GRANDSISTER.
This track, ‘Our Company’, it sounds easy. You could go as a far as to suggest that perhaps, not a lot of effort went into making it.
I think that’s an easy route though. Sure, I think lots of people might hear this and think, oh but I could make that maybe. And i’d go, hey man, wanna fucking medal? The fact that it sounds as though you could do it is not the point. I mean, it is partly the point in that it helps to make the track feel relatable, but the main point that I think is really important to get across is that this is a project that, sure, wears it’s influences on it’s sleeve (New Order, Grafton Primary etc), but it still manages to sound fresh and not like anything else being created NOW. And I think that’s where the ingenuity lies – GRANDSISTER obviously knows where he’s going with this project, and it’s being stuck in that sense of propelling, continuous motion that makes this work.
GRANDSISTER is the work of a Sydney based dude by the name of Will Colvin who you might also know as front man of HEDGE FUND. Looking forward to hearing more of this fellas work.
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Miks
CITY CALM DOWN.
So I’ve been a big ol’ fan of these boys for a fair bit. Since they first started a couple of years ago, through to last year’s signing to I OH YOU, to say that Melbourne’s City Calm Down have progressed a bit would be a freakin’ understatement. They’re still doing the moody, live dance vibe, but man, everything is so much more confident and tight.
At first, I was a little unsure about this new tack ‘Speak To No End’, but man, it really does have everything you’ve come to expect from a CCD track. That massive euphoric chorus, that slick slick slick bass line, and Jack Bourke‘s amazing vocal tone. And I love how the end isn’t just a big old jam out of the chorus. I like all that distortion that finishes the track, that manic distorted line that echoes Jack’s rather manic yelling.
The track is the first of two singles from the band’s debut full length. The second single, ‘Pavement’ is due out early next year.
As I heard it described a couple of days ago by maamf mate Nick Clarke over on the Poncho podcast, these guys are a career band. And, I think i’d have to agree. They do do that party dance stuff, but they create room in each release, so as to suggest a longer, more sustainable career than a lot of those other party bands.
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Miks
SURF DAD.
As I continue to trawl through the great abyss that is the maamf inbox (currently sitting at 243 unread), I continue to discover some really incredible music.
Surf Dad‘s new release, the Unholy EP is everything. It transitions from this really chilled glitchtronica vibe to this bangin’ tech house, all whilst still maintaining this overall feeling of melancholy. It’s a pretty special release.
You can grab a limited edition CDR of the EP over on the excellent new Melbourne label Zero Through Nine‘s bandcamp page.
We got the single and title track which features Camille Foley below.
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Miks
SEEKAE.
Well fuck me. This is morbid.
New clip from Sydneysiders Seekae depicts the burial of some drunk dude at a building site in order to bring the builders good fortune. What results is essentially a gravesite housing this dead man, but with people living in the structure built on top of it.
It is an excellent clip though nonetheless.
I’m still deciding whether I’m loving Seekae‘s change in direction. Their old stuff was just so beautiful, and whilst I thinkAlex Cameron has got a fair set of pipes on him, I’m just a little unsure as to whether as a result of adding vocals, their music loses that warmth and character that their earlier stuff had.
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Miks
ELIZABETH ROSE.
So this new track from Elizabeth Rose is definitely her best track, and one of the standouts of the year so far. Big call, but I’m willing to go there. ‘The Good Life’ ramps up the dark pop vibes – that intro section is nuts. And whilst she doesn’t have some, dare i say, uniquely whimsical, or even worse, quirky sounding voice, her vocals, to me, still manage to stand out. I tell you what else stands out? Commas.
But quite seriously, Rose’s vocals compliment her production incredibly well, and, if you’ve ever seen her live, then you’d know that this is something she manages to pull off in style.
‘The Good Life’ feels dark, but still uplifting enough to be your end of winter jam. Mind you, have you been outside today? Bloody hell, it’s as if Summer just hit.
Also, you might have noticed on the facebook that maamf is a finalist in the pedestrian blogster awards. Doing maamf is my one true love. It’s the thing that holds the rest together (quite honestly). By shooting maamf a like, it gives me the belief that this thing here can keep on going, to keep on growing. You’re also showing your appreciation for the local music scene too! The link is bit.ly/VoteForMAAMF and it only takes one ‘like’. I’ll reward you in some new music (nothing new, I know) and also a couple of pretty special things next year. #thingsinthepipeline
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Miks
J.M.J.M.
So I came across this dude, J.M.J.M. He’s doing some electronic pop music that is pretty solid. It’s definitely not revolutionary stuff, but in terms of some straight up electro pop, the dude is nailing it. So much of this kind of music sucks mostly because of the vocals, but this guys can actually sing.
Definitely something to start your Saturday with.
He’s also done a kinda cover of Grimes‘ track ‘Oblivion’ – he’s merged it with an original of his, ‘To Say’
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Miks
PIGEON.
Pigeon are out of Brissie and do some killer electro pop. They have this quite dark undertone to their music which cuts through really nicely on a lot of their tracks.
New single, ‘Oh Hebe’ fits the bill rather nicely with that intro that gets you. The choruses are big too. And that warpy sound that sits beneath the majority of the song adds that dark, but consistent element to it. Adds an extra level to it all.
We got a stream of the track, the clip as well as the dates they’re doing to launch the newy.
OH HEBE TOUR 2012
Friday 10th August – Sol Bar – Maroochydore
Saturday 11th August – Alhambra Lounge – Brisbane
Thursday 16th August – Transit Bar – Canberra
Friday 17th August – Great Northern Hotel – Newcastle
Saturday 18th August – Goodgod Small Club – Sydney
Thursday 23rd August – Workers Club – Melbourne
Friday 24th August – The Loft – Warrnambool
Saturday 25th August – Ed’s Castle – Adelaide
Friday 31st August – Great Northern – Byron Bay
Saturday 1st September – Red Deer Festival –Mount Samson
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Miks
NEW VAN SHE!!!
So, this week has been pretty crummy. But new Van She is seriously making it better. And perhaps it’s no coincidence that their new track is called Idea of Happiness. After getting its debut on on Triple J Mornings just after 9 this morning, it’s been in my head since. And now I’m listening to it on repeat…and will do until I need to get back to work.
It’s slightly different to the earlier work (think Kelly, Sex City, Changes etc), but it’s a progression, and who the hell’s gonna blame them from evolving their sound?! It perhaps incorporates a bit of their Van She Tech work, which is definitely a killer thing.
I think all in all though, it’s still great feel-good, uplifting pop music…and i’m a sucker for that shit every fucking time.
Van She – Idea Of Happiness by modularpeople
The track is the first new stuff from the guys in a fair few years and is indeed the title track for their second album, due out July 6 in Australia, July 9 in the UK and Eurpoe and July 10 in the US of A.
If you are a local kid though, you can check the boys out as they head on a nationwide tour in support of the new stuff – dates below.
VAN SHE ‘IDEA OF HAPPINESS’ SINGLE AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Sat 14 April – Rocket Bar, Adelaide SA BUY TIX
Sun 15 April – Down The Rabbit Hole, Perth WA BUY TIX
Thu 19 April – Cobra Kai at Oh Hello!, Brisbane QLD BUY TIX
Fri 20 April – Elsewhere, Gold Coast QLD BUY TIX
Sat 21 April – Warehouse Party, Byron Bay NSW BUY TIX
Tue 24 April – The Toff, Melbourne VIC BUY TIX
Wed 25 April – Beach Road Hotel, Sydney NSW FREE ENTRY
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Miks
COSMO BLACK.
We’ve featured Cosmo Black quite a few times, right from the early days when this blog was a little more shit than it is now.
Thank fuck for good music aye…saving this here thing time and time again.
Anyway, Cosmo Black have a newy…sounds very early Miami Horror (definite good thing!). The track is called Let The Cold Air In and features remixes from Emperor Machine and Deja. I’m a little nervous writing this, but I think this will be the track that breaks Cosmo Black. This is the one they’ve got completely right. Not that the other earlier tracks haven’t been good, I just think they’ve arrived with this one!
The remixes are also stellar, so good that we got both streaming down below. Emperor Machine one is a killer! As is Melbourne guys Deja!
Cosmo Black – Let The Cold Air In
Cosmo Black – Let The Cold Air In (Emperor Machine Remix)
Cosmo Black – Let The Cold Air In (Deja Remix)
Make sure you check out Cosmo playing at CAN’T SAY on Oct 7 down at Miss Libertines. There’s also an Adelaide launch date ( Houndstooth @ Rocket Bar on Fri Oct 21) and one for Sydney in the pipeline.
VOLITAIRE TWINS.
This has been sitting in the inbox for a while…and I don’t really know why.
Voltaire Twins have been around for a little while, but their new single, Animalia is doing some pretty good things. Getting play on the J’s, getting blogged a heap, and some really decent remixes. Naice!
The track has a bit of a dark side to it, even if it does get you up, around, bouncing off walls. Those little yells at the end of the chorus line kill it I reckon.
Anywho, check out the original as well as the Purple Sneakers remix. The download comes with remixes from Lifelike, PS DJs, as well as a remix by Voltaire Twins themselves…but, in my books, the PS remix, just wins. just. You can download the single as well as the remixes over at their website.
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Volitaire Twins – Animalia (Purple Sneakers DJs Remix)
And as a bonus, we got their remix of the Architecture in Helisinki massive, Escapee. If you have’t remixed this, then I don’t know who the hell you are, coz it seems like everyone and their dog has had a shot. There’s is a goodun though!
SNAPDRAGONS.
yep. what a good name! Snapdragons is one dude, Ben Ferguson from Radelaide. I actually first heard of this dude a while ago – back in Feb. He sent me one of his original tracks, called Miracles which I kind of liked. Never got round to posting though.
But, a more recent track of his, or should I say remix, is that of Boy & Bear’s absolutely massive song Mexican Mavis. From what I hear Boy & Bear are doing some good things os, so for Snapdragons to touch a track by them was definitely a good move.
That, and the remix is also really good. Bit more straight up than the more diy/drum machine sounding Miracles. I like the original track, but it was never a fave of mine. Boy & Bear, to me are a little too much like Mumford & Sons which I don’t like a whole heap. Mexican Mavis is a well written, well crafted song though. And what I think is good about the remix is the fact that he’s seen that and hasn’t messed around with it too much. The vocals suit his remix perfectly, especially that little cut up vocal riff that ends up being the main kind of riff throughout.
Anyway, you can check it out down below.
CANYONS REMIX X2.
Canyons are slowly developing to be a bit of a fave of mine. Although they’ve only got one official single out, if you do some trawling, then you easily find some more. And what’s better is that they’ve got a second single coming out this year and their debut full length should be out somerime this year too. YES??? YES!!!
But to tease you, we got two remixes from the Perth via Syds boys.
!!! played at Laneway last night, but I saw Cutters instead. Should be posting up a bit of a review of the fest in the next few days. Was aiming at ‘live tweeting’ throughout the day, but Optus had different ideas. I’m not on the !!! bandwagon as yet…but going on the only song I know (AM/FM), I think I should be. This remix by Canyons is full blown acidy disco. Is nice as hell and if it don’t make you moooove, then you must be a freakin statue or somethin.
!!! (Chk Chk Chk) – The Hammer (Canyons Remix)
Next up is Canyons remix of The Future Will Come by The Juan Maclean. I’m well aware that both of these tracks are pretty old, but just wanted to give you dudes a bit of a taste as to what to expect from the new Canyons release. This remix is sweet and I reckon showcases the darker doomy side of Canyons.
COSMO BLACK + JOHN STEEL SINGERS
It’s not often you get sent a genuinely fun remix. Adelaide via Melbourne boys Cosmo Black seem to do that though.
This hear (see what i did with the spelling there?) remix is of that slighty massive track Overpass by The John Steel Singers, a band that to be honest, I haven’t gotten into as much as what it seems the rest of the Triple J listening public have.
That said, Overpass is a pretty nice track. Love the accents and the horns. But man, this remix kills. It makes it all funky and stuff. The original is done in a bit of a swung groove, and at the beginning i thought that a remix in straight time would mess it up. But this works. Almost seems like the vocals are a little lazy and messy over the top of this straight and rigid four to the floor groove. Dig that heaps!
Summer Lovin’
Ok, so before the whole end of year lists things start, I though it would be nice of me to do a bit of a summer playlist (sorry peeps up there in the northern hemisphere!).
These are tracks that get me a little pumped for summer. Drinking out in the sun, getting shitbad sunburnt etc.
There’s some new stuff and some old stuff here. But, all of these guys have had a pretty decent year and here’s hoping next year is even better! Have decided to go for an all Australian lot too. Hopefully there’s some stuff up here that you dig!
So, without further adooooooo, here we go!
Clubfeet – D.I.E.yuppiescum
Muscles – Ice Cream
City Calm Down – You Can Have It So Much Better
Strange Talk – Climbing Walls
Matt Van Schie – Two Love (Diamond Cut Remix)
Northeast Party House – Dusk
Cut Copy – Where I’m Going
The Holidays – Broken Bones
Seekae – Crooks
Canyons + Dr Dunks Disco
Dr Dunks Disco sounds kinda fun aye?
Canyons signed to Modular earlier on this year, and can I just say that they are very very very good?
Their first official single on Modular is My Rescue and you can stream it over on the Modular site and if you like, purchase it via itunes. It’s a really sweet track and is all positive and stuff. I’ve been following Canyons for a while now, and the single is far more of a ‘song’ than their earlier stuff like Blue Snakes or More Champagne (mind you I do love Blue Snakes).
Anyway, we got a remix from the dudes done by a fella calling himself Dr Dunks. This is his disco extension edit! Remix is an epic 10min number that is just a little disco and uses that two chord keys progression so freaking well – carries the whole remix. The breakdown is especially nice.
BENI’s DECEMBER STADIUM MIX
Beni is a pretty new signing to Modular. He recently put together a bit of a mix for them to help celebrate the beginning of our Summer! YES!
BENI’s DECEMBER STADIUM MIX
TRACKLIST.
1. Do You Remember – L-VIS 1990
2. Squeek – Zombie Nation (Bart B More Remix)
3. Back and Forth – Fedde Le Grand (LY Edit)
4. Rave N’ Roll – Steve Angello
5. Coma Cat – Tensnake (Round Table Knights Remix)
6. 99 – Cassius (Tim Green Remix)
7. Get Up Ouch – Bmono
8. Boombah – LA Riots
9. Dinosaurs With Guns – Teki Latex
10. Take Off – Jon Giovanni (Wafa Edit)
11. Manduco (dj Discoteque Remix)
12. La La Land – Green Velvet (Derrick Carter Remix)
Sarah McLeod + Immigrant Radio
ok ok ok. Sarah McLeod. Ring any bells? Well, if you’re a local and loved your ausrock during the late nineties and early noughties, then you would have known of The Superjesus. They were a great solid band back in the day.
Sarah McLeod was their front woman…and since then she’s tried her shot at a few solo ventures. And to be honest, she changed man. She went all commercial dance stuff and it was more about the track than her – she never owned what she did. Now, ironically, with a cover, she appears to be owning. She’s done a pretty sweet cover of Dancing In The Dark by Mr Springsteen. We got the clip below, as well as a remix done by Immigrant Radio.
Also, all the proceeds for the track are going towards a pretty great charity, Father Chris Riley’s Youth Off The Street. You can download the track here (iTunes link). Also, if you is in Sydney, then make sure you head along to her gig at GoodGod on Wednesday night – that’s the flyer up da top.
Sarah McLeod – Dancing In The Dark (Immigrant Radio)
RADIO INK + GLOVES + STA + MOONCHILD
Australia can actually produce some pretty sweet synthy pop goodness. Sydney crew Radio INK have been pretty busy of late receiving a bit of play for a few of their tracks. Their newy Physical is some pop goodness – you can stream it over here. The track is produced by Diamond Cut (He also did AEONS!) and is getting a full proper release on December 10.
And for you cool kids, we’ve got three remixes of the track.
The first comes from a dude maamf had a massive hardy for last year. It’s gone a bit soft of late, but only coz he hasn’t released much. But now here he is with this. It’s trademark GLOVES. Disco electro madness full of hooks and oh my freakin lord. The man has a golden touch.
Radio INK – Physical (GLOVES Remix)
Second up is a remix from Toronto’s Sta. To be honest, I haven’t heard anything from this fella before, but I reckon the presser hits the nail on the head with ‘His remix of Physical has a hypnotic indie / dance feel that gets your a$$ shaking)’. It’s solid right through and that bass groove is nice.
Radio INK – Physical (Sta remix)
Finally, it’s Moonchild. We’ve also started up a bit of a crush on this Sydneysider of late. Doing it all French filtered house style that this man is renowned for, this one also has a killer bassline that rips.
Visiting Amy and Meredith in the Aeons
Yeah yeah, i know. Amy Meredith? Really? They’re not the greatest band out there, but then they do sound a bit like Gyroscope, and Gyroscope are actually kinda cool. Their tunes are ok, kinda catchy etc. But you wouldn’t want to readily admit to it.
Anywho, what makes this post good is the two remixes that were sent maamf’s way. First up is one by UK’s Visitor. These guys really make something of the vocals in the original. Turn it from an indie pop track into this soaring Falke(ish) 6 minute tune that kinda kills. Little cheese, but, hey, who doesn’t like a bit of cheese once in a while??!
The second remix of Young At Heart comes courtesy of Aeons. This remix kills it too. Maamf has a bit of a love affair going with Aeons, and this one doesn’t disappoint. The Aeons boys can definitely take a track and make it sound like them, which I love. Has the Aeons sound right across it. This one is minus the cheese.
bit of everything
Ok, so Remedy, the joint track between Crookers and Miike Snow has been getting heaps and heaps and heaps and heaps of play and blog love. Good track!
Here’s an edit of it, or should we say a bootleg. It’s done by Sydney boys Bitrok. Is really good…gets you pumpin etc etc etc. True electro if you ever heard it.
If you want it, you can stream it below or jump along to their website and get it for the price of an email.
Crookers/Miike Snow – Remedy Search (Bitrok Bootleg)
Also check out a big fat mix of there’s, the Technology Lies mix. Tracklist below.
BITROK’S ‘TECHNOLOGY LIES’ MIX
Secret Towns
Secret Circuits. Four kids out of Yorkshire over there in the Mother country. They’ve just put out their debut EP called This Town. You can grab the title track just below.
The guys have this indie stadium rock dance crossover kinda sound and it works a treat. The title track has a rather anthemic sounding chorus, and it brings you up and makes you feel a little bit better about your day, even if the lyrics are a little bit depressing. Track 2, Hurricane is a killer. Starts off really nice punky guitars and drums and then brings in this warm synth. And the quick 3 beat bar at the end of every two bars (music terminology anyone?) gives it a real urgency that I love.
Track 3 and 4 are different yet again. Track 3, The Battle, has a real distinctive synth intro. Love the fuzzed out keys in the middle bit with lead singer Jack’s vocals. If anything, The Battle may be the weakest of the tracks, but it still kicks pretty hard. Track 4, The Ending (Parts 1 & 2) starts as a big piano ballad. Really well written stuff here. The vocals are subtle, and don’t push, but against the piano sound urgent. Difficult thing to pull off, but they have. The second half of The Ending moves it into synth territory. Real feel-good but not in a cheesy way sound. Big fat anthemic drums. The chord progression keeps you guessing a bit. This is solid stuff!
If you like what you hear below then go grab their EP off iTunes.
washing paint off your face
Painted Face. Intriguing name aye? If you like dark electro pop then Painted Face might be up your ally. Painted Face is actually the project of Allie Alvarado who use to be in a few Brooklyn based bands. Now she’s moved to Washington DC and is collaborating with beat maker Alvin Risk.
Their new track Undreamt is below as well as another one Sum Of Me.
They’re both really solid tracks. Undreamt is a definite standout though. It starts dark, but lifts and actually takes you somewhere. wow. that sounded wanky…It is a really solid track though, especially that little groove part after the first chorus.
the graveyard shift
The Cosmo Black boys are back again with another great track, this time an original. When Night Becomes the Morn is this big, loopy (both in the ‘hey, look, i’m crazy’ and loops of sounds, music kinda way), percussive electro track that is definitely going to take Cosmo Black from that band you think you’ve heard of but not sure where to that band that sing that awesome song When Night Becomes the Morn.
The single is going to feature a DCUP remix too. DCUP is the go-to dude at the moment aye? Remix is a funky house rendition of the original with this killer keys motif that goes right through. Awesome. Check it down below.
If you like both the original and the DCUP remix but want even more, well then you’re a fuckin greedy bugger.
You also may be in luck…but you gotta get yourself to a Cosmo Black show. Towards the end of the year, the boys are selling a limited edition of the single with some extra cool artwork and a remix from SidWho? and Mitolo. These dudes are from another extra talented Adelaide crew. You know, you may have heard of them. They’re only called THE SWISS and they fuckin rock.
wolfmix
fuck it’s good to see some local djs doing some mega cool shit. Like, it’s bloody awesome.
Melbourne kid Airwolf has put his electro/funk touch to a few tracks. And yes. Man!
First up, he’s done the two AEONS singles that they’ve got on their latest EP (Have you checked out that EP yet? Hope you have. Jump HERE is you missed it). He’s taken the clothes off Beyond The Satellites, touched it, and laid it down to rest a bit (Translation: He’s stripped it back, made it soar a little more). Really great remix. He’s also had his way with Where The Sky Meets The Sea. This is mean. No stripping here. If anything, he’s added clothes! Well…added layers. picked up the pace a little too. Bam!
AEONS – Beyond The Satellites (Airwolf Remix)
AEONS – Where The Sky Meets The Sea (Airwolf Remix)
Second. He’s sexily discofied DCUP‘s To Be In Love. Great remix and funks shit up!
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