Read our review of Laneway Festival Brisbane 2016
We snapped up Laneway Festival in Sydney this year. This gallery contains photos of: Chvrches, Purity Ring, Grimes and Flume.
Part one contains photos of: Slum Sociable, Blank Realm, Banoffee, METZ, DIIV and FIDLAR
Part two contains photos of: Goldlink, Shamir, Royal Headache, DMAs, The Smith Street Band
Part three contains photos of: The Internet, Violent Soho, Battles and Beach House
Chvrches
Purity Ring
Grimes
Flume
As part of Laneway, Canadian superstar Grimes, real name Claire Boucher, graced our shores this week fresh off the back of her latest album, Art Angel. It’s been a while since she’s been to Australia, the last being in 2012 for Meredith Music Festival, just as she’d released her breakthrough record Visions. Though it may have been over 3 years, Grimes’ Sydney sideshow at the Enmore Theatre gave her a reception like they hadn’t seen her in a lifetime.
From the get go, it was impossible not to feel the growing anticipation among the crowd as the time crawled closer and closer to the main event. Supports Lupa J and HANA had warmed the Enmore well, but most punters had obviously waited till just before 9:30 to come in, with lines stretching right down the block. From the dance floor to the balcony, the crowd would erupt into cheers when anyone entered the stage, in the hope that it might have been Grimes herself. Then all of a sudden, the house lights cut, the deep rumble of bass filled the theatre and drowned out all cheering, and a single person took the stage. Everyone watched in complete silence as a lone dancer moved in perfect time with every beat of the music, and Grimes took the stage.
With her opener HANA, signed to Grimes’ label/not label, helping with instrumentation and two backup dancers, the stage was more full than anyone would have imagined, but it worked perfectly. The dancers were doing exactly what everyone in the crowd wishes they had the room to do, and HANA was perfect on her instrumentation, backup vocals and dancing as well. The set itself was over relatively quickly, going for a little over an hour – which may seem short compared to others, but that’s only because it was so jam packed. Boucher was constantly running from behind the keyboard, pads and playing guitar, back to the front of the stage, singing and dancing all in between.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv9YoYCKNoE]
Tracks from Art Angels were amazing to see constructed from scratch live on stage, and crowd favourites ‘Genesis’ and ‘Oblivion’ from Visions sent the Enmore into near frenzy. At the close of each of her tracks, she’d run back to the mic stand, practically gasping for air after delivering back to back insane performances, and address her adoring audience. Grimes wore her performance on her sleeve constantly throughout the evening – claiming that she’d been shitting her pants all week with the flu, and discussing her opinions of each of her songs, and the reworks that she’d given to a number of them. Though each of these moments was super shortlived, with her racing to get stuck into the next number, it created a relationship with her as a performer that other artists are unable to.
At the close of the show, she even announced that she was going to play her Encore straight away because she “hates the whole getting clapped off and coming back thing” and always worries that she might not get clapped in for an encore. It gave us a real insight into her as a person, and made her performances all the more encapsulating. She busted out her version of Franz Schuber’s ‘Ave Maria’ as well, which was absolutely phenomenal – you could’ve heard a pin drop the whole way through. Alongside her stellar performance, lights, lazers and projections made what was already a great show just that little bit more impressive, and was something that those seated in the balcony could hold onto in absence of proper dancing room.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRwFJP4kc_c]
Grimes is a jack of all trades performer. She’s able to rile an audience up with a combination of live instrumentation, singing, dancing and her general presence on stage, which you don’t come by often enough. Her return to Australia can’t come too quickly, and we can only hope that it times out yet again with another album release.
Image by Amy Heycock for Howl & Echoes. See the full gallery here.
Those at Grimes’ Saturday night show in Seoul a couple of weeks ago were lucky enough to be the first people to hear a few tracks from her new album Art Angels live. Grimes performed Flesh Without Blood and Butterfly, as well as a cover of Ave Maria.
Fan shot footage has allowed us to see snippets of her performances. Flesh Without Blood was performed with bright pink lights and a couple of dancers grooving along to the beat. Meanwhile, Grimes had her guitar which she used to rock out with during the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nII52YkTLH8
It wasn’t all done without a little slip up. During Butterfly, she remarks that she “can never remember the words to this song” as she forgets some of the lyrics. But, just like a true performer, she gets on with it and finds herself back on track. The crowd didn’t seem to mind, encouraging her to continue. She dances around the stage, having what looks like the time of her life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvddZnx_Xfc
Her Ave Maria would make Franz Schubert proud. Her angelic soprano rang through the quiet room with a beautiful tone that could make birds cry. Grimes has said via Tumblr that this “might be one of [her] all time favourite songs.” Her gorgeous cover can be heard at 9:38 in the video montage below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvFqcNmSjvU
Grimes is due to perform a couple of sideshows in Australia this month in addition to her set at Laneway Festival. Let’s hope she performs some of her new tracks for us:
Wednesday 3 February – 170 Russell, Melbourne
SOLD OUT
Wednesday 10 February – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Tickets here
Watch her video for Kill V. Maim here.
Image: Music Feeds
This has been an immense Christmas for new music. We’ve already been gifted with new Radiohead, new Future Islands and new LCD Soundsystem. Now, Canadian artist Grimes has shared a previously unheard track, Fifteen Minutes To.
Sharing the news via her Tumblr, Grimes notes that the track had been uncovered by way of a 2010 podcast titled ‘Midnight Poutine‘. So while it’s not exactly a new track, you’ve almost certainly never heard it before.
Grimes’ recent album Art Angels is one of the most celebrated of the year (including earning a spot in Howl & Echoes’ best songs and albums of 2015 lists). It’s always fascinating to go back and listen to a much earlier incarnation of an artist popular today, so fans will no doubt get a kick out of this one.
Grimes will be in town in early 2016, to perform at St Jerome’s Laneway Festival alongside a small solo tour. Dates below:
Laneway
Friday 5 February: Harts Mill, Port Adelaide (16+)
Saturday 6 February: Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane (16+)
Sunday 7 February: Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney
Saturday 13 February: Footscray Community Arts Centre And The River’s Edge, Melbourne
Sunday 14 February: Esplanade Reserve and West End, Fremantle
Sideshows
Wed, 3rd February 2016 – 170 Russell, Melbourne (SOLD OUT)
Wed, 10th February 2016 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney (TICKETS)
It’s always interesting when musicians talk about other musicians. It’s even more interesting when musicians review other musicians’ work. Especially when the two artists are as stylistically disparate as you can get. Given the recent amount of hype it’s garnered in the weeks up until its release, it was only apt that Will Butler of Arcade Fire gave Grimes’ new album Art Angels a go.
Writing for The Talkhouse, a website where musicians write about other musicians, Butler begins with a point about how reiterative pop music is, saying, “Pop traditionally tries to recreate the world the listener already lives in, just with bigger cartoon eyes and soft corners on the tables.”
He then goes onto say that Art Angels comes from the world of 2000s pop, but personally I don’t really think Art Angels sounds too reminiscent of the noughties at all. Butler then says that he is ‘prejudiced’ against the music of the 00’s before admitting he actually admires Art Angels. Favourite track? Scream ft. Aristophanes, a Taiwanese rapper rapping in Mandarin.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUe9rnucPoU&w=560&h=315]
Butler even goes so far as to call Grimes’ production charismatic. “The work is divine and human. I think of the RZA alone back in the ’90s, sampling and nudging and piecing together technology,” he says.
However, he then goes on a weird tangent about Elijah and the priests of Baal, quoting indecipherable nonsense in an attempt to sound cultured.
It doesn’t stop there. He THEN goes on to question whether he really likes Grimes’ new album at all, saying, “I just keep wondering if the funkiness is justified. There’s no reason for my doubt — it’s prejudicial.” He draws comparisons with Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and Prince, seeming to insinuate that he almost had to force himself to like these revered artists, a point he seems to be making with Grimes’ new album
At one point he basically accuses Grimes of being a massive, self-pandering egotist, quoting the line “Can’t you see the enemy just isn’t me tonight?” out of track Butterfly, calling it a “classic Prince move – talking about himself”.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv9YoYCKNoE&w=560&h=315]
However, Butler does admit at the end that “Grimes is a genuine world builder” in deference to her creativity on the album, saying that, “it feels cold to stand outside her creation and judge it. It’s like watching the Big Bang from a different dimension.”
The whole interview sounds incredibly discordant and scattered. It’s not quite clear where exactly Butler stands on Grimes, but he seems to be slightly disdainful of her new album in tone.
Butler had better watch out though, as Grimes revealed on SiriusXMU that she wrote song California as a hate song for music website Pitchfork.
“It’s actually like a hate track for Pitchfork. Not for California, for like the music industry,” said Grimes when asked if the song was an ode to the state.
The hate song was written to express Grimes’ frustration at how the press handled the release of her song Go.
Who knows, maybe Grimes’ next song could include a hate song about Butler?
Art Angels is out now via 4AD. Buy it right here.
It’s been a week since Grimes dropped follow up LP Art Angels, and fan hysteria is yet to cease even slightly- I challenge you to scroll down your news feed without finding something pertaining to Grimes’ new release. Understandable, considering the three year gap between it and it’s predecessor, the much loved Visions. Somewhere in the midst of all this frenzy, Grimes kicked off her Rhinestone Cowgirls tour, which will see her tour the U.S and Europe until finally making a stop down under for Laneway Festival. Last night, she blessed Atlanta with some fresh material straight from Art Angels, as well as including a very special guest, Janelle Monáe.
The tracklist for Art Angels only names two guests, one of them being Monáe, who worked with Grimes on track Venus Fly. While Grimes may not be a fan of utilising mass amounts of guest artists in her work, the move to include Monáe was a clever one. Besides from their talent, both women are similar in their breaking of any pre-conceived notions their audiences might have about what goes into creating a ‘good’ pop song. While sonically, they may sound vastly different, when working in conjunction with one another it creates something incredible.
Given that both women are also intensely superb performers, it’s no wonder that the video below is truly a sight to behold. If you’re like me, and have neglected to purchase a ticket to Laneway- I’d start saving now, and fast.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddFkIF5rY0Q&w=560&h=315]
You can purchase tickets to Laneway here, and listen to Art Angels here.
Art Angels, the fourth album by Grimes, will be released tomorrow (Friday, 6th November) and the opening track of the album has been released today.
laughing and not being normal immediately distinguishes this album from her prior work, opening with a string overture.
Hyped as Grimes’ crossover opportunity, the album features less of Grimes’ high pitched and heavily reverbed vocals, nor does her ethereal synth-pop sound remain.
Art Angels leaked earlier this week to a mostly positive reception. 4AD will release the album physically on December 11.
The lead single, Flesh Without Blood, features pop rock instrumentation and strong hooks.
The more vibrant sound of Art Angels is due partly to the more enjoyable circumstances of its conception, as opposed to the sleep-deprived, drug-fuelled process of Visions: “I was a much weaker person when I wrote Visions. It was a sad record – cathartic, but victim-y. During this album I’ve got control of my music. It feels more developed. On Visions I was still in school, mentally. Since then, I’ve wanted to make something strong and aggressive because it’s more reflective of me,” she told Q.
Grimes employs a new arsenal of instruments, including the violin and the ukulele, in this departure from her distinct brand of electropop. More prominent beats signal the transition into commercial pop territory.
After scrapping an album’s worth of material last year, Grimes has produced 14 tracks, including collaborations with soul singer Janelle Monae and female Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes. Art Angels also includes REALiTi, originally released as a demo from the lost album in March of this year.
Art Angels officially comes out this Friday November 6 via 4AD/Remote Control. Purchase it here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv9YoYCKNoE