Meeting Quotations was born in 2004 in Paris, the Meeting Between Claire (Singer, painter and stage designer) and Hamilton (musician and videographer) has produced and enchanting blend or of rock/ electro-acoustic and trip-hop sounds.
Collected from tracks penned over the last two years, Curly Girl is a tome bursting with a diverse musical palette and thematic intrigue. Explorations of inner and outer space pervade – from the evolutionary intrigue of Burning Star and the regression of Soap, the album begs consideration on multiple levels.
Curly Girl is not without its lighter moments: Zululand is a sunshine-drenched reflection on life inspired by The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, whilst Seed explores the nuances of love in beatific tones, and Moose Hooves belies its Dr Seussian roots with emphatic realisations.
Delivered with cabaret intimacy and tied together with jazz smarts and starts with dashes of gypsy rhythm.
Meeting Quotations was born in 2004 in Paris, the Meeting Between Claire (Singer, painter and stage designer) and Hamilton (musician and videographer) has produced and enchanting blend or of rock/ electro-acoustic and trip-hop sounds.
This is an invitation for you to discover “Meeting Quotations” and these 2 fascinating characters. Utopia their 2nd album was recorded with the help and contribution of Edouard Bonan best known for his work with French musician Nosfell, The sounds of Utopia blend a mixture of progressive rock and ambient trip-hop.The sounds of Utopia blend a mixture of progressive rock and ambient trip-hop.
The Sea Thieves are a collective that evolves around Adelaide native Zac Coligan (ex-Bergerac) and began as a duo with wife Naomi Thompson in 2003 under the moniker “Eiderdown”.
The Sea Thieves debut record “Hiding in the Shade” was written, recorded, produced and mixed by Zac and Naomi, and released in 2008 to favourable reviews.
For The Sea Thieves second record, Zac enlisted some old friends to help with the process. “They Will Run” was written, produced, mixed and recorded by Zac Coligan and the amazing Jed Palmer (Alarm Birds, Bergerac).The beautiful Naomi Thompson added vocals, the debonair Steve Griffiths (The Sirens Of Venice, ex – Gersey, Bergerac) played drums and percussion and the suave Zoe Barry (Alarm Birds, Bergerac) added cello and piano.
The Sea Thieves are Naomi Thompson and Zac Coligan an independent band from Adelaide, South Australia.
In our music you will hear the pluck of the ukulele, the wheezing of bellows and the singing of a saw. We like to use old sounds to create something new.
It all started in 2003 when Zac’s band Bergerac ended, leaving behind three EP’s two albums and a nine year history of live shows. This included two performances at the Big Day Out and supports with the Breeders, Pavement and Elastica to name a few.
Zac and Naomi then formed their own band under the moniker “Eiderdown” and in late 2004 released “Summer Of The Red Wolf”. Various tracks from this recording were aired regularly on local radio and nationally in Australia on Triple J.
This was always seen as a simple introduction to our music, yet the positive and genuine response from our friends and peers gave us the push to continue and improve.
Our next step was to record a debut album. So, after a year and a half of tinkering at the Jade Monkey studio they delivered “Hiding in the shade”, a collection of dusty samples and old instruments, Imperfect songs with all the mistakes included.
]]>But alas, we soldier on and recycle adjectives where necessary. You see, the heart of Cheer Advisory Council lies with their front man Ben Revi, a local political scientist and keeper of the most enviable afro and beard combinations this side of ?uestlove. His intimate songwriting underpins ‘Distance’, knitting together wordy lyrics of sombre wit with with ornate, finger picked guitar melodies. Listening to the sparse opening of first track ‘Campfire’, you can’t help but feel like a fly on the wall as Revi sits in his bedroom, lightly picking at an acoustic guitar while an anonymous lady friend sleeps on. Kind of awkward I know, but thankfully Zac Coligan of The Sea Thieves is also there bowing his singing saw to ease the tension.
From this initial place of solitary reflection the Council expands dramatically, with the seven multi-tasking members wrapping Revi’s tunes in all sorts of choral harmonies, moody violin and the occasional dash of bassoon. The percussion is subtle yet drives where it has to, and the abundant piano throughout the record is the aural equivalent of a cool block of chocolate for your ears to dig into (a metaphor I’m not 100% sure will appeal to anyone but me, but no risk no reward). On paper such dense arrangements might appear overwhelming, but for the most part the various different elements manage to drop in and out of a song with enough space to avoid any claustrophobia.
The band have variously mentioned that the aim was to capture the sound of seven friends playing live in a room. While probably a move motivated by financial necessity as much as artistic spontaneity, this occasionally hit and miss approach largely leans to the former, creating a warm and coherent set of performances that effectively captures their carefully orchestrated live performances. Recorded with the ubiquitous Matt Hills (Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!), the production is fairly unobtrusive and manages to frame the nuances of the instruments and Revi’s singing without the excessive sheen or lack thereof that Hillside’s output sometimes swings between.
It’s only penultimate track ‘Don’t Shift Focus’ that doesn’t quite gel. In spite of its confident arrangement there’s something about the vocal line on the oldest song on the album that misses the mature, wine-swilling whimsy successfully achieved on other tracks, resembling instead one of those super earnest Ben Folds songs you can’t quite bring yourself to like.
By contrast, closer Accomodating explodes like some kind of angsty, cacophonous church group, pairing a positively choir-like refrain with a big, overdriven guitar solo, as if to remind listeners that while quietly sung laments and folk ruminations are great, this ensemble knows there’s nothing quite as cathartic as playing fucking loud.
Walter Marsh
]]>Cheer Advisory Council formed in Adelaide, Australia in late 2008. At its biggest, the Council now boasts seven members, even reclaiming the bassoon as the rock instrument it always knew it could be. The band’s dusky, smokey feel, with slow tempos and crashing crescendos, is reminiscent of the music of Low, The National, Midlake and Wilco.
Distance is the band’s first album. It was recorded by Matt Hills, who has also worked with Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!, Wolf & Cub, The Lucksmiths and all sorts. It tells the many stories of confused youngsters trying to understand adulthood, with many group harmonies, some pop hooks and one big guitar solo.
]]>
Cheer Advisory Council formed in Adelaide, Australia in late 2008. At its biggest, the Council has boasted seven members, even reclaiming the bassoon as the rock instrument it always knew it could be. The band’s dusky, smoky feel, with slow tempos and crashing crescendos, is reminiscent of the music of Low, The National, Midlake and Wilco.
Over two years, the Council has played with the likes of Clare Bowditch, Ainslie Wills, Jamie Hutchings, Jordie Lane, McKisko, Bad Seed Conway Savage and even the legendary Tim Rogers. Its first single, Switching Sides/Accommodating, sold out through gig sales alone. 2010 saw shows in coffee shops and at festivals all along the east coast.
]]>Today April 16th, 2001 is Record Store Day. According to the The Record Store Day website www.recordstoreday.com the idea was born in 2007 as “a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally.”
They go on to talk about how Record Store Day is managed by a certain group of people, how to contact Record Store Day and there is a big section on their press kit page about the record store day trademark:
THE LOGOS AND BANNERS BELOW ARE A TRADEMARK OF RECORD STORE DAY. THEY ARE PROVIDED HERE FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF PARTICIPATING STORES AND PRESS. IF YOU ARE NOT A PARTICIPATING STORE OR MEMBER OF THE PRESS WITH A STORY IN PROGRESS, PLEASE SEEK WRITTEN PERMISSION FOR USE OF THESE LOGOS FROM INFORMATION@RECORDSTOREDAY.COM STORES AND PRESS ARE ASKED TO USE THE RECORD STORE DAY 2011 LOGO. ANY OTHER USE, WHICH APPLIES TO THE SITE OR THE ORGANIZATION BUT NOT THE ACTUAL DAY, PLEASE USE THE .COM LOGO
This is all starting to sound very much like a retail marketing campaign to me..
Back to the front page of the website, the Record Day 2001 sponsors list includes: Sony, WEA, EMI, Universal, Warner Brothers – not big supporters of independent music last time I checked.
And the ambassador for Record Store Day 2011 the $50 million dollar man “Ozzy Osborne”
Still looking like a retail campaign to me..
Back to Australia and we head on over to www.recordstoreday.com.au. Record Store Day Australia, coordintaed by the “Australian Music Retailers Association”
And some of he stores participating in Record store Australia, those great independents like JB Hi-FI and Leading Edge Music, with events occurring to “celebrate” Record Store Day Australia including:
Still looking like a retail campaign to me..
So these are my thoughts on Record Store Day:
Record Store Day isn’t about supporting independent music.
Record Store Day isn’t about sales of physical music product (eg. CD’s and Vinyl) over Digital music.
Record Store Day is about supporting a fading section of the retail sector.
I can buy pretty much any music I want online in whatever format I want. If I want a major artist I can go to iTunes or Amazon if I want something independent chances are I’ll still find it on iTunes, maybe Bandcamp or direct from the artist website in whatever form it is available. If I buy direct a bigger cut of the proceeds goes into the artists pocket.
Record Store Day, not excited yet…
I wonder if in the 19th century they had a “Smithy’s Day” as all the local blacksmiths started going out of business? I don’t recall “Photo-Lab Day” a few years ago as the photography industry was transitioning from film to digital. Why do we need a “Record Store Day”?
There’s a saying that one of my old university lecturers frequently used which keeps coming to mind.. “If it walks like a duck, if it looks like a duck and if it sounds like a duck, chances are it’s probably a duck”
Record Store Day = Record Store Marketing Day
Quack…
]]>”Lost & Found EP” is the final EP in the trilogy that previously included ”Follow Me Down EP” and ”Straight Back To You EP”.
Since the release of ”Straight Back To You EP” there’s been some changes for Let’s Say We Did. A new drummer, a new studio and a slightly new direction in the music. The guitar hooks are still there, the lyrics are still about feeling lost and the melodies are as strong as before. But there’s something new to ”Lost & Found EP” that hasn’t been there on the previous EP’s.
It’s hard to put your finger on what it might be, maybe it’s that the songs are more straight forward. Maybe it’s that L.S.W.D has killed all their darlings, ”compressed” the songs and made an EP that with it’s four tracks barely reaches 12 minutes.
One thing is certainly clear and it’s that Let’s Say We Did has improved their handicraft and made an EP that covers a wider range than the previous ones. It’s more of a mini album than the classic EP with it’s single and various bonus tracks.
The double A-side single Burning Star/Moose Hooves is the first looksee into the Susy Blue’s debut album Curly Girl.
Burning Star opens with salubrious banjo strains recalling times adrift on a quiet river looking up to the sun, however, Susy Blue isn’t going to let you off that easily. The river snakes east and west, through rapids and over falls before coming rest in the calm waters where you began. A captivating journey without the capsize in around three minutes.
Moose Hooves is a carnivalesque wonder; trickling and twanging into one’s consciousness with a gypsy sway and a distinct country twang. Compelling and absorbing it is a track at once familiar but hints at menace not too far away.
These adventures and more await the listener on Curly Girl.
Reply to your emails.
Yes a few spam emails will probably slip through the net, and you might even find yourself on the odd mailing list so there are a few messages that don’t need your attention. The others however are probably worth looking at that little bit harder.
Usually within a matter of seconds you can tell if an email has been sent from a mailing list (they are usually the ones with all of the fancy graphics and links) or from a Nigerian scammer (anyone who has “the courage to Crave indulgence for this important business” is probably not after a copy of your next album to review on their music blog) or whether it is a thoughtfully written note by someone who really wants to communicate with you.
Think of it as going to your post box and sorting through the K-Mart catalogues, the letters from readers digest and finding a Christmas card from your Grandma, usually you’ve sorted them out by the time you get back to the front door. It’s a 10 second task.
Most of the people who take the time and make the effort to write to you and navigate their way through the spam preventers you have in place have contacted you for a reason. It’s only common courtesy to reply. It might be another band wanting to play a show together, maybe it’s a media person or blogger wanting a copy of your latest release, it might be someone like me who is interested in working with you, or maybe just a really committed fan. It’s important that you reply to these people even if you don’t think you can help them out.
If a grindcore band asks to play with your indie-folk band, politely tell them that you don’t think your styles would be compatible.
If a music blogger wants a copy of your album check out their blog and either give it to them or politely tell them that you don’t think your indie-folk sound would fit with their R&B profile.
If a fan takes the time to write you an email at least say thanks, maybe send them an MP3 of an unreleased track, it will make them feel special and maybe even give you a warm feeling. What if they share it with 5 friends and each of those 5 friends shares it with 5 friends (you see where I’m going with this)
If you find the same questions/inquiries cropping up again and again you could add a FAQ page to your website or develop some standard email templates to speed up the process (if you’re a gmail user make use of their “canned responses”)
One day someone might ask that music blogger what he/she thought of your album and they’ll say “Yeah, I tried to contact them to get a copy but never heard anything back, I don’t think they’re that committed”.
A venue might ask that grindcore band if they know of anyone that would be suitable for their indie-folk night (well it might happen) and you could put money on the fact that they won’t be recommending you.
That committed fan might not bother buying your next new release because you couldn’t be bothered to dig out that box of unsold EP’s from 2 years ago and sell them one for a few bucks or heaven forbid givie one away.
Communication is a a two way process and it’s these little things that people notice Remember what your mum taught you “manners matter”
For more tips on better communication try Emily Post’s “Notes and Short Letter Writing” (Etiquette, 1922)
]]>The way I discover musicians for Big Rig Records is a combination of recommendations from friends and our current artists as well as through reading music blogs which cover the genres I’m interested.
All good music blogs worth their worth their weight in monkeys will link to a song or two and a website when they are writing about a band/artist. When I find music that I’m interested in it’s these trails I follow to make that initial contact. This is when it can start getting tricky.
If I’m lucky the link will lead me to an artist hosted website with a “contacts” link that will give me either an email address or a contact form I can use to get in touch, and if I’m really lucky it’ll right there on the front page.
If I’m not so lucky the only link to the artist will be to either a myspace or Facebook page where I may or may not find an actual email address. As I’ve written previously I dislike myspace with a passion, and while Facebook is great for posting youtube videos and seeing what your “friends” are doing, it’s not a great tool for meaningful conversation. If there’s no email address all that you’re left with is a “wall post” which is a bit like standing on the side of the road waving a cardboard sign hoping that a passing motorist will read it.
If you’re an artist and you’re serious about your music and promoting yourself, it’s imperative to have an easy way for the people who want to talk to you to get in touch. Sure spam is a worry, but there are so many easy ways to avoid it while still making yourself reachable. Javascript, contact forms, CAPCTHAS and the old the old spam tricker address me(at)xmail(dot)com are just a few examples.
If you have a message to communicate (in this case your music) it’s vitally important that those hearing your message (your audience) have a way to communicate with you.
Coming up in Part 2 – What do I do with all of these emails?
]]>As the sea swells she bleats and moans like a goat in heat (22.3mb)
]]>The starboard side (7.5mb)
Blood red wine (12.5mb)
Street Light Solace
]]>Bella of the Rocks (9.5mb)
Henry Darger Fights the Weatherman (7.3mb)
Little Black Rays of Hope (12.8mb)
Los Musicos Perdidos
]]>Dancing Under The Lights (13.3mb)
The October Lovers
The October Lovers (20.9mb)
When The Sun Kisses The Fields And The City Like A New Bride (17.9mb)
Something to do, someone to love, something to look forward to
Escape Tune (12.7mb)
Summer Dresses (11.1mb)
Metal for Melbourne and Other Stories
Leanora (9.5mb)
This Kiss (10.7mb)
This Kiss – Promo Single
One Month In Every Twelve (Aberdeen Remix) – (11mb)
If You Change Your City, You’re Sure to Change Your Style
Your Summer My Summer (9mb)
Days Like Humphrey B Bear (9.2mb)
DIY Heartbreak (Girlfriends 88-05)
The Sisters, The Mary Chain and The Triffids (8.1mb)
Nowhere Anywhere in the World (7mb)
Four Major Relationships Down (9mb)
Joseph is Flying (5.1mb)
Don’t Smoke Crack (3.0mb)
-IST
]]>Moth and Wool Part II (6.6mb)
In a Far Country (4.8mb)
Summer 2007 Tour EP
]]>All Strung Out
]]>Fat City Revisited (11.5mb)
Talking to Richmond Station (9.9mb)
The Waiting Song (6.7mb)
(it’s a) Lovely Night to be Alone (14.8mb)
In 15 days Renee has raised a total of $3,155 ($655 above her goal of $2,500) with a total of 92 people backing her campaign that’s an average donation of $34.293478260869565 per person at a rate of $210.333333333333333 per day.
Thanks to all the backers and Way to go Renee!
Renee Arozqueta has bought and old van and is planning a mammoth tour of 48 of the United States (I’m assuming Alaska and Hawaii are out). She has a slight problem though: Renee’s run out of CD’s, Zines and other art to sell while she’s on tour. So she’s started a Kickstarter Project and is aiming to raise $2500 to stock up on stuff before she hit’s the road.
For those of you not familiar with Kickstarter, it’s an all or nothing way to try and fund independent artistic endeavors. You create a project, set a funding aim and a cut off date. If you reach your goal in time the pledges get paid and if you don’t you get nothing.
So far Renee is just under the halfway mark with 19 days left to go. Renee explains here scheme and the rewards she is offering for your pledges better in the video below. If you’ve got a few spare dollars head on over to the project page and help her worthy cause.
]]>Big Rig Records is partnered with a US based digital music supplier who have agreements with over 300 online and mobile providers such as iTunes, Amazon, Audio Lunchbox, emusic and Destra, as well as their own digital promotional network. If you would like to make your release available via all of the major online services we have the following package available:
Setup Fee – $USD 75
Administrative Fee – 2% of sales income
Big Rig is able to offer CD/DVD on demand duplication and fulfillment for items with basic packaging requirements – 2 page booklet and single side CD tray insert or single sided DVD case insert:
Setup Fee – $USD 50
$USD 3 per disc
*NB shipping costs will be added automatically to the customers final order price. If artists are ordering a bulk quantity of discs additional shipping charges will apply
We are also able to offer a more extensive range of packaging and printing options on a case by case basis. Just contact us for an estimate.
A combination of both services mentioned above for a single low setup fee:
Setup Fee – $USD 90
Administrative charge for digital sales – 2% of sales income
Disc on demand – $USD 3 per disc
My favourite Christmas gift from 2010 was my new film scanner. I asked for this especially, so I could finally go through and digitize my collection of negatives from the late 1990’s early 2000’s when I was regularly photographing live music for Adelaide street mag “db Magazine” .
I’ve slowly been working through the box aiming to scan 1-2 sets of negatives every day and delve the depths of my memory to recall the venue and approximate dates that they were taken. Given my poor filing technique (read.. non-existent) there is no record of subject, date or location on most sets of negatives.
I can usually pick the subject, and with a bit of thought and help from Google often find the venue and approximate date. That was until I came to this band:
All I can say is it was probably taken at Heaven Nightclub (Adelaide) sometime in the mid-late 1990’s. I’ve guessed the venue from the background which appears in the Pavement photos that I scanned a few days ago, but I can’t for the life of me recognise the band.
If you can identify this band leave a comment and a free mp3 album is yours.
]]>On 31st of December I am going to delete our Myspace Profile.
In 2006 Big Rig joined Myspace because many of the bands we were talking to were using it as their only web presence. Sadly, many still do. I felt that it would be a useful tool to see what artists and bands that I enjoyed were listening to. I also hoped it might be a way to discover some great new music for the label. For a while this was the case, I therefore could put up with the clunky user interface, awful layout, poor functionality and comment spam to find the occasional musical gem.
After 4 years, the number of gems discovered in the myspace mine has dwindled. The new design and functionality is no better than the old one. In addition, my myspace inbox is being flooded with invites to gigs on the other side of the world and messages from bands wanting to be involved with the label who have clearly never listened to any of the music that we release and think that their Metal / Rock / Screamo band would be a perfect fit for our catalogue.
The icing on the cake are the emails from people whose grasp of the written word must be so perilous that their fingertips are bleeding. eg. “wat tipe of music yall do check out my video on my page an see wat u think homies dont last”
The frequency that I was logging into our Myspace account was dwindling and when I did it was mainly to delete/filter through all of the dirt. I’d come away with muddy hands and definitely no gems.
So as of December 31st the Big Rig Myspace profile will be no more.
We have an online footprint in a number of other social networks which are much better. Those Myspace users who are really interested in what we are doing can follow us on one of these:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Rig-Records/86053595188
Twitter: bigrigrecords
Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/label/bigrigrecords
LastFM: http://www.last.fm/label/Big+Rig+Records
Otherwise it’s goodbye to them too…
]]>Recorded at The Hum of Industry’s home studio ‘Cabin Fever’ their debut E.P. ‘I made the mountains is a collection of four songs; ‘Sylvia’, ‘Kusama’, ‘Taking you over’ and ‘Two people’ – a prelude to their forthcoming full length album, jammed and recorded with the help of new THOI recruits, bassist Rob Meerbach and Sam Johnstone on drums.
I made the mountains was mixed and mastered by U.S. Producer Kramer ( Bongwater, Shockabilly, Urge Overkill,Ween, Bridezilla, Leader Cheetah..)
He describes THOI’s sound… “the music of The Hum of Industry reminds me of how I felt when listening to the music of the sixties. I can’t put my finger on it exactly or tell you just what it reminds me of but I can tell you that this music transports me back…not so much to a place and time but to a feeling I wish I had more often these days. It’s the spirit They’ve captured so perfectly and it’s been almost thirty years since I felt that way just from listening to a song. Miraculously all of THOI’s songs do that to me…Like I said I can’t quite put my finger on it but it reminds me of something and hopefully that ‘something’ remains hidden from me so the feeling stays the same” Kramer.
The Hum of Industry began as a musical partnership between Melbourne noisemakers, Claire Kuiper (The Daze) and Craig Thompson (The Codebreakers), messing about with their extensive and eclectic collection of guitars, effects pedals, percussion instruments, synthesisers and old beat up found 1970′s and 80′s organs.
This collaboration led to recording hours of layered, textured, machine drum driven, harmony drenched experimental compositions that eventually evolved into a somewhat more structured, unique dream pop sound..
A mixing session at their home studio, (ok, so it’s really just half the lounge room..) aptly named ‘Cabin Fever’ with U.S. musician/ producer Kramer (Bongwater, Galaxy 500, Urge Overkill, Ween..) resulted in the release of a collection of songs that materialised in the form of their debut ep ‘I made the mountains’
It features the impossibly catchy ‘Sylvia’, pop heartbreaker ‘Kusama’ (an ode to Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama), the string laden ‘Taking you over’ (featuring the talents of Hilary Blackshaw on violin creating a lush orchestral sound)..and universal tale of love gone wrong ‘Two people’.
To complete the line up, THOI recruited friends Rob Meerbach on bass and back up vox and Sam Johnstone ( The Orphanage, Jimmy Tate) on drums.
]]>Genre-hopping singer songwriter Susy Blue’s debut self titled EP of jazz/world/folk flavoured songs comes after a year long musical adventure in South America. The classically trained flautist-turned singer songwriter draws on influences from the likes of Tori Amos, Fiona Apple and Joanna Newsome.
Susy’s musings from a colourful and messy imagination conjure up a quirky and unique fresh sound. Filled with luscious vocal harmonies strings and horns. Susy’s debut EP introduces her signature style of playful folk and sultry jazz.
After training to be a classical flautist, Susy began exploring new musical paths such as jazz, Latin, folk and gypsy swing. These influences are evident in her quirky songs that hop from lush vocal harmonies, to lazy bluegrass, soul, reggae, 60’s style pop to sea shanties. Always joined by an impressive entourage of instrumentalists; double bass to banjo, piccolo to violin and bass clarinet complement Susy Blue’s fresh yet sultry sound.
After a South American musical adventure, Susy was awarded an Australia Youth Council Buzz Grant to record an EP of songs she wrote on this odyssey. Following this, Susy moved from Brisbane to Melbourne and has since performed at the Apollo Bay Music Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, the Darebin Music Feast and many venues across Melbourne. This year Susy has been a finalist in the Melbourne Music Prize and the Darebin Songwriters Awards.
]]>“All Strung Out” was recorded over several months in 2000/2001. Although most instruments were recorded by Nick, a huge part of the sound was Chris Herzberger’s violin. Chris and Nick met in 2000 and played a handful of gigs together, including a short tour of Australia’s east coast in early 2001. These songs are just a taste of what Nick and Chris were capable of. Unfortunately, just as they were starting to work really well together, Chris had to return to Germany to finish his studies. Both Nick and Chris have vowed to play together again sometime in the future…
The EP piggybacked a ride on “Olinda Daze” the first release from Nicks other band “The Daze” as a bonus MP3 content on the CD. In 2010 it is being digitally released as a free download
“Tennessee” takes the idea of environmental sounds into the bedroom. “Tennessee” was recorded within a hundred year old house in Knoxville. All of the elements that would normally be eliminated in a sound proof recording studio; dogs barking, mothers chattering, air and dust and sometimes emotion, are all in the mix, making the tracks more like windows than songs.
Renee Arozqueta bloomed from a seaside city on the gulf coast of Florida and like a dandelion seed she eventually sailed away. To the South, to the North and eventually she would go west.
Her first couple of albums fall under the umbrella of folk singer-songwriter. With the release of her double disc “No Sorrow Tomorrow/Lullagoodbyes” in 2008 she began incorporating ambient and environmental influences into the recording process. With a Volvo full of CDs she started to tour the eastern half of the United States, and continues to work her way westward until all 48 states have been “collected.”
As the years and mileage accumulate, Renee continues to grow in new directions with her albums, with new instruments, (accordion, drums, piano, guitar, ukulele, upright bass, singing saw) and new sounds both in the fore and background giving the new songs a different kind of depth while maintaining a style of minimalism.
]]>Straight Back To You is the second out of three EP’s from Let’s Say We Did planned to be released during 2010.
First planned to be released in April, then May, then June, July. Almost half a year passed since the original release date, but in September 2010 Straight Back To You EP was finally finished and the release of it couldn’t come sooner. It took all of a Northern spring and almost all of a summer to record, re-record and mix.
Straight Back To You finds two tracks that may be familiar to fans who have followed Let’s Say We Did from the beginning. “Straight Back To You” and “Come On Honey” were recorded and released on L.S.W.D’s first demo back in 2008. For those not familiar to the songs; they are both old school L.S.W.D. Up-beat pop songs that aim to cling to you and hopefully stay with you for a long time.
“Always (I Do)” has been a part of the live repertoire since the first show. But has never been recorded before apart from a unfinished demo sesssion. It’s a simple song that starts of slow and gentle, then turns into a frantic ending acompanied by a repeative beat.
“A Lesser Matter” is a new song that finds L.S.W.D in a slightly new direction, moving away a bit from the straight forward melodic pop and lovelorn lyrics to a more subtle sound with cryptic lyrics.
Let’s Say We Did has been lurking on the periphery of Sweeden’s music scene for a couple of years. Having risen from the ashes of previous projects the band released a three track demo in 2008. Getting glowing praise from music bloggers for it’s hook laden songs rooted in real rock’n’roll and was compared to everything from early Ryan Adams, Pavement, Silver Jews and Swedish acts such as Wannadies and Popsicle.
The band landed a few showcase gigs around Sweden and in the UK, playing at Sweden’s biggest festival for unsigned bands the Rookiefestival in Hultsfred in late
2008. The songs started to spread and found their way to American producer Kramer (Galaxie 500, Daniel Johnston, Low, etc) who offered to work with the band.
In 2010 about one and a half year after the demo Let’s Say We Did released their debut EP, ”Follow Me Down” mixed/mastered by Kramer. The EP got great response from all corners with various writers claiming it to be an impressive debut and hailing Let’s Say We Did as a band to keep your eyes on.
]]>
Congratulations goes out to E-Wah Lady who took out the APRA Open Award at the 2010 The Darebin Music Feast Songwriters’ Awards.
Now in its eighth year, the annual Award has become a highly regarded competition that showcases the fine calibre of songwriters that live and work within Darebin. The APRA Open Awards prize includes: $1200 cash donated by APRA (Australian Performing Rights Association), studio time thanks to Jam Hut Studios, mastering at Indie Masters, $500 Implant Media Voucher for CD duplication services and $100 Guitar World Voucher.
Congratulations E-Wah!
]]>Before I get started spruiking our wares I have to say the hugest thanks to my wife Michelle who has done all the fantastic work on the website design and back end coding to get it looking and working great. Hopefully now the days of me coming to her and saying “can you just change it so it does….” or “can you just fix this bit..” are all over and she can have some peace. Please take a minute to check out her blog.
Now to the new things. Over the last few months we’ve had a huge amount of activity with 13 new artists and 14 new digital releases with more still on the way. The new site has been designed so we can showcase the new releases and provide quick and easy access to the back catalogue. The new site features full length streaming mp3′s, videos as well as gig and press updates taken from the label and it’s artists Reverbnation profiles. As a result there is much more media on the site than ever before. There are RSS feeds from individual artist websites and buy links for all releases that are still available online.
As part of the update process I’ve sat down and looked back at the history of the label and all the releases that have occurred over the 11 years since we started out. This includes; retail ready CD releases, limited run self assembled promotional CD’s and our new digital catalogue. As a result the artist list and corresponding discography is a complete history of everything that we have produced. Wherever possible the content about the artists who are no longer with the label links back to their most recent activities and current projects. Also there are external buy links to any of the back catalogue still available that we no longer have the rights for.
The “Labels” tab on the navigation bar lists the labels whose recordings we distribute along with a short biography and links back to their websites.
The last new feature is a Blog section where Nick and myself will hopefully more than occasionally let you know what we’re listening to, what bands we are seeing and what wonderful things we’ve stumbled across while surfing the net. Anything that we put here will also be posted on twitter, so be sure to follow us.
While all this has been happening there is still plenty of action. We are negotiating new releases, there is talk of a Big Rig Records iPad/iPhone App and early rumblings about an Australian tour by one of our overseas artists so stay tuned!
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PPC Records began with the idea of reducing the distance between artist and audience; to circulate music through traditional and new media.
In the middle of a dank Melbourne winter in 2005 two ex-Tasmanian boys called up their friends asking for music. They were starting an independent label.
PPC Records would be a place for bands of substance operating outside of the mainstream. The aim was not to be genre-based, instead, like the label’s sleepwalker, go by feel and instinct. Soon after that, PPC’s debut compilation, The First Dose was released.
PPC signed new acts from further afield. By 2007 the label had several artist releases in their catalogue. They put records into independent music shops. They posted music online. They picked up national radio play and international interest.
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Jason Rozen founded Grinding Tapes in autumn of 2005 after hearing the rough demos of Elijah Wyman’s Why We Never Go Swimming and Other Short Stories. The vinyl pressing of this album was released on Grinding Tapes the following spring. For each sale, Grinding Tapes donated a percentage of the price to a charity selected by Elijah, establishing a tradition at Grinding Tapes of promoting peace, justice, and humanitarian relief through art. A substantial portion of the price that you pay for any Grinding Tapes release will be donated to an accredited charity of the artist’s choice.
Grinding Tapes operates on a philosophy of transparency. Pressing quantities, cost/donation breakdown, and other relevant information will be made available to everyone on this website. Detailed information will be maintained to help preserve the collectibility of our often limited pressings.
]]>Falling Down In Public Builds Character was a litmus test, dipping the listener in style after style, resulting in a fractured graph of emotional response. It served as an ambiguous introduction, leaving each path open to further exploration.
Vinegar Socks’ debut album is a predominantly acoustic collection of songs that represents the first stage of a collaboration that has as its nucleus singer/songwriter/guitarist Jordan DeMaio and violinist Paolo Petrocelli. Featuring contributions from numerous other musicians, Vinegar Socks have created a fully-embellished work of stunning beauty. Four songs from this album are featured on the soundtrack for the film Dieci Inverni, which premiered at the 2009 Venice film festival.
Their debut EP “Falling Down In Public Builds Character” was a litmus test, dipping the listener in style after style, resulting in a fractured graph of emotional response. It served as an ambiguous introduction, leaving each path open to further exploration.
The album “Beestung and Waterlogged” is a more focused and cohesive look at Village Green’s roving talents. With the aid of Basil Hogios [keys - composer "Romulus, My Father"] and Jimi Swan [drums - Marvin / Rumanastone], and the production of John Cobbin and Mary-anne Slavich [both of Grand Theft Auto] the album settles into deeper set moods than their previous studio effort. The album is a fitting closure to Village Green’s evolution.
The band received glowing reviews in Drum Media, Revolver and numerous online mags, while gaining airplay for a number of their songs, as well as live appearances on 2SER and FBI. They played many of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide’s live venues with bands that include Swirl, Oren Ambarchi, Mick Thomas, Love Outside Andromeda, The Beautiful Few, La Chambre, Sea Life Park, Marvin, Muzzy Pep, and Peeled Hearts Paste.
Village Green broke up in 2002.
Slowest Runner’s debut album is a live performance from their Band in Boston session on May 23rd, 2009. Named after the Band in Boston podcast itself, The Flophouse Session delivers on the abundant promise of the band’s jaw-dropping live performance.
On The Flophouse Session, Slowest Runner combine guitar, bass, drums, piano, violin, cello, tape loops, and heavily-distorted vocals to create beautifully-dramatic movie score music that frequently reaches blistering intensity. Artwork by William Collins.
The Lark Descending is a collection of fragile and haunting swan songs which touch on the beauty and terror of a decaying world, curiosity in the face of death, the impotence of regret, the overthrow of the capitalist hegemony, and the restoration of love as the supreme ideal.
The Lark Descending uses instruments he does not know how to play and sings as best he can – he once sang in a Cathedral Choir to a god he once believed in and now mumbles in a way that pleases himself. His music is lyrical and sad folk.
The EP cover art was designed by Tim Fluence of hypergraphia and commemorates the courageous yet doomed flying career of Otto Lilienthal (1848-1896).
This is the Lark Descending’s debut release.
Listen to The Lark Descending
A limited edition 3″ EP, Street Light Solace was released in December 2005 as a taste of their second album. Recorded to 2″ analog tape in the winter of 2005 and mixed in the spring, this record is a subtle mixture of dark rock, soothing acoustic melodies and swampy garage blues. It’s an aural remedy for the ailing eclectic ear … Perhaps the most promising thing about these songs is that they are a testament to a band that was developing it’s own special sound. The Daze went their separate ways in early 2006 before completion of their second album.
Olinda Daze is the debut album for The Daze. It’s an eclectic mix of dark vocal music, minimalist soundscapes and wall-of-sound crescendos.
The album exudes that overall laid-back feel that could only come from the olinda hills. The album features nick’s trademark dark songs with a twist.. A mélange of aural delights starting with the soothing tones of Rae Howell’s (Sunwrae, Royalchord) trumpets and vibes, right through to the timeless finesse of Melbourne lap-steel virtuoso Joel Bloom. The result is a musical journey worthy of a soft couch, a good glass of red and a pair of quality headphones!
The five songs on this ep feature both Nick and Joel (lapsteel and dobro) from The Daze.
The version of ‘Don’t Fret’ remained almost unchanged from what is now on ‘Olinda Daze’.
The last three instrumental tunes are a relfection of Nick’s quieter side, with one particular number ‘horn’ recorded at a rehearsal for a ‘Nick Drake’ tribute at which Nick and Joel played in early 2002.
The CD was packed in a special 3″ package and is now out of print.
This promotional double a-side single was received fairly well by local and national radio. the only difference to the album version of the songs is that ‘blood red wine’ has been edited with a ‘spooky’ loop at the start… the result: happier radios djs!
The CD was packaged in a slimline case and is now out of print.
Chad Bishop and Elizabeth Lopiccolo, the central songwriting team of The Cripple Lilies, the duo began writing for this album in 2005 and rigorously thumped local venues, stirring up public attention and honing the stripped-down live sound that signaled a definite departure from their earlier projects.
Along the way, they collaborated with longtime friend and co-conspirator Aaron Finley and gifted local musicians Sean Petersen and Brandon Warren. The resulting quintet was widely acclaimed locally and regionally, and after much research and forethought,they recorded in Athens, Georgia with acclaimed Indie producer David Barbe of Chase Park Transduction.
The Cripple Lilies will play their soothing folk music for you as you sip a cup of coffee. The singers have the kind of voices that make you remember those childhood summer days walking down a country road with your grandpa, picking wildflowers.
Since the band formed back in 2003, they were recording ideas and jams, and experimenting and forming their sound. They recorded a little promo EP to two-track tape, and local radio and punters took notice
The first recordings consisted of many interesting ideas, and long spiralling jams, and Los Musicos Perdidos, 2 am and Asylum were recorded in January 2004.
More live shows shaped their sound and they played gigs for almost a year before returning to the studio in September to continue recording and capture the rest of the album, over one weekend, including songs like Warmth from a window , The sea is in the boat , Strawberry and Little black rays of hope .
The album represents the band in it’s early days, and it’s a personal, emotional and spiritual journey. It’s The Boats captured in a time capsule.
A five track EP consisting of a few album tracks and two live rehearsal tracks recorded in May 2006. Released as a short run 3″ CD it was a chance to promote the band again and prepare listeners for what was to come from the new album.
This Kiss is the second single lifted from Melbourne small picture maestros The Beautiful Few’s well received third album Metal For Melbourne and other stories. Subtle, humorous and just slightly romantic with a Casio backdrop, This Kiss is a languid Sunday ride; the pangs of new love, the dismay at too many rejections with a gorgeous keyboard line and a backing vocal ending
to wash the blues away.
One Month In Every Twelve, the first single from ‘Metal for Melbourne’ was remixed for the floor by Interstate 40 (Underminers, Black Cab, Foil) in April 03 in Aberdeen and sent back to Melbourne for completion by the legendary Frank Tetaz. Play very, very loud at home or when driving on hot beach side roads.
Taken both from the album If You Change Your City…You’re Sure To Change Your Style, A-side Days Like Humphrey B Bear is a wonderfully snappy pop song with some hilarious Humphrey TV samples and full of witty lines about waking up, feeling great and the possibilities of youth going on forever: And there is pop that amuses
me/probably will till I’m 73/I’ll be hobbling to the news-stand for my NME/in a beige cardigan and black skivvy!…
The B side Punk Lieutenants is a quick pounding tribute to the punk and post-punk generation, those who keep making interesting records and touring for the mad love of surviving on music where no venue is too far away: they might throw up during soundcheck/but at the end how they love the other cheque… and: they know the rough times/when the rider’s a crutch/not a new song coming on for months…
The Beautiful Few have never been heard like this before. If you have heard them before, leave that to a different year, your own memories and a cooler place and have a go with this…play loud with a few drinks close by.
1993 and in a cramped flat in Clifton Hill, Melbourne, we begin: a bass player, some lyrics, a violin, keyboards. Then guitars enter: three of them, more lyrics, some concrete ideas. Ramona Barry (keyboards and vocals) departs. April and a gig: three guitars, bass, violin, keyboards, spoken and sung vocals, no drummer, a wall builds and my brown Cortina konks out for the last time on the West Gate bridge.
Arch Law (ex-Huxton Creepers) joins and were swinging. Charles Barnett (ex-This Happy Greed) departs after the first gig. We rehearse at Quincy McLean’s Bakehouse, make a demo in a day, do a few gigs and by early 1994 both Law and guitarist/vocalist Craig Nenke have left the ranks. Described by Untitled Red vocalist Greg Day as a magnificent accident, this version dies quickly.
By 1995, vocalist Mary Doyle (The Late Mail) has joined and we launch Dancing Under The Lights to a good sized crowd in May 95 at the Punters Club. All our gigs are on the north side. We go to St. Kilda once.
The EP, beautifully recorded by Andy was full of chiming lush guitars but came with the query, Why doesn’t he sing those lyrics ? Onwards we gigged, before falling apart again in late 95 and deciding to call it a day. But when is the end of the mad rock dream?
I phone James Lee, emaciated in-demand guitarist during the idle winter of 96. It s time to get The Few back together. Chris Grierson (bass) and Corinna Maule (violin) are back into it and we start again with new drummer Lenny Hyatt (Dead Salesmen). All the old material is abandoned and by September, we’re playing loose but much rowdier gigs than we’ve ever played.
A residency at the Punters with Sandro and The Stream in Jan 97 is a highlight. Continuing the writing and sporadically gigging we record what is to be The October Lovers album in a Clifton Hill warehouse over the weekend that Lady Di died. 15 songs and initiated by the stirring guitar work of James, Chris driving bass, Lenny s intense drumming, Corinna s wild violin and an improvement in my vocals, the album takes shape. The money problems start now.
We play New Years Eve in Ballarat. Tom from Adelaide band The Moonies calls and we head to Adelaide meeting people for the first time who liked the same records we did A gig with Sweet William and The Moonies at the Mad Love Bar is a highlight. James Lee commented: It s like being in…Bristol
More gigs through the year of 98. After five years of great bass playing Chris Grierson decides to call it a day and Pete Stone (ex-Lamia) joins. The October Lovers is still sitting there without the cash for mixing so we sensibly record again before Pete moves back to Perth Nine songs hurriedly done in a day overlooking Port Phillip Bay, rhythm section heavy, some pop and the odd ridiculous moment i.e an attempted rap. The lost sessions, surely?
As a precursor to the album, we release a spilt seven inch single with Tasmanian popsters Droplet. The single, The Little Truths, a road map song is the obvious choice. After Pete leaves, it s finally time to mix the record Up to Matt Hills place in Preston. The October Lovers is released in November 99 on Karl Melvin s Adelaide indie Hip To Hate . Chris Richards (ex-Dust/Kali) joins on bass and The Empress Launch is extremely well attended. We re feeling good as Sunday morning hits us crashed out at the after-party listening to Tactics and Belle & Sebastian. Typically, after feeling good, some shocking gigs follow to break our spirits.
With Edmond currently on Augie March duties and Karen concentrating on Actor/Model, Troy J Parker and mainstay Kieran Carroll were left to get to work. Recorded in Troy s back shed in Shepparton, DIY HEARTBREAK finds Carroll in expansive narrative form with Parker free to place his experimental hand on all things musical.
From the raw rock of insistent opener The Sisters, The Mary Chain and The Triffids, to the driving pop of Nowhere Anywhere In The World, to the 1920s music box revelations of German Affair, to the uplifting French Girl (Carriage Away) and the sad gentleness of closer A Little Romance, DIY Heartbreak surprises for its lack of bitterness (except for Three Quick Weeks ) and charms in its hopeful, nostalgic reverie via songs like You Were My Major Thing That Year and From Your Atlas At Home.
Their fifth full length-er since 99 s debut The October Lovers, The Beautiful Few continue to release moving work. DIY Heartbreak in all its thematic, peaks and troughs nakedness is no exception.
2 Track promotional CD distributed to Australian radio in 2005.
One track taken from the 2004 release If You Change Your City, Your Sure to Change Your Style and the second from 2003′s Metal for Melbourne and Other Stories to celebrate the inclusion of tracks from that album on the 2005 Australian TV Series Last Man Standing
From light-headed summer pop to warm oceanic balladry to head nodding synth tunes to sleep deprived factory mayhem, If you change your city…you’re sure to change your style is a many mooded, wildly eclectic ride. The middle is nothing like the beginning and the end is nothing like either of them!
The Beautiful Few have never been heard like this before. If you have heard them before, leave that to a different year, a cooler city and have a go with this…play it loud with a few drinks or whatever’s close by. Make it your urban summer soundtrack.
Recorded at home with three microphones and no amplification or overdubs in Jefferson, Massachusetts, Saint Joe Hazelwood (now The Points North)’s Summer 2007 Tour EP showcases alternate versions of three excellent tracks from their self title album as well as a traditional Irish tune.
Grinding Tapes Recording Company - CD Release 2007
Grinding Tapes/Big Rig Records – Digital Release 2010
We screen printed Regina’s wonderful hand-drawn illustrations on these 100% recycled and adhesive-free CD jackets. 58 copies of this CD were made for this pressing.
Saint Joe Hazelwood (now called The Points North)’s debut full length is a collection of ten hushed gems penned by Chris and Regina over the past two years. The tracks on this thoroughly moving release were recorded as live takes with very few overdubs and feature such diverse instrumentation as acoustic guitar, flute, whistle, octave mandolin, violin, and subtle percussion.
The initial 50 copies of this CD are housed in small cardboard boxes, which were each screen printed by hand with black ink. It took less than one month to sell out the first pressing of Saint Joe Hazelwood’s debut CD. An additional 87 copies were pressed in mid-November. This pressing is identical to the first pressing except it has updated mixes for some tracks and the Grinding Tapes logo behind the CD has a black border around it.
The five accomplished musicians comprising Rocketpack have a rich sonic texture to their sound, accompanied by a folksy tempo, lilting rhythm and vocals. Upon first listen, they present the type of sound that suddenly makes the listener realize they’re not skipping through songs in the attempt to quickly get a taste for the music, but rather listening to each song in its entirety.
Rocketpack is comprised of Chad Bishop on lead vocals and most rhythm guitar work, Brandon Warren on percussion, Brandon Clarkson on six-string upright bass, Aaron Finlay on electric guitars and Aaron Clark on violin. Their full-length album, Escapist vs. Exit, was recorded in Athens GA in the spring and fall of 2008 at Chase Park with celebrated producer Dave Barbe.
Modicom first appeared in the shifting atmosphere of Adelaide’s music scene in mid-1998, when singer Nathan Korotkov and guitarist Sam Reid from local pop outfit Wendyhouse, began a concentrated songwriting effort with cellist and vocalist, Zoe Barry. The three produced a unique sound that was often described as a type of ‘experimental baroque’.
Modicom presented an interesting departure from much of the music that was being played in Adelaide at this time, with unique cello arrangements played over Reid’s unorthodox guitar signatures and Korotkov’s commanding baritone. Their songs swept between sounds that were murky and dark in places, but which were carried by a rhythmic undercurrent and a sense of hope.
Modicom expanded to become a five-piece during the recording of The Icestorm in early 1999, but they never released their album before disbanding suddenly at the end of that year when Korotkov and Reid moved interstate to pursue other interests.
Moorabbin, Coburg, Preston, Pascoe Vale, Frankston: these are the battlegrounds that merge together to give Australia a new album by The Beautiful Few.
Battlegrounds where driving pop, storytelling, rock, country, ambient and a dash of metal are fused together to create a wildly eclectic ride beautifully produced by Augie March guitarist Adam Donovan at Augie March headquarters in Preston, Melbourne.
If you’re looking for a hold on all of this try: Crow, Tactics, Orange Juice, The Tindersticks, The Moles, The La’s and giants like Burt Bacharach and Neil Young. You might want to see a Max Earnst painting while listening to “Leanora”, read a sentence of Proust while having “The Steeples of Martinville” on n the background, even go back to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young or chuckle about Van Halen whilst listening to the magnificent title track.
Not unlike a Ripsnorter ’76 or 1981 The Summer – you’ll find your favourites, but as Mondo Rock’s Ross Wilson told us “It’s a cool, cool world” C’mon break in!
Winter 2000. Writing. Familiar places. Corinna’s bungalow. Electric radiator. The occasional night on a li-lo. We record ‘The Double Shame’ into a Walkman. Chris’ brick veneer share mansion. It’s starker there. Open sleeping bags pretending to be quilts, Apartments records; Karen has a 23rd birthday on a Monday night. We laugh. ‘The Morning Road Air’ develops after a trip to the Wimmera.
Summer 2001. Rooms on Swanston St. We record on weekends and overnight. We bunker down. A ritual develops. A drink to end the night at a 24 hour hotel in Bourke St. First trams go by. We meet the second or the third. We find it easy to get parking tickets and decide some songs shouldn’t be recorded and that others need added things. Suggestions: that ‘Summer Dresses’ should beas light as a lemon mousse and that ‘Sleeping In The Afternoons’ reminds someone of a Rupert Bunny painting called ‘Endormies’; two turn of the century women sleeping by a lake of swans. We laugh.
Winter 2001. Mixing. We add things, subtract. The only old song ‘Ocean Bride’ takes shape. Cascade Lights, a 50′s knee length overcoat, the Spirit of Tasmania heading out into the black bay. We cross town all the time, play it back and forth from Punt Rd to Nepean Hwy. We’re never sure.
A title: an old Indian proverb spoken by Sydney surfer Mark Occhilupo. It’s written out, stuck in a kitchen. Write a line about it ‘I’m trying hard to live it by it now’. Decide quickly that’s the one. This is The Beautiful Few’s third record.
It’s called ‘Something To Do, Someone To Love, Something To Look Forward To’
With her 2007 release, Every Other Bumblebee, Leigh StarDust has left the cosy solo world and headed out into the bright airy sunshine of her new band, The Heart Suite. With the irresistibly danceable drums of Bek Worsman and the frighteningly catchy guitars and samples of Tim Whitt, Leigh StarDust’s infectious pop keyboard anthems and striking voice are truly a force to be reckoned with.
Fashioned in three studios by six of Adelaide’s (South Australia) most creative musical minds, Every Other Bumblebee features production by Matt Hills (Taught by Animals, Wolf and Cub), Denni Meredith (brillig, Ianto Ware) and Tim Whitt (Central Deli Band, The Casio Brothers). Matt Hills also joins the list of special guests on the EP, adding his clever guitar work to Adrian Thunderfoot’s Dandy Warhol-esque trumpet and Leigh StarDust’s Mum’s (Ma StarDust) beautifully warm vocal.
Kieran Carroll and The Charcoal Sea released their one and only album A Straight Line To Wander Through in November 1997.
Forming in Melbourne some two years earlier, they recorded the album at the North Carlton Baptist Church. Recorded by Matt Hills and mixed by Andrew Coates (Black Cab), the album is a delicate and wistful mix of guitars, pianos and strings with Carroll’s poetic narratives moving from local comedy to Greek tragedy to 1850?s Irish migration.
Listen to A Straight Line to Wander Through
Comprising ten tracks, “Shift these thoughts” is the debut album from Heligoland and followed two well received 7″ singles released in 2001/2, and an EP in 2000.
“Shift these thoughts” is an apt title for the album, hinting at some of the qualities of the music contained within.
Album opener “Hobson’s Choice” is a song in the style Heligoland has made its trademark, unfolding gradually at a measured pace, with a minimal yet intricate musical backing and captivating vocals shifting between light and shade. “String Tree”, “Flat Four” and “Jasper Come Home” also exhibit the carefully crafted arrangements, subtle dynamic shifts and enchanting vocals for which the band is known.
Elsewhere the band explore other aspects of Heligoland’s sound such as on the melancholic, minimal “What was it worth?”, notable for the soaring vocals of singer Karen Vogt.
Heligoland’s music is often likened to a film score, a concept explored on several tracks presented here in greater depth than was possible on previous releases. “Cabo de Gata” is a captivating journey through dusty, sun bleached landscapes hinting at some of the band’s more abstract influences. Conversely, the glacial “Herringbone” explores the terrain and the pull of competing currents beneath the waves.
Heligoland and Big Rig Records parted ways in 2005 after the release of Shift These Thoughts. Heligoland now live and play in Paris.
E-wah’s third release, 8 song album Lights and Sirens, broke away from the more prickly and raw sound of its predecessors with gentler “lullabies.” Lights & Sirens received enthusiastic play on independent stations across the country. Reviewer for Mess and Noise, David Nichols wrote, “E-wah Lady makes stuff go, with her excellent command of tunes and what sounds like quite a mature and realistic view of life.”
Butterfly Needles is Elijah Ebenezer Wyman’s fourth full-length album and his first under his full name. In contrast with his previous album’s thoroughly-embellished sound, Butterfly Needles features Elijah alone with his acoustic guitar and dulcimer. The lyrics chronicle Elijah’s kidney disease, which was diagnosed in early 2006 and the sparse analog recording is representative of his solo live shows from throughout 2006 and the first half of 2007.
Combining intricately-woven guitar melodies with dramatic dynamic shifts, Dreamtigers write earnest anthems of hope and deliver them with blistering intensity. Andrew Gary’s vocals float above the melodic instrumentation, crooning lyrics with uncommon literacy and lucidity.
Merry Christmas, Brother/Sister is a four-song holiday EP recorded by Amelia Emmet in the winter months of 2006 on basic home-recording equipment. These are not your parents’ Christmas songs. Instead, the band has crafted original compositions using banjo, guitar, accordion, glockenspiel, and out-of-tune piano that serve as homages to the traditional songs.
Spider+Octopus is a folk duet of two individual artists: Renee Arozqueta and Chad Bishop, with distinct talents among them.
-IST is an album in two parts: -IST I and -IST II, each part consists of 11 tracks. Recorded in Tennessee (Dec 2009 – March 2010) during the winter months. In the Appalachian Mountains, and the smoggy city of Knoxville.
-IST is an abbreviated descriptive for the landscapes the album ventures through, cold mountain paths and snowy crags. -IST is also shorthand for the methods of rendering sounds on the album from minimalist to existentialist.
Renee Arozqueta and Chad Bishop stretched out for some winter months, hiking through different parts of Southern Appalachia uncovering remote parts of the psyche and surfacing with them to create the album -IST…
Vinegar Socks are establishing themselves as one of the most important indie projects in Italy. 2009 saw the band touring nationally, playing concerts with Kaki King and Joan as Policewoman and working on the film soundtrack for “Dieci Inverni” (which premiered at the Venice film festival and is currently preparing for international distribution). The band’s reputation for sophisticated songwriting and powerful shows is quickly spreading throughout Europe and America, earning them appearances on MTV, featured performances on Italian national radio, and invites to perform in various major European cities.
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Beneath a large rainbow water tower in the beach town of Pensacola Florida, a spider sat diligently weaving a web. “I wish I could do that?” called an octopus who had just crawled out of the sea. When the spider turned to see who had spoken, he was shocked by the brilliant colors the cephalopod was flashing, she was obviously trying to impress him, it may have worked.
Spider+Octopus is a folk duet of two individual artists: Renee Arozqueta and Chad Bishop, with distinct talents among them. See what happens when 16 limbs collaborate.
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Kieran Carroll and The Charcoal Sea released their one and only album A Straight Line To Wander Through in November 1997.
Forming in Melbourne some two years earlier, they recorded the album at the North Carlton Baptist Church. Recorded by Matt Hills and mixed by Andrew Coates (Black Cab), the album is a delicate and wistful mix of guitars, pianos and strings with Carroll’s poetic narratives moving from local comedy to Greek tragedy to 1850′s Irish migration.
Members of The Charcoal Sea have since gone on to some other very well known groups and pursuits. These include Gregory Day (now a major Australian novelist), James Lee (Registered Nurse & Black Cab) and Julitha Ryan (Silver Ray and The Mick Harvey Band). A
Straight Line To Wander Through is a beautifully crafted and idiosyncratic album.
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Vinegar Socks are establishing themselves as one of the most important indie projects in Italy. 2009 saw the band touring nationally, playing concerts with Kaki King and Joan as Policewoman and working on the film soundtrack for “Dieci Inverni” (which premiered at the Venice film festival and is currently preparing for international distribution).
Vinegar Socks’ debut album is a predominantly acoustic collection of songs that represents the first stage of a collaboration that has as its nucleus singer/songwriter/guitarist Jordan DeMaio and violinist Paolo Petrocelli. Featuring contributions from numerous other musicians, Vinegar Socks have created a fully-embellished work of stunning beauty.
Manners’ Gregory Beson is a master of musical understatement. His minimalist jazz-folk melodies have precisely enough notes to maintain a rare and rewarding kind of disjointed momentum. Occasionally, these haunted ghost melodies burst briefly into bloom, resolving long-accumulated tension before dissolving as quickly as they had arrived.
The sounds of look into, look unto center around meditative guitar and Greg’s whispery-as-the-wind vocals. It’s spiritually nostalgic like deja vu in reverse, the music already familiar with you. Backing band The Woolves build it up to an orchestra while maintaining the minimalism of the music.
Elijah Ebenezer Wyman is a young singer/songwriter living in Asheville, NC, who creates intimate folk music marked by subtle wisdom and debonair charm. Elijah fashions songs that range from celebratory clap-alongs to bleak dirges. His themed releases have garnered favorable comparisons to indie hero, Sufjan Stevens.
Butterfly Needles is Elijah Ebenezer Wyman’s fourth full-length album and his first under his full name. In contrast with his previous album’s thoroughly-embellished sound, Butterfly Needles features Elijah alone with his acoustic guitar and dulcimer. The lyrics chronicle Elijah’s kidney disease, which was diagnosed in early 2006 and the sparse analog recording is representative of his solo live shows from throughout 2006 and the first half of 2007.
The Lark Descending believes in: the beauty and terror of a decaying world; inquiry in the face of death; the impotence of regret; the overthrow of the capitalist hegemony; and the restoration of love as the supreme ideal.
The Lark Descending uses instruments he does not know how to play and sings as best he can – he once sang in a Cathedral Choir to a god he once believed in and now mumbles in a way that pleases himself. His music is lyrical and sad folk.
The Lark Descending lives and loves in Brunswick, Australia.
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Check out the Artists page for buy links and full streaming MP3s.
Named after his high school recording experiments Jason Rozens’ US based label Grinding Tapes Recording Company has been releasing fine independent artists from it’s base in Andover Massachusetts since 2005. Big Rig will digitally releasing a selection of the Grinding Tapes catalogue consisting of: Dreamtigers, Brother/Sister, Saint Joe Hazelwood and The Slowest Runner in All the World.
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| Brother/Sister
Merry Christmas, Brother/Sister |
Dreamtigers
Broken Seasons |
Saint Joe Hazelwood
Saint Joe Hazelwood |
Saint Joe Hazelwood
Summer 2007 Tour EP |
The Slowest Runner in All the World
The Flophouse Session |
Chad Bishop is from Pensacola Florida. He writes songs about astronauts, time travellers, communist bus drivers in Chicago, outsider artists, drunks, a ghost town, and dreams. Big Rig Records is releasing 3 albums of material from differing projects of Chad’s creation.
Following the path of deconstructionist post modernism picked up while studying literature at the university in Pensacola; Chad released the album “la bete” with the band The Cripple Lilies. After a few national tours in the year 2008, the band dissolved and Chad continued writing for a new project: Paper Scissors Rocketpack! continuing with many of the themes from earlier projects, Paper Scissors Rocketpack also featured a surrealist sense of absurdity on their album “escapist vs exit”.
In the spring of 2010, Chad began to pursue a new and more experimental solo-ish project Spider+Octopus, accompanied by Renee Arozqueta on accordion and piano, they released “La Arana Esta Susurrando”.
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| The Cripple Lilies
La Bete |
Paper Scissors Rocketpack
Escapist Vs Exit |
Spider+Octopus
La Arana Esta Susurrando |
E-wah Lady has come a long way since her often “hit and Mrs” shows in the early millennium. At that stage a solo act, she was often accompanied by her then “husband” the late Tim Coke on wooden spoon and tin drum, or whatever else was around to hit. These shows were unpredictable things, sometimes crackling with intimacy and directness, other times cracking and tumbling to the floor in front of your eyes. This was back in the days when her only recording to spruik was a 4 track demo on cassette, featuring a grisly picture of her wielding an axe.
After signing to independent label Peak Plasma Concentration Records. She got busy recording and in 2006 released two highly acclaimed records.
Big Rig Records is please to be digitally distributing E-wah’s third release, 8 song album Lights and Sirens.
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| E-Wah Lady
Lights and Sirens |
(The) Slowest Runner (In All the World) is an instrumental post-baroque band from Montreal and NYC. Known for their epic songs and optionally-extensible name, Slowest Runner’s live performances can be deafening rock-outs or stunningly cinematic, depending on the venue. Slowest Runner combines strings and piano with a traditional rock setup and experimental sound manipulation techniques for a uniquely-embellished sound.
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Birthed from Pensacola, Florida, the Cripple Lilies are Chad Bishop and Elizabeth LoPiccolo with a myriad of musicians: Sean Peterson, Aaron Finlay, and Brandon Warren. They play mature yet sweet indie-pop in the vein of Belle and Sebastian, the American Analog Set, and Regina Spektor.
The lilies released their first proper full length in the beginning of 2007, entitled La Bete. Recorded in January 2007 with famed producer David Barbe (Drive By Truckers, REM, Bob Mould) at Chase Park Studios in Athens, Georgia. The self-released effort contains nine carefully woven tracks that span each corner of the genre.
The lilies broke up in September 2007.
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Saint Joe Hazelwood is an acoustic band from Quincy, MA who play minimalist folk that can best be described as a soundtrack to the harsh yet strangely nostalgic New England winter. Beautiful melodies bleed through Saint Joe Hazelwood’s sparse arrangements and serve as a canvas for singer Chris Alspach’s literate poetry. Chris’ voice is delicate yet confidant and he uses it to deliver lyrics that are simultaneously intensely personal and strikingly universal.
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About a year after, Pensacola, FL band, The Cripple Lilies, released their first and only studio album La Bete, Chad Bishop, frontman for The Lilies, returned with a new vision and a new band… Paper Scissors Rocketpack. Bishop’s, but more specifically Rocketpack’s, collective new sound is lighter, more pop-informed, and notably more sophisticated.
The five accomplished musicians comprising Rocketpack have a rich sonic texture to their sound, accompanied by a folksy tempo, lilting rhythm and vocals. Upon first listen, they present the type of sound that suddenly makes the listener realize they’re not skipping through songs in the attempt to quickly get a taste for the music, but rather listening to each song in its entirety.
Bishop’s lyrics are reminiscent of the Romantic tradition of the classics as well as the Modernist and Post-Modernist movements, largely due to his degree in English literature from the University of West Florida.
Rocketpack is comprised of Chad Bishop on lead vocals and most rhythm guitar work, Brandon Warren on percussion, Brandon Clarkson on six-string upright bass, Aaron Finlay on electric guitars and Aaron Clark on violin. Their full-length album, Escapist vs. Exit, was recorded at Chase Park with celebrated producer Dave Barbe.
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Elijah Ebenezer Wyman is a young singer/songwriter living in Asheville, NC, who creates intimate folk music marked by subtle wisdom and debonair charm. Critics including BBC.co.uk, Performer, Pop Matters, The Wire, and The Noise have applauded his lyrical wit and pop song-craft. Enlisting the talents of local musicians, Elijah fashions songs that range from celebratory clap-alongs to bleak dirges. His themed releases have garnered favorable comparisons to indie hero, Sufjan Stevens.
Elijah has performed alongside notable artists such as John Vanderslice, Danielson, David Bazaan, Denison Witmer, Kind of Like Spitting, Damien Jurado, Jason Anderson, and TW Walsh of Pedro the Lion. He has also toured up and down the east and west coasts and played shows in the UK.
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Dreamtigers is a Boston rock band formed in 2009 from the ashes of various New England indie rock and hardcore bands, including Ambitions and Acta Non Verba. Combining intricately-woven guitar melodies with dramatic dynamic shifts, Dreamtigers write earnest anthems of hope and deliver them with blistering intensity. Andrew Gary’s vocals float above the melodic instrumentation, crooning lyrics with uncommon literacy and lucidity.
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Amelia Emmet plays dark yet infectious pop songs with a lush assortment of instruments. Originally known as Dogs and Trains and later as Brother/Sister, Amelia expertly marries the sounds of accordion, banjo, trombone, and acoustic guitar with her captivating voice and exceptional lyrics. Amelia is frequently accompanied by Faces on Film singer Mike Fiore and Hallelujah the Hills’ Elio DeLuca and Brian Rutledge.
E-wah Lady has come a long way since her often “hit and Mrs” shows in the early millenium. At that stage a solo act, she was often accompanied by her then “husband” the late Tim Coke on wooden spoon and tin drum, or whatever else was around to hit. These shows were unpredictable things, sometimes crackling with intimacy and directness, other times cracking and tumbling to the floor in front of your eyes. This was back in the days when her only recording to spruik was a 4 track demo on cassette, featuring a grisly picture of her wielding an axe.
Despite setbacks and general disarray, she played shows alongside some of Melbourne’s finest, including the late Rowland S Howard, The Bird Blobs, Aleks & The Ramps, Sister Cities (a side-project of Architecture In Helsinki) and The Morning After Girls.
In 2005 E-wah Lady signed up to independent label Peak Plasma Concentration Records. She got busy recording and in 2006 released two highly acclaimed records, her debut This Is Remorse followed by EP Almost Sold My Axe. In the true spirit of DIY music, the artwork for Almost Sold My Axe was all handmade, featuring individually hand drawn and stitched CD sleeves. This Is Remorse, featuring the Suicide-esque number, Self Self Loathe, was selected in 2007 as a recording of note and is catalogued in perpetuity with the National Library of Australia.
E-wah’s third release, 8 song album Lights and Sirens, broke away from the more prickly and raw sound of its predecessors with gentler “lullabies.” Lights & Sirens received enthusiastic play on independent stations across the country. Reviewer for Mess and Noise, David Nichols wrote, “E-wah Lady makes stuff go, with her excellent command of tunes and what sounds like quite a mature and realistic view of life.”
Recently E-wah Lady hit the stage of The Northcote Social Club to support Oliver Mann on the Melbourne leg of his national tour. This show marked the premier of her new collaborative band The Open Road and a compelling new sound.
Throughout the era of Axe and Sirens audiences would’ve caught her striking solo shows performing on electric guitar with just a bear-shaped lamp for company. Now with a five piece band, the music revels in the drama of the narrative, see-sawing between seething and soaring / traversing blistering rages and languishing in dappled melody.
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And so it began…a jam on a cool autumn night in May 2003, between two old friends and two prospective drummers. Paul Guseli (Front of Van) turned up with his custom vintage drum kit and less than 15 minutes into the jam, Jona Byron (The Dirty Royals, The Waiting Place) and Nick Conolly (Miasma, The Daze, The Waiting Place) knew that this was the birth of something special.
The next 6 months saw the band work on improvisational material, combining structured songs with spontaneous jams. During this time, The boats recorded various rehearsal sessions to tape, including some amazing moments in the beautiful Olinda hills…some of these moments were compiled into a 2003 demos EP.
The boats played their first show at Good Morning Captain in early 2004, with long improvisational jams that captured the ears and curiosity of many punters. The live gigs continued, followed by radio interviews. But it was the Museum show with Seascapes of the Interior & Chris Cobilis (The Tigers) that developed the band’s reputation as a new, unique and dynamic force. This paved their way for higher profile shows including a packed mini-EP giveaway gig with Black Cab at The Tote, at which one punter aptly described them as “…the band who should have written the soundtrack to Surf Nazis Must Die”.
After 2004 the boats went into hiatus for a year and regrouped in 2005, and the magic was still there, even after so long apart. Overdubs for their overdue debut album (that begun in 2004) were finished and the band returned to the live scene again. In 2006 between balancing their own projects, the boats managed to compile a few album tracks and two live rehearsal tracks recorded in May 2006, to make the EP ‘Perennial Love’. Released as a short run through Big Rig Records. It was a chance to promote the band again and prepare listeners for what was to come. The boats had a packed out EP launch at the Empress Hotel in Oct ‘06, with support from The Spheres, and some generous airplay on PBS and RRR FM (especially the show Delivery), and they also played a grand show with Lions Light, The Spheres and Guns of St Sebastian at Loop Bar electundra sessions in Oct, and won over a crowd at Rubys Lounge in Belgrave as part of a benefit concert the week before.
In this auspicious new year the boats have played in various venues to a collective of bands and live music goers, including an instrumental night called ‘The Drawing of Sound’, organised by Zac Keiler (instrumentalist and label owner of Dreamland Recordings), with some other great local acts including Cam Butler, Three Month Sunset and Retail Fireworks. An Internet radio site called New Found Frequency recorded the concert, and Jona was interviewed about the progress of the band and their plans. During 2007 the boats also played at Spoon Bar as part of the Sydney Rd, Brunswick Music Festival, a sold out show at The Empress of India with Retail Fireworks, a packed show at Forepaw in July and won the audience of carni freaks and punters at ‘Angel Circus’ at the Noise Bar in November.
The boats are an atmospheric, dynamic and a beautifully improvised instrumental experience, creating sonic sketches of looped guitars, bass and drums… conjuring up moments of Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, The Necks, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Ennio Morricone, Set Fire to Flames, Dirty Three…while at the same time remaining truly unique in their delivery. Often being described as surf-rock, post-rock and even ‘the new jazz’.
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Most high schools have an extremely uncool girl who wanders around singing in a high-pitched voice and writing terribly insightful poetry, trying to get people to recognise her as the amazing and talented singer/songwriter she really is deep down inside (underneath the purple cross-colour jeans and tie-dyed t-shirt). LeighStarDust was, and still remembers being, that girl.
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Modicom first appeared in the shifting atmosphere of Adelaide’s music scene in mid-1998. Singer Nathan Korotkov and guitarist Sam Reid had played in bands together for several years before they met Zoe Barry through a mutual friend and began a concentrated songwriting effort together.
Their musical chemistry was immediate and the three began playing regular live shows at local subterranean nightspot, supermild. Modicom presented an interesting departure from much of the music that was being played in Adelaide at this time, with unique cello arrangements played over Reid’s unorthodox guitar signatures and Korotkov’s commanding baritone. Their songs swept between sounds that were murky and dark in places, but which were carried by a rhythmic undercurrent and a sense of hope.
Modicom expanded to become a five-piece during the recording of The Icestorm in early 1999, but they never released their album before disbanding suddenly at the end of that year when Korotkov and Reid moved interstate to pursue other interests. Now, for the first time in ten years the Modicom time capsule has been opened.
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The Daze can be found in various watering holes around Melbourne and Australia, producing dark, brooding, melodic music whilst juggling the odd drunken punter. A musical treat lying somewhere between Calexico, Portishead and the bad seeds, yet still with a sound that remains strangely unique, The Daze are quickly becoming a rather dangerous musical cocktail that is sure to seduce even the most cynical of punters.
Although they’ve only been around as a band for about 18 months, The Daze have played with the likes of ‘the Blackeyed Susans’ and ‘the fauves’, ‘the restless’ and Helgoland’ .. Among others.
The Daze combine intelligent, emotive songs with dark, brooding instrumental music to keep the punters glued to their bar stools, in a … Well, umm … A ‘Daze’
… In a little more detail … Originally forming in late 2003 under the name ‘nick Conolly & The Daze’, The Daze started as a way for nick [The Boats, The Waiting Place, Royalchord, Miasma (syd)] to realise his songs in a live context – mainly as a duo with Joel Bloom [Sunwrae, Nick Barker, Royalchord] on lapsteel & dobro and nick on guitar & vox. With the addition of Dale ‘G’ Thomas [loudhailer, go public!, Daisy West] on drums, Paul Skelton [The Dirty Royals] on bass, and finally Claire Kuiper [Blind Creek] on guitar & vox, the lineup was complete.
The band played only a handful of shows before releasing their debut ‘Olinda Daze’ in September 2004. The launch went down an absolute treat … With the addition of Rae Howell on trumpet (who also played on the album) and with generous support from Heligoland and the restless, it was a night of truly beautiful music and the realisation of an exciting, atmospheric live band.
For personal reasons, The Daze had to take a long hiatus for much of 2005 … But they’ve returned with a new bass player ‘Chris Riseley’ and a bunch of new recordings … Recorded to 2″ analogue, an ep to showcase these tunes will be released in December 05. The album, sure to be another aural treat will be available on vinyl & CD in mid 2006. It will also feature songs from Claire Kuiper, whose folk/country background brings a new, delicate beauty to The Daze.
The Daze will continue to play and promote the new record in 2006, with plans to tour not just Australia, but overseas …
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Heligoland - circa 2004.
If you’ve ever fallen in love with somebody who lives in neighboring street or distant city, a person you might see from time to time but hardly know, if at all, then these vivid and emotional memories of times and places have a perfect soundtrack in the music of Heligoland.
Originally formed in Melbourne, Australia before relocating to Paris, France, Heligoland are a band with a distinctive sound whose songwriting is richly atmospheric and evocative. Heligoland’s songs and sound have been compared to the atmospheric textures and soaring female vocals of the Cocteau Twins, the spartan soulfulness of Low and the wistful melancholy of Mojave 3.
To date Heligoland have released an EP, two 7″ singles and two albums “Shift These Thoughts” (Big Rig Records) and “A Street Between Us”. A third album “All Your Ships Are White” is set for release in late 2010. Of these releases, “Shift These Thoughts” in particular received much favourable press in Europe.
Heligoland have played live regularly for many years. During the band’s time in Australia they supported artists such as Art of Fighting, Sarah Blasko and Neil Halstead (Mojave 3). Since relocating to Europe the band’s touring schedule has encompassed concerts in France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Czech, Latvia, Estonia and the UK, including numerous shows in Paris, Berlin and Hamburg and appearances at Divan du Monde in Paris and the Union Chapel in London.
Heligoland and Big Rig Records parted ways in 2005 after the release of Shift These Thoughts. Heligoland now live and play in Paris. A few copies of Shift These Thoughts are still available and can be purchased by sending us a message via our contact page.
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The Beautiful Few (1993 – 2009) were a Melbourne based band who did some time in Sydney over 2004 and 2005.
Revolving around the lyrics of playwright Kieran Carroll, they produced three studio albums and a bedroom album all through Big Rig Records. Prior to their Big Rig years, there was ‘Dancing Under The Lights’ (1995) and ‘The October Lovers’ (1999).
The band played Adelaide ten times, Sydney regularly, toured Brisbane, Hobart and country regions while enjoying some terrific reviews.
Songs from ‘Metal For Melbourne & other stories’ (2003) were used for the Channel 7 series Last Man Standing written by Marieke Hardy.
The band had numerous line-ups, close to a different one for each album, with many members playing in other well-known bands such as Augie March, Registered Nurse, Gaslight Radio, and even way back, The Huxton Creepers to name a few!
Perhaps, a review in 2005 by Beat’s Bronius Zumeris of ‘If You Change Your City…You’re Sure To Change Your Style’ answers something of what they were like: ‘The way The Beautiful Few play hopscotch with angst, realism and irony with deft skill belies their status as minor league players.’
Due to wanting to continue with CD’s, the band split amicably with Big Rig to release a final album with fourteen guest singers, ‘The Nights You Did Your Hair’ in 2009 on PopBoomerang Records. At rest now, The Few were a band who always tried to keep things fresh, vivid and new.
Kieran Carroll July 2011
Big Rig Records released 4 albums by the beautiful few over a 6 year period from 2001 as well as digitally re-releasing their 2 earlier recordings.
Members throughout the Big Rig years:
Kieran Carroll – Vocals
James Lee – Guitar
Corinna Maule – Violin, Keyboards
Chris Richards – Guitar
Nick Treweek – Drums
Brett Poliness – Drums
Edmond Ammedola – Guitar, Bass, Keyboards
Karon Anson – Keyboards
Troy Parker – Drums
The album “Beestung and Waterlogged” is a more focused and cohesive look at Village Green’s roving talents. With the aid of Basil Hogios [keys] and Jimi Swan [drums - Marvin / Rumanastone], and the production of John Cobbin and Mary-anne Slavich [both of Grand Theft Auto] the album settles into deeper set moods than their previous studio effort. The album is a fitting closure to the first phase of Village Green’s evolution. With the recent departures of James and Jo, the band is stripping back to a four piece with Fraser Smith [Centrepunch] lending his guitar and bass skills. Village Green plan to re-enter the fray of live shows in early June with shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide before commencing a new bout of recording in August.
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Nick’s unique songwriting style originated from his involvement in Sydney’s inner-city music scene in the early-nineties. Playing in art-rock groups like Miasma, Birdie Num Num and The Frame, for five years Nick contributed on drums, guitar and vocals. Then in 1996, Nick decided it was time for a change and ventured down to Melbourne to start a new life. Nick continued to write songs sporadically for the next year, however it was not until 1998 that he started to perform again, this time as a solo artist.He has since played regularly in Melbourne, and toured several times to different cities in Australia, including Perth, Adelaide and Sydney.
]]>The Boats independently released this album on compact disc in 2008, and until now it has only been available from live shows and a few select record stores in their home city of Melbourne, Australia.
Now Big Rig Records introduces this amazing instrumental band to a wider audience. What the band say about their debut album…
This is an album that has haunted us and lurked in our ears and hearts for 3 years.
Since the band formed back in 2003, we were recording ideas and jams, and in our early incarnation of experimenting and forming our sounds, we recorded a little promo EP to two-track tape, and local radio and punters took notice of our sound. So we began recording ideas and jams up at Nick’s studio…in the days when he lived up in that beautiful old house in the middle of the forest in Olinda, it was an amazing place to record to say the least.
The first recordings consisted of many interesting ideas, and long spiralling jams, and we recorded ‘Los Musicos Perdidos’, ‘2 am’ and ‘Asylum’ in Jan 2004.
What we needed was more live shows to shape us more, so we virtually played gigs for a year and in September that year we returned to Nick’s green retreat to continue recording…and we captured the rest of the album, over that weekend, including songs like ‘Warmth from a window’, ‘The sea is in the boat’, ‘Strawberry’ and ‘Little black rays of hope’. So the album was virtually recorded over two weekends in 2004.
It was then in 2005 that some peril began, we all had some serious relationship breaks, and it was generally a very intense time. When the storm had cleared we contacted Paul, who was heavily steeped in work (when he’s not bashing those skins he’s driving trucks), and we slowly reformed and began finishing work on the album.
The album represents the band in it’s early days, when we were still discovering our sounds, and figuring out who we were, moulding our music. When I had nothing but a dodgy old analogue delay pedal, and too many ideas. When Nick had long hair and recorded an album called ‘Olinda Daze’. When Paul was…how do you say? More comfortable. ‘Los Musicos Perdidos’ is our debut, and it’s a personal, emotional and spiritual kind of journey for us. I hope people like it, it’s honest and it’s the boats captured in a time capsule.
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1999 Australia. Then Prime Minister John Howard refused to say sorry for the harms caused in the past to the Aboriginal people of Australia; the national cricket team defeated Pakistan to win the world cup; whilst elsewhere in the world some hick from Texas decided he wanted to run for President of the United States.
Meanwhile in Adelaide (approx pop 1.1million) Modicom were putting the finishing touches on what was to be their debut album, and what until now they never thought would see the light of day.
Modicom first appeared in the shifting atmosphere of Adelaide’s music scene in mid-1998, when singer Nathan Korotkov and guitarist Sam Reid from local pop outfit wendyhouse, began a concentrated songwriting effort with cellist and vocalist, Zoe Barry. The three produced a unique sound that was often described as a type of ‘experimental baroque’. Their musical chemistry was immediate and the three began playing regular live shows at local subterranean nightspot, supermild.
Modicom presented an interesting departure from much of the music that was being played in Adelaide at this time, with unique cello arrangements played over Reid’s unorthodox guitar signatures and Korotkov’s commanding baritone. Their songs swept between sounds that were murky and dark in places, but which were carried by a rhythmic undercurrent and a sense of hope.
Modicom expanded to become a five-piece during the recording of The Icestorm in early 1999, but they never released their album before disbanding suddenly at the end of that year when Korotkov and Reid moved interstate to pursue other interests.
Now, for the first time, the Modicom time capsule has been opened. Enjoy.
]]>Here at Big Rig Records we’ve decided that we’re moving away from CD releases and going 100% digital.
We’ve partnered up with US based digital music supplier IODA and can get your music out to over 100 online and mobile providers such as iTunes, Amazon, Audio Lunchbox, emusic, Destra, LastFM, Napster, Puretracks, Strabucks, T-Online and Verizon just to name a few…
We are offering artists the choice of 2 contracts, one a royalty based contract where Big Rig gets a percentage of sales income (for those not sure how many digital sales they might achieve) and a fee based contract with a 14 month royalty free period (for artists who feel that their release will sell like hotcakes and want to get the maximum possible returns).
If you would like more information download a PDF with some more details.
If you have further questions or are keen to sign up contact us
and we’ll talk further.
Here’s a reminder of where your music might go:
