Perth Music

Perth rockers Gyroscope are gearing up to release record number three, Breed Obsession. The first single from the new album, Snakeskin was released a few months ago to appreciative fans and was number 1 on JTV Saturday’s for many weeks. To give fans a preview of the new album and rock out the favourites Gyroscope have been added to the Big Day Out tour and have just announced a national Pre-Obsession Tour in February and March. Lead singer Dan Sanders talked to Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

Click here to download the podcast of the entire interview. (14:12 - 1.6Mb)

Breed Obsession was recorded in the UK, which is a very different scene to Perth. I asked Dan to describe the recording experience of the new record. “It was an amazing experience. Doing any sort of album or anything that is physically close to you and you create, from your hometown be it your rehearsal room to your bedroom. To be able to put it together and create a piece or an album or whatever in another country is by far one of the best satisfactions you can have. We did one of our previous albums (Are You involved) in LA and that was an experience in itself and then this was in the UK which was another experience - no two experiences are in any way alike. Such a different place, such a different technique, such a different producer. Once you step foot in the studio it is all about where you are at, what head space you are at, who you are working with and all that sort of stuff comes into one. ”

“I think we’ve been the closest in getting almost the perfect formula in the last (album), in the UK, with who we were using and where we were doing it in Liverpool and I think the result speaks for itself. You just have to take it on with such an open mind when you’re in a another place, you’ve got to suck in all the atmosphere and lucky enough we were in Liverpool. We had the home of The Beatles and we went and saw The Cavern Club and we went down and did what they would have done back in their day and spoke to the people, the locals and they were all so friendly and they all hold onto their music so much. The whole place just set the tone for the whole album, it was the middle of summer and we didn’t see one sunny day while we were there, it was so England. It was brilliant.”

I asked Dan what was the main factor in deciding to record the album in the UK. “The main reason was the producer that we spoke to, Dave Eringa, who has previously worked with Idlewild and Manic Street Preachers and some of the bands that we thought had a really, really good live edge to their albums with still a bit of polish on it. We spoke to half a dozen producers from all around the place - England, America, Australia. But he kinda came through with the songs he thought needed to go and the formulas we were working on and we were on the same page so that was 50% why we wanted to go to the UK. The other 50% was because we hadn’t been there and it was a new adventure for us, we thought this was going to be good regardless. We were quite confident in these songs that we created and that we could take them anywhere and at least make them sound half-assed. We took the opportunity with both hands and said this is gonna be an adventure with a really good guy who seems really vibed on the music, how can you go wrong. And in hind sight it was a good call.”

The first single Snakeskin was a big hit for the boys and the second single off the album is set to be released soon with Dan explaining that they had just finished recording the video for it in Sydney. “I’m not too sure if I can say much, I don’t want to put my foot in it. But it was recorded in Sydney and was using some harnesses, you know the old ninja movies where they do it backwards and shit. There was a bit of jumping around in it and stuff but I’m not even sure when it’s due to come out.”

I also asked Dan if there was any acts in particular that he was looking forward to seeing on the Big Day Out tour. “Yeah I really wanna see Rage coz who doesn’t want to see Rage Against The Machine. I’m stoked to be able to see them a few times in succession. That’s really the icing on the cake for me to see a band that can just incite something on stage. Just the force of who they as an entity. Even the kids of now who missed out on the Rage things when it came out in the 90’s still know the anthems and I’m sure they still get played at the parties that they go to. It should be a dangerous gig to watch.”

You can catch Gyroscope playing live at the Big Day Out Shows:
Fri Jan 18 - Auckland
Sun Jan 20 - Gold Coast
Fri Jan 25 - Sydney
Mon Jan 28 - Melbourne
Fri Feb 1 - Adelaide
Sun Feb 3 - Perth

Also on the Pre-Obsession Tour:
Wed Feb 20 – The Sodens Hotel, Albury
Thurs Feb 21 – ANU Bar, Canberra
Fri Feb 22 – Newcastle Uni, Newcastle
Sat Feb 23 – Manly Fishos, Manly
Sun Feb 24 – Beachcomber, Toukley
Wed Feb 27 – Monash Uni (Mugsu O Week), Gippsland
Thu Feb 28 – The Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Sat Mar 1 – The Pub, Bendigo
Sun Mar 2 – Ruby’s Lounge, Belgrave
Wed Mar 5 – Charles Stuart University, Wagga Wagga
Thu Mar 6 – Wollongong Uni (Garden Party), Wollongong
Fri Mar 7 – Roxy Music – Parramatta
Sat Mar 8 – Newtons Play Ground, Bathurst

British musical outfit, UNKLE released their third album ‘War Stories‘ this year after two successful albums: Psyence Fiction in 1998 and Never, Never Land in 2003. Like the two previous albums, War Stories contains a musical feast of collaborations including Ian Astbury (The Cult), Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age), and 3D (Massive Attack). As he gets ready to head down under for the Big Day Out, founding member of UNKLE, James Lavelle talked to Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

Click here to download the podcast of the entire interview. (4:59 - 1.1Mb)
note: the end of the interview was cut off due to dodgy voice recorder.

I asked James to describe the process he goes through in creating a new album. “It started in LA with Ian Astbury, to do a track with him and (producer) Chris Goss and that was to see how it would work with Chris. Then six months later we went back and spent three months in LA and Joshua Tree recording a lot of the initial songs and ideas for the record. We then came back to London and put it all together really, sort of made it all fit, the pieces of the puzzle over about another year. And then it came out this year. It’s always slightly broken, the process, and then you end up with a really heavy two, three month period at the end trying to finish everything off.”

The name War Stories for an album is a sign of the times but it is also a name that can have multiple meanings. James explained “It’s an internal struggle really. The stories that you tell your friends about the experiences and things you have been through in your life. It’s more of a personal ‘War Stories‘ rather than a political way. Even though a lot of the politics are the things that influence your emotions over the past few years. But essentially it is about a personal struggle.”

The music videos for UNKLE songs are some of the most original and creative videos around with the videos for ‘Burn My Shadow‘ off War Stories and ‘Rabbit In Your Headlights‘ off Psyence Fiction always hot requests on Rage. I asked James if he puts a lot of thought into music videos. “I try to yeah. It’s always one of those weird things that is slightly out of your hands because it is somebody else that is making them, so a lot of it is the initial idea and how that is hopefully going to be translated. (Burn My Shadow) came out pretty well.”

UNKLE have collaborated with a wide variety of artists over the years including members of Queens Of The Stone Age, Radiohead, The Verve, Badly Drawn Boy, Beastie Boys, Metallica, Massive Attack and The Stone Roses. I asked James how he selects artists to collaborate with. “It’s about what that person is saying emotionally and also the interaction that you have between them as friends or whatever socially. You are trying to get somebody to convey something emotionally that in many ways you are feeling. You are trying to work with people that are saying things that you feel are close to your own heart, I suppose in the end. It tends to come from pretty social situations, from meeting up to be into one another’s music and hanging out and sort of getting on really. It tends not to be so pulled out of a hat, if you know what I mean.”

You can catch UNKLE playing live at the Big Day Out Shows:
Auckland - Friday 18 January
Gold Coast - Sunday 20 January
Sydney - Friday 25 January
Melbourne - Monday 28 January
Adelaide - Friday 1 February
Perth - Sunday 3 February

UNKLE - Burn My Shadow

After a big year and an even busier one coming up, The Woodenelves wrap up 2007 with their regular Sunday night show at the Paddington Ale House on New Year’s Eve eve. From there, the band takes a short break before beginning 2008 by kicking off the Town of Vincent’s Summer Concert series alongside fellow Perth musician Pete Stone. The Woodenelves’ Summer Concerts in the Park performance at Banks Reserve in Mount Lawley takes place on Sunday January 13 from 6pm.

2008 already has some key dates on the calendar for the rock act.

They embark on their first national tour in February to promote their album Trips Between Worlds including showcasing at Fuse Festival in Adelaide.

From there, they take a trip to Toronto for Canadian Music Week early in March and arrive home to support The Black Crowes in their only Perth show at Challenge Stadium on March 26. The Black Crowes are one of the few contemporary bands who have also shared the stage with Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones among many other legendary artists.

Head to www.ticketmaster.com.au to snap up your tickets.

Augie March have had a phenomenal couple of years which saw them gain more mainstream success with the release of their third album ‘Moo, You Bloody Choir‘ and the number 1 in Triple J’s Hottest 100 with One Crowded Hour. A year full of touring, both here and abroad, has seen them being added to the 2008 Big Day Out line-up. Keyboardist Kiernan Box talked to Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

Click here to download the podcast of the entire interview. (11:18 - 1.3Mb)

Speaking about getting the number one in Triple J’s Hottest 100 Kiernan explains “It was the first time where we had a, what you’d call, hit song. I’d be dishonest to say that it took us totally by surprise, we thought this was the sort of song that could do something and be a bit of a hit. You do see the power of having a song that is playing widely on the radio and what a difference that makes to your exposure levels. Apart from that one song being a bit of a radio hit nothing much changed in the Augie March world.”

When Moo You Bloody Choir was re-issued this year with a bonus CD, it included a bunch of songs recorded live at King’s Park with the WA Symphony Orchestra. I asked Kiernan if this could be an ongoing thing or if there was any possibility of including the orchestra in recording future albums. “I’m pretty sure we’ll try and arrange some more shows like that at some time in the future. There are no plans to do it right at the minute but that was a real highlight for us and it was a great thing to do. When our albums are made there is usually an element of orchestration in there but I couldn’t say for sure how far we will push that next time around”.

Talking about the new material Augie March have for album number 4 and direction that the new album might take Kiernan explains “I think this next album may come out a little rougher, rough around the edges and a bit rawer. I think it’s because each album rebels a bit against the last. Our previous album to Moo was Strange Bird and that was a fairly raw sounding album and then Moo reacted a bit by getting a little bit more cultivated in some way. I have a feeling this one will go back the other way”.

“We have a lot of new material but not much of it is ready. We are working on it and working through the typically tortured process of getting the material together and getting a plan and getting a philosophy and getting the attitude right. It’s all happening. With the way we work, we spend a lot of time preparing mentally and physically for it and then the making of the album will happen very quickly. But we are in that first stage, lots of songs - nothing much decided”.

I asked Kiernan if there were any bands in particular playing at the 2008 Big Day Out that he was looking forward to seeing. “It’s always good to be there and to be doing the national tour as you get a chance to wander around and have a look at everything that is going on. I am keen to see Spoon, pretty keen to see Arcade Fire live. I’m not a huge aficionado of them but I’d like to see how Rage Against The Machine do and Bjork. There’ll be plenty of things to do”.

You can catch Augie March playing the following Big Day Out Show dates:
Auckland - Friday 18 January
Gold Coast - Sunday 20 January
Sydney - Friday 25 January
Melbourne - Monday 28 January
Adelaide - Friday 1 February
Perth - Sunday 3 February

The Future of dance music festivals in Australia is alive and well with the announcement that The Chemical Brothers will headline the second annual Future Music Festival in March to a strictly capacity audience at Wellington Square in the heart of the city.

Add to this legends John Digweed (one half of Sasha & Digweed, perhaps the most celebrated dance duo of all time) and Sven Vath, M.I.A. mastermind Diplo, hip hop’s MC of the moment Aesop Rock, S-man Roger Sanchez, Ninja Tune turntablist Kid Koala, a host of others, and what you have is an excitingly contemporary perspective on the Future of international electronic music.

So here goes Perth!  The first lineup announcement…

The Chemical Brothers (Live).
John Digweed.  Diplo.  Sven Vath.  Roger Sanchez. 
Who Made Who Live. The Shapeshifters. Eddie Halliwell.  Robbie Rivera.  Aesop Rock Live.  DJ Yoda.  Mark Knight. Laidback Luke.  Kid Koala.  Elite Force.  Markus Schulz.  The Black Ghosts Live.  James Holroyd.  D.I.M.  and introducing… Silent Disco (The Arena) 
with a second round of more great acts still to be announced…

The Silent Disco, a festival favourite at Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Bennicassim, Global Gathering, Edinburgh Fringe and many more, also makes its very quiet debut at the Future Music Festival this year to add to the existing world class entertainment. The Silent Disco earned its name because an outsider walking in would see a tent full of people dancing, yet hear no music, hence silent disco. Featuring a 2 channel headset system, expect the unexpected with performances by some of the festival’s headline acts on one channel with the crazy Dutch 433fm.com DJ’s mixing up tracks from long-lost eras with current dance floor killers. In other words: it’s a complete radio broadcast, but most certainly one where nothing is fixed and everything is possible!  Experience the Future silently for the very first time!

Future Music Festival - Wellington Square
Sunday 2 March 2008

Limited Release Early Bird Tickets $95 + bf and service charges to 20 January 2007 or until sold out. Thereafter, Full Price Tickets $115 plus booking fees and service charges.  More at the door if available. Available through www.ticketmaster.com.au (136 100), www.inthemix.com.au and the following retail outlets:
78 Records, DJ Factory, Live Clothing, Mills Records, Planet Video and Rockeby Records.

Presented by Mellen Events and Future Entertainment
Visit www.futureentertainment.com.au www.mellenevents.com for more information.

Summadayze tickets are flying out fast with the final lineup additions to an already breathtaking lineup and now the Xmas Double Pack incentive that gets you tickets to Future Music Festival as well as Summadayze – the perfect Christmas gift!   Get ready for the biggest festival of the summer Perth, as we close off Barrack Street!

The Esplanade and Supreme Court Gardens, Perth (Barrack St Closed Off)

The Biggest 5 Stages ever seen in the City!
Sunday 6 January 2008

Summadayze 2008 has just announced its biggest ever line-up, with more than 40 artists playing across 5 massive stages in the heart of the city and two venues.   And now’s the best possible time to buy Summadayze tickets, because between now and Christmas (10 – 24 December), Mellen Events is offering the super special priced Xmas Double Pack including Summadayze and Future Music Festival tickets together for only $170 plus booking fees – a saving of $44 off full price tickets – not to mention the perfect stocking filler!

Summadayze 2008 historically sees Barrack Street closed off for the first time at a music festival.   This is the one festival this summer you’ll have to see to believe! The massive final lineup is:
David Guetta.  New Young Pony Club (live)
Chromeo (live).  De La Soul (live).   Cut Copy (live)
Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso (Swedish House Mafia)
Felix Da Housecat. Sister Bliss (Faithless). Christopher Lawrence
Dave Spoon. Bliss N Eso (live). Benny Benassi. Kissy Sell Out. Cosmic Gate
Joachim Garraud. ATFC. People Under The Stairs (live). Salmonella Dub (live)
Claude Von Stroke. Tom Neville. Headman. Kid Confucius. Jesse Rose
Marc Romboy. Bang Gang. Infusion (live). KIM Presets (DJ Set).
Micah. Kenny L vs Saul Bliss. Fdel (DJ Set). Bourgeois Bogan DJs. Adam Kelly. Sharif Galal
Damien John. Brash and Sassy (live). Druid Lee Roth (live). Dan The Man. Darren Brias. Junior

From the super hot indie sounds of New Young Pony Club, Cut Copy and electro funk-meisters Chromeo on the Summadayze Live Stage; to the soulful Beat Generation stage featuring De La Soul and People Under The Stairs; the world’s biggest DJ names like David Guetta, Felix Da Houscat and the Swedish House Mafia on the Summadayze Main DJ Stage; 2006 DJ Mag Top 100 Poll #4 Christopher Lawrence and Faithless’ Sister Bliss on the Famous Stage; and the not-to-be-missed Electric Playground tent featuring electro hellraisers Kissy Sell Out and Claude Von Stroke, Summadayze 2008 is the one festival line-up this summer to feature all the latest must-see artists and sounds.

In 2008 Summadayze also moves across the road to include the expansive grounds of The Esplanade – as well as Supreme Court Gardens – creating a bigger and brighter space than ever before.   Not only will both these venues be used, but for the first time in the history of Perth music festivals, Barrack Street will be closed off in order to grant punters easy access to both venues.   It’s simple – more room, more comfort, more stages and more choice than ever before!

Yep, Summadayze 2008 is set to be the party of the year.   And the best part is it’s right on your doorstep in Perth.  Easy to get to and in picturesque surrounds on the Swan River, get ready for the biggest event to ever hit city central!   Add to this the sublime production and facilities Summadayze, Future Entertainment and Mellen Events are famous for and, really, what more could you ask for?   Perth, tickets are on sale now.

Strictly limited, Specially Priced Xmas Double Packs featuring Summadayze and Future Music Festival tickets available from 10 – 24 December for just $170 plus booking fees and service charges.   Available through www.ticketmaster.com.au (136 100).
Visit www.summadayze.com www.futureentertainment.com.au www.mellenevents.com for more information.

Enter Shikari are a band from the UK that, even though they have only released one album, have gained considerable success after turning down many offers by record companies to release their debut album ‘Take To The Skies‘ independently. After playing multiple festivals around Europe including Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Download, Oxegen and Rock am Ring, Enter Shikari will make their first visit to Australia for the 2008 Big Day Out. Lead singer Roughton ‘Rou’ Reynolds caught up with Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

Click here to download the podcast of the entire interview. (9:50 - 1.1Mb)

I asked Rou to give a brief history of the band “Me, Rob (Rolfe) the drummer and Chris (Batten) the bassist have been in some sort of a band since we were in primary school and it was not until we were about 16/17 that we made Enter Shikari and that’s when Rory (Liam Clewlow) joined on guitar. Before that I was on guitar. We were playing kind of alternative rock, experimental stuff back then, kind of Muse/Radiohead sort of stuff. When we were about 17 we were starting to go out clubbing, getting into the dance/drum and bass scene, going into London but at the same time we were also putting on our own punk shows and getting into the whole underground hardcore punk scene. So I guess they were the two influences on our sound, we just decided that we enjoyed both these types of music and we want to splice them together, which is what we did. We started touring the UK and did that for about three years and then put out the album on our own label and the rest is history.”

With a style of music that is quite unique in the industry today, Enter Shikari mix a multitude of styles including rock, punk, trance and hardcore and try and involve the audience as much as they can in their live shows. Rou explains “One of the main influences for our live show is hardcore music, just getting that energy and that passion live and then also we like to take the feeling of passion and euphoria that you get when a massive tune drops in a club and you just wanna put your hands in the air and the out of body feeling. We just try and reproduce this epic sound live.”

The boys from the band not only play successfully in Enter Shikari but run their own record label called Ambush Reality. I asked Rou if there were plans to release other bands material on their label in the near future. “It’s always been our dream to help out bands that we think really deserve it and bands that we have played with in the past. At the moment it is just proving too hard with so much time getting taken up with Enter Shikari. When we are not on tour we are in and out of London, and even today we were at our lawyers office trying to catch up on all the latest stuff. We don’t want to run before we can walk and we have to make sure we have us sorted out before we can ruin a bands career.”

Speaking about visiting Australia for the first time for the Big Day Out Rou admits “I haven’t actually seen the line up yet, all I know is that Rage Against The Machine is playing. To a certain extent that is all anyone needs to know.”

Enter Shikari : Album “Take To The Skies” (Limited Edition CD/DVD) & Tour EP “The Zone” out now on [PIAS]/Liberator Music.

Big Day Out Show dates:
Auckland - Friday 18 January
Gold Coast - Sunday 20 January
Sydney - Friday 25 January
Melbourne - Monday 28 January
Adelaide - Friday 1 February
Perth - Sunday 3 February

Enter Shikari - Johnny Sniper video

Van She (Live)
Ajax
Plug In City (Live)
Rats (Live)
Future Frog
Party Club
Amnesia Effect 
Petrosex 
Mega Mike
Rex Monsoon 
Brendan Jay VS Wolfgang
Damn 28s
Clouds
 
At Shape
237 Hay St, East Perth
 
Doors open 9pm
$10 before 11pm $15 thereafter

Come down and warm up your robot shoes on Saturday Dec 15th as Modular takes over shape for the first installment in Tick Tocks Modular Monthlys! A fine selection of Modularians including Van She and Plug In City (Live) and Australia’s #1 DJ, Ajax will rock the soundsystem over both levels of Shape, the night before they rock 20,000 people at the mammoth Daft Punk Concert.

Added to that theres local indie/rock/punk gems Rats playing live and a huge cast of Local DJs busting out everything from Baltimore and Italodisco to eurokrunk and electrofunk. There will also be Spank Rock and The Gossip CD and Ticket giveaways up for grabs for a lucky few.

Tickets are a steal at $10 before 11pm and $15 thereafter, so make sure you get in early to avoid the queue!

Doing anything this Thursday night?

Indie Disco #1 acquaints you with Melbourne’s own Post Punk assembly Bachelor Of Arts as they pierce through WA to tour in the ultimate month of 2007. Clutch the trio at The Norfolk Basement in Fremantle before they proceed back to the big V.

In support will be National Campus Band winners Will Stoker & The Embers who guarantee to electrify with their very own twist of chock-a-block cabaret. The bill is polished off with electrogothic indie rockers Druid Lee Roth who will personally stamp hands with an inked up guarantee to freak.

$10 Entry. 8pm start.

Ever fancy yourself playing alongside some of the world’s greatest at WA’s ultimate Music Lover’s Weekend?  Well, here is your moment…as Breakthrough is back!

Sunset Events and Jim Beam are on the hunt for one very special band to open the fifth annual West Coast Blues ’n’ Roots Festival, to be held on the weekend of March 15-16 at the Fremantle Esplanade Reserve.

Get out of the bedroom and onto the big stage and roll alongside the likes of Sinéad O’Connor, John Fogerty, Ray Davies, Don McLean, KT Tunstall, Damien Rice, Ian Brown and so many more.

The winning band will not only earn their place on the West Coast Blues ’n’ Roots Stage, but will also be extended a very special invitation to perform at Byron Bay’s legendary East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival, held from March 20-24, 2008.  And it doesn’t stop there.  Not only will the winning band earn their place on the Blues ’n’ Roots stage, but they will also get to choose between the following two state-of-the-art sound equipment prize packs, worth $5,000, thanks to Jim Beam and their partner in sound, Jands.  All equipment will be individually personalised with Jim Beam insignia.

Pack 1 consists of one “JBLE-System 10” package containing:
2 x JLB Eon 10G2 loudspeakers
Soundcraft E6 Mixing Console
2 x Dynamic cardiod microphones cables.

Pack 2 consists of the “Lexicon Omega Studio” (home recording) package containing:
Steinberg Cubase LE (48 Audio and 64 Midi Tracks),
Soundcraft EPM Series 8-channel mixer,
2 x Shure PG58 microphones (lead/backup vocals),
2 x Shure PG57 microphones (guitar amp, brass, saxophone),
1 x Shure PG52 microphone (kick drum & base amp),
1 x Shure PGDMMK6 microphone (complete drum microphone package).

Breakthrough heat and final supporters will also be in the running to win a double pass to the West Coast Blues ’n’ Roots Festival including VIP access for the whole weekend as well as an iPod touch along with an iTunes voucher so you can down load your WCBRF favorites! S o get down to any of the heats or the final and cheer on the local crew for a chance to win the VIP West Coast Blues ’n’ Roots Festival experience!

The live dates are as follows:
Heat 1: Friday, January 18 – Norfolk Basement, Fremantle
Heat 2: Saturday, January 19 – The Orient, Fremantle
Heat 3: Sunday, January 20 – Newport Hotel, Fremantle
Grand Final: Friday, January 25 – The Swan Basement, North Fremantle

Breakthrough is open to all musicians in Western Australia who fit into the blues ’n’ roots genre and can make it to the heats.
Head to www.sunsetevents.com.au to download an entry form.
All Entries must reach Sunset Events at PO Box 111, Fremantle WA, 6959 by 5pm on Friday, January 11, 2008.
An expert panel of judges will select the finest 12 entries, who will then go on to battle it out live at three heats to be held in Fremantle, with the top three bands making it through to the grand final.  Successful bands will be notified by Tuesday, January 15, 2008.