Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Dappled Cities Fly, Marissa Nadler
Quite a popular Sydney group, Dappled Cities Fly have been laying low for a while now while they record their second album. It's coming soon, though, and in preparation they'll be playing some shows in throughout February.
They've been great at the occasional show they've played recently, with their new material sounding great and the band sounding tight and focused. They play some great indie-pop in the vein of The Flaming Lips and The Unicorns, and are definately worth a look - they're playing with some great bands and should be an enjoyable (and well-priced) night out. They'll be on their Crooked Tracks tour from Feb 10-17 before playing a *very* special gig at the Mandarin Club with a killer lineup on the 24th.
Tour dates are as follows:
FEBRUARY
Friday 10 Spectrum, Sydney (w/ The Devoted Few + Laura Imbruglia)
Saturday 11 Spectrum, Sydney (w/ The Devoted Few + Death Mattel)
Thursday 16 161, Prahan, Melbourne (w/ The Devoted Few)
Friday 17 Jive Bar, Adelaide (w/ The Devoted Few)
Friday 24 The Mandarin Club, Sydney (w/ Thunderbirds Are Now! (USA), Baseball, The Stabs)
Here's a song from their debut LP "A Smile", called "Peach".
Another touring artist to keep an eye out for is New York's Marissa Nadler.
I got into her recently and found out that she already has plans to tour Australia - venues and cities aren't confirmed but it will be the first week of June. She plays some lovely, ethereal folk that should appeal to fans of artists such as Espers (a member of which is co-producing her album) and perhaps Joanna Newsom. She will also have her first 2 releases distributed by Art School Dropout in the near future.
This track is the first song on her album "The Saga Of Mayflower May" and is called "Turquoise".
Hope you enjoy the stuff i've posted tonight!
On a side note, does anyone know a better place to upload MP3s than Rapidshare? It's not the best place to upload songs. Let me know if you have any!
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Saul Williams live review
Hey again, sorry for the lack of updates recently.
I caught Saul Williams last night at Beck's Festival Bar, and it was a fantastic show and I've posted a review of it.
Saul Williams live review
Saul Williams
Beck’s Festival Bar, Sydney
11th January, 2006.
An interesting crowd had gathered at Beck’s Festival Bar to see Saul Williams play a show of his hip-hop material, the night before sold out a 4 night stint of spoken word at the Opera House. There were plenty of people more dressed to impress, and a good number of older people, than you would expect at your typical show.
This didn’t matter though. As Saul preached to the faithfully gathered early in his set, “We Are One.” And indeed, we all believed it as we shared the experience that is a Saul Williams show.
Saul took command of his audience’s attention and imagination as soon as he stepped on the stage, with the cheers soon subsiding into a hushed reverance as he stood, front center of the stage, reciting a mash-up of lines from his poems and songs in one long passage. As it progressed the intensity of his delivery grew, and with that, the excitement of the crowd, feeding off every word – especially when the majority of people picked up on passages from his better-known material, such as “Twice The First Time”. The passage ended with the line “Now tell me, where my niggas at?”, Saul’s accompanying DJ CXKidtronix dropped the bass for “African Student Movement”, and Saul’s musical set was underway.
Proving himself to be a great musical performer as well as a great poet, Saul danced, strutted and rapped across the stage, playing a set that was mostly derived from his latest, and strongest self-titled album. The set was predominantly Saul’s heavier numbers, with songs such as "Grippo", "Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare)" (the last verse delivered as spoken word) and "Telegram" showing Saul to be an intense MC, while the slower numbers, such as "Black Stacey", stopped the show from being too overbearing.
Saul is best known as a poet, and between songs he often recited his passages. Every time, the room fell into the same hushed reverance that was there at the beginning of the show – at one point, saul even stepped in front of his microphone and recited part of a passage without his mic, something which I imagine sent shivers down everyone else’s spines as well as mine.
Perhaps as expected, Saul also took plenty of time to speak about his political beliefs. However, unlike the majority of performers who attempt to use the stage to discuss politics, Saul proved to be a captivating speaker. His message was much more empowering than most other artists, a message that encouraged the individual to be tolerant, openminded and strong-willed, rather than the somewhat cliché anti-bush rant that has been adopted by many other musicians. Everyone seemed genuinely appreciative of what Saul had to say, and Saul in return seemed appreciative of his audience.
Saul closed with a chaotic "List Of Demands", with Saul bouncing all over the stage as the crowd filled in the “Wah, wah, wah” part of the song, but returned amid a huge appeal for an encore. The room again became silent for the short while that Saul remained onstage, delivering a beautiful poem unaccompanied to close the set, ending his show in a captivating and beautiful way.
Before he launched into “List Of Demands”, Saul quipped “They told you I was serious, but they didn’t tell you I was danceable too, did they?”. It was a fitting thing to say – standing together as one, the crowd danced, stood silent, were moved, and were inspired during Saul’s set.
I've posted one of the highlights of his most recent self-titled album, titled "Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare)".
Download "Saul Williams - Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare)"
I caught Saul Williams last night at Beck's Festival Bar, and it was a fantastic show and I've posted a review of it.
Saul Williams live review
Saul Williams
Beck’s Festival Bar, Sydney
11th January, 2006.
An interesting crowd had gathered at Beck’s Festival Bar to see Saul Williams play a show of his hip-hop material, the night before sold out a 4 night stint of spoken word at the Opera House. There were plenty of people more dressed to impress, and a good number of older people, than you would expect at your typical show.
This didn’t matter though. As Saul preached to the faithfully gathered early in his set, “We Are One.” And indeed, we all believed it as we shared the experience that is a Saul Williams show.
Saul took command of his audience’s attention and imagination as soon as he stepped on the stage, with the cheers soon subsiding into a hushed reverance as he stood, front center of the stage, reciting a mash-up of lines from his poems and songs in one long passage. As it progressed the intensity of his delivery grew, and with that, the excitement of the crowd, feeding off every word – especially when the majority of people picked up on passages from his better-known material, such as “Twice The First Time”. The passage ended with the line “Now tell me, where my niggas at?”, Saul’s accompanying DJ CXKidtronix dropped the bass for “African Student Movement”, and Saul’s musical set was underway.
Proving himself to be a great musical performer as well as a great poet, Saul danced, strutted and rapped across the stage, playing a set that was mostly derived from his latest, and strongest self-titled album. The set was predominantly Saul’s heavier numbers, with songs such as "Grippo", "Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare)" (the last verse delivered as spoken word) and "Telegram" showing Saul to be an intense MC, while the slower numbers, such as "Black Stacey", stopped the show from being too overbearing.
Saul is best known as a poet, and between songs he often recited his passages. Every time, the room fell into the same hushed reverance that was there at the beginning of the show – at one point, saul even stepped in front of his microphone and recited part of a passage without his mic, something which I imagine sent shivers down everyone else’s spines as well as mine.
Perhaps as expected, Saul also took plenty of time to speak about his political beliefs. However, unlike the majority of performers who attempt to use the stage to discuss politics, Saul proved to be a captivating speaker. His message was much more empowering than most other artists, a message that encouraged the individual to be tolerant, openminded and strong-willed, rather than the somewhat cliché anti-bush rant that has been adopted by many other musicians. Everyone seemed genuinely appreciative of what Saul had to say, and Saul in return seemed appreciative of his audience.
Saul closed with a chaotic "List Of Demands", with Saul bouncing all over the stage as the crowd filled in the “Wah, wah, wah” part of the song, but returned amid a huge appeal for an encore. The room again became silent for the short while that Saul remained onstage, delivering a beautiful poem unaccompanied to close the set, ending his show in a captivating and beautiful way.
Before he launched into “List Of Demands”, Saul quipped “They told you I was serious, but they didn’t tell you I was danceable too, did they?”. It was a fitting thing to say – standing together as one, the crowd danced, stood silent, were moved, and were inspired during Saul’s set.
I've posted one of the highlights of his most recent self-titled album, titled "Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare)".
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Well speak of the devil! More Crayon Fields/Sly Hats!
Not long after posting news that Crayon Fields playing in Sydney (see last post), I recieved the latest Popfrenzy newsletter and would you look at that.. Geoff is doing a Sly Hats show the night before!
It's at the Mandarin Club, supporting Minimum Chips as they launch their new LP "Kitchen Tea Thankyou". Also on the bill is Rand & Holland.
Minimum Chips recently expanded to a 4-piece with the addition of Guy Blackman, who himself is quite well known as founder of Chapter Records and as a solo musician, on bass. This should add a bit of density to their live sound.
I don't have any recent Minimum Chips to post, but i'm going to post a song from Guy Blackman's most recent EP, "Guy Blackman In Japan". I picked this up when he recently supported Smog & Joanna Newsom, and it contains some nice, slow lo-fi songs recorded, as the title suggests, in Japan, and is out now on Chapter Music
Download "Guy Blackman - There Without Me"
On a related note, Crayon Fields should be doing an instore on the afternoon of the 14th.. details when available.
Speaking of Melbourne singer-songwriters, Augie March frontman Glenn Richards has been gigging and has recorded a solo EP while Augie March are in downtime with an album in the can.. damn record company release schedules.
His solo EP bears the title "Closed Off, Cold & Bitter - Life As A Can Of Beer" - i don't know what to make of that title. The EP itself is quite interesting, with Glenn experimenting with some sounds not really seen in Augie March's releases, to varying degrees of success.
Although it is quite good, and certainly reccommended for Augie March fans, it's not really essential in the way that Sunset Studies, Strange Bird and Waltz are. But it's a nice little teaser for the upcoming Augie March album.
The highlight of the EP in my opinion is "Bottle Baby", a song that is actually going to be included on the upcoming album (i would guess in full-band mode).
Whether it can compare to this stripped-back version, though, is another question - Glenn's voice is given room to soar in this song, giving the song an intimacy that isn't really seen on the Augie March material.
Download "Glenn Richards - Bottle Baby"
The EP was available at Glenn's solo shows, and is now available from Augie March's store at Love Police. I personally can't wait for the new Augie March album - the new songs that have been played live sound fantastic.
That's all for today!
It's at the Mandarin Club, supporting Minimum Chips as they launch their new LP "Kitchen Tea Thankyou". Also on the bill is Rand & Holland.
Minimum Chips recently expanded to a 4-piece with the addition of Guy Blackman, who himself is quite well known as founder of Chapter Records and as a solo musician, on bass. This should add a bit of density to their live sound.
I don't have any recent Minimum Chips to post, but i'm going to post a song from Guy Blackman's most recent EP, "Guy Blackman In Japan". I picked this up when he recently supported Smog & Joanna Newsom, and it contains some nice, slow lo-fi songs recorded, as the title suggests, in Japan, and is out now on Chapter Music
Download "Guy Blackman - There Without Me"
On a related note, Crayon Fields should be doing an instore on the afternoon of the 14th.. details when available.
Speaking of Melbourne singer-songwriters, Augie March frontman Glenn Richards has been gigging and has recorded a solo EP while Augie March are in downtime with an album in the can.. damn record company release schedules.
His solo EP bears the title "Closed Off, Cold & Bitter - Life As A Can Of Beer" - i don't know what to make of that title. The EP itself is quite interesting, with Glenn experimenting with some sounds not really seen in Augie March's releases, to varying degrees of success.
Although it is quite good, and certainly reccommended for Augie March fans, it's not really essential in the way that Sunset Studies, Strange Bird and Waltz are. But it's a nice little teaser for the upcoming Augie March album.
The highlight of the EP in my opinion is "Bottle Baby", a song that is actually going to be included on the upcoming album (i would guess in full-band mode).
Whether it can compare to this stripped-back version, though, is another question - Glenn's voice is given room to soar in this song, giving the song an intimacy that isn't really seen on the Augie March material.
Download "Glenn Richards - Bottle Baby"
The EP was available at Glenn's solo shows, and is now available from Augie March's store at Love Police. I personally can't wait for the new Augie March album - the new songs that have been played live sound fantastic.
That's all for today!
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Jack Ladder, Crayon Fields, Sly Hats
I thought i'd start with what is perhaps my favourite new local artist this year.
Jack Ladder is one of the most promising singer-songwriters in Sydney, and has a big year this year, releasing his debut album "Not Worth Waiting For" and gaining some high-profile international supports including Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Feist and Okkervil River.
The album itself is a stunner, and complements Jack's live sound well (live he is more minimal than the album, which has some fuller arangements).
One of the standout tracks for me is "Up", and it's here for your downloading pleasure.
Download "Jack Ladder - Up"
Jack's next scheduled performance is on January 14th at the Hopetoun Hotel in Sydney, supporting Kelley Stoltz. The other act on the bill is Melbourne's The Crayon Fields.
The Crayon Fields are a great indiepop band who are in the process of finishing off their debut album after numerous EPs and some lineup changes.
Their most recent EP, and the only one available as far as i know, is The Good Life EP. It's well worth a look, and I look forward to their album.
Download "The Crayon Fields - The Good Life"
The lead singer of The Crayon Fields, Geoff, is working on a solo project by the name of Sly Hats. The songwriting is quite similar, but the Sly Hats material is a bit more minimal and acoustic-based.
Sly Hats released a lovely CDR EP earlier this year on Melbourne DIY label We Fear Conspiracy, and an album is also reportedly in the works.
Download "Sly Hats - You Will Be"
Jack Ladder is one of the most promising singer-songwriters in Sydney, and has a big year this year, releasing his debut album "Not Worth Waiting For" and gaining some high-profile international supports including Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Feist and Okkervil River.
The album itself is a stunner, and complements Jack's live sound well (live he is more minimal than the album, which has some fuller arangements).
One of the standout tracks for me is "Up", and it's here for your downloading pleasure.
Jack's next scheduled performance is on January 14th at the Hopetoun Hotel in Sydney, supporting Kelley Stoltz. The other act on the bill is Melbourne's The Crayon Fields.
The Crayon Fields are a great indiepop band who are in the process of finishing off their debut album after numerous EPs and some lineup changes.
Their most recent EP, and the only one available as far as i know, is The Good Life EP. It's well worth a look, and I look forward to their album.
The lead singer of The Crayon Fields, Geoff, is working on a solo project by the name of Sly Hats. The songwriting is quite similar, but the Sly Hats material is a bit more minimal and acoustic-based.
Sly Hats released a lovely CDR EP earlier this year on Melbourne DIY label We Fear Conspiracy, and an album is also reportedly in the works.
Welcome to Straight + Narrow
I'm new to this Mp3 blogging thing, but hopefully in the coming weeks i can post some good stuff for you all.
This was pretty much born out me wanting to share the music that i'm getting into, and also the lack of australian-based mp3 blogs.
Hopefully i'll also be able to let you all know about good upcoming gigs, review some gigs, and we can discuss other musical matters on here.
So on that note, add us to your bookmarks, let me know what you think, and hopefully we can make a good and long-lasting blog.
Thanks!
-adam.
This was pretty much born out me wanting to share the music that i'm getting into, and also the lack of australian-based mp3 blogs.
Hopefully i'll also be able to let you all know about good upcoming gigs, review some gigs, and we can discuss other musical matters on here.
So on that note, add us to your bookmarks, let me know what you think, and hopefully we can make a good and long-lasting blog.
Thanks!
-adam.
