Laneway aptly marked it’s humble beginnings in a Melbourne laneway in 2005. It has since built a reputation as a festival with it’s finger firmly on the pulse of the music industry, despite canning one of Australia’s foremost up-and-coming artists from the bill this year (cc: Kirin J Callinan).
Nevertheless, we savour the release of each lineup with intense anticipation because the event delivers a solid slew of talent from around the world every single year; from artists who we don’t usually see in this neck of the woods, to absolute crowd favourites we can’t get enough of.For the Sydney leg of the tour, the weather was cool, clear and decidely perfect. We tipped in just in time for UK boys Shame who have received nods from the likes of Fat White Family, which might offer some indication of what we walked in on. Unwinding, The Babe Rainbow lulled us into a flowery frenzy right before we caught a highly anticipated set from Alex Cameron straight off the back of about two years of touring everywhere but Oz, including opening for The Killers (yes, they did Madison Square Garden). Roy Molloy’s stool review was an authentic delight.
Billie Eilish rolled out in a red tracksuit with a Louis Vuitton purse strapped to her back and she belted out her first song into a bung mic which somehow went completely unnoticed by the sound guy. We snuck in some quick muzzing courtesy of Kllo at the Red Bull stage before blissing out to (Sandy) Alex G over at Spinning Top. Sylvan Esso followed shortly after and systematically blew our minds with perhaps the most high-energy set of the day before we landed firmly back on the ground in time for Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Then, back over to the Garden Stage for big favourites The Internet who always receive the warmest reception. Guitarist Steve Lacy also played a bit from his solo EP to the glee of literally everyone present.
Photos: Dani Hansen
Shame
The Babe Rainbow
Alex Cameron
Billie Eilish
Kllo
Sandy Alex G
Sylvan Esso
Rolling Blackouts CF
The Internet
Photos: Dani Hansen/Howl & Echoes
In our video round up this week we have more up and coming talent than you can poke a stick at. So much so that it would be remiss not to pull up a chair in front of your laptop and get lost in this stellar selection of clips for a while. Not to mention, majority of these gems come from some of our favourite Australian acts of the moment. Get behind them and get clicking below.
Gussy – Looking at Myself
A slow languid drawl propped against a gender transcendent figure pirouetting in a black room, pensive and introspective, harnessing an undercurrent of aching that seems to be contained just beneath the surface but never quite breaks through. Such are the feels of Sydney based artist Gussy’s self produced and directed single Looking at Myself. The hypnotic track deconstructs normative ideas of gender and sexuality, while exploring the existentialism of a modern break up. It is just the beginning for these chiseled cheekbones and we look forward to hearing a lot more.
You check Gussy out in the flesh at Heaps Gay x VIVID at the Factory Theatre on June 12th, or at Oscar Key Sung’s Single Launch at Plan B, June 24th
https://youtu.be/_zJI0mdLq0M
City Calm Down – Border on Control
The latest single from City Calm Down’s acclaimed debut In A Restless House continues the anthemic and synth driven throwback sound that has propelled the band to such great heights in recent times. In the accompanying video, the metronomic drumbeat falls in time with the scene of a geriatric table tennis match, with the seemingly endless rally meditative in its repetition. The game provides an apt metaphor to accompany the themes of stagnation sung in Jack Bourke’s signature baritone vocals. The clip is not only a notable showcase of this rising act, but also of A-grade table tennis at its very best. One way or another, you will be impressed.
https://youtu.be/mUgzOlK0nC4
Coops – Frankincense & Myrhh
UK rapper Coops has just this week released his debut LP God Complex with a gritty black and white video to accompany single Frankincense & Myrrh. The track was produced by up and comer Ollie Twist, and has a moody antique vibe aided by jazz sampling and pensive lyricism. The clip, directed by Chas Appeti, builds on these themes with scratchy transitions and noir shadows at every turn. Coops provides some stellar verses and if this offering is anything to go by, the LP has lots of promise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My3k6vsQi6Y
Alex Cameron – Take Care of Business
Sydney’s Alex Cameron has given us a taste of his upcoming album Jumping The Shark with a surreal, mesmerising clip for single Take Care of Business. At a time when a plethora of videos released are self-describing their aesthetic as obscure or Lynchian, while kind of missing the mark, this one actually achieves the label. With Cameron’s surreal, aged performance invoking avant-garde eeriness in a remarkably endearing way, Cameron’s onstage writhing and droning vocals are reminiscent of a Birthday Party-era Nick Cave in slow motion. The introduction of keys and an increase in tempo around the three minute mark is an unexpected joyous injection, making this already loveable track all the more so. You can pre-order the album due out August 19th here.
https://youtu.be/6tGqK8_6hL4
Third Floor – Falling
The luscious beats of Third Floor’s Falling provide a palette of sounds to paint with, the accompanying clip bringing them to life with explosive movement. Figures contort in dance against a black backdrop with 3am nightclub vigor as the track ebbs and flows through the grooves. This is the last of four clips in the cinematic Dream State EP story arc, so if you want to enjoy the full experience, make sure to check out the first three instalments here.
https://youtu.be/B2xwuML2NX0
Venus II – Inside Your Sun
You might have never heard of upcoming act Venus II, but the duo that make up the band are no newcomers. Jarrad Brown (Eagle & The Worm / Dorsal Fins) and Ryan Grieve (Canyons) manage to create a fusion of layers that sounds like the perfectly combined sum of their parts, and the results are wondrous. The sundrenched infectious hooks remind me of that time when Midnight Jugganauts released 44 and Rising and I had it stuck in my head for months, driving me blissfully insane. Check out the clip, shake off the winter blues, and get psychedelic. It doesn’t get much better.
https://youtu.be/9GQHonquaqY
Banoffee – I’m Not Sorry
Banoffee makes no apologies with her latest clip, a track she says is: “a push back to all the things we’ve been told so many times we now tell them to ourselves. Woman are brought up bound and gagged in shame for being different, for giving a shit, for being ambitious—all because we’re powerful. We can’t be accused of black magic anymore, but it’s so entrenched we’re now killing ourselves to try and mentally survive. I guess I’m saying I’m done saying sorry.” It’s a strong statement with strong imagery to match from a genre defying and promising young artist.
https://youtu.be/skY9qtRIMP0
Homeboy Sandman – Eyes
Still fresh after the release of wonderful album Kindness For Weakness and subsequent videos for Nonbelievers and Talking (Bleep), comes the Stones Throw rapper’s new video for Eyes. The first thing to note is how vastly different each of his videos is stylistically. This one, directed by Pace Rivers, sees the rapper tell a spooky story, with the narrator at home – in the bath, with a woman, on the couch – spliced between ominous outdoor scenes where you see him followed and spied on at every turn. The motif of the eye carries throughout each character, scene and scenery, while the clip grows more paranoid, surreal and suspenseful as it progresses.
https://youtu.be/qkg-OMDiyG4
Image: Venus II
It’s video roundup time! Once again, Howl And Echoes are coming in hot with the freshest, most eyeball-stimulating music videos to be dropped by the artists you love and some of the artists you don’t know you love yet this week. We do all the dirty work and herd them all into one convenient web-based location for you to enjoy every Friday so that you don’t have to. Have yourself a good old gander at the latest offerings from:
Club Cheval – Young, Rich And Radical
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LtP9HzdqzY
Kicking proceedings off all the way from Lille in the North of France are electronic music collective Club Cheval and the latest single to be released from their debut album Discipline. The wonderfully-titled Young, Rich And Radical is a certified banger, slow-burning and methodical before the chorus cashes in, all driving beats and soft falsetto.
The video is an interesting concept, showing young people adopting a lifestyle of chastity and sobriety: swapping tie-dye for plain black, water for wine and generally just behaving very, very sensibly. I may disagree with the lifestyle choices but it’s still a wonderfully clever music video.
Discipline is out now via Bromance Records.
Ngaiire – Diggin’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9P7lilYw-c&feature=youtu.be
One of our favourite Australian artists going at the moment is neo soul star Ngaiire. She’s had a huge week, currently roving around rural Australia as part of the Groovin’ The Moo 2016 lineup, she has also announced her next album Blastoma as well as releasing the video for her current single Diggin’.
The song itself is beyond infectious, restrained percussion and throbbing synths, more stellar production with long-time collaborator Paul Mac. The chorus ups the intensity and showcases Ngaiire’s fantastic vocal range. The music video is awash in gold, a pair of contemporary dancers interpreting the narrative with movements convulsive and fluid at the same time, Ngaiire the rightful centre of it all. If Diggin’ on the back of debut Lamentations are any indication of Ngaiire’s trajectory, it’s undoubtedly skyward from here.
Blastoma is out June 10th via Maximilion Brown.
Urthboy – Daughter Of The Light (ft. Kira Puru)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVJm-5AnOYM
Sydney MC Urthboy is out with another single and the third from his huge fifth studio album The Past Beats Inside Me Like A Second Heartbeat. It’s the Kira Puru featuring Daughter Of The Light, a loving tribute to the sacrifices made by Urthboy’s mum and will uppercut you fair in your unsuspecting feels. Big dramatic synths and Kira Puru’s stunning vocal alley oop hammer it home.
The video is full of introspection, Urthboy rapping from a total of six different rooms, each with their own story and meaning to the narrative. Kira Puru belting out the chorus in front of a sea of bright lights, collaborators Broken Yellow (who were also behind the video for Long Loud Hours) have come up all kinds of clutch.
The Past Beats Inside Me Like A Second Heartbeat is out now via Elefant Traks.
Spit Syndicate – Know Better
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsLAm_nrSyY
Sticking in Sydney and sticking within the realm of Australian hip-hop on this next one, the latest single from dynamic duo (Nick Lupi and Jimmy Nice) Spit Syndicate. Know Better is the name. It’s a party track encompassing all kinds of them, ragers, chilled nights with dinner and drinks and friends and everything in between.
If you’ve ever gotten down to any One Day Sundays (put on as part of the One Day collective the duo are a part of) then you might even have a cameo spot in this one, the music video being comprised of footage from some of those events.
Spit Syndicate are touring Know Better around Australia from early June.
Alex Cameron – She’s Mine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHBCMLrW-l4&feature=youtu.be
Not many people have a business partner who is also a saxophonist, but Sydney’s Alex Cameron (who you may know as part of Seekae) certainly does. It’s been a big week for Cameron, he’s just signed to Secretly Canadian and simultaneously released a brand new video for She’s Mine.
A punchy backbeat and some restrained synths form the backdrop for Cameron’s smoking lounge baritone. It’s very early Future Islands-y. The video features the singer-songwriter breaking out some vicious dance moves in front of (and on top of) what looks like an old Buick (I don’t know cars so don’t quote me) and a dreary skyline. Bloody brilliant. Also, few people can make sneans looks quite as cool as Alex Cameron does.
With this recent signing as well as US tour dates on the horizon, Alex Cameron looks about to have a huge year.
Tegan And Sara – Boyfriend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJOHoiPGpac&ab_channel=TeganandSara
Next is the greatest Canadian identical twin sister duo in the history of music in Tegan And Sara. With next album Love You To Death almost upon us, the Quin sisters have this week released the visuals accompanying their first single from that album; Boyfriend.
It’s a three minute synth pop tune full of fire and swagger. The video, directed by Clea DuVall (Chuck’s doctor on Better Call Saul) features the girls at the mercy of a director who just doesn’t quite get directing all that well.
Catch Tegan And Sara when they hit Australia for Splendour In The Grass later this year.
Moistoyster – Repetitive Strain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=ntTsIGrjL_U
Winning two of this week’s awards for ‘Tongue Twistiest Band Name’ as well as ‘Band Name That Sounds Gross But Isn’t’ are Perth surf rock outfit Moistoyster and their new single Repetitive Strain. It’s breezy as all hell and definitely the kind of song that has you lamenting the fact that Winter is coming and the beaches aren’t as inviting.
Speaking of beaches, the accompanying music video is set on an absolutely stunning one for this one-shot clip. The chilled out air of the song becomes juxtaposed darkly and dramatically with the antics of deranged-looking frontman George Foster. It certainly leaves a whole lot of questions unanswered.
If you’re on the West Coast you can catch Moistoyster at a couple of shows they’ve got coming up in June.
TOKiMONSTA – Giving Up (ft. Jonny Pierce)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoNVDKvXYQU
Just done rocking out her home state of California as part of this year’s Coachella, TOKiMONSTA has released a brand new single this week for the breathtaking Giving Up. Featuring Jonny Pierce (who you would know for his stellar work fronting The Drums), giving up is an ode to unrequited love.
With urgent, almost frenetic production and ethereal and evocative vocals throughout, Giving Up will put a lump in your throat. The music video for it documents one man’s spaced out and colourful descent into madness when he realises the love of his life doesn’t feel the same.
TOKiMONSTA’s fourth studio album Fovere is out now via Young Art Records.
Alex Cameron
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Seekae have released a record this year that, in my opinion, is in the running for best of the year. The addition of vocals to an otherwise instrumental group was somewhat surprising to the devout Seekae fans, but whatever concern we had quickly slipped away after hearing first single, Another. Their already intense live show has stepped up in precision and captivating sequencing, and now-singer Alex Cameron has come into his own as a vocalist. It’s no coincidence that they’ve been booked on the lineup for OutsideIn Festival in Sydney later this month; a considered and extremely well put together lineup curated by ASTRAL PEOPLE. Playing alongside Pantha Du Prince, The Pharcyde and so many others, OutsideIn is guaranteed to be not only a gamechanger in boutique festivals that it’s known for after last year’s success, but proof that it’s quality over quantity.
We recently chatted with Alex Cameron ahead of what is looking like a pretty huge 12 months next year!
You’ve recently finished a string of Australian shows as well as a BIGSOUND appearance, which I saw and it was incredible! Your set was my favourite!
Oh, thank you very much!
How do you think this new material is being received, especially because it’s been a while since you last toured Australia?
It’s a little surprising. When we release records, we kind of always change our style so much that we always anticipate backlash! Maybe it’s like a personal thing, I don’t know. Maybe I’ve got some insecurity, but it’s been so nice to have such a warm response! It’s been pretty overwhelmingly warm, and I think that’s really positive. I’m excited by the fact that people are willing to let us explore and find new things that excite us, and if that excites anyone then obviously that’s a bonus. It’s been really warm so far though, and that’s a surprise. Maybe I’m just being self-deprecating but we change so much, and we do weird and odd things that excite us, and it seems to be exciting other people so that’s been positive.
It was kind of unconventional touring with just two singles from a then unreleased album – was that a deliberate decision or just coincidental timing?
It was a little bit coincidental, and it was a little bit “stab in the dark” but, at the same time, we wanted to give people a chance to hear the songs live first and see how powerful the songs could be and see if they could make a connection. It was nice for us to play three or four tracks nobody had heard before.
Was The Worry a long time coming? In between your previous album and The Worry, there were a few side projects and a fair bit of time in between the releases too – was that time spent working on the new material, or was there a bit of time to rejuvenate?
Yeah there was a little break, and then there was maybe two years of writing. Some of those songs have changed three or four times. It was a long time coming, but there were some breaks – tours and stuff. We ended up doing like four national tours off that one record in two years. We were really surprised we could keep selling our shows and packing people in. By the end of it, we were like “Let’s make sure we nail this next one. Let’s do something that really means something to people, because everyone has been so kind.” That was one of the goals.
You would have been asked about this a million times by now – but I’m curious: with the introduction of lyrics and vocals, was it a natural progression to that point for you? Was that something you were always interested in doing with Seekae?
Yeah, to me, I love songs. I mean, I love instrumental and I love tunes – but I really, really love songs. I always have, all of us do. There is something about the freedom of an instrumental track that’s really beautiful, and there’s this space and it can be super emotive because it’s quite broad.
More open to your own interpretation…
Exactly! I think the same goes for songs with lyrics, but there is just something about a strong lyric that actually moves things for me. It shifts the way I see something. It’s just this magical thing. When you want to really try and express something, the highest form is to sing it and I think I always wanted to explore that. We all have. So yeah, it was completely natural, but something I’ve wanted to do for a while. It just sort of happened – I just wrote a couple of songs and showed them to the guys, and they were right behind it.
I find that Seekae songs prior to this were always quite full and complete with the absence of vocals, so has that now changed the songwriting process?
There were some times where we would have the song finished, and we’d try to fit the synthesiser parts on there, or new leads, and we’d have to stop ourselves and think, “Well, there’s lyrics now, so there’s no need to add in this synth part!” It’s a certain step back; it’s a little bit of restraint I suppose, but it’s also something entirely new. There wasn’t really a process to it, it was more just like, “Oh, that’s finished now!” It was a bit like unchartered territory.
There are some pretty heavy themes in The Worry, and it’s quite dark and mysterious I find – especially Test & Recognise which has quite an eerie feeling… Was there any specific inspirations or influences for these songs? Are you okay?!
*laughs* I guess it’s just about the life we’ve been thrust into and trying to find moments of beauty. I feel like a decrepitly imperfect being, and I compare myself to a flat screen TV or a tablet: these things are designed for perfection. We expect them to be perfect even though they’re obsolete, or they’re designed to be obsolete eventually, and so are we. We’re so fragile, and we die, and that’s a concern. I think the main influence was trying to create something as concerning as our own mortality, in a world filled with what is sold to us as being perfect technology. Trying to find something as concerning as that, but trying to let it free, and for the sounds to be an exploration almost, and to see if we could find something beautiful about it. To see if we could write a record about an overwhelming concern that defines closure and beauty.
That’s beautiful! You’ve now got yourselves a slot on the OutsideIn Festival – how do you see your music in the now burgeoning electronic scene? I feel like it’s still quite different to the “Australian Sound” going around at the moment – would you attribute that to your move away from Sydney prior to that really taking off?
No, I don’t think so. Oh, maybe, I don’t know. We were never part of any scenes – that’s kind of why we didn’t make indie rock or garage rock when we started. That’s why we’re not doing big hip hop instrumental music. We almost went there; we were listening to a lot of that years and years ago, but once it’s everywhere it can’t possibly be exciting anymore. Once it’s hugely successful, how can you be turned on by it? It’s the small things – and I don’t mean that in a snobbish way because we love pop music and successful pop music – but to make it ourselves would be a step back for us. I think we’re always trying to make something twisted. Whether or not we’re successful in that is irrelevant, our intention is always to do something that’s a bit “new” to us.
I was completely hypnotized when I saw you perform at BIGSOUND – how do you guys recreate your sound live? It looks like a lot goes on, and that would certainly evolve and develop as each tour occurs.
Thanks for saying that! For us, it’s making sure we can sequence everything; so it’s grooves, rhythms and basslines, and it’s making sure we can have this clarity in the sound. George does a lot of the percussion sequencing, and John handles the melody with his samples and percussion, and he plays a lot of keyboard so he’s quite busy. Then I am doing some sequencing with a drum pattern and playing grooves, and making sure I’m trying to sing as clear as possible. For us, that sound is the reason people are there. That’s our concern. What we do is we have a really strong crew that we love working with. We’ve gone over it and rehearsed it and we know what to expect from them. There are more members than what you can see. We just want to make sure the music comes across because it’s become this big monster that’s in front of people and we want to try and make it as overwhelming as possible in a really positive way.
Yeah, I was standing next to the lighting guy at BIGSOUND and he was as captivating as you guys were the way he was working!
Yeah he’s great, he’s really fantastic. He doesn’t like to be harped on, but we’ve been working with him for a while and the most important thing about working with him is he’s evolved with us. It’s not the same thing; he’s clearly an artist himself. That’s what really hits it home for us – I want to see people change, I want to see evolution.
The album art for The Worry is quite stunning, with all your faces morphed into one – can you tell me a bit about that?
We wanted to do something that was a bit “foul” I suppose; something that was so delicately ugly but beautiful at the same time. We found this artist in China that was doing bizarrely earnest portraits, so we got in touch with them and they painted it for us. We just wanted something earnest and off-putting. It was trying to explore a bad idea, and seeing if we can make a bad idea work. A lot of the record is, I think, concerning ideas or bad ideas that we’re trying to turn into a good thing. That was one of the challenges of this record: is it such a good idea for us to be singing? Well, it feels right so we will. We were exploring those challenges and there was zero safety with any decisions made on the record. It’s all risk taking. It’s kind of maybe given me an anxiety disorder, but it was also a bit of fun. That’s what it’s all been about.
What’s next for Seekae after OutsideIn?
Well, we’ve got a really busy 2015 already. It’s nice to have work coming in and to be able to play the music live. I do a lot of travelling and a lot fo tours around the world. 2015 is going to be pretty jam-packed, so right now I’m trying to get healthy so I’m ready to do it. I think we’ll be playing a lot of shows in Australia and overseas as well!
Seekae perform at OutsideIn Festival November 29th at Manning House, Sydney University. Get one of the few remaining tickets HERE.