OCTOBER MIX.
Ah yes, the final tape. The last supper. Last drinks have been called. and hey, let’s insert one more tiresome analogical wordplay here for good measure.
maamf. as it stands: done and dusted. don’t know? keep up.
So this is the last time where this writing, will accompany these songs on this site. I said I wouldn’t go on about it, and I won’t. For too much longer.
Just, really, I just wanted to say the following:
Thanks.
Alright then. No more going on. This is it. My fave selections for October below. Some writing about four of them. Nice tape, as always. A thank you to the artists that helped make it all happen. Full tape at the end.
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This track, ‘Be Brave <3’ from The Descenters, a project headed up by Melbourne based Matthew Stoff, throws a distortion fuelled melange of noisey off-cuts at a wall, and what speaks back to them is something tightly wound, cacophonous, but with a therapeutic clarity. Music hey?
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There’s quite the comfort in this cover from Melbourne’s Parading. It feels justifiably lazy. Lazy within the confines of a slightly drawn out pop song, but lazy nonetheless. Compared to the original from Paul Kelly, ‘Big Heart’ – taken from the band’s second full length Jungle Songs – proves an obvious, distinctive take. This shows the versatility in song writing on Paul Kelly’s behalf of course – a song that that some 29 years later, feels to have stood the test of time. But positioned within a vastly different musical vibe, the melodic dirge that is shoegaze, Parading give this song a new prolonged life, thanks to the grand vision of this Melbourne four piece.
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Perhaps a theme of sorts emerging within these tapes is a vague focus on young musicians emerging away from the main hustle of ‘typical’ music cities like Melbourne or Sydney. Tia Gostelow, an Indigenous woman from Mackay, is 17, a recent finalist in Unearthed High, and writing songs that speak to a potential full blown and successful career in this thing. Capturing that intricate and sophisticated approach to song writing reminiscent of fellow high schooler Gretta Ray, ‘Vague Utopia’ is an incredibly accomplished sounding track.
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It feels a little arduous and obvious to draw out the link between Telling and Gotye. The links are there – Tim Shiel, one half of Telling, founded the excellent Spirit Level, which houses this release, with Wally a little while back. There are also quite obvious similarities production wise, however ‘Guessing Games’ tends more towards Tim’s own intricate, electronic canon of work. As a vocalist, Ben Abraham’s voice lends an almost perfect tone to Tim’s production. What sits Telling at the top of the hill is this combination of two, clearly incredible musical minds.
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That’s it.
Full tape is here. Just for your ears, your eyes and your little beating hearts.
And finally, to borrow from myself, one last thing:
A thank you and good night to each and every one of you. Wake up tomorrow, attack the day ahead and go to sleep knowing you contributed in a positive way to the life of this guy here, Miks Everitt from Melbourne, Australia.
…
Miks.
JULY MIX.
It’s round two. Back. Proper music writing. A nice collection of tunes this time around – chock to the brim and all that. Some thoughts and reflections on the tracks within the tape are below. Have a read and a listen would ya?
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It feels as though songwriters are a hell of a lot better now at accessing a classic song structure and injecting it with enough personality and originality that it pops, so to speak. On this tape you can here it in the layers in L.U.V‘s track ‘You’ll Never Let Me Go’, the embrace of more traditional blues and soul instrumentation of ‘Down To Rest from Tom Stephens. And then of course you have the Waitsesque jaunt of Lost Animal‘s ‘Do The Jerk’ with its organ and sax combo. Dorsal Fins have always been on that classic pop tip – to the point where every single hit/strum/connection of brain to voice feels purposeful. My Brother’s Friends do the sing-a-long duet real well too, offering two perspectives on a track, simply via the differences in phrasing between the verses.
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The cultural significance of movements like LISTEN and Sad Grrrls Club isn’t going unnoticed. Of course there’s forever to go, but the fact that female identifying and GNC artists are now visible is all sorts of good. What makes me (a white cis-dude) a little uncomfortable though is the fact that these artists easily compete (not that it’s at all a competition). It’s not the fact that these artists are themselves good, it’s the question of who the fuck are we to be only now realising that ‘hey music is cool and gee there are some bloody talented people out there’. What the hell were we (predominately white music guys) doing to only get this now. in 2016. Who the fuck are we to put structures in place (like casually sexually assaulting women/overly sexualising women/fetishising those artists that identify differently) that purposefully favour some artists over others? Artists like L.U.V. and Rachel Maria Cox and Julia Jacklin and Tracy Chen and Ninajirachi. All making these tightly wound tracks, some full of more intimacy than you can bear, some with these super tight guitar pop structures. All really really catchy and good (hence why they’re in this tape). We should all make considered and thoughtful choices about who we choose to support.
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It’s something that’s been pushed a lot recently – we have a real super exciting electronic scene in this country. And yeah mate, we do. But the most exciting stuff to my ears (and hopefully yours) is happening away from the spotlight and away from the most hearted and reposted on soundcloud. We got a couple of those in here, from the warm and moving sonics of acts like LAIKS, Braille Face, and Ninajirachi; right through to the more pop sound of CDAD and Yon Yonson. I think special mention needs to be made of Tracy Chen‘s ‘Eggs’, which knocks me over into some tingly mess each and every time I press play on the thing. And it would be remiss of me not to make mention of Japanese Wallpaper, the exception to my most hearted and reposted rule.
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And all the others in this here tape. This tape especially has felt quite a pleasure to post. If you just can’t wait to read more of me writing, then you may well want to sign up to the maamf mailout. Thanks to all those who have done so already. For those yet to, it’s a monthly mailout full with many of things I been reading and enjoying over the past month. You can sign up here. You can check out the past issues here.
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Miks
JUNE MIX.
Sometimes I find it difficult to really properly get at what I’m trying to do with this. As new music hits the inbox, the submit page and the submithub profile, it’s easy for this thing to move further away from its initial purpose. That purpose is to write about and support those new artists I come across and love and am excited by.
That’s not to say I haven’t been inspired somewhat. The past two mixtapes have had me digging deep inside in an attempt to find some purpose in what I’m meant to be doing with all the time not spent ‘doctorating’. It has sparked many an idea, or rather a collection of ideas all focussed around one central big project. I will still write about ol’ mate Steve, but you can head over here for that.
Now that that’s all clear, perhaps we move towards a brief summation as to the contents of this here tape. I think from here on, I’ll write about a selection of those included in the tape. Around 4 or 5. To write about all (in this case) 19 tracks would make for a long read (and let’s be honest, you just come here for the list, not the writing). That’s not to say that all the tracks don’t deserve some level of reflection. Just know that there are plenty of other (and arguably better) spots to find that. maamf mailout is a good place to start. You can press play on the tape below.
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I’ve always been a sucker for local references in popular music. Allan Smithy‘s ‘Four Letter Reason’ does that nicely. It’s becoming an all too common tale within Australian music (especially those in Sydney) to rightfully bemoan the state of living. Nicely, and quite masterfully can I add, using the loose structure of the love song as the base, Smithy details the movement and stagnation of both friends and himself.
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It’s not until the final vocal line, just 20 seconds before the end, that we get a feeling Aeora has reared her head from the underground. ‘Afloat’ kicks along at a careful and constructed pace, not quite quick enough for the listener to forget the self-conscious and reflective lyrics, but with enough classic dark electronic pop to create a tension in the mind of the listener.
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Occasionally I’ll feel flawed. It’s partly due to an inability to adequately articulate myself. The majority of it though is simply testament to the sheer quality of music I find myself listening to. I wrote to Lee Hannah, or Sessility a little while ago in response to their email about ‘Plaza’, a new track taken from an EP that’ll feature collabs with Yeo and Kira Puru. Below is that inability to express when I’m being pommeled with deep deep cuts.
“It’s really something else – those live sounding drums really get me. And those little key lines that sound improvised and off the cuff but fit so beautifully within the structure. Really, Plaza is super super cool.”
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Finally, I wanted to briefly run through some thoughts on Good Boy‘s ‘Poverty Line’. It’s easy to cast this off as a vain Eddy Current Suppression Ring-lite project. Originally I had been sceptical. And either Mikey Young himself from Eddy Current is in dire need of work, or he’s cool with it because the man mixed and mastered the thing and from that point I immediately rethought my initial hesitancy. Again, a comment on traversing the difficulties modern being shoves in your face, Good Boy were probably in kinder when Brendan and co were thrusting around Melbourne’s scene. But still, this nails down an attitude and way of being that is forced upon many of those younger than you (maybe) and me (definitely). The more cut throat this place becomes, the more of these mini revolts happen.
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So that’d be it. I know I know, every coupla months, I change things up. I have historically stuck to things that are easier, and what I find easy changes. What I find challenging doesn’t though.
See ya for the July tape in a month or so.
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Miks
JANUARY+FEBRUARY ’16 MIX.
As I sit writing this post, I remind myself that this has been a long time coming.
As slight changes emerge within my day to day life both with this site, new silly ventures, and PhD and work life, I remind myself that all of this has been a long time coming. As I finish off with Hayden Calnin’s masterpiece of a track ‘Cut Love’, I steady myself. Feet firmly on the floor and the words flowing steadily from my hands, appearing on the screen in front of me.
All of this. Everything leading up to this very point in time.
As I sit with old favourites like Arthur Wimble, LANKS, and Ciggie Witch, I mark out my territory. And as I sit and be floored again by Marcus Whale, Luke Howard, and LUCIANBLOMKAMP, I wipe away those old tears. And then with those new infatuations – Alice Ivy, Isabel, and the almighty Dogood, I slowly fall back into a feeling of warmth and knowing and remind myself.
This has been a long time coming.
For some time now I’ve made it a habit to talk around the music. This was how you write. The story on Catalyst the other night about music being used to elicit memories for people living with dementia as they sit, still in those old people’s homes I became convinced that fuck it. What’s the point. If music can do that then it’s indescribable. You’re always going to do it a disservice.
But then I read those others who also do music writing. Those others who write about the music itself. None of it’s perfect, but that’s the fuckin’ beauty of it. This game is about getting close, slowly scraping away at the surface and finding some through line, no matter how long/short/narrow/wide and having that one person sit back and think, ‘fuck, that’s it. that’s what I hear.’
As I start afresh, I see that I’m here. This is where I was heading.
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Miks
NOVEMBER+DECEMBER ’15 MIX.
Sometimes I don’t know what to write at all for these little things. They’re becoming rarer and rarer (it’s the (currently) bi-monthly australian music mixtape site!), and it’s becoming more and more difficult to consider how these tapes somehow relate to my own life in direct, although subtle ways.
For sure it does, what with myself compiling them. And they’re solid tapes too, so, for sure, that’s a nice little accolade for my own musical curating ways. But those direct tangible summaries of feelings and thoughts and states of being that these tapes have helped to provide is becoming less and less clear.
I’m pre-empting a feeling that will hit in a few weeks where after quite a bit of change, I’ll find myself something new.
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Best of the year tape will be up in the next couple of weeks too (although last time I promised something I missed it by a month). So yes. Stay tuned for that.
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Miks
JULY ’15 MIX.
I was going to begin this month’s with some long winded metaphorical ramble about names and hey, what’s in a name you know?
Big statements make us take notice. That immediate impact, no matter what, can be pretty hard to forget. Statements that are distinctive in their voice, in their makeup, hey even in their words.
It looks like a scene from The Great Gatsby out my window – a low lit swimming pool with young, attractive people, cavorting around, champagne in hand. They’re making impacts. Drunk, flirtatious immediate impacts. You’ll see what’s underneath those pert bods soon, the distinct beings that they are. But for now, those quick smacks in the face’ll do you.
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A tape, full of everything, all marked and unmistakable in what they’re conveying. All for you. And please try the download – you won’t regret it (ha mate, hopefully).
DOWNLOAD (Right Click/Save As)
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Miks
JUNE ’15 MIX.
I fucking shouted it, much louder than I ever thought I knew my voice could go. Much bigger, louder, with this knowledge and acceptance.
Up until this point I had tolerated it. Now, I accept it.
…
It’s done. I’m down. Here in Melbourne, where it’s fucking cold but there’s amazing sights and great coffee at nearly every turn. And the site, the website that is, is changing and it’s all- everything’s a familiar new. Big generous helpings of everything you’ve come to expect, but all just sitting slightly different.
Full download available below, but if you just sitting at work/home/life looking for that next distraction/reason to live, you can stream ’em all too.
DOWNLOAD (Right Click/Save As)
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Miks
MAY ’15 MIX.
Oh, you know, tonight I move. For just a couple of days short of 2 years and 5 months I’ve been in Sydney, doing a PhD. I know i know, i’ve banged on about the bloody thing for forever. It has taken a big part of my life, and it’s not over yet. Tonight, I head to Melbourne, land of ‘good’ music and ‘cool’.
Trouble is, the PhD still continues, and so does my involvement. This tape (yeah mate, it’s still maamf, you haven’t just opened up my sticky journal of personal going ons), this May tape that is short, but sweet, is excellent. As always, and again, broken record I know, this is the music that has been the constant in a time of going through ALL of my shit, packing up a house, falling bookshelves and housesitting with other people’s dads.
As the PhD continues on (Melbourne is so I can write, get away and into the thesis), what maamf is will undoubtedly change. Whilst we’re unsure as of yet, there is talk (really amongst myself with the occasional drunk chat with Adam) of pulling maamf back to just the mixtapes. These tapes offer me a chance to escape the work, and to reflect on the month (all pretty wanky right, but m8, we all gotta be in touch with our sensitivities ya know?). Also, letsbehonest yeah? It’s not like there are all that many individual posts going up anyways. We’ll start the tape only thing soon, although we might just start it from today. We’ll still be posting a bit over on the maamf fb, occasionally on the maamf twitter and if you’re keen to follow the Melbourne journey, my own instagram.
So yeah mate, this is the tape that’ll accompany my flight tonight, and the future tapes will be those that accompany other, important times of escape. Awwwwwwwwwwwwww. ha jks no time 4 escape wid dis phd.
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Miks
APRIL ’15 MIX.
Delirious. Full blown fucking delirious.
So much so that at 1am on Monday morning as I write this and then think, ah no, maybe I should just wait till the morning and read this ol’ thing over, you know, give it the old clean up, but then as I write that realise that if I lost this the next morning, you readers wouldn’t know the struggle. It’s real. And sure, it is some privileged white male struggle full of scholarships, reasonably affordable rent and a supportive group of friends and family, but mate it be struggle all the same. (although not the same as those actually going through struggles. I’M JUST FUCKING TIRED).
Big April tape. 18 tracks. All real good. I mean gee whiz. as if it wouldn’t be amirite? As always, can’t recommend enough the tape download. A tasty morsel, showcasing the best in contemporary Australian music of all kinds, put together by one of our chefs Miks, because hey let’s be honest, we had to give the guy something to do, because he’s just always free and ALWAYS HAS TIME ON HIS HANDS ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MONDAY MORNING.
Anyway, yeah, just have a listen, and bloody click download (or maybe even follow the instructions in the brackets, yeah mate, like these instructions in these brackets, but the ones in the brackets below k?) on the DOWNLOAD thing just below the soundcloud playlist.
It be the music that gets us through. It’s always the music that gets us through.
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Miks
MARCH ’15 MIX.
I’ve been all deep inside this mixtape over the past couple of days. It’s been pouring and super windy here in Sydneytown, so I’ve been stuck inside, writing, selecting tracks, mixing etc. It’s longer than some of the earlier ones, with 19 tracks. All pretty solid too, although you’d expect that from a maamf mixtape.
From Oh Mercy to Sarah Mary Chadwick, there are odes to self desire and self defeat. From friendships to Abelard, there’s stark harshness and sugar coated nostalgic glitz. A tape full of contrast, with each playing off the other.
A tape worth it, for the showcase of broad tastes and ideas and sonicness alone.
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Miks
JANUARY ’15 MIX.
Oh yeah, new year, same old lazy habits.
New year, same old excellent monthly mixtapes tho, so, you ain’t gonna get all complainy on me now are ya??
I think what I like the most about this tape, especially it being the January tape released some three weeks into February and all, is what it captures in new starts. None of this music sounds ‘new’, as in different to the music released up until the 31st of December 2014. But it’s the constant in the my ever changing scenery.
I got a notification thingy from wordpress a couple of days ago saying “Happy Anniversary!’ and informed me that I registered my account some 6 years ago. Maamf as it currently stands hasn’t been kicking around for that long (full, albeit brief history lesson here), but it acted as a nice little reminder for me in what has been important to me over the last 6 years. Writing and exploring my tastes is something I really enjoy doing – it’s something I’ve been doing in a full time capacity for two and a bit years now, albeit about other people’s tastes.
I’ve thought about giving up maamf, or changing it to just a mixtape site maybe, or just taking a back seat on it for a while. Even with Adam coming on board a year ago, and of course taking into consideration his manic life, it has at times felt like the only option.
On the other hand, I’ve also had some rather big plans for maamf – I’ve thought about introducing interviews, a more formal music writing section documenting the different scenes happening across Australia, doing a full redesign with a new (and better logo), finally buying the domain name so we’re not slaves to the wordpress corporation, and even starting a podcast.
What I hope is that all these things will start, at some point. What I know though is that for now, and potentially for the next 12 months or so, this little site will be the same sporadic weird insight into two new music loving nerds. Maamf still exists because I can’t not listen to new Australian music. It is my one constant.
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Wank over (nah, actually, you prolly didn’t read the above overly ejaculatory ego fest. you just here for the music right? wouldn’t blame ya, what with this being a fucking good tape and all).
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Miks.
BEST OF 2014 – TRACKS.
BIG YEAR.
30 Tracks. Ready, just, for that partay tonight.
It’s been a hectic year for maamf. We’ve done some ace things – got a couple of premiere’s under our belt and some bloody incredible Australian music.
Easily the best, most important day of the year though was sometime mid Jan when I turned to a mate of mine mid Courtney Barnett gig at Goodgod and asked if he’d like to write for the site. That mate was Adam, and that was nearly a year ago. It’s been a big ol’ year for Adam too, what with a hectic job, and a real life human baby gracing the lives of Adam and his wife in May.
So yeah, the fact that he’s taken the time to write for this little Australian music site has been something pretty darn spesh and everything. Love ya dude! So yep, there’s been some big faves this year for me. Personal faves that have stayed with me, and as I more intimately learn about the music-making processes of young musicians, the way I listen to music has changed somewhat. Hopefully I’m a hell of a lot more appreciative of what goes into forming and shaping a song, from those melody ideas that hit you on the train, to the hard slog of perfecting a groove or riff.
I definitely am listening differently now. Looking forward to this time next year.
If this tape excites you, then make sure you grab a copy just below.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL TAPE!
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Miks.
BEST OF 2014 – ALBUMS.
Yep, here’s my list. What started as 26, then pushed out to 29, then again out to 32 and finally 34, is now down to 10. Bloody hard (of course), and there are so many that deserve a bit of a mention (more on that below tho).
This year was perhaps the first year though where there wasn’t a super clear cut standout. There were at least 3 that were vying for #1. And the rest of the 10 are in a super tentative order. I love doing these lists, but gosh darn, it’s been a year so full of solid releases that finding just 10 was a task.
So, in order to appease my own anxious self (I always look at lists a couple of days after I posted them and realise I forgot something), here are the ‘other 10’, the 11-20. Some of the one’s that just missed out on the 10 were:
Blank Realm – Grassed In
Harmony – Carpetbombing
Seekae – The Worry
Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders – Playmates
The Peep Tempel – Tales
East Brunswick All Girls Choir – Seven Drummers
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Oddments
Lowtide – Lowtide
ScotDrakula – SCOTDRAKULA
Old Mate – Old Mate
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And here’s the other ten. The better ten (but only just). Unlike other years, I’m just gonna have this list and not crap on about them. They’re bloody good. They’re my favourite of 2014 for all sorts of reasons. I reckon that’s good enough. Streams be there for you as well as just below, a big ol’ mixtape with two tracks from each album smack bang for that partay you’re havin tonight.
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10. The Harpoons – Falling For You
9. Luke Howard – Two & One
8. Clue To Kalo – The Motives Records
7. Laura Jean – Laura Jean
6. Total Control – Typical System
5. LUCIANBLOMKAMP – Post-Nature
4. #1 Dads – About Face
3. Jane Tyrrell – Echoes In The Aviary
2. Ciggie Witch – Rock & Roll Juice
1. The Ocean Party – Soft Focus
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Miks
NOVEMBER ’14 MIX.
oh mate yeah i know.
If this year has been testament to anything, it’s been a bloody testament to how bad I manage my blog/phd/life split. More on that when those end of year lists come at ya tho.
November tape. 23 days into December. The last official Mixtape mixtape of the year (sorry Dec but you just too busy girl).
Fair bit more of the electronic stuff in this one here and, of course, we like to play faves. A LOT. So a few repeat offenders too.
THERE YA GO. STAY TUNED FOR END OF YEAR LISTS COMING SOON (AS IN PROBABLY WITHIN THE NEXT 50 OR SO DAYS. HA. NAH MATE, SHOULD BE UP BY THE END OF THE YEAR?!)
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Miks
OCTOBER ’14 MIX.
oh mate. I mean gee whiz. Little Miksydicklefizz here is struggling to get these things up in a time appropriate manner. I’m currently facing perhaps the busiest time of my PhD which is basically just full of travel and stuff. And the field work has been absolutely excellent – couldn’t ask for better young people to speak to, but mate, not being in the one city for more than two weeks is getting to me. But hey, what is this? the little excuse club full of lilttle teeny weeny excuses?
Nah mate, it’s not. It is actually a pretty rad Australian music site (72nd best in the country – it’s a self-appointed title we’re all pretty proud of around here). And this here be the October mixtape.
I’ve taken a couple of liberties with this one – it was originally stuck at around 30 tracks and I did consider doing two tapes, coz, you know, two’s better than one etc (i’m single). At the top, I really do need to mention that the excellent Max Quinn has started a little music projoect – his Onomatopenis. His work ain’t up on soundcloud, so just as a little extra, if you download the tape (YOU REALLY SHOULD AND PLAY IT AT ALL OF YOUR PARTIES), then wedged between SCOTDRAKULA‘s ‘Shazon’ and Anatole‘s HTMLflowers remix is ‘Tarmax’ off Max’s first proper release. Also, I’m well aware that both Rolls Bayce‘s ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’ and Luke Howard‘s ‘Cibi’ have been kicking around for a while, but they hit my radar in October (add another penny to the excuse club jar).
Bloody great tape though, full of everything. CHIEFS is doing some ace things at the moment – heaps of collab work. This track with old mate Owen Rabbit is pretty fantastic – hearing Owen in a different light is pretty great. Gab Strum’s (Japanese Wallpaper) side project Càbãnå is also killing it – big Phoenix vibes and so is DXHeaven. A while ago I wrote about this new sophisticated pop/r’n’b that’s coming out of Melbourne. Really need to add DXHeaven to that list.
So yeah, there you have it. Part diary of a mad man, part talking about the excellent tracks in this ol’ tape.
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DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE TAPE (Right Click/Save As)
…
Miks
SEPTEMBER ’14 MIX.
Oh goodness.
I’m writing this post in parts.
I’m currently at uni (on a Saturday) and I’m meant to be transcribing some interview data. But even though I’ve had some amazing and illuminating chats with young people about music-making and I love listening back to them, the actual practice of typing, command tabbing back and forth between Word and iTunes, constantly pressing rewind and pause gets tedious, and is currently making me feel nauseous. So, what better than listening to the potential tracks for the September tape (as I write there are 29 – should lose about half of those) and writing this here intro. But then again, the intro has ended up looking more like a tedious and nausea inducing account of my morning.
And so we come full circle.
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It’s Sunday morning, and that Saturday morning diatribe is gone. I feel better, – it’s quite nice outside. It’s meant to be a warm one although those northerly winds are forecast. I get hayfever pretty bad – yesterday’s account was partially effected by that. And the northerly winds bring up all that pollen and dust in the air, so I think it’s an inside day for me. I’m still going through the tracks for September – slowly dwindling them down as the waft of bacon and eggs sifts through from the kitchen. Although this bacon and eggs wasn’t mine, the smell of it puts me in a fucking good mood. And that sun’s still out too.
The tracks this month are essentially everything you want in a mixtape. Or, everything you want in a monthly mixtape. Or maybe just what I want in a monthly mixtape that I do each month that usually comes about 12 days later than it technically should.
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So anyway, the tracks. Some lovely warm guitar pop from SMILE, Harley Young & The Haymakers and FLOWERTRUCK, some strange and wonderful sounds from Tetrahedra, kučka and AFXJIM and some of that euphoric pop music from Brightly and Owen Rabbit that I’m always going to be a sucker for. And of course all the other acts – thanks for making this September tape one of the best yet!
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DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE TAPE (Right Click/Save As)
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Miks
AUGUST ’14 MIX.
woah nelly. big ol’ tape for your little sunday evening/early monday morning/another time of the day on another day all together.
18 big ones this time ’round because, 1, i am feeling generous, 2, there were that many great tracks from August that I didn’t get round to actually posting individually, and 3, because i’ve had a big month…something…metaphor?
So, at the risk of sounding like a broken compact disc, this one’s got a bit of variety, something for every boy and girl. And something for mum and dad too if they play their cards right. And a couple of cards on show tonight/today/whenever the hell you are reading this thing are:
The Peep Tempel – massive Eddy Current vibes with this one all the while owning their own brand of aggressive punky rock’n’roll,
Jarrow – young kid – 18 I think, combining some pretty amazing garage style pop complete with some scissors and glue style electronic aggression,
Slow Dancer – Simon Okely, one of the other guys from Oh Mercy doing a real beaut of a song, all understated and full of style and some real pulled back instrumentation that blow me outta tha park a bit,
Moon Holiday – Some solo electronic pop that is big enough to hit hard, but with just enough darkness to help it standout from the rest,
and
Jesse Davidson – absolutely no shame in speaking about my love of this young man. this new track took everything he did, threw it all around to see what stuck and kinda re-invented his sound a little, all the while keeping that soulfulness he’s becoming known for.
So, please have a stream and a listen. And if you like, grab the whole tape as a download just below. I even tried to mix some songs together in a way that didn’t sound as bad as i thought it probably would.
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DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE TAPE (Right Click/Save As)
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Miks
JULY ’14 MIX.
Oh man! This be all nuts and stuff. Holidays are an amazing thing, and so is travelling down to see all those friends and family you left back down there. I actually think I might re-listen to this tape on my flight home. Prolly the correct length too.
Anyway, gosh, mate, enough of my crazy travel exploits (not that crazy, or exploitative even). This here tape is full to the brim of some real maamf faves. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s mid-year and I haven’t done that list that everyone else has done. Maybe it’s the fact that all my old maamf faves actually put out some killer tracks in July. Either way, the tapes a bloody bonza listen k?
A few little mentions though. Our mate Snowy Nasdaq joked that I should call these MiksTapes and then recoiled from that idea suggesting that perhaps I had thought of it already. To be honest Snowy, it did cross my mind early on, but I thought no one would take me seriously. Maybe I’m wrong? On the music front though, the guy is going from excellent to excellent with his one single a month thing. Seriously, the man knows his way around a wonky pop tune.
I also thought that this blog may run the risk of becoming the Laura Jean fanpage. Her new single ‘Don’t Marry the One You Love’, the second off her new self-titled album due out in a couple of weeks, is so much more upbeat sounding than ‘First Love Song’. The name doesn’t suggest that though – it still has that trademark world-weariness that Laura is becoming pretty well known for.
And finally, Flube. To put it simply, when you come across a good remix, it’ll most likely get a run. The new Seekae stuff is nice, but I gotta be honest, it’s taking me a while to get into it proper. There’s something about the whole Alex Cameron singing thing that although works in his super niche solo project, doesn’t resonate as much within the context of a band who have gone some way to define Australian electronic music. Maybe it’s the fact that it makes it a little more accessible, but the Flume remix still stays a little weird. It also hits reasonably hard. And maybe it’s the #clubbanger in it, but I like it over the original.
This month we’re also experimenting with a playlist of the tracks in soundcloud. The only track not on the playlist that is still in the tape is the Straight Arrows tune ‘Don’t Call My Name’. It’s not on soundcloud, and knowing what they’re like with shutting down accounts, I didn’t want to risk uploading it myself. The full tape is still available as a full stream and download though!
MAAMF – JULY ’14 MIX.
DOWNLOAD (Right Click/Save As)
TRACKLISTING:
Richard In Your Mind – Hammered
Tim Fitz – Sour
Straight Arrows – Don’t Call My Name
Bad//Dreems – My Only Friend
Laura Jean – Don’t Marry The One You Love
Klo – False Calls
Jack R Reilly – Collapse In One
Snowy Nasdaq – Lopsided Smile
Tora – Eat The Sun
Banoffee – Got It
Seekae – Test & Recognise (Flume Re-Work)
Lower Spectrum – Hex
Fractures – Won’t Win (Japanese Wallpaper remix)
…
Miks.
JUNE ’14 MIX.
Image from JL
Oh haiiiii! How you doin? June was a bit of a rad old month full of heaps of great great music full of heaps of different different styles and things like that.
And without wanting to highlight one track over another, and also because writing something about every track would take me just a little too much time, and that be time that I don’t have, although by taking forever to finish off this sentence then that may not seem the case, i’ll write about just a few.
It’s hard to escape the impact the new LUCIANBLOMKAMP track will have and has already had on how electronic music is not only made but also where it can go.
Ex-pats Shorts (the project of Mikael Caterer from Love Connection as well as Scott and Charlene’s Wedding) continues that Aussie jangle tradition but instead combines it with a ‘clean’ production.
And then, of course, the new Dick Diver. It’s hard to write about ‘New Name Blues’ without simply repeating what every other interpretation has stated. What I will say though is that here’s a band that continually get better and evolve and aren’t afraid to enter into intelligent political discussion whilst still maintaining this accessible and lovely feel.
MAAMF – JUNE ’14 MIX.
DOWNLOAD (Right Click/Save As)
TRACKLISTING:
Shorts – Berlin 1971
Melbourne Cans – Drowned Rats
The Zebras – Chase
Peter Joseph Head – One Thing (The Ballad of Breaking Bad) (Right Click/Save As)
Tobias Hengeveld – Fools Rush In
Owen Rabbit – Police Car (Right Click/Save As)
Lower Spectrum – Khlever (Right Click/Save As)
Broadway Sounds – Booby Trap
Big Smoke – Colours (Right Click/Save As)
Ilias – Fire Away
Tim Shiel – Priorities
LUCIANBLOMKAMP – Help Me Out (Right Click/Save As)
Dick Diver – New Name Blues
…
Miks
MAY ’14 MIX.
May mixtape is up and ready for your perusal. Featuring a whole heap, some old faves, some new exciting producers, some punk rock and some of the most sincere singer-songwriter stuff you’ll hear in a while.
MAAMF – MAY ’14 MIX.
DOWNLOAD (Right Click/Save As)
TRACKLISTING:
Cool Sounds – Nice
Ciggie Witch – Taylors Lakes
The Zebras – Try
Jonathan Boulet – Hold It Down
Life Coach – Tigersharx (Right Click/Save As)
Anatole – Undercurrent
Guerre – Deatheat
Deja – Heart
Ealing – Long Island (Right Click/Save As)
Milwaukee Banks – Rose Water
Andy Bull – Talk Too Much
Geoffrey O’Connor – Her Name On Every Tongue
Spookyland – The Silly Fucking Thing (Right Click/Save As)
…
Miks
APRIL ’14 MIX.
awwwwww yeah. I’m feeling seedy. Like, very seedy. And not in some sex-crazed maniac way, just hungover way.
So this’ll be funn!
Lucky for these here mixtapes then I suppose. An incredible mix as per usual. And apologies if it sounds different for some reason – I use GarageBand (yay for free software that does an alright job!) to create these – and that just updated itself, so I had to reteach myself as I went along.
But yes, anyway, April was bang up. It’s a big tape too with 16 tracks packed into just over an hour long mix.
ENJOY.
DOWNLOAD (Right Click/Save As)
TRACKLISTING:
friendships – 2 Reel (friendships & Null) (Right Click/Save As)
City Calm Down – Pavement
Crooked Colours – In Your Bones
Cutloose – On Top (Ft. Blaq Carrie & Shaneal)
High-Tails – Bending Over Backwards (Snowy Nasdaq Remix) (Right Click/Save As)
Remi – Tyson
Jack R Reilly – My First Panic Attack (Right Click/Save As)
King Single – Restart Newstart Allowance
The Harpoons – Unforgettable
Roku Music – You
Lowtide – Blue Movie
BadDreems – Dumb Ideas
Emma Russack – Get Back
Cut Copy – Like Any Other Day
Collarbones – Burnout (Right Click/Save As)
Luke Howard – August (Kyson Remix)
…
Miks
MARCH ’14 MIX.
Ohh mate. Here be the March tape for this music blog that you are currently visiting on the really big web of things and information and cats.
Big ol’ mix as per usual. Even including some neo-classical this time round (basically it’s just an excuse to include something from the new Duet Duets record from the master Tim Shiel). There’s also a massive 15 min jam from Darren Sylvester (who also worked with Conrad Standish and James Cecil). There’s also some repeat offenders – namely Blaq Carrie, Snowy Nasdaq, and Deja. But, ynou kow what? It’s all good.
EXCITING BEGINNING TO YOUR WEEK.
TRACKLISTING:
Vacant Field – Run Down (Right Click/Save As)
Rat & Co – Vocal Insanity
Blaq Carrie – Reality (Right Click/Save As)
Darren Sylvester – For You
Frames & Felix Lloyd – Pacifique
Dianas – Static (Right Click/Save As)
contrast – pipe dreams (Right Click/Save As)
Tim Shiel and Luke Howard – Greater
White Caves – Dig
Deja – Heavy Water (Right Click/Save As)
Snowy Nasdaq – Sisters
Fraser A Gorman – Book Of Love
…
Miks
FEBRUARY ’14 MIX.
Woah buddy. Coupla days late with this one, but it’s all in your ears now so what you goin on about? Gosh, like it’s every day – “Miks, where is that mixtape?” “Miks I NEED to have that mixtape.” “Miks, mixtape. NOW!”
Nah, not really. I do occasionally have the odd individual waiting for me to post it so they can then go and steal I think 90% of the tracks for their mixtape that’s also their favourite tracks of the month, but apart from Tommy…umm…I mean Sound Doctrine…ah shit…I actually mean a much better music blog than this one, I could do with a little more pleading from all you guyz.
Coz there’s nothing like pleading and desperation.
DOWNLOAD (Right Click/Save As)
TRACKLISTING:
Amaya Laucirica – Prettier Than The Sound
TV Programmes – Off Centre (Right Click/Save As)
Miles Brown – Electrics (Right Click/Save As)
+TEES+ – Live It Up (Right Click/Save As)
Hubert Clarke Jnr – Heart/Mind
Oscar Key Sung – All I Could Do (Alba Remix)
RA$$EL COOL – Mind Manifestation
East Brunswick All Girls Choir – Mon Repos
Sincerely, Grizzly – Kafkaesque (Right Click/Save As)
Roku Music – Collider
TROPICAL STRENGTH – Not There
Private Life – Otherside (Right Click/Save As)
Rainbow Chan – Skinny Dipping (Swimming Remix)
Tim Fitz – No Rooms Tonight
…
Miks
JANUARY ’14 MIX.
oh wow. it’s a new year, and we’re already in February. That, for many reasons, is terrifying.
January was also a pretty cool month for maamf though. As my PhD life ramps up this year, I was sure that this blog would have to take a backseat a little. But, it’s kind of been saved. Adam has come in and posted some ace stuff, and he hasn’t written anything worthy of getting the lawyers in yet, so I reckon he’s a keeper. He of course has a life of his own, so it’s not like this old thing is gonna get back into a regular posting schedule or anything. But hey, that’s what all you guys love about maamf right? It’s sporadic posts and unreliable ear for music?!
Anyway, there were still quite a few tracks that didn’t get posted in Jan. So they’re here, in this mixtape, which you can download for free because I’m nice and you guys are cool dudes for reading this.
DOWNLOAD (Right Click/Save As)
TRACKLISTING:
Revier – Coins On Your Eyes (Right Click/Save As)
Albert Salt – Riddles Come Undone (Right Click/Save As)
Snowy Nasdaq – Physical Parts (Right Click/Save As)
Territory – Distant Night
Silver Hills – Plasticine Daydream (Right Click/Save As)
Scenic – Ride The Thrill
Rainbow Chan – Milk (Cassius Select Remix)
Elizabeth Rose – The Good Life (Alba Remix)
Client Liaison – Free of Fear (Right Click/Save As)
The Presets – Goodbye Future
Retiree – Rain (Client Liaison Remix)
Elizabeth Rose – Out of Step
SOLO – Dreaming (Right Click/Save As)
…
Miks
MAAMF: an australian music blog 