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Occasionally this blog shares the good oil on what counts a interesting listening, and I’ve a few to recommend today. About two weeks back R and I made a quick holiday to Brisbane to soak up some warmth in respite from the long slog that is Armidale’s winter. I can’t tell how thankful I am that spring is finally arriving, sun and warmth make all the difference to your spirit and motivation. Anyway, one of our purposes for heading north to the city was to see some live music:

Room40.org played host for Tujiko Noriko, who played at the Judith Wright Centre on the 20th of August. Playing to an audience seated or lying on the floor with eyes closed, Tujiko delivered an interesting set of ‘avant pop’ by simply singing along with her laptop as it played the backing tracks. Her voice was so captivating, full of confident yet understated melody that lulled you into some sort of magical place - it became the central focus of the performance. The most amazing moments were when the backing track became paired down to minimal elements allowing us to focus on the drama of her performance. It certainly was a treat to see and hear, and largely unlike the usual live bombastic noise we’re used to with rock and pop experiences. She has a new album out which I picked up, U. A particular standout (as it was at the gig too) is ‘I Can Hear The Heart’, which is both dark but reaching toward the light. You can find out about the album here:

Worth mentioning also is the support act, Melbourne’s II. Armed with just two guitars and an array of effects devices, they played two loop-based long-form improvisations that merged post-rock warmth with ambient strangeness. Their moments of gold were produced with sensitivity to melody’s relationship to emotion, yet keeping it interesting with abstraction. You can get more here:

Now patiently waiting for Spring to emerge…

A ‘closing down party’ of sorts saw 50 plus ‘alternative creatures’ migrate to the Artspace to spook away the bad spirits with their own costumes and antics. Naturally, with Iain organising parts of the gig, Bas[sic] aka L graciously provided the soundsystem and Stanton virtual DJ setup.

I had the duty of covering for L between sets, and it was good fun. It was difficult operating gear and software I’ve never used before, as well as selecting tunes completely from L’s unfamiliar funky playlists. In parts I held it together well enough, and we had many happy dancing people. Party DJing is not really for me, and I was not willing to placate the drunk dancer’s requests for ‘more 80s retro please’. I am, on the other hand, grateful for the opportunity to learn.

The decorations and lighting were superb, and it is a shame the space will no longer be used for arts. The following are some images, including some evidence of a communal painting in progress:

Thanks to Room40.org Armidale got a little live music treat last Saturday at The Armidale Club. Supporting their new albums, experimental and avant-pop acts Tenniscoats, For Barry Ray, and Lawrence English played to a well mannered appreciative crowd of 30-40. And as an extra bonus, all members mixed and matched their presence in the sets to make for deep, human and dynamic renditions. Music of this level of delicacy, sensitivity and freshness doesn’t happen here often, so I naturally gave thanks at the end and picked up the following:

Tenniscoats - Totemo Aimasho

For Barry Ray - New Days

A little more about Lawrence…

I had the chance to meet and chat with Lawrence. I passed on copies of my albums Futurology and 2 Smargaid Maerd’s Unconsciousness half - which he seemed encouraging about. We discussed the opportunities of playing soundscapes live in Brisbane and about some people I should network with to make that a possibility.

In the weeks since getting my RAM established I’ve been working probably harder than ever at generally every project. Nothing to boast of yet in the way being finished, but some new twists and turns are leading me down new avenues. My previous soundscape work (linked to above) was largely based on automations, samples and in some cases noise. Now, things are moving in a much more melodic ambient direction. I am getting deeper into using tape-loop processing to build large progressive pieces using my guitar as the main input, not dissimilar at all to Robert Fripp’s method. I’m working on being able to perform this live. It may prove to be a more direct voice for my unrestrained ideas, being less of the compromised-commercial variety (like some of my works in progress, ala Paradox). Ideas are floating about to play in conjunction with art-gatherings, or non-pub venues.

Along with everything else being worked on, I will share some of these slow melodic pieces soon…

A little Sunday update from The Office:

Things are being held up at the moment because my studio computer had its RAM deciding to destroy itself. I am now playing the waiting game, a path that may take weeks in determining if I can get the units replaced under warranty or if I have to buy expensive replacements. This means no music editing (which has been driving me slightly mad) as well as no progress on the remasters of the archive music. I’m thinking it may be a month at least before I get that underway: which reminds me, I have to come up with a suitable name for that release-progression/podcast.

This delay isn’t too bad though, as I’ve been trying to do some much needed work elsewhere. If you follow the shop link at the top of your screen you’ll see some interesting changes in progress. Also, real work can’t happen without outstanding ordered equipment arriving here, namely the preamp and acoustic filter for vocal recording.

For now, you can go have a look at CBD Dub Project - who gave a lovely little intimate gig at the Armidale Club on Friday evening. I was lucky enough to have a meal with them beforehand to find they are very nice gents - yet another underground live act reclaiming musicianship in electronica.

I have recently returned from a lovely long weekend away up north mostly in Brisbane. The aim on paper was to survive the Gold Coast Big Day Out, but most of the time was spent touring with Richelle and being pinned by humidity at levels previously unexperienced. Naturally some inexcusable shopping was done (when you live in rural Australia this happens on visits to the big smoke(s)) for some archival CDs, as well as some fun looking “Hot Rod” drum sticks and sexy purple jazz brushes. Recent inspiration from King Crimson’s Discipline means that drums with Jarrad this year is something to look forward to.

While I tend to prefer seeing small venue live music or electronica-festivals, the Big Day Out was a last minute choice in order to catch one of our long time favourites Tool. The rest of the bill did not have any acts at all we really wanted to see, but we figured it was worth trying to discover cool unknown acts. We set out, we being Richelle and friends Renee and Toshi, to survive the hot dust bowl and gathering of inane T-shirts and “look at me” antics of the BDO. Big festivals draw a fine line between ‘a good time’ and ‘hell on earth’. The pro of the venue was maximum visibility of many stages from a distance, while the con being a lack of shade outside the jam packed stage-tents.

We rummaged around from act to act being disappointed by the large amount of ordinary DJs, rock standards, and predictable hip-hop yelling. Two little unexpected gems came through. My Ninja Lover impressed doing lively electronic dance-pop music with Primary esq female vocals and cool electro-drums being played standing up. Even more surprising was That 1 Guy doing very funky electro blues on one of the most innovative electronic instruments I’ve recently seen, ala The Magic Pipe. Both acts engaged the crowd and at the same time gave us something fresh and new to think about.

After cowering under a tree for most of the afternoon we eventually moved camp over at the main stage to prepare for Tool. The involved witnessing The John Butler Trio, The Killers, Jet and Muse. I’m not a fan of any of those bands, but I was impressed with talent on offer - not a note wrong from anyone. The cooling evening bade welcome to Tool, and we were well placed but far back to soak up the event. What follows is my take on the proceedings:

- Sound was good considering it was a festival, and the mix improved at the night went on. I was back on the grass-rise and had a great view of the crowd and the stage. The sound was tolerable.

- All songs, save for Vicarious, were about 2-3% slower than their studio versions. I am guessing that this was done intensionally to give the band room for precision for complex phrasing. Pro: deeper and more hypnotic renditions - Con: dampens excitement.

- Rhythmically the band improved as the set progressed. I noticed a few dragging fills and slightly loose phrasing. Just saying “they are human” doesn’t quite cut it: performance is mastery over a subtle state. Generally, many young bands accidentally hone this by way of intuition and uncontrolled enthusiasm. Older performers can over-think, under-practice, second-guess or just loose touch with that ’subtle state’. Whether these issues concern Tool can be debated, but their younger recordings seem to hint at the larger pattern. Just how responsible is the band (any band) in the task of achieving that state of flow for maximum performance?

- Maynard’s pitch was really spot on for most of the night, which was a blessing: I was fearing that he would struggle through as I have heard him do so in some of the bootleg media. Some of the high chorus work in Sober was not quite par (continuous long high notes is killer on the diaphragm). He also only half did the Vicarious crescendo. Touring self-preservation? Nonetheless, I am thankful that he sung at all - singing is the hardest, most subtle, musical task. Bar none.

- Extended versions and improvisations were great. Opiate’s bridge was double length, where MJK’s lines where sung every second chord set instead of on each set. Schism’s double time section is very juicy to finally hear. Either Adam or Maynard played a very spacey keyboard part between two songs I can’t remember, but it was a nice moment of looking around at the massive crowd and thinking “wow, all these people are experiencing this release: high volume reflective art-moment”. The band’s future recordings could certainly benefit from these pad sounds, exploring similar paths they’ve visited with Reflection and Intension.

- Light show was good, moved with the music and mood well.

- Video was probably not as interesting at the Lateralus tour which I saw in 2002. The angle of attack seems more subtle, although still surreal and sinister. But we’ve got to ask ourselves the question: are we there to listen to music or to watch TV? A few times in the set I looked away or closed my eyes. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. Opiate’s take on the Christian cross being repeated in the 8-sacred-geometry patterns was an interesting spin.

- A good strong feel to the set list. Left feeling satisfied and with much thinking material. Not quite as good as 2002’s Disposition/Reflection/Triad epic. I hope they tour here again so we get to see Wings For Marie/10000 Days soak though a large audience.

- Good to see the crowd singing along to most of the words. I even saw some people moving well with the complex time changes. The vibe was great, despite many men and women (boys and girls?) stuck in their little alcohol narrow-verse. I had a good time and it was a rewarding end to a day that is otherwise just a plain struggle.

So there you have it! I’m now back up in New England (safe from humidity) and enjoying some time with Jarrad who is visiting on PhD business. I’m currently working on a quick little track which will be released for free very soon. Then we have some sorting to do to get the year’s bigger projects underway.

AlterNative have now done their gigs at Bellingen Hall and The Armidale Club. Iain and I attended both gigs and helped out a little with the door and packing. In time I will get some photos and sound media and post the evidence here.

The Belligen Hall gig was the most impressive, hosting nearly 200 people. The Hall was half used (being very large) and was well decorated with all matter of lighting, projections, bamboo leaf and glow in the dark hoop/flag/poy dancers. The entire evening most of the crowd were in dancing mode to the predominately house-trance music, which the band put a certain tribal element into the mix as well. Although most of the people where young kids there were a few older folk really enjoying the vibe, some of which I’ve seen at other dance parties. Apparently, though, it is said that this scene is dwindling. Perhaps a transition from trance (going since mid 90s) to a new form of music will take place.

I was glad I didn’t have to play live, as the sickness was still lingering. At one point three young boys sat next to me with their cigerettes going. Already coughing, the smoke set me off in a convulsive fit of hacking. I had to get up and move, slightly annoyed that these guys were smoking inside. I think they read this annoyance and took offense - though how you could get offended when someone is suffering because of your self destruction is beyond my empathy. Later in the evening one of these boys felt it necessary to walk past me and drop his shoulder into me. A brief flutter of anger passed through me, but being sick cured me of the over exertion, and I knew nothing I could do could prevent them from being total uncompassionate idiots. Unfortunately, their loss. This was the only negativity for the whole night.

The band’s approach to playing live music is an interesting one, possible one we will see more of in the future. Two drummers, one on kit (Darren), one with an array of toms, congas and other cool bits (Justin), attempted to play (and did so very well in places) along with the keyboard operator’s pre-sequenced beats and acid synth-lines and pads (done by Ben). So when it worked it sounded like dj-ed material with live organic drums jamming along with full human energy. Where it noticeably became confused is where the humans couldn’t quite be as stiff as the machines. Either way, the crowd consistantly rewarded them for providing trance grooves with enough sonic colour to provide a cognitive journey. In live, the groove is king.

The Armidale Club gig could have been slightly better for them, only having about 50 people turn up, again most of which really got into the dancing for the end of the DJs and the band proper. The vibe was positive. It was expressed more than once that Armidale is in serious need of new live groove electronica, as in conjunction with our staple folk, blues, country, punk and occasional metal and hip hop. We hope to remedy this with running The Arc monthly from now on, giving full scope to electronic groove and weirdness.

I’m off for two weeks on a massive road trip from Perth to Armidale. There will be lots to pick up on when I get back…

My Triple J Unearthed page is now up:

http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=3439

It will be interesting to watch, but I expect very little from it.

In other news, the second round of the band competition has taken place last night. “Summersault” are a band to keep an eye out for, doing nothing new but doing it very well. Unfortunately, again, the DJs were the ones who had the floor filled with bad Top 40 club mixes and US pop-hop. The more serious rock act “The Oceans” had the hard task of keeping the Bistro going after the competition. If only they turned their guitarist and singer off they’d have quite a groovey live outfit with some interesting space-keyboards. Guitar-noise persists dying a very slow death.

Lots of other things happening, most of which I shall keep secret for now. One thing I can say is that some of us are bitting the bullet and building a small PA. The idea of live electronica parties is looking closer all the time…

A lot is certainly going on at the moment, some of which will require a different time to speak about. But for now, two items that may be of interest:

I was recently asked by Services UNE to be a judge for the Jim Beam National Campus Band Competition. While the title may look rather glamorous and honourable, the job is fairly much a monkey’s job. Poor hopeful wannabe bands play to an unresponsive crowd for a mere 20 minutes while us Judges fill out narrowly categorised forms giving scores making for a fairly mechanical process. One bonus for me is getting to hang out with fellow judge Pete Arkins who seems keen to collaborate musically. Pete caught my attention last year experimenting with bmps as slow as 2 beats per minute…

The other bonus is that I can write some constructive comments for these bands. Last night was heat 1, seeing three fairly rock-oriented bands. The third, Strange Days, were slightly interesting in their Sonic-Youth-out-of-tune feels meets Russel Crow happily pissed was shambolic but showing potential. However, all night there were no electronics, or any deliberate sense of ‘giving the groove to the crowd’, which is really where it’s at with live music, or at least what is exciting me. There are two more judging sessions to go before it’s over, with two new bands to see next week.

Triple J’s Unearthed has returned once again, this time as a national web community that will surely mean bloating and little chance for bands and artists that used to rely upon the old regional model of the competition. Still, the initiative has been enough to inspire my WA friend James DXU to put up a page for his DXU-555 audio-video project with VJ 555, which will come online once their songs are accepted. Speaking of which, the boys have put up a YouTube page, showing off their magic work done for the unreleased Dimensions DVD.

I’ve also decided to put an Unearthed page up (again, offline until the songs are accepted), although I currently have no tunes out of my public mp3s I wish to submit. There was the thought I would fast-track some of my developing Paradox songs - but I’m in no mood to rush those songs which require months more close attention and work. So, I think I will quickly cut up a version of ‘I Love You And I Love Your Needles’ that appears in original form on James DXU’s Analogue Sessions Vol.1 album with the ‘Modification’ suffix. It will be as thus: the original, polished sonically, with James’ groovy analogue beats added the end section. That song will have to serve as a place holder untill I get the Paradox tracks done.

Lots more happening, which I shall reveal in good time…