Tagged By melbourne

LOOK: PBS Drive Live 2013

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The community radio sector is something which all of us as ‘taste-markers’ will inevitably have to peruse on a daily basis.

Whether it be the vitality of Melbourne’s 3RRR or Sydney’s FBi, community radio stations have I’m sure, granted you with a multitude of new experiences and insights into the artists you’ve come to know and love.

And Melbourne’s Progressive Broadcasting Service (PBS) is no different. Home to “little heard music”, PBS has been many a watershed moment for teens, or even adults, wanting to break the shackles of the ear-bleeding homogeneity of commercial radio (since 1979). While Triple J serves the informed Australian listener to adequate degrees, it’s stations like PBS who go leaps and bounds in promoting music that may excite, intrigue, or present a whole new perspective to your perception of ‘taste’. Whether it be Hip-Hop, Latin, or Rockabilly, the station consistently presents a grid that doesn’t shy away from inaccessibility. Having said that, it’s this relative packaging of niches that provide the necessary grounds for getting into musical styles that you probably wouldn’t have even given thought to previously. It’s for this very reason why I’ve discovered some properly good Gospel, Ska, and Ethio-Jazz that I probably would never have discovered – even with the internet at my disposal.

However, despite the dedicated (and unnoticed) work of volunteers and community broadcasters from around the country, the very future of some 37 stations is in limbo.

Thanks to cuts in funding to the tune of $1.4 million, community broadcasters will no longer be able to maintain the costs associated with digital broadcasting. While the current federal government has committed $2.2 million at present, $3.6 million is needed to ensure that all community stations keep their digital broadcast capabilities. As it stands, federal funding of digital transmission and connectivity costs amount to less than $100,000 per station. So, considering that you’d have to be a luddite to not know the future of analogue, this issue has gone beyond just being a big deal.

Considering the impact that community radio has had on all of us at WTH, we thought it might be worth talking about. So, take a read when you have the time, make some noise, and sign the petition, here.

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LISTEN: The Stevens

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I’m so fucking homesick right now. And then I hear this EP and it just crushes me. Up tempo guitar-pop that is as catchy as early Twerps on ‘Dance Alone‘. Alex MacFarlane and Travis MacDonald put this together and released a 6-track EP The Stevens last year. Originally released on CD-R and cassette but now it has won the seal of approval from Chapter music who are reissuing the self-titled EP on 7″ vinyl. Very nice. So pencil in the 5th April, which is a Friday, to get a jump on the weekend and pick a copy up from all good record stores or here.

I made the tough call of running ‘Teenage Satellites’ but I would plug any track of the EP… it’s that good. The debut LP is in the works with Mikey Young at the control desk. So we know it’s in safe hands. You can check them out supporting ‘The Wedding Present’ from the UK at the NSC but hopefully more local shows to follow.

Feb 27 –  Northcote Social Club, Melbourne.

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LOOK: Northside Records – 10th Birthday

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I’ve always been jealous of Fitzroy’s Gertrude St. For those of you not living in the World’s Most Liveable city, let me put it this way. SYD think Newtown, and BRIS think Fortitude Valley (the rest of you, well, make it up). Once a thoroughfare seen as the embodiment of Melbourne’s polar socio-economic disadvantage, the street has gone on to transform itself into one of Melbourne’s most hallowed hang out spots. And while the throes of gentrification have taken most of old Gertrude, she’s still got her soul, and quite a ragin’ one at that.

Northside Records has perched itself on top of Gertrude for 10 years now this month, and it’s fitting that a proposed in-store celebration turned into an accidental street party.

(more photos after the jump)

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LISTEN: Candice Monique – ‘Free Me: The Mixtape’

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Look, I must confess that I’ve been on a bit of an urban music trip, in part due to the rediscovery of my childhood. I’ve been caught in the throes of late 90’s rub, to be exact. I’ve been immersed in the funk of Erykah, the soul of D’Angelo, and the social critique of Lauryn Hill. I know that 90’s nostalgia has reached its peak, but I can’t help but treat myself to the luxuries of the golden age.

But what’s thrown me over the past year is the degree to which the archetypal ‘indie’ music has embraced it. With Grimes and Collarbones brandishing their Mariah fandom without fear, my typical aversion to admitting these rather ‘guilty’ pleasures have largely been made redundant. The Bloc Party/Horrors-toting teen that I once was has retreated back to the bosom of once cringe-worthy titles such as “Oooooohhhh…On the TLC Trip”. And with Destiny’s Child reforming sometime this year, this rediscovery couldn’t have come at a better time.

But alas, in an Australian context, the urban music canon has fared a little less favourably. Nationally, we don’t need to be reminded of the stigma of Australian hip-hop. But in recent months, I’ve definitely felt that there’s been a groundswell in whatever constitutes Australian ‘urban’ music. You just need to look the innovation of Hiatus Kaiyote or Oscar + Martin to name but a few of the successes of late.

Admittedly, I’ve been relatively Melbourne-centric, and here I go again, with Melbourne-via-Adelaide future soul/hip-hop artist, Candice Monique. Originally of Candice Monqiue and the Optics fame, the vocalist moves from traditional soul roots to a mix tape representative of a number of urban influences. Throughout the 14 tracks, you will undoubtedly hear parallels with the likes of Erykah Badu especially on tracks like ‘How to F*ck’, produced by intriguing Melbourne musician, Billy Hoyle.

However, underneath all these lofty comparisons, it’s clear that Monique has got something going on with the spoken word. Her poetic skill is laced throughout these tracks, not just articulated as hip-hop, but pure poetry that could give any budding SLAM poet a run for their money.

So, to all unashamed lovers of urban music, treat yourself and give this a listen. And to all others, stop pretending that you don’t sneak a little Erykah in with your Alt J.

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