Stoked to be watching these guys at the East Brunswick Club tonight. Props to Guineafowl and Magnetic Heads supports. Should be super.

Read Post →

Electric Sea Spider – ‘Coke Bugs’ (mp3)

Electric Sea Spider – ‘Handshake’ (ft. Disturbed Individuals) (mp3)

Electric Sea Spider is a pretty cool dude. You know, the type that’s just all like “oh hey, yeah I make music, kinda, I play sometimes but mostly chill in my bedroom with my sampler and give shit away for free, dig?” It’s hard to fault a guy who’s given away multiple albums, EPs and mixtapes for free just because – clearly he does it for the love it. His Myspace lists his grand ambition to record the theme song for a cartoon and you can totally imagine his cut up, stuttering hip hop beats fitting in nicely with an adult swim program.

Mohican Beats is his latest EP and you can grab it from his Myspace (linked below). It’s my favourite record of his so far – the least ambient and the most beat heavy. He also rings in some guests vocals from a few dudes from the States (or dudes putting on American accents). This doesn’t sound like it came outta Melbourne, which is a compliment for people that dig this kind of hip hop. Even if you don’t you should still download because it’s free and one day it might come on when your iPod is on shuffle on you’ll be all like “damn, I’ve been missing out.” It could happen.

www.myspace.com/electricseaspider

Read Post →

Here’s the new clip for ‘Reverse Now’ by Betty Airs, a collab featuring Darren Cross (Gerling, The E.L.F) and Christian Campano and Michael Zagoridis of Run! Hide!
Really digging what I’ve heard so far from these guys. Will be sussing out a show when they’re down in Melbourne this weekend. They’ll be playing the last two shows of their tour in Adelaide and Sydney the week after (see poster below for details), so make sure you check it out.

www.myspace.com/bettyairs
Shes the Juan by Betty Airs

Read Post →

Butcher Blades – ‘The Swan Machine’ (mp3)

“cool track. very el guincho ish”

That’s the email I received from my esteemed whothehell.net partner in crime Jerry. That was enough to get me listening. Even though I’ve never really been into a whole El Guincho album, the whole vibe of his work and some individual tracks appeal to me – especially as we move into summer. ‘The Swan Machine’ is a sweet jam and I instantly sought out other tunes and wasn’t surprised to find they listed Lalo Schifrin among their influences. It’s definitely worth clicking that Myspace link and checking out some more of their stuff.

These guys have a couple of NZ gigs and spot at Falls coming up over the next month or so. I’m not sure how often these guys stray from their Melbourne haunt so if you want to check them out and you live in those areas you should probably get along. And let me know what they’re like.

www.myspace.com/butcherblades

Read Post →

Dune Rats – ‘Colour Television’ (mp3)

This tune shares more than just its name with an Eddy Currant Suppression Ring song – it has that same ramshackle but melodic and gold-tinted charm that was all over ECSR’s best album Primary Colours. I’ve been meaning to post this song for ages, but I”m glad I held off because it’s totally grown on me since I list heard it. This sound is everywhere right now and it kind of sunk into the background when I listened to it a few weeks ago. It took a few spins to really stand out. Safe to say I totally dig it now.

Dune Rats is a two piece comprised of BC (The Cairos, Comic Sans) and ex-Villians of Wilhem singer Danny Wilhelm. It keeps thing loose and fun like all of those bands, but doesn’t sound like the sum of their pasts. This project is only a few months old and is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

www.myspace.com/duneratsmusic

Read Post →

Wayphaser – ‘Runnyjim’ (mp3)

It’s no secret that ‘chillwave’ is a big deal at the moment. And if you follow me on Twitter/are good at picking up on patterns, it’s also no secret that I’m in to ‘chillwave’ music. Wayphaser initially struck me as the kind of band that aren’t necessarily good for the genre. Everything on their Myspace, from the above picture to the tunes and descriptions, screamed “SUMMER 2009/2010.” But then I snapped out of defensive hipster mode and remembered the Summer 2009/2010 was a pretty great summer. And then I had another listen to the songs, and realised that ‘Runnyjim’ was a pretty sweet jam. I still don’t totally dig all their stuff, but the above tune shows that Wayphaser definitely have some potential. It’s not hard to imagine these guys streamlining their sound a bit and following the Miami Horror path of Triple J/festival favs.

www.myspace.com/wayphaser

Read Post →