Tagged By melbourne

PREMIERE: Hayden Calnin – ‘Coward’

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Whaaaat a dreamboat. Here’s the new video for ‘Coward’, the new single from wunderkind Hayden Calnin. The video is just Calnin alone in his home studio with his Akai. If you’re familiar with his EP or other live sessions, you’ll know the prominent drawcard in Calnin’s previous material has been his simple approach to the whole layered indie electronica thing. ‘Coward’ is pared back, but it’s no wallflower of a tune. Calnin’s amazing vocal refrain pulls this through. Sure, a home studio ain’t a cabin in the woods – but here’s the point where you leave any grievances you might have for Justin Vernon at the door. It’s really nice to hear a track that would have otherwise been buried in reverb in an acoustic context. LET’S TALK ABOUT FEELINGS, OKAY.

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‘Coward’ is available for purchase here.

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PROFILE: Silo Arts & Records

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Silo Arts seems to fit the bill of a label that seems to be dripping in cultural cool. Being a Brisbane-based, outward looking label that’s pegged to Frenchkiss Records, the Silo Arts collective have managed to make a real mark since their start in 2011.

The likes of Rainbow Chan, ƒriendships, and Tincture lead the charge for Silo, creating a niche of young, curated electronic music that reaches beyond domestic ears. Tomorrow, they’ll be staging their unofficial Melbourne Music Week showcase at The Workers’ Club.  

In the lead up to this, we asked label founder Hugh Francis to explain Silo’s deal:

Silo Arts started in 2011 as a little artist collective.  We got a bunch of like minded Brisbane producers together and started doing some shows around town, and hosting some internationals. The exact birthday of Silo Arts is unknown, however it’s roughly September, around Bigsound.  We started in 2011 as a little arts collective, doing gallery shows with a bunch of unknown producers. We were lucky enough to be discovered by the peeps at Frenchkiss when I was working for CMJ in New York City in 2012. Those guys are pretty close to the CMJ crew, and I guess someone mentioned that I was running a small label back home.  They had a listen to our sampler, and sent us a contract within a week.  For me, that’s point where I really got my head in the game – up until then it had been a DIY collective. That’s when we decided to really have a go at this whole label thing….

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LISTEN: The Ocean Party ‘SPLIT’ LP

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The Ocean Party’s latest record, Split is out now through Spunk records. Yes, that hip label. Home to Bonnie Prince Billy, Okkervil River, and Bill Callahan amongst others. It’s a welcome reminder that hard working Australian musicians can be rewarded. Now let’s have a quick refresher.

Melbourne band The Ocean Party, is Jordan Thompson, Liam Halliwell, Curtis Wakeling, Lachlan Denton, and new kid on the block Zac Denton. Split was recorded at Lachlan’s grandparents’ farm in rural NSW. Curtis reckons that it was a good way to be focused on nailing down a mixture of new material. “We’ve had a pretty relaxed time recording all three albums but it was good to get away to the country for this last one, it’s pretty easy to get distracted when you just record at home”.

Home is back in Melbourne where these guys all live and mate together, recording with a cavalcade of musicians in different positions, creating multiple sounds with varied song writing. This renewed focus is evident in Split, which is a very well considered LP and one that always sounds like an Ocean Party recording.

Curtis opens with vocals on ‘Quarter Final’, an ode to slacker life. The melody is an absolute cracker. Catchy as any pop song could be yet perfectly situated in a field far from anyone else. ‘Quarter Final’ speaks of getting wasted, sleeping with anons and feeling suicidal on Sunday, y’know… life. It features a gorgeous guitar hook and Curtis nails the mood of a groundhog day Bill Murray would be proud to rep. It also signals that we are in for another good record.

 

 

Next up is the title track ‘Split’. Much has already been written on this one but let’s note the vocals of young blood Zac of Ciggie Witch. “I am really happy with how it (more…)

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LISTEN: Popolice – ‘Would You Believe’

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I picked up the first two Popolice EPs on my brother’s recommendation back in about 2006, and I was glad that I did. I loved Marc Regueiro-McKelvie’s angsty, angular indie pop and those dynamic progressions – there are no overwrought two-chord dirges here. I’ve still got a copy of Middle Ground in my glovebox (the only place for CDs these days), which I spin from time to time on my way to the shops.

Although he’s been making music since around 1997, Regueiro-McKelvie doesn’t seem to have had a strong PR machine behind him (or maybe he’s just been flat out playing with Teeth and Tongue, Enclosures and New Estate) because he ought to be a local sensation. That’s all changing now: this new track has been popping up all over the place, and a debut album (!) is due out soon.

Though he was citing crossover bands like Gerling way back at the turn of the millennium, ‘Would You Believe’ has got to be the most danceable Popolice track yet. The song’s catchy, stop-start rhythm matches Regueiro-McKelvie’s scratchy delivery perfectly, and it’s got a chorus that just keeps on getting bigger.

The accompanying video was made by Matthew Cribb, who recently filmed clips for WTH favourites Teeth & Tongue and The Ocean Party. It features Popolice striding along a Melbourne boardwalk as though caught up in a private rock stadium fantasy, Stratocaster hooked up to headphones and elegant legs encased in a sweet pair of tights. Meanwhile he’s being trailed by some sort of entropic VHS vortex…

 

‘Would You Believe’ is available now as a free download on Bandcamp.

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PREMIERE: Sleepy Dreamers – ‘Bike Song’

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I listen to reasonably aggressive music when I ride my bike on the morning commute (makes me pedal faster, bro). Not condoning multi-tasking or listening to music while on the road (don’t do it) but if it’s any indicator of personality, I’d imagine that the Sleepy Dreamers guys would probably be the gentle, passive, half baked folk who give you creepy smiles at the lights and always give way to traffic.

‘Bike Song’ is the brand new track from the Melbourne band. The band’s previous Creatures EP was full of  ‘homecoming’ tracks – you know, the type of soft, lulling folk-acoustica stuff that used to make you reflect on nice things and feelings before you became a hard arsed adult with a shit job and a need for music to match. The wager for upbeat, ‘feel-good’ tracks seems to be getting more complex, so it’s kinda nice to hear something simple once in a while. ‘Bike Song’ effectively ticks the trifecta – graduating treble hooks, handclap things and the sort of bouncy drumming that bands like Givers and Crystal Fighters flash when they want to good time. Sweet, simple travellin’ music indeed.

 

‘Bike Song’ will be available for purchase on Bandcamp from the 18th of October. The band are gearing up for a stint at Inca Roads Festival during Nov 29 – Dec 1st, more details here.

 

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LISTEN: boatfriends – ‘Sport Billy’

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boatfriends are a Newcastle band who’ve recently moved to Melbourne, based around the songwriting duo of Shanna Watson and Clinton Edwards. In two years they’ve put out just two singles, but this June the pair finally met their Pozible campaign target to fund a debut release and supporting tour and the boatfriends EP is now up and streaming.

The band’s first singles had a brash, EDM feel, with hints of Nu Rave (‘Kaleido’, for example, has been tagged ‘Skrillwave’ – with more than a little self-awareness, I assume – on Soundcloud). New track ‘Sport Billy’, on the other hand, is a veritable psych banger, falling somewhere between Twin Sister and the Klaxons on the dance-punk spectrum. Watson and Edwards cite the British shoegaze scene as an important influence, and there is something here that’s reminiscent of Warp band A Sunny Day in Glasgow, who’s whirling dream pop involves at least as much synth as Jazzmaster. boatfriends have well and truly absorbed the lessons of this approach, creating a stellar EP closer in ‘Sport Billy’. The track opens with panned snares that are as heady and disorienting as Watson’s distinctive vocal which comes through like it’s beaming in from outer space. There are synth flutters and some high-pitched glass-factory ambience, all underwritten by propulsive bass and plenty of kicks.

Be sure to keep your eye out for the upcoming tour – and official EP release, including vinyl!

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