, the ambient synth, the breathy wane of someone who’s probably rolling around in a bedsheet somewhere. Minimal production on ‘Lines’ echoes the way The xx’s careful, clean cut sounds allow Romy’s dim vocals pulling power. Although ‘Lines’ generates a curious feeling of absence and space, it still comes across as incredibly personal which leaves the biggest impression here.

If you like what you hear, make sure you check out Flight Tonight’s self titled EP via bandcamp.

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MAP – 50th Anniversary Edition

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Ain’t nothing like a little bit of group love. Thanks to Jason and the guys down at Scotland’s Pop Cop, MAP has been churning out the best new global tunes since 2008. MAP is now in its 50th month – and to celebrate, our pals around the world have compiled a list of exclusive tracks. Hit the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 40-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

 

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
PlásticoCinicos
For the 50th edition of MAP we have chosen a brand new band from a western suburb of Buenos Aires. Plástico’s sound is a mixture of trip-rock with some electronic and acoustic elements that caught the attention of famous producer Raphael Gordon (The Strokes). Together they recorded a couple of tracks. One is Subir Al Tren, which was used on their first video. The other is Cinicos, previously unreleased, which is a great preview of their upcoming debut album.

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AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Courtney BarnettHistory Eraser
It’s hard to pin down what exactly defines that distinct ‘Australian’ sound. For all the ringing guitar riffs and choruses sung in unison etched into our collective memory, there’s something about Australian music that still flails an antipodean flag. We isolate ourselves on the coast; we recycle stories about strangers, lovers and backyard melancholia; we make poetry championing the suburbs. Melbourne singer Courtney Barnett is certainly at home on her track History Eraser. A colloquial ode to The Triffids, ticket inspectors and nights with good company, this track is a perfect summary of the earnest freewheelin’ and rambling wit that makes music from this end of the world just so great.

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AUSTRIA: Walzerkönig
MauracherOuter Space Dancer
Outer Space Dancer is the first single from the new, fourth Mauracher album Super Seven, out now on Fabrique Records. For this album, Tyrolean electronic musician Hubert Mauracher has teamed up with singer Sonia Sawoff (of Sawoff Shotgun). Together, they create synth-filled dream-pop with ethereal lyrics such as, “When I close my eyes, I stop thinking”.

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BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Sexy FiPequeno Dicionário Das Ruas
From our capital Brasília comes Sexy Fi, a band that knows how to make a good first impression. Their debut album was produced by John McEntire (Tortoise) and received great reviews in Brazilian alternative blogs. Pequeno Dicionário Das Ruas is the song that opens the album and sees them experiment with indie-rock, resulting in a tropical, alternative sound.

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CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
Some Minor NoiseTape Experiments
Toronto duo Some Minor Noise’s Tape Experiment gets its name from the fact that every sound used, except the kick, snare and vocal, was recorded through a 13-year-old cassette deck, an Optimus CTR-117 (Google it), to a very worn cassette tape that’s at least 10 years old. The end result has a richness and humanity that’s very often missing from electro-pop, and a perfect example of Some Minor Noise’s refreshing take on a familiar genre.

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CHILE: Super 45
Nader CabezasDoble En El Espejo
Synthesizer layers, guitars with heavy feedback and a lo-fi sound are the attributes of duo Nader Cabezas. On their new album, El Hijo Del Mounstruo, released through LeRockPsicophonique, their music goes deeper into this direction, resulting in dense and obscure rock but without losing focus on what matters – the songs. Doble En El Espejo is taken from this album.

CHINA: Wooozy
Chui WanBerber
Chui Wan is a four-piece experimental psychedelic rock band from Beijing. Their lush arrangements of guitar, keyboard, viola, other assorted instruments and random sound samples often eschew reliable melodies and vocal harmonies in favor of occasional passages of minimal drone or maximal sonic layerings. They will have their debut release tour with Brooklyn-based band Psychic Ills in China this month.

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COLOMBIA: El Parlante Amarillo
Alfonso EspriellaCielo Adentro
Alfonso Espriella is a tireless and dedicated musician who has been making alternative rock for more than 10 years. Joel Hamilton produced his most recent EP, Anima, from which Cielo Adentro (“Heaven Inside”) is taken. It evokes marked influences of acts such as Caifanes from Mexico or Robi Draco Rosa from Puerto Rico, with deep lyrics and an emotive sound.

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DENMARK: All Scandinavian
The Savage RoseSoldier On The Run
On Love And Freedom, The Savage Rose’s 21st album since their eponymous debut in 1968, the legendary rock outfit stage love and politics on an amazing backdrop of hauntingly soulful rock – just as they did when they were a young band – taken to magical heights by frontwoman Annisette’s breathtaking vocal and a performance I could never do justice to in words. Because it’s anniversary time on MAP, here’s a mindbogglingly exclusive download of Soldier On The Run.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Casetera
Janio LoraMi Nueva Edad
For this MAP special edition, singer-songwriter and dreamer Janio Lora has recorded a new demo. Produced by Argentinian composer Pablo Dacal, Mi Nueva Edad blends elegant tango melodies with poignant lyrics as a preview of what to expect from Janio’s upcoming album.

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ECUADOR: Plan Arteria
Da PawnCasi Siempre
A band’s music lasts over time when its songs become part of a generation’s culture. Da Pawn, one of the revelations of this year, reworks a popular single by the important electronic indie-pop band Can Can into a beautiful folk-rock song. This track is taken from the free download album Malas Influencias (Remixes y Reversiones), which celebrates the 10th anniversary of Can Can.

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ENGLAND: The Guardian Music Blog
Dan CrollFrom Nowhere (Ben Gomori’s Staring You In The Eye Remix)
Dan Croll is a Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts graduate who doesn’t like The Beatles, a folkie who’s gone electronic, and a bespectacled boffin who is no softie – in fact, he could have played rugby for England until an accident waylaid his plans. Instead he’s the new golden boy of indie Afro-tinged synth’n’b. From Nowhere is his debut single, a catchy slice of electro-pop with a breezy vocal about losing control and a hook designed to lodge in your skull.

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HAIL ANGUS

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If you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Angus Tait, you would agree he is a calm man with a nice beard. Angus is a freelance Graphic Designer, whose significant other is music. Approached by Who The Hell to redesign the identity and website, Angus kindly pushed aside his guitar peddles and 18 month old child to produce these new digs.

Along with his sophisticated aptitude for colour and nicely snubbed nose when it comes to typography, Angus also cleverly guided Who The Hell through the build with his knowledge of wordpress, HTML and CSS.

Angus also recently released his first Iphone App called Dashi. Last year, somehow between having a child and earning a buck, Angus found time to make a beautifully crafted tool for learning the basics of Japanese reading and pronunciation. So if you’re thinking about being a groupie for the next Last Dinosaurs tour to Japan or want to read lyrics by the Tenniscoats, this app is less than $2 well spent.

 

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