Tagged By indie

SEQUENCE: D.D Dumbo

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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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LISTEN: The Phoncurves – ‘Heartstrings’

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Sometimes when I get sent press releases that describe a band as the ‘darlings; of a particular scene, I like to set my laptop on fire and throw it out the window.

Luckily, in the case of excellent Brisbane two-piece The Phoncurves, I restrained myself and listened to the song. The duo’s latest single ‘Heartstrings’ is actually pretty sweet. Abbie Roberts and Naomi Burrell’s voices are the most immediately striking; their harmonies are open and resonant – filling up all the space in what appears to be a seemingly simple acoustic pop song. But multiple listens reveal a depth in their songwriting. This is a track that swings and moves in waves; it’s well-structured and smart while still being soft on the surface….

‘Heartstrings’ is the first single off The Phoncurves second EP to be released early next year. Catch the duo heading out on these dates in December:

Thur, 5 December – SYDNEY @ Factory Floor

Fri, 6 December – MELBOURNE @ Victoria Hotel

Sat, 7 December – BRISBANE @ South Side Tea Room

 

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LISTEN: Yon Yonson – ‘How Bad Do You Want It?’ (Ft. Simo Soo)

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Yon Yonson seem like the band you want to hang out with at the end of a gig. Reading through their Soundcloud is a case in point. With lines like, ‘Sorry about the shit-stream of links but we be livin’ in crazy modern times’, it’s nice to know there are bands out there who don’t take themselves too seriously. The Sydney duo are Andrew Kuo and Nathan Saad, and they’re another one of those duos who are hard to pin down. Citing ‘the internet’ as their primary influence, there’s truth behind their self-deprecatory streak in saying that Yon Yonson was a way to ‘cope with musical ADHD’.

Hearing ‘How Bad Do you Want It’ proves to be a starker contrast to the tracks found on their excellent Antipodes EP. If you were to characterise an ‘aesthetic’, you’d be hard pressed to move beyond the handling of both their vocals. Sydney rap-bag Simo Soo’s layered harmonics proved to be a good choice. This latest track is a lot more interesting though. It’s something that certainly doesn’t grip you from the start, it’s more of a slow-burner. That’s of course until the track descends with a sequence of brash vocals and electronica. Samples chop and change, and vocals mirror that of the punk-styles of Coolies maybe.

YY have definitely carved themselves an interesting perch amongst a rather crowded ‘indie’ scene. Stay tuned.

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While Yon Yonson are busy working on their follow up, Simo Soo will be playing around Australia through October & November on these dates:

October 3 – The Bird, Perth w/ Outerwaves
November 4 – Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne w/ Biscotti
November 9 – FBi Social, Sydney

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SEQUENCE: Naysayer & Gilsun

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 Photos by Alan Weedon

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EXPAT: Islander

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We’re pretty grateful for the volume of amazing new artists that email us every day. That said, every now and then it’s real good to hear new music for what it is, without the intention of trying to verbalize or justify why it sounds the way it does. Hugh Gavin emailed us late last year with material from his band Islander. Somehow his email only resurfaced recently, but I’m real glad it did.

Hugh’s dad is an opera singer. While that could go on to make a good Donny Benet style bio in theory, Hugh’s done a notable share of us own solo work. He made the move over to London when he was 15 after some convincing from his opus-toting dad. Impressively, the first support slot he played was with Laura Marling and Myles Mumford (who played as a solo act at the time). Hugh spent the next few months touring with Communion Records with his band Wise Man Said.

However, he soon realised he wasn’t a “folkster”. Since taking a break from that side of things, he’s spent the last few years developing his songwriting, forming his band Islander two years ago.

Hugh has kindly taken a series of photos for us – from his home in Kentish town, to the studio, to night lights and back again.

 

(PS. Worth having a look at this Loudon Wainwright cover too. Such a voice.)

 

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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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