Stina Tester & Cinta Masters don’t do things by halves, and have been working incredibly hard over these past few months to make their long-awaited follow up to their last release back in 2009. However, judging from the past two singles, Deep Sleep and Mystery, the wait is sure to be worth it.
Speaking of the wait, it is now almost over for the release of said album, titled Awake and Dreaming. Launching their new record tomorrow night in their native Melbourne, the LISTEN Records alum have continually pulled off an experimental/electronic/punk crossover that many wouldn’t even dream of trying, and they’ve pulled it off really well.
We’re pretty big fans of these two, so to celebrate their launch and album release, we asked them what three other albums have changed their lives. Giving us one each as well as one together, their answers aren’t at all surprising considering the bold and nostalgic sounds they work with, and only add to the dramatic nature of it all. Check out their answers below and for more information on their album launch, head here.
Cinta Masters: Fleetwood Mac, Greatest Hits
It’s hard to choose any one album by Fleetwood Mac that was most influential to my musical taste but I can definitely identify their most memorable release, which was the 1988 cassette of their greatest hits. My mum and I drove to Caloundra, QLD and back with this one tape! It could just be by sheer repetition, no not really, but Stevie and Christine are still my favourites and will always have a very special place in my heart.
Stina: Kate Bush, The Dreaming
The Dreaming; a term used by Aborigines to describe the connections and balance between the spiritual, natural and moral elements of the world and the title of Kate Bush’s fourth album. This is no coincidence. Across the whole album, Bush is putting forward her understanding of these connections and directly deals with issues of colonialism in the most authentic and imaginative way possible. This amazing balance and uncompromising experimentation are the reasons why I love it so much! I particularly admire her extraordinary use of voice and her creative and adventurous use of production techniques. This album really expanded my idea of the possibilities of expression in music.
Cinta & Stina: Siouxsie and the Banshees
Cinta
I am a big fan of all Siouxsie and the Banshees but a few songs really hit me hard (in a good way)… Dizzy, a previously unreleased track on their greatest hits and, Forever from The Rapture. Both of them have quite sexual overtones and are quite intimate. Dizzy is full of lust and captures the euphoria of being in love for the first time, while Forever marks the ending of a relationship, which provides a harsh contrast to Dizzy. Both songs just kill me.
Stina
It wasn’t until I had started playing in bands, and this was my early twenties, that I started to hear Siouxsie and The Banshees and my respect and admiration has only grown since then. They were a prolific band and not afraid to move in different directions musically. In particular, I think Siouxsie is a fantastically inventive lyricist and vocalist. My favourite songs are off the album titled The Scream, Jigsaw Feeling and Mirage.