It’s that time of year again. Sydney is braced for a bevy of bright lights and brilliant live music, as the annual Vivid Sydney Festival draws ever closer. As snap happy photographers ready their cameras, music enthusiasts our now licking their lips at the talent attracted down under, with the lineup for the festival released today. Here are just a handful of the shows that are certified “must-sees”:
Bon Iver
Justin Vernon has reemerged from his musical slumber and is set to bring Bon Iver back to Australian shores as part of the CERCLE series of performances. With only three prior Sydney shows to his name, this is a must for any music fan that can appreciate lyricism and talent in it’s rawest form. Attendees at the Sydney Opera House will be the very first in the world to see his new show premiered, and considering it was only recently that we learnt Bon Iver wasn’t actually done and dusted, news of his return is among the greatest musical announcement we’ll see this year!
Where: Concert Hall (Opera House)
Date: 27-30 May
Tickets Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWcyIpul8OE
Bjork
The eccentric songstress is headed back down under to showcase her newly developed Bjork Digital experience, an exhibition set to showcase: “five unique spaces that will premiere a new virtual reality project from the musician, alongside other collaborations with some of the finest filmmakers and programmers in the world.”
Bjork has recently dabbled with VR technologies, and her work looks set to culminate in Sydney as she tantalises our senses from all angles, an experience that is set to add yet another layer to the mystique of her performance, which will no doubt see the Australian live debut of music from her powerful, emotionally intense 2015 album Vulnicura.
Where: Carriageworks
Date: June 3
Tickets: Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWHpoJT3qK4
Polica
When Justin Vernon labels you “the best band I’ve ever heard” you can be certain that you are in for an aural treat when Polica take to the stage to unleash their unique fusion of electronic sounds and indie pop. Returning to Australia after a three year hiatus, we can only imagine that Polica is ready to take Sydney by storm all over again, performing from their gorgeous new album United Crushers, which came out earlier this month and has garnered stellar reviews.
Where: Joan Sutherland Theatre (Opera House)
Date: June 3
Tickets: Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl03afAqeFQ
New Order
The presence of the synth-pop legends at Vivid is sure to set tongues-wagging, with the group set to celebrate 35 years with a “live retrospective” performance that will undoubtedly satisfy even the most hardcore fans. Rejoined by synth wizard Gillian Gilbert, New Order will introduce a brand new generation to the wonders of their discography.
Where: Concert Hall (Opera House)
Date: 1 June, 5 June
Tickets: Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftJZomwDhxQ
Oneohtrix Point Never
Described by organisers a “rock-inspired rampage set to stun audiences with cutting synthesizers and decimating bass,” we can breathe easy knowing that we probably won’t be able to hear properly for the rest of the night after catching Oneohtrix Point Never’s Vivid Live performance. Fans can of course expect to hear much of OPN’s stellar 2015 release, Garden of Delete (his seventh album to date), a Nine Inch Nails-inspired industrial, experimental, eclectic electronic album that featured on many end of year best-of lists.
Where: Joan Sutherland Theatre (Opera House)
Date: May 29
Tickets: Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td-e4i2BL_Q
Anohni
Performing an Australian exclusive premiere as part of Vivid, the astounding talents of Anohni, leader of Antony and the Johnsons, in the form of what is sure to be a stunning live staging of her fifth studio album Hopelessness. Anohni was the first performer announced for this year’s festival, and will no doubt provide a unique and soulful experience, as the self described ‘electronic record with sharp teeth’ takes its rightful place on centre stage.
Where: Joan Sutherland Theatre (Opera House)
Dates: 27 May, 28 May, 30 May, 31 May
Tickets: Here
These are of course just some of the headliners we can expect to see as part of the festivities, with a range of other masterful talents on display:
Deafheaven
And now for something a little different: off the back of their incredible 2015 release New Bermuda, and completely unlike anything else on this bill, heavy-hitting Deafheaven are set to bring their thunderous walls of pristinely complex noise to the Opera House’s Joan Sutherland Theatre. While still a relatively new act in the scene, they have more than made their mark with their three studio records, and have quickly become one of the most important heavy bands in the world. This will be a simply breathtaking show – and for those who aren’t in Sydney, you can catch them on tour across the country.
Where: Joan Sutherland Theatre (Opera House)
Date: 2 Jun
Tickets: Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4tyCchDlhM
Hiatus Kaiyote with Sampa The Great
One of the absolute highlights of Australian music circulating today, two-time grammy nominees Hiatus Kaiyote will be bringing their immense talent and impeccably well composed jazz-infused tunes to the Opera House’s main stage. In tow will be Sampa The Great, who, in a nutshell, is Australia’s Lauryn Hill (except hopefully she’ll be a little more frequent with her music output and less so with her tax fraud.) Sampa has toured with Hiatus Kaiyote before, and even remixed a full series of their tracks last year. Arguably two of the best Australian acts around today, this is not to be missed.
Where: Concert Hall (Opera House)
Date: 31 May
Tickets: Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3tErZ5LUJY
This is only the beginning of the Vivid announcements, with a myriad venues including Oxford Art Factory, Newtown Social Club, Freda’s, The Lord Gladstone, The Basemen, The Argyle and plenty more set to hold events throughout the festival. Needless to say, we probably recommend taking a couple days to relax and get some sleep before it all kicks off, because there’s something happening every single night.
While the light show and musical performances attract much of the attention and allure of the festival, let’s not forget some of the brilliant minds that are heading our way to deliver “Game Changer” talks. Director extraordinaire Spike Jonze, the genius behind Being John Malkovich, Her, and Adapation will be joined by none other than Beau Willimon (of House of Cards fame) and Jenji Kohan (Orange is the New Black) to inspire and motivate attendees as they bestow their creative wisdom upon us, sharing their insightful gems and anecdotes as they recount their storied careers.
Indigenous Australia is also set to be highly recognised by organisers, with the Sydney Opera House set to be lit up with the works of six prominent Indigenous artists, in a work entitled Songlines.
With 2015 numbers soaring to heights of almost 2 million attendees, we can be sure that this stellar lineup will see 2016 break new ground and further establish Vivid as one of the world’s most stellar culminations of culture and art.
Head to Vivid’s official website for more
Image: Vivid
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, of 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:
Aquilo – Never Seen You Get So Low
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARkWXukMvok
This one comes from Lancashire duo Aquilo. It’s a session video for their track Never Seen You Get So Low, one of the first to drop from their upcoming debut LP in 2016. The video was recorded in their own studio and turns the warmth and intimacy all the way up for a silky smooth melodic pop track.
Oneohtrix Point Never – Repossession Sequence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYM2s-IeFXw&feature=youtu.be
Jumping the Atlantic to New York for the next video, commissioned by Channel 4 Random Acts and Warp Records, it features several tracks by electronic producer Oneohtrix Point Never from his 2015 experimental album Garden Of Delete set to a video directed by Nate Boyce. I’ve got no idea what’s going on for about the first 40 seconds, the video resembling some kind of video game glitch set to a faint hum. The music, some of the most warped out, oddball electronica you’re likely to hear, drops in soon enough but the whole thing just looks like a bugged out video game throughout, though it’s perfectly suited to its soundtrack.
The head in the glass ball freaked me out the most. I’m not even going to try and explain it, just give it a watch if you don’t mind being deeply unsettled. Battles, Hudson Mohawke and Darkstar have all had videos commissioned for the series and they’re definitely worth checking out!
Gordi – Can We Work It Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nBypE_IsyY
Sydney songstress Gordi enjoyed a massive breakout in 2015, nominated for Unearthed Artist of the Year, playing CMJ in New York City and wowing crowds everywhere along the way with her dreamy brand of folk served up with hefty lashings of pop. She has dropped the video for her biggest hit Can We Work It Out and it’s a cracker.
Driven along by some massive percussion, Gordi’s haunting vocals are amplified by the shadows, vivid colours lighting up the background in time to those lilting synths. The entire thing is a neon dream, exactly what you would expect from a song bound together by the unlikely combination of electronic and folk.
Check Gordi out when she plays the FBI SMACS/Sydney Festival on January 10th!
Banoffee – Body Suit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1zAdYWTCZM&feature=youtu.be
Sticking with Aussie songstresses, the latest single and video from Melbourne lady Banoffee is out. Body Suit is a track from her debut EP Do I Make You Nervous?, released earlier this year. She’s an innately visual musician and the clip is further proof. It features a cast of diverse characters gathering inside an establishment you can somehow still smoke cigarettes in (where is this???) to watch some kind of contemporary dance routine/cling wrap performance by Banoffee herself.
Their reactions are varied, mirroring the song’s central theme of the subjective nature of performance. The track itself is a laidback, sweet electro-pop number, Banoffee’s vocals stretching their wings across a wide range (that falsetto though, wow). The music video actually tells a story though, something becoming increasingly rare in recent times, and I can’t thank Banoffee enough for that. Check out our chat with her here.
Stillwater Giants – Patience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFHbUi1KSjY
Props to Perth legends Stillwater Giants for the most fun film clip of the whole week. This one will make you want to load your car up with beers and head where the sunshine is going. Shot on a recent road trip the band took to Broome and featuring pub gigs, crocodile fights, cliff diving (so much cliff diving) and heaps more fun activities all filtered through what looks like the most psychedelic of Snapchat filters (it’s actually a mix of rotoscope, particle effects and hand-drawn animations done by drummer Angus), it’s just a fantastic visual accompaniment to a beers-in-the-sun surf rock song that’ll leave you wanting to quit your day job and live on the highway.
Printz Board and the Boardmemberz – Fuckin’ A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xHCMcMPEPo&feature=youtu.be
What a ripper of a song title. This one comes from Printz Board and the Boardmemberz out of sunny Los Angeles, an oddly-satisfying mash up of neo-soul, hip hop and acoustic rock (kind of like what Bruno Mars could be if he wasn’t terrible), for a track off of his latest EP Boarding Pass. The clip is an interesting one to go with it, shot underwater with dreadlocks and random objects floating everywhere (the kicker coming early when it’s shown that they’ve been tossed in there by a few pissed ex-girlfriends).
It’s a feel-good summery track about not giving a single fuck no matter how bad a day you’re having, a message everyone can appreciate I’m sure.
The Gooch Palms – Tiny Insight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smNb29qKndE
This next one comes from Los Angeles via Newcastle ‘shit pop’ band, the delightfully monikered The Gooch Palms. Tiny Insight comes from their upcoming sophomore album Introverted Extroverts and it is an absolute cracker of a surf rock track. Lo-fi as all hell, the fuzz on those guitars absolutely sun-drenched. Like the aforementioned Stillwater Giants, The Gooch Palms have here given us an insight into their life on the road in this fantastic hazy adventure of a clip.
Tiny Insight is set to land on June 16th next year! You can catch them on the road in Brisbane with fellow surf punk legends Skegss and for a headline show of their own in late January.
Chet Faker and Marcus Marr – The Trouble With Us
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAd–mEjcco
When crime fighting musical collaborating duo Chet Faker and Marcus Marr teamed up earlier in the year and gave us The Trouble With Us, everybody’s limbs were just about overcome with the pure, unadulterated funk that song brought to the table. It’s looking to go way high in this year’s edition of the Hottest 100 and this week the accompanying video finally landed.
The best way I can describe it is a fast forward through the stages of a relationship if everyone was dressed like a preppy 50s teenager and did everything in choreographed dance form. Also slow-dancing and spit-swapping in the pouring rain. All doesn’t end well for these happy dancing couples though, people copping laundry and water and all kinds of stuff right in the kisser.
The clip works well in visualising the song’s central themes about the ups and downs of romance and it’s as fun and dance-inducing as the track itself.
Mystery Jets – Telomere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGpRMysGKJw
And just popping back across the pond again quickly, our penultimate video this week coming from London indie rock quartet Mystery Jets for their latest single Telomere. Heralding the release of their next album, January 2016’s highly-anticipated Curve Of The Earth, the track burns out a long and melodic fuse before kicking into gear for the chorus and soaring. the gigantic drums propelling singer Blaine Harrison’s voice into the stratosphere.
Everyone in the accompanying video looks like they’re out of Mad Max, mud and paint and dirt covering every surface, the contemporary dance routines and kaleidoscopic outro mean your eyes are never unstimulated. Curve Of The Earth drops January 15th.
Neon Indian – The Glitzy Hive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t0aoZqfiB0&feature=youtu.be
And last but not least we have Neon Indian throwing it down for the Go-Pro and Pitchfork joint collaboration GP4K. With a rendition of The Glitzy Hive, a track off of his absolute smash hit third album Vega Intl. Night School, it’s like one of those old Countdown clips from the 70s where the artist played on a television soundstage to a crowd (who totally weren’t actors) dancing around them, only this time everything is genuine and the neon is turned up to 11.
It’s a slick, funky, raunchy as fuck track and this live performance of it looks like the most fun anyone has ever had, ever. The use of Go Pros in filming this is crazy, they must have used at least a dozen of them at the rate and positions the footage is spliced into and it creates an almost 360 degree experience that is a nifty take on traditional music videos.
You can catch Neon Indian on his Australian tour kicking off this week!