Flight Facilities have been busy boys. Having just returned from a run of festival dates in Europe, and gearing up for another US tour later in September, Jimmy and Hugo took to the stage as part of the RBMA Weekender in Sydney to play a mesmerising sold out show with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and a bunch of guests, including Touch Sensitive, Michaela Baranov, Owl Eyes, Kurt Kristen, and Surahn Sidhu. With some ambient support from Melbourne-based producer András, the tone was set for an unforgettable night.
András:
Flight Facilities x Sydney Symphony Orchestra:
Images: Dani Hansen/Howl & Echoes
You might have seen last week we covered the huge announcement by Red Bull Music Academy that Sydney will host this year’s RBMA Weekender, joining a club of hosts that includes Warsaw, Tokyo, Vienna and Stockholm. It’s big news, especially considering the tough times Sydney’s nightlife and music scene has been going through over the last few years. They promised that this week we’d be getting the first preview of the weekend’s events, and boy have they delivered. You remember last year Flight Facilities performed a reworked version of their album Down To Earth alongside the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra? Yeah that’s happening again, only it’ll be Sydney’s turn this time.
It’ll be going down September 10th, the second last night of the weekender, in Sydney’s Domain. Not only are they with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, they’ve teased that a bunch of special guests are still to be announced. Last year it was Touch Sensitive alongside a similar show, maybe we’ll see him again? Whoever it is, there’s no doubt that this isn’t a show to miss. 15,000 tickets are set to go on sale tomorrow morning, 9am Thursday April 28th, and they’re sure to go fast. Check some recently released footage of their performance of mega-hit Clair De Lune at last year’s Melbourne performance, just in case you’re still on the fence about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Ndi955iuY
Red Bull Music Academy has said we’ll be getting the full lineup in June, so there’s plenty of time for mad speculation. One thing’s for sure though, this has set the tone for what should be a truly phenomenal Sydney weekend.
Image: Beat
It’s happened. The summer is well and truly over. With a bunch of festivals, sideshows and tours over the New Year absolutely blowing our minds, it’s with a heavy heart that we say goodbye as it all drifts further and further back into our memory. However, before it leaves completely, there’s still some time to bring the heat.
Future Classic’s series of MCA shows have over the last few months seen some absolutely legendary performances. Kenton Slash Demon, Roland Tings, Harvey Sutherland, Tornado Wallace, Sampa The Great, Wafia, Anthony Naples, Pelvis and Kenji Takimi have all graced the MCA’s Sculpture Terrace with their presence, and crazy fun shows. So it’s only fitting that the mega-label is seeing it off with a bang, putting on a final show this Sunday packed full of Future Classic Allstars. They’re being super secretive about the lineup and not giving any hints until it’s actually happening, so we’re here to speculate and myth-bust as to who may be jumping behind the decks.
Our little dog friend is barking all over the northern hemisphere at the moment. He’s just done a bunch of shows in the U.S. and Paris, and his Saturday night is taking place in London. That’ll be the 9th of April, which, with time differences, is almost exactly when the FC Allstars show will be going on. We can sit on his latest track Chroma, to make him feel a little bit closer, but we won’t be able to see him do his thing at the MCA.
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Since the release of Built on Glass in 2014, Chet’s been all over the world playing shows, and even making an appearance on Ellen. Towards the end of last year though, he released Work, an EP he produced alongside London’s Marcus Marr. It’s 4 tracks of beautiful house, which would be phenomenal to see played live. He’s proven himself to be very comfortable behind the decks, having a slap at the Ray Ban x Boiler Room show in Melbourne late last year, so we can hope we get to see it go down again.
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His show alongside Cyril Hahn in late February is still fresh in our minds, and sadly, leads us to believe that he won’t be back to play so soon.
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Though it’s been a while since we’ve heard from LA duo Classixx, their last album releasing all the way back in 2013, it’d make sense to get a surprise appearance from them on the Sculpture Terrace. They’ve just released their latest single Grecian Summer from their second album Faraway Ranch, and been announced as part of that absolutely mammoth Lollapalooza lineup, we imagine to tie in with its release. So, maybe to kick off what is to be an absolutely massive year for them, we’ll see them Sydney-side this weekend? Fingers crossed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3q_Pr9hYzo
Though we’re on the precipice of the release of Skin, Flume’s second album, and yes it would make sense for a huge hometown show before it releases – it’s super unlikely. He’s playing Ceremonia Festival in Mexico on Saturday, so we can live in the hope that maybe his set is early and he could make a flight, but let’s not get them up.
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Side-project of beatmakers Ta-Ku and Kit Pop, HWLS’ most recent release was two months ago with Ty Dolla $ign as part of Adidas’ #songsfromscratch series. They’ve played a few shows here and there, their last one in Sydney being the Laneway Festival afterparty with Hudson Mohawke. With them going quite for a while, it’d make sense to have them as part of the allstar lineup, but Ta-Ku is doing so much at the moment that he legit may not have the time. He’s debuting his live show with Wafia (who just released her own EP) at VIVID LIVE, and has a residency at the MCA starting next week – though maybe that’s in our favour set-wise?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UQ3WHMfcD8
It’s been quite a long time since we’ve heard anything from these two boys from Sydney. They’re playing quite a few shows in Europe over the next three months, starting in May, but haven’t done a Sydney show in quite some time. Reading between the lines though, Future Classic call specific attention to the fact that the Allstars are “jumping behind the decks”, and so we may not be able to get the full Jagwar Ma experience if they are to make an appearance. Maybe a lil DJ set though? Time will tell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP8k6fmxWe4
Not much is known about Midnight To Monaco, the project of Donnie Sloan, co-producer for Empire Of The Sun, and Ricky Ducati, but their sound speaks for itself. 50’s doo wop flung far into the future, Midnight To Monaco are set for big things the world over. Their latest single One In A Million was released on the latest Future Classic compilation, also called One In A Million, so we can clutch at straws and hope that they’re on the lineup, but would we consider them allstars yet? No doubt they will be eventually, but so far they’ve only been around a minute.
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Panama have just come home from a tour across Asia, though their last release was a while ago with Jungle just last year. Unless they do a DJ set, we imagine they won’t be gracing the MCA stage due to the fact that they use live drums.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1m0mceKkx4
The boys are doing a bunch of European shows in September, and just last week did a DJ set in Berlin. They seem to be spending more and more time overseas at the moment, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were still kicking it European style, but they are definitely one of Future Classic’s most allstar teams, so it’s very possible they’ll come home to pay a visit.
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Melbourne producer Thrupence has been flying under the radar for a while now, releasing New Light, his only track since Lessons all the way back in 2014, in September of last year. Though his lush and textured sounds would fit right at home at the MCA, if you follow his Instagram you’ll know that he’s been much more busy working in his design and art scheme of things.
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Off the back of his remix of Flume’s Never Be Like You, Wavey is unfortunately, for those of us at home, also on tour. Taking his Flash Drive tour across North America, Saturday night sees him play Madison, Wisconsin, alongside Promnite. This Sunday won’t be as wavey as we’d hoped in Sydney, take care of him Wisconsin.
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They’ve just wrapped up their Avocado Galaxy tour to promote their EP of the same name, but it’s unlikely we’ll be travelling through the Avocado Galaxy come this Sunday. Why? Instruments.
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OTHERS
Now though everyone else has gotten their own section on why they might or might not play, there’s some very simple explanations for the ones in this section. Though we’d love to see them again, Kenton Slash Demon and Perth singer songwriter Wafia have already played as part of this round of FC x MCA shows, so we’re banking on them not making a return just to give others a red hot go. Sidenote: Wafia could maybe come back, but it’d probably only be to accompany Ta-ku like she will be as a part of VIVID Live. Now, you may have also noticed that Charles Murdoch, Flight Facilities, Hayden James and Touch Sensitive haven’t been mentioned till now. Though all these artists are phenomenal in their own rights, and definitely all a part of Future Classic’s Allstar roster – these boys are the real allstars. Allstars are the players who come back and play in the game day after day, or in this case, rock the house again and again. They’re our best bets for Sunday’s show, but we can’t wait to found out properly.
Red Bull Music Academy have just announced that they’ll be heading to Paris this year, and the Australian representatives are celebrating with a week of parties at Studios 301 in Alexandria! From Feb 2 – 6 there’s a range of lectures, parties, artist collaborations and live sets.
From 3-6 pm today, Laneway Festival headliners Flight Facilities will be heading to Studios 301 to take over FBi Radio with a LIVE DJ set- and we’re giving away a DOUBLE PASS to be a part of the action, and party with FBi and Flight Facilities!
It’s SUPER easy to win:
1) ‘Like’ us on Facebook!
2) Email giveaways@howlandechoes.com with “RBMA x Flight Facilities” and your name.
We’ll be drawing the winner at 1 pm so you’ve got time to get there by 3.
GET IN QUICK!
Studios 301 is located at 18 Mitchell Rd Alexandria 2015
Since its inception in 1974, Triple J’s crown jewel has easily been the annual Hottest 100 Countdown. The largest music poll in the world, establishing what was truly the best song of the year. That’s not to say the poll is always accurate, with some victors wining in questionable circumstances, however as 2014 draws to a close, its now time to count your votes, and establish who will take out this years crown. In light of this, Howls & Echoes has listed its top picks for the 2014 Countdown. (In no particular order)
Peking Duk: High feat. Nicole Millar
Possibly the only good thing to come out of Canberra since Kevin Rudd’s ‘Sorry’ speech, Peking Duk have had an incredible year. The release of High saw the duo solidify their standings in the shit-fight that is the Australian dance scene. This release resulted in incredible performances at both Splendour in The Grass and Groovin The Moo, and most recently saw the two tear Sterosonic’s main stage a new one. Considering how far these boys have come, and the incredible rotation High has had across the airwaves, we will be very surprised if this doesn’t make top 5, let alone grab pole position.
Chet Faker: Talk Is Cheap
That said, it’s not like there isn’t any strong competition. Chet Faker’s ‘Built on Glass’ saw the Melbournite go from a well kept secret, to Australia’s favourite son. Talk Is Cheap has amassed an impressive 7 million views on YouTube and his debut album reaching Gold status, accompanied with a number one spot. It’s going to be an incredibly close race, however our boy Chet is in with a seriously good shot.
Future Islands: Waiting On You
The fact that Future Islands have been kicking around since 2006 will never cease to surprise us, however its extremely fortunate that their single Waiting On You broke them into the global music scene this year. After their incredible performance at Splendour In The Grass, it would come as no surprise if the American Outfit claimed the number one spot. Accompanied by their incredible performance on Letterman, 2014 has definitely been the year of Future Islands.
The War On Drugs: Red Eyes
Similar to Future Islands, The War On Drugs’ past two albums were not only extremely underrated, but one of the best-kept secrets we had. However in the immortal words of Nelly Furtado, ‘All Good Things (Must Come To An End)’. The War On Drugs’ Red Eyes divided listeners, either deeming it incredible, or incredibly boring. At Howl & Echoes however, we back the Philadelphian outfit and know that the group will feature heavily in this years countdown.
Sam Smith: Stay With Me
Rolling Stone slotted UK tear-jerker, Sam Smith, into their top 15 tracks of 2014 with his heartfelt ballad Stay With Me. Having wowed crowds at Splendour In The Grass, and his debut album, Stay With Me is definitely a change of pace form the upbeat nature of the countdown, but rest assured that it will be in there.
Flight Facilities: Two Bodies feat. Emma Louise
We had Chet Faker, we had The Smith Street Band, however its so profoundly obvious that Flight Facilities album ‘Down To Earth’ was the single most anticipated Australian album of the year. The duo have been kicking around for years, however in 2014 the finally release their hugely awaited debut album. From this album stemmed Two Bodies, featuring Emma Louise. Spearheading the electronic vibe which has taken over Australia, ‘Two Bodies’ has been received with nothing but love.
DMAs: Delete
Before they had released a song, performed a gig, or given the public anything to show – Australia was already talking about Sydney’s DMAs. With several tours and soon to be two groundbreaking EPs under their belt, its no surprise. The unique formula of an Australian spin on that Brit-Pop sound we’d all forgotten has resulted in them being loved the world over. Having just finishing up supporting The Courteeners in the UK to rave reviews, their ballad Delete is a definite feature on this years Hottest 100
DZ Deathrays: Gina Works at Hearts
Having recently taken out the ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album, the DZ lads are hardly slowing down. The release of Gina Works at Hearts saw a cross-over between their signature hard hitting riffs and a accessible lyrics, accumulating in some serious loving for the song. Here’s hoping that this cross over, which did them justice at the ARIAs, rewards them even further with a top 10 spot come January 26th.
ILLY: Tightrope
ILLY has been kicking around for years, however the release of Tightrope from his album Cinematic, hit a sweet spot with both Triple J and voters alike scoring Platinum status. Having headlined this years One Night Stand, it really has been a jam-packed year for the Victorian rapper, and he is in serious contention to cap it off with taking that number one spot.
Jungle: Busy Earning
The boys from Jungle came out of nowhere, and their self titled debut release took the world by storm. The British outfit have spent the entire year touring, capitalising on what is one of the better albums of this year. Their feel-good downbeat vibes will be making an appearance in this years countdown, the question is where?
Wild Card: Taylor Swift – Blank Space
I honestly don’t care what you say, Taylor Swift’s 1989 was one of the best albums of the year. Yeah it’s pop, but it was genuinely one of the most honest albums we’ve seen in a long time. Unfortunately I doubt that Blank Space will be considered for a nomination, but it should be. Taylor is love, Taylor is life.
Nothing says cool like obscurity.
Perhaps this is what the success of Meanwhile – arguably Sydney’s best-known late-night dance club – is hinged on. Born out of the abyss created by 1.30am lockouts, the dark, hazy space situated below the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville provides the perfect antidote to the Sydney’s CBD’s wounded late-night dance scene.
Kicking off in August this year, the club is a collaboration between the Maker Agency, and well-known promoters Sam Korotkov and Kiran De Silva. Sitting just outside the lockout zone, they’ve already pulled off some massive nights, with DJ sets from Rüfüs, Nina Las Vegas, Indian Summer and Sampology just to name a few. But it was the Flight Facilities after-party from their Down to Earth tour that really changed the game.
A surge of ravers from across Sydney transformed what began as the domain of hardcore inner west music lovers into a club for people all-over. The lines were long, to say the least. The disappointment was bitter for some, as many people without pre-ordered tickets had to be turned away. But the night was worth it.
Flight Facilities revealed a different side to their musical talent, providing a brilliant set of grungy beats which kept the energy of the club pulsing. The dance floor went off like never before, and the DJs like Charlie Chux and Cassian ensured that those serious party vibes continued well into the morning.
Meanwhile have not only thrown a sick party, they’ve thrown themselves into the spotlight for music fans citywide. No doubt they will continue to outdo themselves as the summer holidays roll on.
It was a banner night for Australian dance music. Two of this year’s most hyped acts joined forces to tear The Tivoli a new one on November 15, and caused the crowd to nearly dance the roof down. We headed along to one of the highly anticipated Flight Facilities shows, with Melbourne duo Client Liaison in tow, in Brisbane to see one of Australia’s most prominent electronic duos do what they do best.
This was the fourth time I had seen Client Liaison in action this year, yet still they managed to completely stun me with their incredible live show. Giving 110% from start to finish, the Melbourne duo, with added help from Harvey‘s brother Geordie and triple J‘s Lewi McKirdy, this could easily have been a Client Liaison show. The Tivoli was completely packed about three songs in, as they captivated audiences with their drum tracks, synths and Monte‘s stylish dance moves. Even a dropped mic couldn’t stop them, as they continued to cement their names as a force to be reckoned with for 2015. Feelings and Queen, personal favourites, sparked singalongs in the crowd as everyone belted out the words with passion that rivalled the artists themselves.
The air was thick with anticipation as the stage prepared for Flight Facilities to take over. There is something magical about The Tivoli when it’s packed out, the two levels dripping in suspense. As the lights dimmed, and their token flight call sound filled the room, cheers and screams greeted them. Intro lead into the nose-stud rattling bass of Two Bodies, with OWL EYES filling in for EMMA LOUISE‘s dreamy vocals. This song is without a doubt one of my favourite songs, possibly ever. It’s incredibly emotive, and seeing Owl Eyes truly own the stage with her dancing and crooning was a sight to behold.
The set continued with energy only seen at a Flight Facilities show. Interspersed with crowd favourites, Stand Still and Crave You were welcomed with open arms from the adoring crowd. Owl Eyes continued to take the female roles of ELIZABETH ROSE, MIKEY GREEN and GISELLE and vocalist KURT KRISTEN took the lead male parts. Although there seemed to be something missing from Foreign Language and I Didn’t Believe, but what lacks here is made up for ten-fold in Sunshine.
The impossibly groovey track, followed by Love Is In The Air made for a near eurphoric end to the show. James Lydell and Huge Gruzman, although at times a bit too still behind the decks, are definitely kings of Australian Dance Music, and this show highlighted why. Their ability to move the crowd as they weave their way through disco, house, groove and everything in between is something truly admirable. They were just as captivating as they were in 2011, again in 2013 and now here. I, for one, can’t wait until the next show!
You can catch Flight Facilities at St Jerome’s Laneway Festival in 2015:
31 Jan 2015 – Laneway Festival
RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane QLD
1 Feb 2015 – Laneway Festival
Sydney College of Arts, Sydney NSW
6 Feb 2015 – Laneway Festival
Harts Mill, Port Adelaide, Adelaide SA
7 Feb 2015 – Laneway Festival
Footscray Community Arts Centre, Melbourne VIC
8 Feb 2015 – Laneway Festival
Esplanade Reserve And West End, Fremantle WA
Photos by Savannah Van der Niet
Client Liaison
Flight Facilities
