Feature: The Ever Changing Face of Australian Hip-Hop →

PHOTO CREDIT: Michelle Grace Hunder
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC VAULT, APRIL 2019

A cultural movement derived from oppression. A musical genre that has illuminated struggle and identified a sense of belonging amongst the marginalised and in doing so, became an art form of empowerment. It became a unifying presence in communities seeking it. From its beginnings in the Bronx, hip hop has since developed into a dominating force in pop culture today. A simple glance at commercial pop music charts and its prominence is clear.

Internationally, each guise of the genre has represented the unique identity of the society from which it has been born. Links to its African-American origins have remained in varying degrees, however, the development of hip hop in other countries has become a powerful (and oftentimes very entertaining) soundtrack to the changing of many a societal identity.

Australian hip hop is a perfect example of this. From charged messages against racial injustice and discrimination in the 1980s and 1990s, through to the localisation of the music being embraced by the wider Australian music industry in the 2000s and now, with an ambitious new generation of artists picking up the mantle, there is no other sector of Australian music in as much flux as Australian hip hop.

“I’ll be the spanner in the works of your f*cked up plans…”
TZU, 'Recoil' 2005

Cultural and identity politics have been a steadfast foundation of Australian hip hop’s evolution, whether it be Munkimuk’s ‘Dreamtime’, The Herd’s ‘77%’ or more recently, A.B Original’s ‘January 26’, the representation of the financial, racial and governmental fractures within Australian communities has long been subject of artists’ bodies of work.

Though largely influenced by groups including Public Enemy, politically-charged Australian hip hop laid strong foundations for musicians at the head of today’s resurgence three decades ago. Emerging from a thriving creative underground, artists including Brothablack, Wire MC, Munkimuk and the South West Syndicate vocalised issues affecting Aboriginal communities and setting a powerful precedent for expression through rap with that the likes of Briggs, A.B Original and BIRDZ continue to champion today. 

As the culture of Australian hip hop became further embraced by the wider music industry through the 2000s, once more we saw a distinctive voice filter through the beats. There was a notable strive for an ‘Australian identity’ that was less reliant on a heavy borrowing from the US, more on highlighting the Australian lifestyle and the ups and downs that had come with it.

“We’re staying dedicated to perfection…”
Hilltop Hoods, ‘Still Standing’ 2009 

Music by Koolism, 1200 Techniques, Def Wish Cast, The Herd and the Hilltop Hoods became orchestral in the establishment of Australian hip hop’s new chapter.  As ARIA began to recognise the public’s growing interest in the genre, the industry became home to thriving voices including Illy, Drapht, Thundamentals and Horrorshow. A familiarity found in accent and cadence, humour and content matter, gave rise to Australian hip hop with a large demographic of music fans, yet it was not without its criticisms.

The ‘redneck rap’ label is one that Australian hip hop artists have been shirking as the climate for hip hop globally has also been changing. As hip hop merges more and more with pop, electronic and indie music, new influences have emerged. Collaboration with musicians outside the genre, from both Australia and abroad have brought international attention and acclaim to not just Multi-Platinum selling artists like the Hilltop Hoods, but also to trailblazing names like Tkay Maidza, Sampa The Great and L-FRESH The Lion. 

“Pour up the love, let the healing begin…”
Sampa The Great, ‘Energy ft. Nadeem Din-Gabisi’ 2018
 

In the music of a younger generation, Australian hip hop breathes a new and ferocious fire. Urgency comes from the pens of wordsmiths like Sampa The Great, Genesis Owusu, Tasman Keith and Remi. Rising up as a powerful voice for those marginalised communities still suffering, Australian hip hop is fast regaining a platform to affect, uplift and encourage change. The idea of looking back in moving forward, charges this new music with potency and musically, Australian hip hop is seeing a renaissance of classic and contemporary hip hop, R&B and soul carving out a dominating presence within the genre.

Australian hip hop is music that represents growth without ignoring the fact it still has quite a way to go in achieving an ideal balance that allows for new voices to shine brightly. Women, a largely underdeveloped sector of the culture in Australia, are now emerging as key players in taking Australian hip hop forward.

In the lyricism of Sampa The Great, Tkay Maidza, OKENYO, Coda Conduct, Kaylah Truth, Nardean and Jesswar, Australian hip hop has adopted a fierce, opinionated and wickedly charming new guise. Their stories and records stand toe to toe with their predecessors.

For each lover of 1200 Techniques’ Choose One, there’s a mutual love and respect for Sampa The Great’s Birds and The Bee9. Just as TZU’s Smiling At Strangers album entertained while injecting sharp edge into the songs, so too does OKENYO’s defining release, THE WAVE.

“We were fruits from the trees, now you watch us grow…”
Genesis Owusu, ‘Wit Da Team’ 2018
 

As the Aussie hip hop fan demographic continues to diversify, so does the music tastes of the wider audience of Australian music fan. The emergence of Baker Boy, Dallas Woods and Kaiit in the recent peripheries of not just the Australian hip hop industry, but fans too, marks an exciting counterpoint for the culture moving forward. Young, potent musical storytellers completely in charge of their artistic direction, contributing to strength in Australian hip hop’s new guard with musicianship rooted in individual style and delivery.

The history of Australian hip hop and its evolution is impossible to consolidate into a strict framework. What can be gleaned from the last three decades of releases, triumphs and cultural shifts is that Australian hip hop is a genre that continues to look inward at itself, at its history, as new generations of storytellers establish a new identity for the culture.

Artists today are unafraid to acknowledge the failures of the genres past, but also the achievements of those who have come before.

The future of Australian hip hop has never looked brighter.

Feature: Catfish and The Bottlemen reinforce their indie identity with 'The Balance' →

PHOTO CREDIT: Jill Fumanovksy
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY TRIPLE J, MAY 2019

The Welsh rockers continue to be champions of the genre's longevity on third album The Balance.

Catfish and The Bottlemen are a band who know who they are. Over the course of three celebrated records, they’ve embraced an indie rock space that is defined by chugging guitars, anthemic lyricism, and Rockstar charm. They’re relatable to the point where all of their songs are singalongs, but they’re also powerful pedestalled performers - just far enough out of their audiences’ reach to make them an international rock commodity.

Sold out tours around the world, huge festival performances, and a fiercely loyal global fanbase have earmarked the band of bastions of modern indie rock, and they serve it up super well on album number three.

It’s a record heaped with hallmarks from a band who dare to double-down on what works, rather than throw away the playbook to write a narrative of reinvention. Which begs the question: when you know your formula and you love the music you're making, does a lack of wild experimentation matter?

On The Balance, Catfish and The Bottlemen prove that it doesn't.

The band exude athleticism and confidence, following on from sessions in the UK with producer Jacknife Lee (The Killers, Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club). You can hear a genuine love for these songs – whether they’re laying the riffs on thick, or moving through moments of introspection and vulnerability like on standout tracks '2All' and 'Longshot'. It’s already begun to translate to the band’s live shows:

"'Fluctuate', I love playing that song live," frontman Van McCann told triple j's Ben and Liam recently. "The singles, we like those songs, but the ones off the album that aren't necessarily singles, we're loving those."

The uplifting and optimistic nature of 'Longshot', as well as the grunge nuances present on 'Conversation' and 'Basically', are prime examples of Catfish and The Bottlemen's stylistic strengths. Not since the heyday of Kasabian and early-era Arctic Monkeys has there been a British rock band who has harnessed such palpable energy, teased on an album and full realised on the live stage.

"We've never had a one-off tune," McCann told Billboard in 2017. "When you come to a show you'll see that they [the audience] sing the whole album word for word, both albums now. I think we're at a place where we can properly appreciate it and grab it and run with it."

It’s true – in spite of criticism that the band “played it safe” on second record The Ride, the band have actually played it to significant success. “Running With It” appears to be part of the Catfish and The Bottlemen ethos, as the band have crafted bodies of work that thrive on consistency and coherence.

"The whole album, the artwork, the titles and the tracklisting; it's like the Rocky box set." McCann told Ben and Liam. "By the time Five and Six come out, you've got the full collection and you can all link up."

Keeping this in mind, it’s fair to ask what the larger Catfish and The Bottlemen picture look like. Following the Rocky analogy, perhaps there will come a time when reinvention will inject life and longevity to a proven and popular formula; but because The Balance does sound so alive and so current, it’s pretty clear that that time isn’t now.

They've aimed higher within the bounds of arena-primed indie rock on The Balance - 'Sidetrack' is sure to be set staple - without throwing in any alienating left hooks, or bolo punches.

As a matter of fact, taken as a statement album, The Balance sure feels like a defiant reply to the criticism that followed The Ride.

Catfish and The Bottlemen have reinforced their identity and struck a balance between the endearing songrwriting that first connected them with the pub crowds of their early days, and the huge, stadium sounds the band is fast becoming associated with and considering the norm.

The band has all the ingredients in place to produce rock music that will last, and when indie music takes its next turn back towards rock belter territory, Catfish and The Bottlemen are bound to be at the forefront with more new music to brandish.

"Simple things, get them right," McCann sings on album track 'Mission'. "You'll have enough to last your life."

Case in point.

Feature: Why Rosalía's Visual Imagery Is The New Frontier Of Music Videos →

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY COOL ACCIDENTS, FEBRUARY 2019

Looking at any commercial music chart currently, the presence of Spanish-speaking artists is a strong one - a great example of a cultural takeover that is proving itself to be a long-lasting one. The huge successes of artists including Cardi B, J. Balvin and of course, Daddy Yankee with Despacito, over the last few years is testament to the irresistible nature of this fusion of trap, hip-hop and reggaeton, but coming in hot on their heels is a young Catalan singer who is bringing with her a fiery virtuosity from the south of Spain - her name is Rosalía.

At only 25, the singer has propelled herself onto a global radar as not simply a dynamic force in Spanish pop, but as a formidable artist who has crossed international language boundaries with her vibrant auteurism, and experimental representations of flamenco music. 

Particularly with her latest record El mal querer, Rosalía approaches her craft inquisitively and boldly; the foundation of the album stretches back centuries, the material a conceptual exploration inspired by a 13th century romance text, Flamenca. Themes of toxic relationships abound in the text and the record, however Rosalía’s head-turning work with El mal querer demands attention for its intricate and nuanced visuals as it does its sharply addictive musicality. 

The album’s artwork is an immediate example of Rosalía’s delve into Spanish iconography - portrayed by Filip Custic as a heavenly figure; indeed the purity depicted in the imagery is one that is further explored and contrasted further on El mal querer with great effect. 

The first single from El mal querer, Malamente, opens the record and in doing so, kicks the door open on an album of passionate music. It’s the music video, though, that captures the strength and charisma of Rosalía’s unique vision. A man in a traditional capirote (a hood worn during Spanish Holy Week) rides a skateboard with nails. Rosalía herself rides a motorbike as a man - a modern bullfighter - taunts her as if she was the bull. 

Where Malamente represents omens and predictions, the third ‘chapter’ of El mal querer also had a bombastic visual delivered alongside - PIENSO EN TU MIRÁ - a chapter that details infatuation and jealousy. As a follow up to Malamente, PIENSO EN TU MIRÁ continues Rosalía’s contrasts of the delicate with the abrasive: a plastic flamenco doll swings from the rearview mirror of a truck, which eventually crashes into a brick wall. 

Truck drivers are depicted with their metal beasts, blood spreading out from their chests, referencing the song’s chorus (translated to English, ‘I think of your gaze/Your gaze/Is a bullet stuck in my chest’). Further on, Rosalía is in front of these trucks with her squad of dancers. As she sings, decked out in gorgeous streetwear, Rosalía is followed closely and surrounded by men pointing guns and machetes at her. 

By contrasting provocative imagery with strong pop choreography that Rihanna would be proud of, Rosalía positions herself within an interesting space. There has been opposition to her use of Gitano culture and religious imagery while at the same time, Spanish media has also lauded her as an innovator, bringing flamenco into a whole new era. 

What Rosalía has done is prove the enduring passionate nature of her Catalan history in bringing it, side-stepping and body-rolling, into 2019. With El mal querer, she tells the same story of a doomed relationship and studies the effects of jealousy as was told in the 13th century, but in doing so, Rosalía applies 2019 flair to it. The heartbreak chapter, Bagdad, has Rosalía (portraying a stripper), in a grimy toilet cubicle filling up with her own tears. Di mi nombre (Say My Name) incorporates Spanish gypsy culture into its hook, while the delicate clapping backing it is another example of Rosalía’s flamenco roots never being too far from the modern R&B surface. 

Rosalía’s artistry is one built on taking roads less travelled. Her hybrid of pop balladry, downbeat R&B and almost syncopated flamenco beats is matched by layered and visually striking companion pieces that can stand strong on their own. She demonstrates curiosity, ambition and a bold desire to lean back into the musical and cultural traditions that formed her upbringing and training, in bringing such beautiful complexities to an audience more eager than before to catch a vibe on a new flavour not available in their own backyard.

Interview: Empress Of

PHOTO CREDIT: Fabian Guerrero
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY COOL ACCIDENTS, DECEMBER 2018



“Change is growth and I don’t want to make the same thing twice,” Lorely Rodriguez, the artist also known as Empress Of asserts, talking about the ever-evolving nature of creating music.

Of course, the songwriter and producer is currently experiencing the early throes of new album energy, with her sophomore record Us still fresh in our memory after its October release. As a collection of material, the Empress Of sound has become more defined and textured. Her exploration of pop music through an alternative lens first manifested with acclaimed debut album in Me back in 2015 and as she remarks of Us, continuing to find her creative voice and identity throughout the process has remained crucial.

“It’s the album where people either love it, or they hate it,” she admits. “That’s fine; making art, I feel that’s something that comes with the territory. My first album was so critically acclaimed, I had never experienced that and so the first time I read a bad review on this record I was like, ‘Oh, okay!’

“It was really empowering because I know I made something really special to me and this album is connecting with more fans than ever, so I must have done something really honest and genuine.”

The changes Rodriguez talks of are indicated in the title. A more collaborative effort than her debut, Us is an album that sees her flex her musicality alongside the likes of Dev Hynes and Jim-E Stack. Changing her approach to making this album also meant acknowledging her own personal growth and confidence as a writer, a big element of her process that Rodriguez says uplifted her and made the end result shine.

“I started making this record in the same way that I made the last record,” she remembers. “I was not getting the results I wanted to. Sometimes, doing the same thing twice isn’t going to work. I’ve grown as a person and as an artist and I need my music to reflect that as well.

“When I made my debut, I was trying to define that and trying to own my sounds,” she says. “I own it [now] and I don’t need to do that again. I can just do it. I can just be myself and I feel empowered in knowing that. The whole collaborating aspect is me just being really confident in who I am and going into a room with someone else and not being afraid of the result sounding like a departure. It’s not a departure. I feel confident in maintaining my sound.”

An avid fan of pop music and the different threads of influence that form today’s current tapestry of the genre, Rodriguez sits in a great position to thrive, both as an artist and as a music fan. 

“Blood Orange is a really good friend of mine,” she says. “Negro Swan was a big album for me. It was one of those albums that I put on and it soundtracked the year. I also toured with him so I got it in a really weird way as well, where I would hear him play it live every night. That was an important album.

“I think expectations can sometimes be really inhibiting, creatively,” she ponders, turning attention to the way artists are flipping the script on what is seen quintessentially ‘pop’. “I love when artists don’t give you what you expect. I really love the Ariana Grande album Sweetener; she makes huge records and she decided to make weird songs with Pharrell. It sounds like N*E*R*D! I love the courage that that takes and I love the courage that thank u, next takes. I also feel like I did that with my record, where people wanted me to make my debut again. I didn’t.”

Bringing new ideas to recording sessions and then inviting fans to be a part of the experience in the live realm are two things Rodriguez has been buzzing over as she approaches the beginning of the Us album tour cycle. While Australian fans wait patiently for our turn to see the album played out live, the Empress Of sphere of influence is about to get a lot bigger in the early months of 2019.

“Usually, people put records out and then they tour immediately,” she says. “I did that for my first album. I wanted to give some time to people to listen to the lyrics and listen to the songs, then go play. Have people know the songs. I was like, ‘Cool - record comes out October 19th, I’m going to tour in February’. Give people time to live with it.

“I’m on tour through until the end of March and then I’m going on tour doing my own shows playing the record. It’s going to be so fun and so special; I don’t have any Australian dates yet, but I’m just hoping that I can make it to play the record. I just want to share this record with people.”

Interview: DJ JNETT

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY RED BULL, APRIL 2019

DJ JNETT is a name synonymous with the extensive and deep history of Melbourne dance music. A driving force in the genre through the '90s, Janette Pitruzzello's untouchable musical knowledge and skills behind the decks elevated the DJ to the upper echelons of reverence within the industry, while her fanbase would only continue to intensify and diversify as her career entered the 2000s.

But now, in a musical climate driven by digital connections and a global community made smaller thanks to the advent of technology and the internet, how does a luminary such as DJ JNETT view the ever-changing dynamics within the Melbourne music community?

Over a cup of tea in the city’s inner-north, JNETT opens up about the difference in scene now, to when she first began her journey through the ranks.

“I stuck to it because I was completely passionate about it.” she reflects on the early days. “In Melbourne when I was coming up, the huge thing was the progressive house sound. For me, I was more into underground house, disco, whatever genre you’re talking about. The musicality, I struggled with. Like, ‘There is all this other amazing music, how come this is such a dominant sound?’ Personally, it didn’t rock me, but it is what it is. I don’t know what it is, but it’s almost like this other force that kept me going in it.”

As we talk, JNETT’s unbridled love for the art of music and its many sonic forms rings out beautifully. From working in music on a retail front, to spending years crate digging and building an envious collection of her own, and then bringing her own DJ technique to packed clubs and audiences of thousands, Pitruzzello has an intrinsic connection to the beats, the whirrs of production – the odd sense of euphoria that comes with the completion of each sweaty set.

“I feel that there’s this thing that is innate inside you,” she says. “That when you’re exposed to certain things and it triggers something, you don’t really know the answer as to where it’s come from. There are certain personal friends who have really influenced me in such a massive way, musically. Producer-wise, there were a lot of American house producers who now have become headliner names. It’s interesting how before, it would be a sideroom thing, whereas now, everyone seems to be aware of those artists, it’s so interesting!”

Cutting her teeth on stages in Melbourne clubs, eventually growing her style and presence internationally and then on TV as a presenter on ABC's Recovery, Pitruzzello has thrived on each challenge to be put her way. However, she admits the path to success for today’s generation doesn’t necessarily align with her own values.

“Your drive for it changes.” she admits. “For me, I’ve just approached music really honestly, not in a conscious way, which I see a lot of now. The art of planning, ‘I’ve got to go from this to this.’ I’m avoiding a lot of the shitty gigs which I have spent a lifetime doing, because if that allows you to express yourself and hone in on your craft, the more the merrier. The more hours you clock in doing it, it becomes second nature.”

A mother of two, Pitruzzello’s priorities have undergone examination and change over the years. Her role as a parent is one she proudly speaks, but just as fiercely, she is also proud of the dynamic she’s been able to strike as being both a parent and a creative force. Not one to be pigeonholed, or have her path determined for her, DJ JNETT’s creative growth stems from an innate desire to go her own way.

“What I struggle with is the idea that there’s this lane you’re supposed to run with, if you want to keep your profile alive.” she says. “If you really remain true, then there is no formula. I’m not a 25 year old who wants to be posting selfies. There’s elements of that I really struggle with, but then I think, ‘You haven’t had to do that so far, you don’t have to feel the pressure of it’. I want to move past that. We’re in a different time now, it’s a different thing to be aware of. Regardless though, you do what you love - if you’re going to focus that much time and energy on it, you’ve got to love it. I know that for me, I love it on a level that I can’t really explain.”

Interview: Dallas Woods

PHOTO CREDIT: Ken Leanfore
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY RED BULL, APRIL 2019

A connection to home, a connection to the ones who have come before, and a vision for what lay on the road ahead, has been at the centre of Dallas Woods’ musicianship. The Noongar man from the East Kimberley, who now calls Melbourne home, is part of a new wave of Australian hip-hop artists turning the genre on its head.

Touring with Baker Boy - an artist Woods took under his wing back in 2014 - has not only exposed fans to Woods’ electric stage presence, but further invited music fans to discover the rapper’s prowess on the mic and brash lyrical honesty. His music toys with the dark as well as light themes. A dynamic performer, Woods has incorporated his struggles, his evolution and the insatiable ambition he has an artist, into his music with exciting fervour.

What comes across so passionately with your 64 Bars, is a sense of nostalgia and reflection. How has growing up in a small town influenced your direction, making moves in your career?

I feel like, if you don’t know where you come from, how do you know where you’re going?

The person who I am today is a mixture of all these experiences that I’ve had as a kid growing up. When you grow up in a small town, there’s limitations to opportunities but when you’re young, you don’t see it like that. When you finally step out of from where you’re from you’re like, “Man, there are so many more opportunities,” but then you really do appreciate the little things that your town had, that the city doesn’t have. The freedom of a small town - you can really find yourself as a human there.

Have you found your views of home have changed now you’ve been gone for so long?

When I go back, I see a different place. You leave for a little bit and there’s a new generation who is going to take over. You see a difference in how my generation perceived and grew up with things, compared to this generation who would rather stay indoors and play games instead of being out on country and living how the old people used to leave. I didn’t even understand the extent of the place I was living in, the beauty of it.

You’re currently touring with Baker Boy, who is riding a whole wave of his own. What has it been like to see crowds respond to him, and by extension, the work your crew has been doing for some years now?

It’s crazy. I see it from two sides. Getting to travel around with Baker Boy, you get to see how Australia is loving this fresh air of hip-hop. Even an old hip-hop head will come up to me and say, "Lyrically, Australia needs someone like you," - those small little wins are what I do it for.

That’s the [overall] aim, to bring awareness with our artform that everyone listens to. At the end of the day, when I [first] heard Aussie hip hop, I wasn’t a big fan. But when I listen to the actual lyrics, I’m like, “These guys are doing their thing!” That really pushed me to go look at hip-hop in my country and obviously, their stories are a lot different to mine, but they’re stories nonetheless.

Who were you listening to, growing up?

When I was growing up I was listening to a lot of Tupac, 50 Cent’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ album was the one that got me. I was like, “Wow this is crazy.” As I got a little older, I started listening to a lot of Eminem and Nas; that quick storytelling style. My style of hip-hop was always [based] in the storytelling side of it. I like hearing and painting the picture you could only see in your head, or what you perceive the lyrics to be.

They’re a product of their environment and I love that they didn’t have to change who they were to make music that other people could actually relate to. Not everyone is going to be around places where there are guns popping off, but where the less fortunate and the forgotten about...that doesn’t see colour or culture.

What is it about music that keeps you going, and what is it about hip-hop in this country that is exciting you right now?

I’ve been on the road for the last ten years, really. I’ve gotten to see all of Australia, every state and territory, and I’ve been able to be amongst so many different circumstances and so much stuff that is alien to me in my own country! I didn’t have to travel the world to see those things.

With me, my biggest gift is my sense of awareness and ability to adapt to situations. Within that, I soak up all the energy I can; I watch and learn. You can’t be the voice for everyone, but I just want to be one of many.

Interview: KNOWER

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY BEAT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2018

The Melbourne International Jazz Festival is days away now, and as venues throughout the city prepare to host some famed names and local luminaries at the vanguard of jazz’s new wave, hype has continued to build around the arrival of Los Angeles’ Knower.

For Genevieve Artadi, Louis Cole and their rotating roster of touring musicians, the last eight years have been filled with sonic exploration and viral success. Their latest album, 2016’s Life, has seen Knower further expand in musical notoriety; their touring schedule has taken the group from LA right around the US and through Europe, to great success. Bringing Life to Australia for the first time for the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Knower will light up 170 Russell with their unique flair.

“We’re going to go full blast,” Artadi says. “Fast funk beats, crazy solos, I’ll bounce and sing. We’ll do a ballad or two. [It will] be extra cool doing it with Rai [Thistlethwayte] in his home country.”

The Thirsty Merc frontman may seem like an odd addition to the Knower setup, but one quick Google of their work together helps it all make sense. As Artadi explains, the fusion of different artistic influences from each member of Knower is essential to its musical aesthetic.

“When we record our albums and when we perform our duo set, the music has billions of layers; many of them are electronic sounds that Louis creates. The show we’ll bring to the Melbourne International Jazz Festival will be fun because the textures will be reduced down and played live by amazing musicians who each bring their own fire to the songs.

“[There are] so many bad arses on the bill,” Artadi says of the MIJF program. “It’s an honour to be a part of it. Jazz itself is a music of progressive thinking, so if we are considered ‘progressive’ in our inclusion of pop and electronic genres, I don’t think we’re too far from a jazz-like mindset.”

While a new Knower album is in the works, Artadi’s focus is on enjoying the buzz of bringing their music to new crowds for the first time. That connection with their audience is an element of Knower’s output that has brought them much acclaim over the last few years, a facet of this crazy lifestyle Artadi relishes.

“We love playing for all different types of audiences, but the most fun are the shows where people go bananas and Louis can crowd surf. It’s also the best to talk to people afterwards and hear about their individual connections with our music. Touring has and will continue to affect how we write new songs. Maybe not hugely, but it is fun to think about how certain grooves or sounds or melodies will translate to a live audience. Maybe we’ll think about getting people riled up. It’s hard to say now, because when we get into studio mode, we are on an unpredictable journey with only ourselves.”

One listen to Life, or even further back in the Knower catalogue (special nod to 2011’s Think Thoughts), and you become introduced to a kaleidoscope of soundscapes. What kind of creative spaces do Artadi and Cole inhabit when they settle in for writing sessions?

“It’s all over the place,” she says of their recent influences. “We are very attracted to alien movies; we watch YouTube countdowns about strange phenomena and are nuts over YouTube poops. We go to a lot of our friends’ shows in LA and also listen to a lot of different music, even stuff we don’t like sometimes. Certain aspects make their way into our music, even if it’s just the energy behind it. We both love the movie Under the Skin and [we] got into a Naruto phase for a while. [We] got super into Skrillex’s albums and live show visuals.

“Lately, I’ve been listening to Bernice, String Boys and Ryan Power’s They Sell Doomsday, as well as KSUR AM in LA, where they play a bunch of cool pop songs from the ‘60s. Also been feeling the Twin Peaks vibe and music. I’ve been overhearing Louis listen to Boards of Canada and Earth, Wind & Fire. We also did a Keith Jarrettlistening hang together recently.”

With 2018 set to be another big year of touring for Knower, Artadi’s hopes for these shows remain simple – go big. Melbourne in particular is a city they’re pumped for.

“Big emotions,” Artadi says. “That’s behind everything we do; if that translates, that’s a great feeling for us.”

Interview: Chris 'Daddy' Dave

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY BEAT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2018

His is a discography that extends back to the early ‘90s with Mint Condition, while the last decade has seen him work on records with little-known artists including Robert Glasper, Adele, D’Angelo, Anderson .Paak and Justin Bieber. He, of course, is drummer Chris ‘Daddy’ Dave – instrumentalist, composer, bandleader.

This week, Dave returns to Melbourne with his band The Drumhedz, for the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. A revered name across not only jazz, but hip hop and gospel music, Dave’s status within the contemporary music scene is unshakeable and undeniable.

The Drumhedz’s debut LP was only released in January, but for Dave the wheels hadn’t stopped turning since their fervent mixtape – Chris Dave Presents The Drumhedz Radio Show – was released last year.

“There’s been more work, definitely,” Dave says of last year’s schedule. “More work with new artists that I’ve gotten to meet, and I’ve been able to play with people I’ve never played with – I’m never complaining about it. I was able to reconnect with a few people [too] that I hadn’t had a chance to record with and write with.

“We’re getting to play more this year, so that’ll be fun. We’re already working on the next record too. We’ve got a lot of different projects that we did last year and earlier this year, that will be out later this year. There’s a lot of music coming out, finally. We’ll be able to get it out a little quicker. We won’t have to wait as long. Of course, I’m still writing and producing some surprises that I want to keep quiet.”

On their return to Melbourne, Dave expresses an interest in experiencing local music spots – meeting and connecting with like-minded people has always been a large part of what makes this music community (particularly on a global level) so energising. Especially when it comes to potentially forging new creative relationships.

“This will be our second time coming back,” Dave says. “We had so much fun the first time. We wanted to do it every year, but I guess there’s been some kind of stipulation that meant we couldn’t do it every year. They can’t have artists back to back, but it’s worked out that we were able to come back now, with the album having come out this year too.

“Each artist is different,” he says, detailing the diversifying roster of artists he works with. “I’m pretty cool with everybody, so I’m easy to work with. I already know the artist before I work with them, so it’s a little easier, when you’re working in different genres. I know personality-wise who they are and what they’re looking for in their music. My job is just to make sure that we get that across and that they’re happy. That’s the job at the end of the day. If you don’t make everyone happy, they’re definitely not going to call you back.”

As conversation turns to the way jazz has entered the mainstream, thanks to artists including Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, and even Pulitzer Prize-winning Kendrick Lamar, Dave remains unsurprised about the genre’s wider exposure.

“It’s interesting. For us, it’s been this way for the last five or six years; now, it’s getting more exposed to the world. It’s good that it’s gotten out and it’s a little more popular and more people appreciate it; appreciate all the other musicians from across the world doing it. We all knew about each other from a while back, so this isn’t necessarily new. It’s a progression of whatever sprouted back then.

“I met Kamasi many years ago, and I think the first time Thundercat went to Japan was with The Drumhedz,” Dave remembers. “We all connected way back. We are all fans and friends of each other, so we always try to make sure we support and help each other. We were able to write something together on Kamasi’s new album, I was excited about that.”

Music and its expression, its core evocative energy, is at the root of what drives Dave as a creative; even talking about it in the context of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, there’s a feeling that while he’s happy to be conversing about his music and last few years on the road, he’s much more in his element when he’s creating and playing.

“I normally don’t even like doing it,” he says of technical masterclasses. “[But] I’m doing it for this festival. I usually just like to play and not explain anything; it gets too confusing. Your expression is in what you’re playing. When they’re like, ‘Give me that in words,’ I’m just here like, ‘I can’t give that to you in words, that’s why I play music.’

“We don’t label music in my circles,” he says, which makes collaboration all the more organic. “It all started with who you were playing for. That’s how people formed the opinion of how you played. It depended on how good you were at different genres, and then it expanded from that. It’s more about the experience, how you feel, that emotional energy.”

Interview: Cat Power

PHOO CREDIT: Eliot Lee Hazel

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY BEAT MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2018

Over the years, Marshall’s songwriting skill and musical identity has both strengthened and diversified with time and experience. Currently  preparing for the release of her new album, Marshall — and fans — anticipate the tenth Cat Power studio record: Wanderer.

The singles that fans have been delivered so far (‘Wanderer’, ‘Woman’, ‘Stay’) have been strong in their presentation, yet Wanderer shines as a whole for its great sonic contrasts, as well as Marshall’s defiance; in both her writing and vocal performance. Where other Cat Power albums are known for a somewhat cathartic channelling of pain, Wanderer is built on ideas of hope and possibility, taking a road less travelled in search of redemption, or emotional enlightenment.

“I think it serves a purpose,” Marshall says of Wanderer. “There are some things I needed to release. Songs are like a mystery inside my mind, you know? There were some things I needed to release to help me as a human, as a woman.”

Wanderer is the result of some years’ work of writing and recording between Miami and Los Angeles. Marshall notes the impact her son had on her work as a musician, and how integral he was to the formation of this record.

“Having my child, or maybe having his soul in my body, carrying around someone’s soul in your body may link you with some sort of divine synergy,” she ponders. “I am much more grounded and extremely self-protective and protective over my life. My intention while recording this album was one of complete protection and security of personal space; protection of the intention of goodness.”

Bringing Rob Schnapf into the fold to help produce Wanderer allowed Marshall to relinquish some of the already heavy workload she had taken upon herself, and also allowed for a strong, new dynamic to thrive.

“If I hadn’t left Miami, my comfort zone, and gone to mix somewhere else, I probably wouldn’t have recorded the song ‘Wanderer’, because it was so personal,” she remembers.

“It was more of a meditation. I wouldn’t have recorded ‘Stay’; that whole recording was just a soundcheck, basically. He had been recording and I didn’t know.”

“My ex-label was calling him and asking if there were hits and he kept that information from me. He didn’t tell me, and I didn’t find out until  recently. He upheld his integrity as an artist too. Working with him, it was like being in his house. It was so comfortable.”

The importance of finding beauty in nuance was crucial for Marshall on Wanderer and in Schnapf, she found a comrade.

“He did a lot of work with Elliott Smith, who was a friend of mine,” she explains. “He understands the elegance of simplicity, you know? That’s really important.

“It was similar with Lana,” Marshall adds, reflecting on her relationship with Lana Del Rey, who features on ‘Woman’. “When she asked me to go on tour with her, there was an understanding of, ‘Hey, we’re a team’. That’s what we’re meant to do. We’re meant to relate. If you see an old man who’s just broken down on the bus corner crying, we’re meant to put our hand on his shoulder and ask him if he’s okay or if he needs help, you  know?”

Speaking openly about how this process differed from creating Sun six years ago, Marshall vividly recalls the external pressures put on her to deliver a career-defining album.

“For this record, I had the pressure on me again,” she admits. “I knew there was pressure to do a hit record. When they asked for it and when they returned it and said it was no good, that I needed to change it – I worked very specifically on this record. I had clearly visualised my path of  recording this record right after my little boy was born.”

“Sun was so overpowering. It was so dominating. I worked so hard to make sure that I created and formed sound and words with integrity. It’s so hard, because the idea of a ‘hit record’ just doesn’t make sense to me. Fame and wanting to be famous, I’m not comfortable with how absurd and how pointless that is.”

Within the bounds of previous Cat Power releases, there is a gorgeous, albeit haunting, quality; the mark of a songwriter that flits cleverly between elegant warmth and painful vulnerability. Wanderer holds this quintessential Cat Power quality dear, while also navigating a more mature creative landscape that has only formed itself from time spent slowing down, and appreciating each of life’s experiences; both good and bad. Many would argue that music is a remedy, and for Marshall, it has always been a crucial medicine.

“There are things we all need to get free from and music helps,” she says. “I didn’t talk to people when I was younger. I didn’t talk to journalists, no one wanted to interview me about my songs. Over these years, I’d meet people who would say, ‘this song helped me’. That (music) also saved my life a long time ago.”

Interview: Theresa Wayman

PHOTO CREDIT: Delaram Pourabdi
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE AU REVIEW, MAY 2018

Do you remember the last time you bought a CD or a vinyl record you were hangingout for? That sound of the plastic peeling off, that first time you thumb through the album booklet? We lost a lot of that with the digital age – unavoidable – but it’s a feeling of connection with music that a lot of us still chase today. Theresa Wayman is one of those people. With the creation and release of her debut solo record  LoveLawsas TT, Wayman has reached an apex of her personal musical journey.

“I commend you for being a person that likes to listen to albums and have that perspective,” she says. “Not everybody does, so it’s really good. As an artist, I do feel a little bit like I’m on an assembly line. I’m doing the things that we all do to promote the album; I’m here talking to you and tomorrow its the next person…it’s just content, content, content and that’s what everybody expects. It can sometimes take the beauty out of the whole thing, so that’s really nice to hear.”

“In a way, it’s made me wanna go deeper into making art,” she adds. “That environment makes me wanna go home and just make things and express my feelings. Go to the root of what’s behind making music for me, which is figuring out my life and my emotions and who I am.”

Out just ahead of the weekend, LoveLaws is a personal look at a creative navigating emotional terrain, allowing vulnerabilities to shine through quite beautifully and honestly.

“I just can’t believe it.” she says of the final product. “I finished it and it’s here and it’s happening. It’s very fulfilling; it’s one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done.”

“It began when I was daydreaming about making music like this when I was a teenager,” Wayman says of LoveLaws‘ origins. “Through Warpaint, I’ve gotten to be able to get some of that out, but it’s not always quite the same process since we do other things. Then I started learning how to use Logic and drum machines in Logic – that was eight years ago. I started making some of these loops and song; “The Dream” started seven years ago. It’s changed a lot and I expanded on it, took it out of the computer with my brother and actually made the album out of that. As far as when the idea started, it was so long ago.”

Going from the band dynamic Warpaint operates within, to working largely on her own, Wayman opens up about how her work changed as a result, and how outside influences took their form.

“I was afraid I was going to be in a situation where I didn’t know how to communicate the control that I wanted to have over the project,” she admits. “I was working with my brother [though], he’s family and it was maybe a bit easier to get to a place of collaboration.”

“I definitely got caught up in not knowing sometimes what to do and then throwing things on and still feeling like those things weren’t right,” Wayman says, reflecting on her creative process. “Deciding on what to gestate; that gestation was crucial for the process, because I don’t always get that much time to make things right when making an album. Usually I’m up against time and money and with this, I didn’t have that pressure. I did get to set things aside and wait to see how I felt about them later; if they had a longer shelf life then I knew it was right. That’s a very luxurious process.”

“It’s been really nice and necessary, because when you are part of a band for so long, you don’t really know who you are sometimes anymore. It’s so great to be able to explore and have fun and learn about your process.”

LoveLaws, though a cathartic process for Wayman in some ways, wasn’t without its challenges. Overcoming these challenges and bringing music to life in a way that struck out from the rather guitar-heavy roots her work with Warpaint is largely known for, led Wayman to write music that she’s still loving re-discovering even know, considerable time after the writing process had been completed.

“”The Dream”, I was saying before that that was one of the first songs I wrote,” she remembers. “I wasn’t happy with the original melody I had for it; it took me a while to find how to change it because it had been so embedded in there for years. It took some real effort to reimagine it but I really, really love how it came out. I was finally able to let go of the etching that was the original melody and have a clean slate; everything happened there right at the end. It was the last thing I did before I finished, so I love listening to that because it’s still kind of new to me. Then there are other songs like “Too Sweet” and “Take One”; they still feel great to me every time I hear them which is amazing to me, because I don’t always feel that.”

Interview: Biffy Clyro

PHOTO CREDIT: Michelle Grace Hunder

Mere hours before Biffy Clyro made their triumphant return for Melbourne fans, we find ourselves in the guts of The Forum, where tech crew and band members are readying themselves for showtime. Soon enough, we’re joined by the Johnston brothers – James and Ben – raring to go off the back of a momentous gig in Auckland only a few nights prior.

“We fully did not expect to be playing in front of that many people.” Ben says of their Spark Arena show. “It was a wonderful, lovely surprise to get that many. We had a great time in Auckland, we had a couple days to acclimatise and get our jet lag dealt with. It was a great start, we weren’t expecting it to be so awesome.”

Finishing their Ellipsis tour cycle in Australia, both Ben and James feel the effects of such a stretch of time out on the road with this record. With a new album already in the mix, as well as Biffy’s first time scoring a feature film in the pipeline, the band looks ahead to the exciting projects on the horizon, while also relishing these last threads of Ellipsis action.

“It’s been fun,” James says. “We’re playing the record to people who haven’t heard it before, so it’s not over! It’s just starting here. It’s always nice to move forward, we’ve got a lot of exciting things planned. We’re going to do a movie soundtrack when we get home and we’ve got another album coming.”

The next major release for Biffy Clyro is the much hyped MTV Unplugged recording that will be released later in May on both DVD and live album formats. Recorded at London’s Roundhouse, the trio brought their beloved back catalogue into an intimate setting Ben admits they didn’t think they were worthy of.

” We thought that we weren’t a big enough band to be asked to do that,” he admits. “It was a real pinch yourself moment. It took a while for it to get confirmed; we’d been asked and we thought it would never happened because we’re not a big enough band for this, but it did. We’ve got a lot of songs that work in the acoustic guise; we can definitely do that. Our wonderful live players helped us out, it was a really smashing night. Really special. I’m so glad that we’ve gotten an album out of that and a DVD.”

“I think we made the mistake, you see all those 90’s performances being so iconic, of going back and watching them all.” James adds. “We got really nervous and naturally we compared ourselves to some of our favourite bands, which was a mistake. We’re not Nirvana, as much as we love them, we’re a different thing. We just had to be ourselves, as corny as it sounds. As Ben said, it’s really nice to just play those songs stripped back and let the song be the star of the show.”

Known for their high energy shows, thrashing live presence and of course, Simon Neil‘s frenetic frontman qualities, how did Biffy Clyro deal in an environment that called for a more grounded performance vibe?

“There was nowhere for the energy to go,” James says. “There’s a lot of tension. Usually you get to smash your drums or beat your guitar and run about on stage and scream and sweat. The energy just didn’t go anywhere, so for three days after we were [pent up]. It was really strange. I think the audience, to some degree, had the same feeling.”

“We went to play the song “Bubbles” at the end and everyone started clapping out of time; the audience ruined it, basically!” he laughs. “To see that restrain…they were definitely restrained in some way. That’s the beauty of it though, it’s a different sort of thing, compared to a rock show.”

“We always used to stand with our back to the audience, mumble a hello and not say too much.” the bassist remembers. It’s such a cliche of letting the music do the talking, it’s really lazy, I know. I think we’ve gotten a bit better. I think it’s best not to take it too seriously, what you’re going to say to the audience. You’re going to say something stupid before too long.”

“It’s fun to acknowledge it as well,” Ben adds. “If it’s tense, you just say that it’s tense. That, in itself, loosens everyone up a little bit.”

It was important for Biffy Clyro to eschew as many of those ‘studio audience’ vibes as possible for their MTV Unplugged gig; down to the dressing of their stage, to the natural environment they conjured to have the connection with their fans remain as engaged as it is on any festival or headline stage.

“A lot of MTV performances in the past have been filmed in a TV studio, so it’s a bit of a sterile environment.” James says. “That’s why it was important for us to go to The Roundhouse; a place where the audience was familiar with seeing bands. It’s been a real iconic venue for decades, back home. I think that was a real big part of it, dressing the venue to look like an enchanted forest! It felt like we could make the venue our own, in that respect.”

“If you file a bunch of people into a TV studio and then expect them to act an appropriate way and get a cool vibe, it’s not going to happen.” Ben adds. “It was important it was in a venue and when you see it, it feels like gig. It doesn’t feel like a TV show.”

Above us in the main theatre hall, fans decked out in ‘BIFFY FUCKIN’ CLYRO’ t-shirts filed in excitedly, while support band WAAX prepared to take to the stage for what was to be a killer opening set. The vibe down in the artist’s area remains chill; Neil is taking his own time pre-show to rest his voice, while Ben and James are casual in the face of performing to over a thousand people out in Australia for the first time in just over four years.

It is of no real surprise though, these guys take successes and challenges as a band in their stride. For fans, this unplugged release is as much a gift from the band as it is a bucket list moment ticked off for them.

“It’s a nice bookend in a way for this period of the band,” James says. “It’s a nice way to take a wee break before we move on to the next thing; a way to celebrate the history of the band through the songs and do so with the people who have supported us all along the way.”

Interview: West Thebarton

PHOTO CREDIT: Nick Astanei
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE AU REVIEW, MAY 2018

The debut album from West Thebarton – Different Beings Being Different – will finally be unleashed on to eager fans this Friday and we can safely guarantee that for the Adelaide fans who have been on the journey with the seven piece since the beginning, this is the perfect culmination of what’s been a grind of a career over the last three years.

Pangs of nostalgia and a familial love hit hard with each reference to Adelaide watering holes and the venues that have held the band (and their other projects) up through the years; a portrait of terrain well trodden by these musicians who have been quick to establish themselves as a South Australian rock behemoth still gaining speed.

To speak with any of West Thebarton about their successes up to this point, and the impressive international and domestic commitments they’ve already got in the calendar as 2018 enters its second half, there’s no ego. And there never has been.

“It’s so humbling.” vocalist and guitarist, Ray Dalfsen says. “Growing up in Adelaide, you watch bands slog it out and you watch bands really hustle; you’re used to seeing them piss off to the east coast before they get a record deal. I guess Bad//Dreemswere the vanguard of that here and it feels really nice to be like, ‘You know what; I’m kinda setting the precedent for bands being able to stick it out in Adelaide’. To do well and show that that slog and hard work, playing to ten people in the crowd early in your career, is worth it if you’re ready to capitalise on things and ready to put in the hard yards.”

Set to release Different Beings Being Different on the newly formed Domestic La La record label, helmed by Violent Soho‘s James Tidswell, West Thebarton have found themselves in the same company as Dear Seattle – making this roster one that has started out strong.

“There’s this funny photo of Tom Gordon with Tids at the 2011 or 2010 Laneway Festival,” Dalfsen laughs. “It’s pre-pubescent looking Tom with his idol and it’s really surreal to think, ‘Oh shit – we’re on a label with not only someone who gives a shit about us, but someone who is so passionate about our music,’ after we’ve been listening to theirs for so long.”

“Around 14 months ago, when the album was all done and stuff, we were ready to just put it out ourselves. Somehow that’s grown into releasing it on Domestic La La. It’s definitely been a learning curve and it’s definitely been a cool ride.”

The ride is only just beginning too, with a massive national tour set to take West Thebarton through June, before their first international jaunt awaits. With festival appearances at Reading and Leads, Pukkelpop in Belgium just the tip of the iceberg, the band is making their entrance to the UK and European market a memorable one.

“We’re all really humble people, you know that.” Dalfsen says, looking ahead at the band’s next few months. “I don’t think we’ve ever bought into expecting those things; it is still so awesome playing these gigs. When we got told we were playing Reading and Leeds, we were freaking out. When we got told we were playing Splendour, we were still freaking out; when the line up got dropped, we were all just talking about how good it was going to be just to be at the festival. Then we realised, ‘Oh shit – we’re playing this festival, how awesome is that?'”

“We’re all just super hyped and that’s what makes the band so fun, in the first place. We get to do things that are just awesome. I’ve been watching videos from Reading Festival since I was a kid. Arctic Monkeys videos from 2007. To think that we’ll be playing Reading is just awesome.”

Approaching these shows obviously brings some nervous apprehension, but sometimes it also pays to feed into this energy and churn out the frenetic live shows Australian crowds have been associating with West Thebarton for some time now.

“I went to Primavera a couple of years ago,” Dalfsen says. “I was thinking, ‘How’s this going to go?’ – like, I doubt The Replacements could speak Portuguese and everyone was just vibing on it because it was a rock and roll show. Run the Jewels was the same – it was an awesome show and it didn’t matter than it wasn’t in the language. The language barrier doesn’t exist, as much as a cliche that is.”

“A good friend was telling me a couple of weeks ago, ‘You only have one debut album.'” he furthers. “You only have one debut album, so lap it up. That’s all that’s really going through my head; we’re getting all these chances and I’m so thankful for them because essentially, we’re untested. We haven’t had a debut album and we haven’t played to international crowds who have never seen or heard us at the Exeter before. We’ll get that chance and I can’t wait. Us playing live is really our strong point, so showing it to crowds overseas is going to be nuts.”

Before they tackle international shores though, there’s this little matter of their Australian tour to conquer first. With Pist Idiots and a slew of selected local bands on for the ride, West Thebarton are aiming to bring Different Beings Being Different to the stage in full.

“We’re making sure the tour is going to be tight,” Dalfsen says. “These are the biggest rooms that we’ve headlined to date. We’re going to be playing a longer show and we want to play the album in full. We haven’t been playing it in full, so that’s something we’ve been rehearsing. We’ve been actively writing new songs as well. Because there’s seven of us, someone’s always got an idea.”

“I’m in the pre-season at the moment, I think that’s what we’re all thinking. Being at the eye of the storm is the best descriptor of it, I think things are really going to kick off and it’s going to be awesome fun. It’s going to be us doing what we do best.”

When you listen to Different Beings Being Different, the authenticity that you see bursting through each West Thebarton show is presented in a pure and unadulterated fashion. There’s anger, there’s euphoria, there’s reflection and there’s an unashamed love of the genre and the environment each member has come up in musically; it’s made this debut album the best snapshot possible of where West Thebarton has come from and the band they are now.

“With “Reasons” as an example, one of the songs around the middle of the record, I had this desire to really show off raw emotion, all those feelings that it made me feel.” Dalfsen explains. “Even when I sing that song live, I feel angry. I feel pent up anger and so much frustration. It’s really funny because when we were recording that, I was getting really angry with myself because I wasn’t happy with the vocal takes. I kept on going at it and I think that is a defining moment of the record because I knew how I wanted things to sound, and it was just getting there that was the tough bit. When we got there, I think all that raw emotion really shone through.”

“I guess that’s a way of describing our career. It’s just slogging it out and it’s really working at it; we know what we want, and it’s getting there.”

Interview: Everything Everything

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE AU REVIEW, AUGUST 2017

An email announcing Everything Everything‘s return to American shores hits my inbox roughly 10 minutes before I find myself on the phone with the band’s vocalist and songwriter Jonathan Higgs; while the band haven’t been on a stage in some weeks, he’s quick to note that their ‘down time’ has been filled with promotion for their new album, A Fever Dream.

Despite the banal elements of doing press cycles and the itch to get back on tour that often presents itself around this time for a band, he’s enthusiastic about heading Stateside again this October.

“The last album did really well in America,” he says. “It’s nice to go back with something new; do it again and do it properly. Just to see our American fans again too; we’ve got a lot out there, which is weird, but’s it cool.”

“It’s a very strange feeling when you go somewhere you’ve never been,” he remembers of earlier visits abroad. “We were somewhere in America and this entire family – Mum, Dad, four kids – had travelled something like 300 miles to where we were. They were all wearing Get To Heaven t-shirts, all of them. This five year old kid! I was like, ‘What the hell is going on? This is so weird.’ It was in being very far from home and having these guys be this into the band that they’d come all that way…it was crazy.”

The band’s reach has extended greatly since 2010’s Man Alive positioned them as a breakthrough British band to keep on your radar, though in 2013’s Arc, Everything Everything experienced more widespread acclaim. In 2017’s A Fever Dream, we see the band as frenetic as ever, though the chaotic nature of the arrangements indicates that this is a group harnessing more greatness in their artistry than we’re likely to have seen previously.

“It feels like the right thing to do,” Higgs says of the album. “The right record to have made and the right way to react to the last couple of years. The right way to react to our previous record. We didn’t want to repeat ourselves, we didn’t want to drastically go against what we’d done. We wanted to develop it and make it a bit more human, a bit more nuanced and a bit more mature. Whatever Get To Heaven was, we wanted to move on properly; see what we’d learned from that record and make it better, move on from some of the stuff we’d done.”

Looking at their now four-album strong body of work as a snapshot of how the band has developed over the past seven or eight years, Higgs reflects on the writing process behind A Fever Dream and how it’s progressed, particularly since Get To Heaven.

“I found it easy.” he says. “I don’t know about the other guys but I think it definitely did [come easier]. We were writing while we were touring Get To Heaven and that made sure that we had a lot of material when we came to the studio. We had hundreds of things and we’d worked together on so much of it, rather than slaving away by ourselves. It was very collaborative.”

“We had a lot of songs before we got to the studio,” he remembers. “Sometimes when you go into the studio; you’re like, ‘Oh shit…’ but this time, we knew we had it down. So often in the past, people have said, ‘[Everything Everything] don’t know who they are, they’re all over the place’ and I’ve thought, ‘Well we do know who we are and we’ll show you, but we’re not going to stay like this – sorry’!”

Everything Everything make their Australian return before the year is out, set to spend the final days of 2017 out our way on the Falls Festival tour. It’s been a while in between drinks, but Higgs assures me that with this record, the band is very much in the best headspace they’ve been for creating and their sights are very much set on what is still to come.

“I feel like we’ve found out who we are in lots of ways, but we’re also still searching. We’re all in a stage now where we’re not young anymore, but we’re not old. We’re in this transitionary period and we’re still figuring it out. We’re much more confident in ourselves.”

Interview: Ecca Vandal

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE AU REVIEW, OCTOBER 2017

Shimmering keys production leads into a pounding marriage of drums and guitar. Enter Ecca Vandal‘s banshee high range, soon to be joined by Jason Aalon Butler‘s guttural notes and punk royalty Dennis Lyxzén. The latest weapon out of Ecca Vandal’s musical arsenal is “Price of Living” – a hip hop licked punk fireball, it’s a statement on the harsh realities asylum seekers face everyday.

Drawing upon some well made networks in bringing this collaboration to life, “Price of Living” is a remarkable example of the way Ecca has managed to defy genre expectations.

She knows it too.

“I’m really passionate about community,” she says. “I’m really passionate about breaking down walls. Normally, you wouldn’t see those particular names together, but why not? That’s my question. Why not? We’re all stuck in our little communities or our pockets of social scenes but it’s like, ‘Why can’t the punks hang out with the hip hop kids? Why can’t the coloured people hang out with the white people?’ – all of those concepts are ones that I think about a lot. I think, conceptually, that’s what I’ve done. I’ve, hopefully, brought people together.”

The long awaited debut album from Ecca Vandal drops on Friday and from what we’ve heard of Ecca Vandal already, the record charts the Melbourne musician’s chaotic journey from “White Flag” to now pretty damn accurately. But while the hype continues to grow and the international interest is getting stronger (Ecca heads out on tour in the UK with Frank Turner & The Rattlesnakes in December), Ecca herself remains calm and collected. If she isn’t, she’s got incredible poker face game.

“I’ve gone through the whole process, you know?” she laughs. “I’ve loved the album, I’ve not known if I’ve liked it, I haven’t been sure if it’s any good. All of those thoughts have gone through my head over the last six months and right now, I’m feeling excited.”

“It is challenging and it does take a lot of energy, thought and time.” she adds. “The self-care that is needed amongst it all is bizarre.”

She reflects on the making of Album Number One with a sense of nostalgia, almost; Ecca Vandal may be the album to bring newcomers to the fold but for the leading lady herself, this has been a long time in the making. A part of a much larger story.

“I felt the progression,” Ecca muses. “I have definitely felt like I’ve grown as a songwriter. I definitely feel that I’ve been the most free in this process. I think I’ve always tried to maintain that sense of freedom and removed any kind of limitations or restrictions applied by styles and genres and categories.”

“I really started that mission a long time ago, but with this particular record, I think it’s really exploratory and I’ve really allowed myself to go into those areas. I didn’t want to put any restrictions on it; in fact, I really wanted to show different sides of myself. There’s so much more vulnerability, I think, in some of these recordings than say, “Battle Royal” or “White Flag”. There are delicate moments and there are really abrasive moments; they’re all part of who I am.”

The tour that is due to kick off around Australia next month brings Ecca to some of the largest venues she’s ever played. From club venues to the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, the excitement she speaks with is infallible.

“Everything is really interesting in terms of the live process,” she says. “It’s been recorded and tracked already, so we’re trying to work out how to do that in the live atmosphere. Everyone is playing everything live and I’m really proud of that, that we don’t have to rely on other backing tracks. It’s going to be a fun run of shows; these are my biggest shows, so it is nerve wracking but it is exciting. I mean, I’m going to play the Corner Hotel, it’s an iconic venue!”

While artists like Ecca have the platform to switch things up, musically and performance-wise, in bringing music fans an experience they can properly sink their teeth into and escape the normal banalities of life through, it’s still a struggle in a lot of ways. While, to many, Ecca Vandal is still a new name; the graft she, Kidnot and her band have been putting in extends years prior to now. With Ecca Vandal showcasing the likes of not only Lyxzén and Jason Aalon Butler, but Sampa The Great and Darwin Deez on the credits too, it’s obvious that pushing through restrictions or any boundaries put in place for Ecca, boundaries put in place decades ago, is something this artist relishes.

 perfect contender for stages like that of the annual UNIFY Gathering (where’s her call up, organisers?), the punk fireball we mention at the beginning is only just heating up and getting started.

“I think we’re getting there,” Ecca says, commenting on the diversifying of Australian music. “I think there’s definitely a lot more experimenting happening. I do think there is a lot of great music out there, but I do think a lot of it sounds the same. I think, personally, the magic happens when the combo is right and when you can put different combos together and go, ‘Okay – what can we create?’. That’s when we are actually being really creative, not when we’re being copycats. When we’re being artists and when we’re doing what we’re supposed to do as artists. I think that that’s all in the combination. That’s why I really love having unexpected collaborations and processes. I never thought that I would write a song like this with Darwin Deez, for example, on “Your Orbit”. I think it’s great. It’s about being inclusive and being open minded; it comes down to being up for the adventure of it too.”

“You get challenged and somebody will put an idea forward from a different perspective and you go, ‘Wow – I never thought about it like that,’ and it challenges you to open your thinking process and ultimately, improve. I think that’s a positive thing, it’s a win-win situation. That’s why I’m a massive advocate for embracing that, it’s important for me to keep doing that.”

Interview: Foster The People

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE AU REVIEW, DECEMBER 2017

The last time we caught up with Mark Foster of Foster the People, we were in Chicago; the band was set to play Grant Park’s Lollapalooza, a festival that had come off the back of a trip out to Australia for Splendour, as well as some sideshows to promote their then-latest album, Supermodel.

Even then, it was plain to see how much Foster the People had elevated themselves as a live unit since our introduction to the band in 2011. A formidable band exploring multiple influences that brought them out from under the indie rock umbrella, Foster the People were proving themselves to be more than a flash in the pan act out of Cali.

Fast forward to 2017, and I find myself in contact with Mark once more and the band is in a very different space to where they were when we first met. Returning to Australia for the first time since that Splendour tour for the Falls Festival, Foster the People have not only a new line up to debut for Australian fans – following the departure of Cubbie Fink in 2015 – but a new album too, in Sacred Hearts Club.

Executively produced by Foster, the frontman and songwriter takes me through the process of regrouping and pulling their ideas together for Album Number Three.

“It was the first record where I felt the confidence to be able to go in as a producer and not bring anybody for the bulk of the record.” he admits. “It was me and my band mate Isom [Innis]; the two of us locked ourselves in a studio and really took time to explore and see what the aesthetic was going to be for this record and really wanted to see what kind of music was revealed itself to us, as opposed to going in with somebody else overseeing it and cracking the whip in pushing things forward. I think we were just patient; our label was patient and everybody just said, “Take your time and just explore and see what comes out.””

“The first year in the studio, we just wrote without finishing anything,” he remembers. “We just wrote whatever came to us, whether it was hip-hop or heavily electronic influenced; punk or rock or psychedelic, whatever came we just chased it and then put it aside and started a new idea. By the end of that year, we had about thirty ideas out of eighty or ninety and started to carve out what the record was going to be.”

The end result of Sacred Hearts Club proved to be a significant sonic departure for Foster the People too, as the band explored those electronic, soul and funk influences that clearly trickled down in the early stages of production. As Foster explains, it was a freeing process.

“I think that we were intentional with not wanting the pressure of radio or trying to write a radio single,” he says. “We were really intentional about keeping that in the room and to just write and follow the spirit of creativity. I think that was very different from how we worked in the past; it was highly collaborative.”

“It’s nice to have that kind of support.” he says of the band’s backing from their label and behind the scenes team. “I also think over the years I’ve gotten better, even when that pressure was getting put on, my exoskeleton has gotten tougher. I wouldn’t be nearly as bothered as when I was 25 years old making my first record. At the end of the day I’ve learned how to take my successes and my failures – they’re going to land on my shoulders.”

“I think that there’s things I’ve learned from the past when rushing the process at the end and putting that out prematurely. It’s the worst feeling when you put something out when you didn’t quite feel like it was ready; you just release it and then over time, it’s proven to you that your instinct was right and it wasn’t finished. Now you have to live with that and all the thousands of hours put into that project would have all benefited from just twenty more hours. The last part of the marathon is always the trickiest, because song writing is like staring at the same puzzle for so long. At the end of it, you’re staring at these ten or twelve different puzzles that you think you’ve finished and then you’re stacking them next to each other, trying to sequence it with the whole thing. Making good records is hard.”