Tagged By australian music

WATCH: Tape/Off – ‘Pedestal Fan’

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Tape Off

Tape/Off are a Brisbane band who’ve been around for quite a few years making consistently rad, dingy rock music. Maybe part of the reason these guys are so good is that they’ve all got other ‘projects’ and shit to do. Recording, producing, radio announcing and, of course, plenty of other bands keep the members busy enough that they’re free to make music that’s unpretentious and loose. Tape/Off always sound like a mostly fun and recreational band, though they’re still serious as hell about making great songs.

Their latest single ‘Pedestal Fan’ was released ages ago, but the video has just been put out so if you haven’t checked it out yet now’s your chance. The clip is shot in black and white and features a relaxed approach to road rules; band members shredding and singing and smashing drums in an old van (which apparently was put out of its misery by a medium sized hill not long after this shoot). Usually clips that just rely on one idea like this get boring halfway through, but this one is fast and frantic and totally watchable until the last second.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNbea-FLPkY[/youtube]

Tape/Off’s first full length record Chipper comes out in June, but you can check out their two previous EP’s (and also get ‘Pedestal Fan’ as a pay-what-you-like download!) on Bandcamp.

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MAP March 2014

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map

Our submission for the MAP March edition comes from Yon Yonson with their track ‘Culver City’. If you haven’t heard the full record, do yourself a favour and listen to the album stream, stat. Alternatively, if you like what you hear and would prefer to listen to the record set to photos of musicians in traditional Mongolian costumes trying to have it at each other, check it out Yon Yonson’s photo set from their Siberian travels on our blog.

On the subject of voyaging, if you know of any Australian bands residing in the general UK/EU region, we’d love to hear from you. Mail us – editors@whothehell.net. 

FInally, if 28kbps isn’t doing you any favours and you ain’t got time to listen to the full MAP compilation this month, our very own Robbie Ingrisano hosts the MAPCAST podcast – a quick bite of the best from this month’s MAP list. Stream/free download the podcast at our Soundcloud.

 

Click 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 27-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Plein – Madera & Fuego
[audio: http://map.zonaindie.com.ar/Plein-Madera&Fuego(Argentina).mp3]
Plein started almost seven years ago as an excuse for a group of friends to gather and play their favorite songs. After several years of playing live and participating in different compilation albums, this indie-rock band from Buenos Aires released their first record in 2012, with songs recorded using a method of pre-established rules inspired by Lars von Trier’s film The Five Obstructions. Madera & Fuego is taken from their 2014 EP Número Uno.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Yon Yonson – Culver City
[audio: http://whothehell.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Culver-City.mp3]
Childhood friends Andrew Kuo and Nathan Saad are Yon Yonson, an experimental pop duo from Sydney. Their sound is ambitious and unpredictable – listen no further than their latest release Hypomantra to understand. As the band designed the record to be played as a continuous set, each track on the record is incredibly malleable, both in sound and score. Culver City, with its origami beat samples, is a glimpse of Yon Yonson’s standout oddities which show that this talented duo’s output is just as diverse as their intention.

CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
The This Many Boyfriends Club – Only Trying
[audio: http://www.quickbeforeitmelts.com/music/MAP/The_This_Many_Boyfriends_Club_Only_Trying_CANADA.mp3]
“We are a mercurial bunch,” says Casimir Frederic Coquette Kaplan, guitarist and vocalist for The This Many Boyfriends Club, since by the time you hear Only Trying, vocalist Veronica Danger Winslow-Danger will have sung her last lo-fi “dandy punk” show with the band. A new single will also be up for the offering, signalling yet another shift for this ever-evolving Montreal band. I’ll follow this club wherever they want to lead me. You will too.

CHILE: Super 45
Cóndor Jet – Igual Que Ayer
[audio: http://map.super45.cl/map-2014-03/Condor_Jet_-_Igual_que_Ayer_-_Chile.mp3]
Antonio Favero, Nicole L’Huillier and Tomás Vidal are Cóndor Jet, a trio that has refreshed the indie-rock scene in this country. They play psychedelic dream-pop, so they were a perfect fit to open for Tame Impala last October in Chile. Igual Que Ayer is taken from their debut album Anillos.

COLOMBIA: El Parlante Amarillo
Goli – Tú y Yo
[audio: http://elparlanteamarillo.com/map/Goli%20-%20Tu%20y%20Yo%20(Colombia).mp3]
Goli is the project of Sara Rodas, born in Medellín, who is remembered for being the singer of synth-pop group Mr. Bleat. Now Sara shows us her other side, in which we perceive something more intimate and romantic. Tú y Yo is taken from her debut album released this month. Don’t miss the limited edition handwoven version.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Shiny Darkly – Dead Stars
[audio: http://map.super45.cl/map-2014-03/Shiny_Darkly_-_Dead_Stars_-_Denmark.mp3]
This edition of MAP marks my fifth anniversary as Denmark’s representative in this great music blog alliance. It’s a special occasion so I’m happy to be able to mark it with a track from some of my all time favorites, Shiny Darkly, who will release their long-awaited (and excellent, I might add) full-length debut, Little Earth, in Denmark on March 31 and internationally on May 5. A MAP exclusive download, Dead Stars is the nine-plus minutes of awesome post-punk album closer.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Casetera
Sin Fin, Realidad & Lugo Santiago – La Expropiación Legal
[audio: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4040290/MAP/Sin%20Fin%2C%20REALIDAD%20%26%20Lugo%20Santiago%20-%20La%20Expropiacion%20Legal%20%28Dominican%20Republic%29.mp3]
Several hip-hop artists united to record a tribute album for Juan Antonio Alix (available as a free download on the link above), one of the most influential poets of the Dominican Republic and a master of “décimas”, ten-line poems that usually satirize social, political and religious themes. One of the poems, La Expropiación Legal (written in 1876), attacks communism directly, accusing the government of seizing private properties for their own benefit. Rappers Sin Fin, Realidad and Lugo Santiago add their rhyming skills to turn this song into one of the most memorable moments in the album.

 

Hit ‘read more’ for the full list.

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SEQUENCE: D.D Dumbo

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8_M_042

For those of you unacquainted, Castlemaine is a country centre that’s about an hour’s drive west of Melbourne. Situated between Ballarat and the Victorian capital, it once was a town fuelled by gold, then left to fend for itself after the hordes of new money left.In 2014 it still remains as a country centre, but it’s evaded the plastic re-hash of most urban centres. It isn’t mall-i-fied, and nor does it rely upon an antiquated mirage of ‘colonial heritage’ to get tourist dollars in. It is this town that now lays claim to DD Dumbo (aka. Oliver Hugh Perry).

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LOOK: 2013 in Pictures

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Total Control were pretty much my fav band to shoot over the years.

Total Control were my fave band to shoot over the years.

 

As 2013 winds up and my time as Photo Editor at Who The Hell comes to an end, I thought I’d give y’all a quick review of pictures that moved us this year as my farewell.

We have been lucky to share in the development of Rebecca Capp and Alan Weedon as they’ve honed their skills over the last couple of years.  I feel quite proud of the work we have shared this year, as well as and the expansion of the ‘Sequence’ into the blog has worked because these guys are so dedicated to making great images.

I’d also like to mention our new Sydney guy Jack Toohey who created an exceptional Sequence late in the year with Bligh Twyford-Moore.

Keep in touch here and thanks for reading xo.

pond-AW

Pond at Laneway in Melbourne by Alan Weedon

GP2013-RC

Bro love at Golden Plains by Rebecca Capp

BlighTwyfordMoore-JackToohey

Bligh Twyford-Moore in Sydney by JackToohey

Bangin Aus Day BBQ-RC

Bangin Aussie Day BBQ by Rebecca Capp

HandGames1stBday-AW

Hand Games 1st B’day by Alan Weedon

NaysayerGilsun-AW

Home life with Naysayer and Gilsun. By Alan Weedon

Bermuda Float by Rebecca Capp

Bermuda Float by Rebecca Capp

NOZU-AW

No Zu by Alan Weedon

AinslieWills-RC

Ainslie Wills by Rebecca Capp

 

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INTRODUCING: Chunyin

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rainbowchanpressnew

 

 

Rainbow Chan, the Sydney-based songstress who’s responsible for one of Australia’s more notable pop releases this year, has come out with a side project, Chunyin.

Chan’s Long Vacation EP (out through Silo Arts & Records) set indie scensters alight with her brand of delectable pop, but this latest project sees a break in that trajectory.

Often associated with Sui Zhen (hopefully not because of inadvertent racism), Chan’s melodies inhabit a space that could be considered whimsical—no doubt fostered by a love of vintage toys.

However, Chunyin’s a whole new ball game.

The first, and only track posted on Soundcloud, ‘Monochrome’, is reminiscent of Collarbones circa Iconography. It’s an abstract work that probably won’t be as blissful to the ears as say ‘Fool’s Gold’. The vocals that underpinned that release aren’t present here. Tagged as ‘Stonewashed’ on Soundcloud, ‘Monochrome’ distorts the the ‘vintage toy’ aesthetic into that of chopped up samples, loops, and general electronic goods.

What propelled Chan to break open this side-project is anyone’s guess, but it’s going to be interesting to see Chunyin develop as a counterpoint to the stylings of Rainbow Chan.

It’s hard not to read over this track with the multitude of sampled influences that could’ve been referenced in the making of ‘Monochrome’. From Four Tet’s ‘Rounds’ to Mount Kimbie’s back catalogue, the creation of Chunyin taps into a scene which places the musical ‘figurehead’ in the backseat. And, considering all the attention Chan’s received for Haircut, can Chunyin be seen as an antagonist to the pop idolarity fostered by the Long Vacation EP? 

Probably not, but I’d love to find out.

 

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LISTEN: Alba – ‘Knokke/Law’

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If you’ve ever had one of those experiences where you’ve liked something on Facebook, forgot about them, and then they’ve suddenly popped up all over your barometers of ‘cool’, then Alba’s my most recent example.

There’s a bit to know about Alba. Being the first imprint for Plastic World, founded by Future Classic and Astral People alumni, Knokke/Law’s a solid release for a label touting itself as a home for ‘forward-thinking Australian music’. Whether Plastic World reaches the same level of ‘forwardness’ that the likes of New Weird Australia has, or if it builds off the success of its founding members is something that’s going to be interesting to watch in 2014.

Alba were once Albatross, off the now-defunct Life Aquatic. They’re a Sydney duo comprised of Thomas McAlister and Sam Weston, who first introduced themselves with Murder/Caspers Theme. It was a debut exploring minimal electronica that you actually should listen to, right now. Occupying a space that typified the reason why festivals like Sequence exist, Murder/Caspers Theme seemed to tap right into the bedroom-producer/beat scene that’s dominated non-Flume electronica over the past few years.

Now, enter Knokke/Law. Detroit House anyone? If you’re hankering for a boogie, then look no further than this release. Moving away from their otherwise ambient predecessors, both ‘Knokke’ and ‘Law’ combine the elements of Detroit that has been appropriated ever since. The 909 hats, arpeggiated crescendos, and the immersive synths grip where other local electronic efforts sink into melodic introspection. This is topped off by remixes from Detroit’s Jimmy Edgar and Rick Wade, that make this release’s lineage just that bit clearer.

And, if you consider the fact that their first signed act has supported Four Tet, Mount Kimbie, and Gold Panda, that’s a trifecta that I don’t think many local acts can put on their CV.

 

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LISTEN: Manor – ‘Architecture’

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manor

Aside from cheap vinyl and tinnitus, coupled-up duos are probably one of my favourite things about music. While that’s possibly just the Thurston/Kim truism I’ve been harbouring for forever – or the general assumption that tormented bed friends make better musicians (true?), I’ve always found that these kind of musical partnerships give a depth and a truthful backlog to artist’s songwriting, something that a group of boys, or girls clamouring on about their hormones could never provide.

Manor are Nathaniel Morse and Caitlin Duff. Both Morse and Duff previously played in now sadfly defunct Adelaide band Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!, before relocating to Melbourne. I really doubt these two are even a couple, but in respectable dream-pop tradition ie. Tennis, Chairlift, Wye Oak, Big Deal – they are for the sake of this write up.

The duo’s previous single ‘Afghan Hound’ may have been equitably more math-rock on the outset, but the band’s new single ‘Architecture’ is timeless pop right from the first off-beat. To the main point, the fledging groove here sounds waaay too much like Chairlift’s Caroline Polachek doing a cover of Men At Work’s ‘Land Down Under’ for anyone to ignore.

Manor are releasing their debut EP at the end of 2013. GET THIS IN YOUR EARS.

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