TELAFONICA

portraits by boom blip blip

2012-01-27T00:24:00.000+11:00

i know it's not technically telafonica, but it is sam and i, and all the portraits i'm doing for the half of the works that i instigate are based on telafonica members, so here's some shameless self-promotion...

a few tangents

2012-01-23T15:26:00.000+11:00

a bunch of videos to watch in your spare time, hopefully giving some ideas. blake and i went and saw tuneyards on friday night which was, in and of itself, pretty incredible. more on that a bit later. but we talked through some ideas a bit. one of the things i was telling him about was the following clips, taken from ableton live's website. it's the band caribou, showing how they use ableton live in concert. i quite like the idea of each person in the group having access to ableton live, and it kind of functioning as a communal brain that everyone is able to manipulate in some way. don't worry too much about the technical aspects if they go over your head, other than to say we wouldn't need to add too much to our gear to be able to function in this type of manner.

the first clip is an explanation, the second is just a live perfromace where you can see them actually doing it...

another thing we discussed was the idea of limiting the actual instruments we use in order to create a cohesive sound across an album. i was listening to lcd soundsystem last week and realising that he/they alaways use the same sounds, same drum sounds, drum machine sounds, synth sounds, guitar etc, but push those around in the arrangements, so that it's cohesive yet still has a diversity. tuneyards did a similar thing - just drums, bass, ukelele, 2 saxes and voice - but used incredible arrangements (and incredibly funky grooves) to keep it interesting. here's an example...

we actually have the man and woman power to do this kind of thing without even needing to rely so much on layering loops. and the sax playing was pretty inspirational - cherry. :) blake also brought up the idea, which i like greatly, of untethering us from a reliance on the laptop driving the music but rather, us play things and the laptop serves us (through looping, processing etc) which fits in with the ideas from the caribou stuff above.

none of which actually helps in determining what these new sounds will actually be, but possibly all being in a room together playing while we are in the making it up phase might be a good option - or, at least, actually writing songs first and then arranging/producing them, rather than the other way around which is generally how we function at the moment.

and another...

2012-01-16T16:39:00.000+11:00

this one was only written a few days ago, but it's about a release from quite a long time ago, the free netlabel EP version of morpheme that the electrolyt label (andreas of lipstick/sunstroke militia fame) put out a while after the full album was originally released...

"behind Sydney, Australia-based Telafonica are Adrian Elmer, David Hughes, and Marcella Hughes. (Adrian Elmer, for instance, is at the moment more known as a prolific reviewer at Cyclic Defrost, one of the coolest webzines all around the world). However, 6 years ago Telafonica functioned as a combo mixing up bouncy yet mesmerizing electro beats with slowly evolving indie scaffolds which are infiltrated with somewhat sound, hirsuit layers. After many laps on it you can admit all these 5 tracks are on the ball. A classic (whose longer version is available at Bandcamp)."

- Borealiscape - Recent Music Heroes Blog

http://agier.blogspot.com/2012/01/telafonica-morpheme-2006.html

old review

2012-01-16T16:18:00.000+11:00

i found this old review via the gate today. it's about the first show we did at the gate in may 2010 - it's quite amusing...

First up on the bill last night was Telafonica. They style their music as “traditional (&non) song structures utilising live instruments, soundmachines and computers” while asserting that “the pop song lyric book is never far from hand“. I wasn’t particularly impressed by the stuff they played. To me it appeared to be an attempt to get as many unusual instruments and sounds as they could and mash them together into something that wasn’t particularly musical. Throw in some seemingly nonsensical or meaningful lyrics and there was the performance. The only real satisfaction I took from them was the pre-produced beats they had which were pretty jazzy and almost funky.

- Samuel Law
(the full review of the show is here)

more future

2012-01-15T14:21:00.000+11:00

so i was discussing this whole 'sound of the future' thing with bec and it appears i probably should clarify what i exactly meant by that. i think it basically means anything that is new and not-before-heard. of course, once it's created, it's no longer of the future but the point is, no-one seems to be really actively trying to make actual sounds that have not been heard before anymore. so, when i say, making the sounds of the future, i don't mean trying to predict what might happen in the future. rather i mean making things that aren't buried under the weight of the past.

i've also been thinking that the reason for it being largely absent in the last 10 years is that the technology of sound generation hasn't actually progressed in the last 10 years. during the 90s (and, i guess the 80s, but that was before my musical times), new ways of actually creating sounds were being developed really quickly. new forms of synthesis were invented, so whole new actual sound worlds came into existence very very regularly for artists to use that didn't previously exist. which made it very easy for artists to sound like nothing that had come before and, therefore, making their music easily 'futuristic'. but that technology hasn't changed much since then. processing power has definitely increased (exponentially) but not the actual sounds. so artists can't really rely on their technology to make the future anymore. so it has to come from somewhere else.

bec and i have been watching ken burn's 12 part history of jazz documentary over the last few weeks. one of the things that has most struck me is that all of the progression was based on using the same instruments in new ways. and the plotted path of jazz's development is basically just jumping from one innovator of an instrument to another. the technology doesn't change, but you can hear how each progressive style would sound alien to the people immediately before it, even though the instruments are identical. i think that is where some of our keys might lie. i'm actually quite excited at the prospect of mixing some very un-rock and un-electronic instruments (squeezeboxes, ukulele et al) with very electronic rhythms. and i'm also toying with some jazz inspired ideas of rhythmic progression which abandons the rock/electronic mode of a solid, stable rhythmic pulse. that's where my musical head is at. this week, at least.

jjj unearthed

2012-01-06T19:13:00.000+11:00

got an e-mail today to say that we have been added to triple j's unearthed radio station playlist. they've also got us as one of their 3 artist spotlights. i assume that lasts for a week.

http://triplejunearthed.com/#

futures

2012-01-05T15:08:00.000+11:00

so, now that the album is out and we're heading towards the end of the remix eps etc, no doubt all your minds, as mine is, are thinking about what our next album will be. as promised a few days ago in the car on the way home, this is a post to find out what people might think would be a good direction to go for the next major piece of work.

i have literally dozens of half finished songs/pieces of music (for bec's benefit) on my hard drive but, rather than just keep making things as they happen, i thought it might be nice to do something we've never really done which is to plan out a bit of a direction before we start. we may well use lots of things that already exist, but pushing them in a uniform direction would be good, i think.

soooo...what are some ideas people think we might pursue? some key words maybe? artists to look at? could be to do with the sounds, the lyrical themes, anything. should we all pick up new instruments and make a garage rock album? a folk album? an acappella album (raw or processed)? an all electronic instrumental album? something combining some of those?

would love to hear what everyone thinks...

jjj unearthed

2012-01-02T22:19:00.000+11:00

a few nice reviews of heartbeatings for those with heartbeats from jjj announcers on telafonica's jjj unearthed page.

Heartbeatings For Those With Heartbeats
rating: 4/5
What a voice! Really nice percussion and soundscapes too. It's great to hear a band with heaps of ideas - who can still deliver a killer melody.
Dan Buhagiar, triple j

Heartbeatings For Those With Heartbeats
rating: 4/5
Telafonica seems to exist in a different headspace to most other bands. So many different ideas and sounds compacted into a mutant indie-pop song.
Dom Alessio, triple j

would be nice if that translated into some jjj airplay but it hasn't so far!

I Can Hear There's A Peace In The Dark Remixes

2012-01-01T11:19:00.002+11:00

The I Can Hear There's A Peace In The Dark Remixes EP is available for free (or pay what you like) download via Bandcamp.

I Can Hear There's A Peace In The Dark Remixes by telafonica
______________________________
Released January 1, 2012

The Sleeping With The Fishermen Remix project took a break in December, 2011, so that the album itself could be released. I Can See There's A Peace In The Dark sees the remixes flow once again.

First up is Australian legend, Dave McCormack (Custard, The Titanics, The Polaroids) who picks out the quirks of the track, ramps up the joyful, playful bits and presents a blissed out, summer groove. All artists were given free reign for their remixes - told to do whatever they like with the tracks. Canadians, Sally Paradise, go all out and actually cover the track for their version, creating a luxurious dream-pop with grainy synths, lazy guitars and canyons of reverb. Old friend Karoshi continue their run of sublime Telafonica remixes, glitching up, vocoderising and looping some vocal lines in a half-time stutter of moody atmospheres. America's Docile takes the harmony vocal and turns it into the main melody of a completely new chord structure, filled with piano and arppegiating synths to create music that could be soundtrack the emotional crux of an indie film.

If you would like to create your own remix of I Can Hear There's A Peace In The Dark, the original stems can be downloaded for free at tiny.cc/peace-in-the-dark. Download these, create your own remix and send it to contact@4-4-2music.com. We will post all remixes on another Bandcamp page and split any 'pay what you like' earnings 50/50.

Beach Road Hotel, Bondi

2011-12-31T10:36:00.003+11:00

Playing this gig has totally upstaged New Year's Eve for me. The afternoon and evening spent with Telafonicans and making new friends was it's own celebration of the end of 2011.
The room in which we set up was huge and only a small part of the whole complex. Melissa (room manager) and Jimmy (excellent excellent sound guy) were friendly, professional and efficient.
One of our bits of electronic stuff had a hissy fit so we dropped it from the band for the evening. We're flexible like that.
After sound check we had over four hours to explore the glories of Bondi beach so we toddled off down to the esplanade. Dinner on the imported sands of Bondi beach whilst watching camera crews descend on a misguided swimmer caught outside the flags was excellent. The salt spray was wonderful. I edited out all the concrete and the steel railings and watched the sea, the glorious sea! Blake disappeared down a Hobbit hole. Apparently Adrian, Cherry and Jenna were accosted by some unavoidably prominent anatomical architecture that waltzed passed their field of vision. When we had finished our picnic, we discovered that the water was much warmer than the breeze.
With our wet little feet, we walked a small portion of the superfine Grade A sand up off the beach and became one with the migration of pink English tourists on the street. There were so many exhibits to see - the bikinis on the beach, the tattoo parlour, the boutique pubs - walls and walls of glass so that everything and everyone could be on display!
We went back to the Beach Road and took advantage of their coffee machine and their TVs to catch the 20-20 Cricket while we waited for our turn to display. The Beach Road was packed full of fashionably tanned people and, pleasant to discover, some of them had migrated upstairs!
DJ Soup was really great. I think he's about my age because I knew a lot of what he was playing. Even more, I had sentimental connections with much of the repertoire.
It was great to have some friends along as well.
Our actual performance was pure fun. We had some dancers; we had many polite, still bodies with open ears and, apparently, one lady booing! Well, there's a first time for everything!
The sound was excellent. None of us had to go fishing for our voices in a blur of noise. We bounced our way through the set:

The Quest for Love Aboard the Belafonte
The Unravelling Man
Heartbeatings for those with Heartbeats
I Can Hear there's a Peace in the Dark
There's Something About Your Face
Your Hands
Sister Zephyr
Well Well Well (John Lennon)
To Me
The Separation Prepared this for Another Marriage

After we played, it was very lovely to speak to David, a Clan Analogue connection who came with some other electronicas and enjoyed the show. You kind of live for these conversations where some kindred spirit emerges from the darkness on the other side of the lights and says, "I like what you did there!" and compares notes.
The evening finished and the morning began as it always does on a gig night. Telafonica and friends (tonight included Ben and Jenna - thanks guys!) lug our toys to the Spacia and stand in the car park for a last chat and a reluctant goodbye. This time it was a "See you next year" kind of affair.

gotta get down on friday

2011-12-28T10:02:00.000+11:00

on friday, we need to have our setup/soundcheck finished by 6, so we'll probably need to head in fairly early. does everyone want to come in the spacia? our set is from 10:30-11:30 so we need to prepare an hour set (duh!). also means we'll have time to see the sights and have dinner etc.

rehearsal is on thursday - any particular times good for everybody. we're free anytime, so a daytime rehearsal might be good if it's ok with everyone else. or the usual evening. let us know.

entry for the gig is free, so spam lots of people. facebook event info is at https://www.facebook.com/events/293718860669149/

Glory To God In The Lowest

2011-12-27T13:27:00.001+11:00

Glory To God In The Lowest is available for free download. Click here.

Glory To God In The Lowest by 4-4-2 Music

_________________________________
Released December 9, 2011

The 2011 edition of 4-4-2 Music's Christmas cheer is ready for the holiday season. Starting out with St Jambience using the old Reich-ian phasing technique to get you into the mood - Rudolph on repeat in the shopping mall this ain't!!!! From here, Telafonica's various members head off to their own bedrooms and loungerooms to make contributions that range from intimate folk, to expansive pop, doo-wop to Lowrey organ kiddie-funk, moody atmosphere to electronic minimalism.

Download the album for free (or pay something if you like), burn it to disc and print up some artwork to hand out to friends for Christmas. Then go and download the previous 3 editions as well. You'll never need to listen to Mariah Carey again.

1. St. Jambience - Jingle Phase
2. the onestarband - Glory To God In The Lowest
3. The Bells - Mary's Boy Child
4. Eliza Magill - Go Tell It On The Mountain
5. Lessons In Time - O, Come All Ye Faithless
6. Goldberry - The Friendly Beasts
7. StephenFox - In The Bleak Midwinter
8. The Flying Go-Go Girls - Good King Wenceslas

sleeping with the fishermen review on 4zzz

2011-12-24T22:57:00.000+11:00

i found this on the web today - the first review of the album that i'm aware of. i'm always surprised when people call our music eclectic, because it all feels like it's come from the same place to me! but this review seems to pinpoint everything very (scarily) accurately! they've clearly listened well and got it. :)

http://www.4zzzfm.org.au/reviews/albums/telafonica-sleeping-fishermen

"Telefonica's roiling, boiling little collective of talent: audio, visiual and otherwise (I hear they make a mean paella) leads to quite unexpected things when a new album proper rolls out the door of their little workshop, or you're otherwise blindsided by a stray INXS cover or Christmas album. Indeed, what was once a duo, many years ago, has expanded to such voluminous, even global proportions that their latest release is less of an album and more of a small multimedia library. Don't believe me? The 7 tracks and 49 minutes of music is accompanied by 7 freely downloadable remix EPs, 7 art films and a collection of fan mixes, the sources of which can still be downloaded freely from the band's website. Jebus! What are you waiting for? Join the collective. For those of you who want to know what you're going to become apart of, I can at least give you an idea of what this album is about. Up till now the group have been engaged in a variety of electronic noodlings that, over the course of several albums have been becoming increasingly supplemented with percussive and live elements that have taken what started as 'tronic experimentation and subtly but surely rolled ever further into those territorries inhabited by bands. You've got to go through several minutes of warm, bass drone, an enigmatic shuddering of tribal drums and maracas and a seductive, slightly processed female vocal assuring us that 'my heart is your viceroy' over the album's fifteen opening minutes, which is quite pleasant, really but not at all indicative of the pop warmth that is about to leap out and embrace you on the blink-and-you-miss-it The Unravelling Man. With it's punchy rhythm, fuzzy synth and cute girl, stacatto vocal fronting I thought I was listening to Deerhoof, and that is rarely a bad thing, especially in small doses. That's all you get too, because although Heartbeatings For Those With Heartbeats is still definitely in the realm of art-pop, it's a much more of a lyrical and fully-voiced song. Urrg, everbody says Bjork when they hear something like this, but listen to those very mannered vocal inflections and I think you'll find the comparison is good in this case. Then it's an 8 minute epic of electronic rock in the longing, driving duet I Can Hear There's A Peace In The Dark. The variety continues with the deceptively energetic whirl of dance beats that accompanies the world-weary repetition of the line "Can We Leave It At That?" on There's Something About Your Face. It's difficult to pick a single for Sleeping With Fishermen - it'd be The Unravelling Man, but at 1:19 it's a little short. The return of the fuzzy synth and the pop euphoria of To Me has to run a close second. Then it's off to an epic, dancey finish on The Tail End of Winter, which juxtaposes a pumping house beat with a cold, obscured male vocal and an occasional saxaphone hidden in the ethereal production - the end result of this combination of elements being something at the dancier end of kraut-rock. I hope this wide-ranging collective are having fun, because it sure sounds like they are. For an experimental, electronic bunch of folks they are suprisingly in touch with their pop roots and in a way that leverages both their pop and their experimentality. I've just got to imagine this is going to be a lot of fun for anyone involved."

- Submitted by Chris on Thu, Dec 15, 2011 - 10:58am

hinterlandt - through the motions

2011-12-07T22:50:00.002+11:00

Free download remix album from Hinterlandt. Available from Bandcamp.

Hinterlandt Presents: Through The Motions by Feralmedia

Jochen Gutsch, often known as Hinterlandt, asked a while back if we'd like to do a remix for a project he had underway. The idea was that he'd give us a few short samples and we'd make a track out of it. The samples all came from a track called 'Motion' though nobody other than Jochen had heard it or knew how it sounded. All artists were given the same set of samples. The Telafonica remix went into krautrock territory, with an 303 line thrown in for good measure. The drum sounds all came straight from Blake's trusty Yamaha PSR-150 keyboard. Then some of the synth samples were plastered with liberal distortion. And so they went kosmiche.

the bendy bus goes to ryde

2011-12-06T23:44:00.000+11:00

well, the spacia doesn't actually bend, but i always liked the alliteration of 'bendy bus' so i thought i'd put that in the title. our set-up time on friday evening is 5:30 and our sound check is at 6. so the spacia will probably leave our place at about 4:45ish, i would imagine. if anyone needs a lift, be here then. ellie - i told joe you probably won't be there for set up, but maybe for soundcheck. however, it' not a huge problem if you can't do any. what times are you likely to be able to do (the gate being at ryde)?

Sleeping With The Fishermen

2011-12-01T23:02:00.001+11:00

purchase 'SLEEPING WITH THE FISHERMEN' by clicking the link in the Bandcamp player below.

Sleeping With The Fishermen by telafonica

_______________________
released december 1, 2011

Telafonica's 'Sleeping With The Fishermen' is a sprawling project with this album as its centrepiece. Over 7 tracks and 49 minutes, the Sydney based 5-piece continues their electronic and acoustic explorations, meshing traditional songs with wide-screen production, improvisation and experimentalism. The tracks draw inspiration from the overground, underground and all points in between, from Sufjan Stevens to Animal Collective, Feist to LCD Soundsystem, My Cat Is An Alien to Tamaru. Thrown into the Telafonica blender, those sounds emerge at the other end as abstract pop. They range from the 15 minute album bookends, 'Viceroy' and 'The Tail End Of Winter' which explore building atmospheres and groove based soundscapes, to 'The Unravelling Man's 90 second blast of electro squawl; the massed harmonies of 'I Can Hear There's A Piece In The Dark' and 'There's Something About Your Face'; and 'Heartbeatings For Those With Heartbeats' and 'To Me' with their mixes of noise, melody and groove.

The 'Sleeping With The Fishermen' project also includes 7 individual, free-download, commissioned remix EPs (so far, these have included mixes by Jonathan Boulet, Sounds Like Sunset, Sleepyhands, Actual Russian Brides, Dave McCormack (Custard) and St Jambience amongst many others, with more to come), 7 art films and a free download collection of fan mixes, created via the original stems which are being made public for anyone to download and manipulate. Released monthly, these have been finding their way into the world since September 2011 and will continue into 2012. Keep updated via the band's website.

'Sleeping With The Fishermen' is released internationally by 4-4-2 Music and is now available via Telafonica's Bandcamp page. There are 3 formats – a regular CD version housed in a custom made Agarto pack from Stumptown Printers with artwork, including fold out, hand screen printed poster, designed by Telafonica founder, the now London-based designer David Hughes; a deluxe Box Set Limited Edition which includes the album, all the remixes, all the films, extra outtakes and B-sides and custom hand crafted artwork; and digital download. Bandcamp links can be found on the 4-4-2 Music website, or at telafonica.bandcamp.com, with digital downloads from Bandcamp or any internationally recognised download site including iTunes, Amazon, etc etc.

________________________

1. viceroy
2. the unravelling man
3. heartbeatings for those with heartbeats
4. i can hear there's a peace in the dark
5. there's something about your face
6. to me
7. the tail end of winter

need you tonight

2011-11-30T21:21:00.005+11:00

Video clip for Telafonica's cover version of the INXS song, 'Need You Tonight'.

Track originally released for Everything Is Chemical's virtual 7" series - http://eicvirtual7inch.bandcamp.com/album/everythingischemical-virtual-7-no-5-telafonica

Glitch footage by Stephen Fox - http://www.thisisnotmybrain.blogspot.com/

INXS original video by Richard Lowenstein

saturday night organisation + january gig

2011-11-24T17:48:00.000+11:00

for saturday evening, we need to work out our clothes. the second set will most likely involve more projections directly on us, so we need to have predominantly white for that (yes, blake, black slacks are fine). but what shall we do for the earlier set? pick a dominant colour?

the visuals guy will be to the side of the stage area, where people can see him. he basically creates abstract imagery by feeding sound into his machines and turning it into colours, shapes etc. he also does the opposite, turning imagery into sound so, for the second set, his audio will be mixed in with ours, while the cameras filming us will also be fed into his machines. so there may be times in that middle section where we can even let him take over. again, his sounds are basically abstract noise. feel free to use any of the little acoustic things (percussion, bells etc) to make any noises at all you like, and also feel free to interact with tanya as she dances - playing along to her as she plays along to us etc etc.

lastly, lindsay and elle of actual russian brides are in the middle of a thursday night residency called thursday switch at a venue in darlinghurst. we can choose any thursday night to play during january. let me know if there are any anyone can't do and i'll use that to deduce which one to ask for. bec - did you want to try for one while esther and alex are around?

everything popular is wrong

2011-11-18T16:23:00.000+11:00

i've read this article before, but andy rantzen posted a link to it on facebook today and i read it again. i think it's a really great article about the state of music, for folk like us, at this point in history. it focuses on electronic music, but i think it's exactly the same in every genre. click on the photo and it will take you to the article.

telafonichristmas party mach II

2011-11-17T22:25:00.003+11:00

Alrighty then. Due To Ellie and Ben's social life :) we are moving our paella/gingerbread/carols-'round-the-keys to Thursday December 15. Blake, Ellie, Ben, Cherry, Sam, Jos, Steve, Emma, Celli and Dave - you are all invited! Hope we can see at least all the down unders to laugh and to feast!

TelafoniChristmas Party Yippee Woohoo!

2011-11-17T16:16:00.004+11:00

Hey there all you hep Telafonicats! Haven't we all changed and grown since last year's festive celebrations! It's about time to convene once more for the annual Paella consumption, Gingerbread house destruction, and the all-in carolfest around the ol' piano. There will be some new faces I think and some old ones will be absent but all Telafonihearts will come home to the little blue house for Christmas. The only question is will it be Saturday December 3 or Saturday December 10? What do you all think?

set list suggestions

2011-11-01T13:36:00.000+11:00

some starting suggestions for our set on friday. being a clan analogue thing, i've tended toward the electronic end of our spectrum. we also need tracks that can be done as a 3-piece. blake and bec, any more suggestions?

sister zephyr
even paper has a memory (the newish thing i showed you both last night)
the tail end of winter
i can hear there's a peace in the dark (not sure how this would go without ellie - can you sing ellie's bits, bec?)
blending the edges

bandwidth 2011

2011-10-31T20:37:00.000+11:00

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125015694271432

adjustments and updates

2011-10-24T20:35:00.000+11:00

i've been gradually trying to streamline the website and could do with some advice. i've always liked websites that are kind of sprawling and invite you to kind of explore your way around and stumble upon new things each time you visit etc etc. so the website as it is at the moment has lots of things all over. my queries are - does the fact that some things are repeated over (i.e. you can look at album releases via the tab at the top, or the pictures of covers down the side etc etc) actually seem a little pointless. i'm kind of torn, i like having them, but can understand there might be a difference between sprawling and confusing. should they all be streamlined down? or do people like the mess? i know my way around, because i've mostly built it. can everyone else who hasn't built it find their way around?

i've kind of gone out on a limb with the new album release. if you head over to our bandcamp page, you'll see the album is available for pre-order. i've included an option for a limited edition version which will come out once the whole project is over, in about april 2012. we'll see how it goes. anyway, plug the presales to anyone you think might be interested - facebook etc. i'm interested to see how it all goes using that rather than making it available and then have the sales trickle in. the address is http://telafonica.bandcamp.com/album/sleeping-with-the-fishermen

lastly, is anyone interested in doing november's counterfeit? it's on the 18th and the theme is 'girls and boys' - any songs with 'girl', 'girls', 'boy' or 'boys' in the story. let me know asap so i can register or not.

Glory to God in the Lowest Christmas CD

2011-10-09T12:43:00.003+11:00

Hey Telafonicans!
It's that lovely time of year again when Telafonica goes out to the manger and transmits their joy through microphones, effects pedals and speakers. We're hoping to have our little discs of Christmas cheer ready for the November 26 gig at Blacktown Arts Centre so we need to aim to finish our songs by November 12th.
This year's title is "Glory to God in the Lowest" so hope that gets your heart and mind thinking. And the cover art is pretty much done as you can see. Have fun!
P.S. Keep your eyes peeled for the Blue House TelafoniChristmas Party - Cherry, tell us when you are around!

info needed for upcoming gigs

2011-10-09T00:35:00.000+11:00

ok, so we have a bunch of gigs coming up that we need to get sorted as soon as possible.

1. counterfeit is on in 2 weeks' time (friday october 21). let me know who's in and who's not.

2. we have a gig at red rattler on friday, november 4. it's a regular, 40 minute telafonica set, as part of clan analogue's bandwidth. i'm not sure what time we're on yet, but i think it might be earlier in the piece (maybe 8:30/9ish). who's ok or not for that one?

3. most importantly, we have a large show getting prepared for blacktown arts centre on saturday, november 26. we'll be playing 2 45 minute sets. one will be us playing and the other will involve tanya voges and her dancing in some form. both sets will also involve multiple screen video stuff and maybe some painters etc, which is being organised by kiri at the arts centre. i'm thinking it might be nice to do one of the sets as us playing through the new album in its entirety. then the other would be the one with tanya, which would be a bit more abstract/improvised. i've been thinking it would be wonderful to really explore the improvisation side - maybe choose 2 or 3 tracks that we can stretch out with.

we need to organise some rehearsal as soon as possible - firstly so we can be properly ready for it, but also because tanya needs to meet with us, hear some stuff and start working out some ideas - so we can't leave this one until the last couple of weeks! so - when can everyone rehearse - the sooner we get started, the better. i'm free pretty much any evening.

The Unravelling Man

2011-10-07T00:36:00.001+11:00

THE UNRAVELLING MAN

Sleeping With The Fishermen - Part II

Music by Telafonica (vimeo.com/telafonica).

Film created by Adrian Elmer for Boom Blip Blip (www.boomblipblip.com)

Camera by Josiah Eastwood (vimeo.com/nuclearfilms)

Performance by Rosita Butterfield

telafonica.bandcamp.com/album/the-unravelling-man-remixes

The Unravelling Man Remixes

2011-10-01T17:52:00.001+10:00

The Unravelling Man Remixes by telafonica

The Unravelling Man Remixes EP is available for free (or pay what you like) download via Bandcamp.
_______________________________________________
Released October 1, 2011

The second of the monthly installments of remix EPs for the 'Sleeping With The Fishermen' album. St Jambience gets glitchy and jumpy with his abstract deconstruction. Sounds Like Sunset get their heavy groove on over a buzzing electro bassline while Actual Russian Brides pull into bleepy, buzzy synthetic territory.

The master stems have also been released to the public for anyone to create their own fan mix. All fan mixes will be published online via Bandcamp. Head to tiny.cc/unravelling-man for the files. Send your remixes as aiff or wav files to contact@4-4-2music.com via wetranser.com, yousendit.com or any such large file transfer system. We shall master them for you before publishing the remixes.

tjuma fm interview

2011-09-20T21:22:00.001+10:00

i'm pretty excited - on friday, i'm going to have a phone interview with the producer, libby carmody, at tjuma 96.3fm in kalgoorlie. they've been playing telafonica over the last few months (and have recently taken up some lessons in time as well) and were keen to get an interview. if anyone has friends in the kalgoorlie are they'd like me to give a shout out to, just let me know!

http://www.tjuma963fm.com.au/Home.php

on a completely different topic, the next counterfeit is for songs about love and/or hate. any takers?

viceroy on lost at e minor

2011-09-08T11:32:00.000+10:00

this should increase the number of hits for the viceroy video!

http://www.lostateminor.com/2011/09/08/telafonica/

Viceroy Film

2011-09-04T18:31:00.000+10:00

VICEROY
Sleeping With The Fishermen - Part I

Music by Telafonica (vimeo.com/telafonica).
Film created by Samantha Lee (vimeo.com/user4981014).

telafonica.bandcamp.com/album/viceroy-remixes

Viceroy Remixes

2011-09-02T19:55:00.000+10:00

Viceroy Remixes by telafonica

Viceroy Remixes EP is available for free (or pay what you like) download via Bandcamp.
_______________________________________________
Released September 1, 2011

The first of the monthly installments of remix EPs for the 'Sleeping With The Fishermen' album. Option Command goes all wonky and compressed for his woozy remake. StephenFox grabs the melancholy and sets it wrestling against flecks of noise and hiss. Scissor Lock ditches the song altogether and strings out its inherent buzz into a longform spectral drone.

The master stems have also been released to the public for anyone to create their own fan mix. All fan mixes will be published online via Bandcamp. Head to tiny.cc/telafonica-viceroy for the files. Send your remixes as aiff or wav files to contact@4-4-2music.com via wetranser.com, yousendit.com or any such large file transfer system. We shall master them for you before publishing the remixes.

Imojjen's Review of Mars Hill Cafe, August 26, 2011

2011-08-28T16:12:00.003+10:00

on friday night I went to see st jambience and telafonica at mars hill café. first we drove there. me and aeowy sat in the back with blake and we were all complete nutters (especially blake). when we got to the café, we all had to help unpack the car. i thought that was fun. we had to wait a while before the music started. we had paper and textas to share with all the kids that came and quite a few came. when st. jambience started, every thing quietened down. the music was great. i think it's incredible what people can do with electronics. that went for a while and then it was telafonica's turn. Before they started, heaps of the teachers from my school came to watch mum and dad because they are teachers too. i think telafonica is great because they use very unusual instruments or very strange things as instruments. like a type writer. There was a great moment, when it was an instrumental bit in a song, when ellie was dancing around with the tambourine, dad was on the drum and mum and blake were playing. My favourite songs that they played are unravelling man and sister zephyr. they sounded great really loud. when they finished, everybody was chattting while me, aeowy and telafonica packed up. i was very tired because it was getting late. Then we went home. I had a great time and I thought it was really fun!:)

one hit wonders.

2011-08-27T09:06:00.000+10:00

so the next gig will be the counterfeit one hit wonders. i'm about to start arranging all the music - does anyone have any specific ideas they'd like for the music and how we play the songs for me to incorporate into the arrangements? we're doing lovefool, brimful of asha, 99 luft balons and electric dreams.

Underlapper - Those Six Skeletons

2011-08-19T16:40:00.000+10:00

Free download EP from Underlapper, the second from their most excellent Softly Harboured album. Available from Bandcamp.

Those Six Skeletons by Underlapper

The Telafonica remix was mostly inspired by Actress, whose album from 2010, 'Splazsh', was one of the best electronic things of recent time (in my humble opinion!). In the end, the compressor wasn't pumped up quite as much as Actress would do it but, still, it makes its appearance as a creative effect for the first time in a Telafonica production.

deepgoa mix

2011-08-17T16:28:00.000+10:00

i came across this dj mix today which features 'sounding it out', the old telafonica track. quite a nice laid back mix altogether.

[dgmc01] electronic planet by Deepgoa on Mixcloud

electric dreams

2011-08-13T20:59:00.000+10:00

this is the 4th song bec and i ended up picking for the one-hit wonders counterfeit on september 16. we decided to go for something a bit cheesy rather than something that's already cool (it was produced by georgio moroder and phil oakey had recently left the human league, so it's got a fairly good pedigree). the other three tracks we're doing are 'brimful of asha' by corenershop, 'lovefool' by the cardigans and '99 luft balons' (in german!) by nena.

mars hill café

2011-08-11T16:22:00.000+10:00

counterfeit ideas

2011-07-31T22:06:00.001+10:00

counterfeit

2011-07-30T12:44:00.001+10:00

the next counterfeit is on september 16 and is devoted to one hit wonders. any takers?

echo series

2011-07-29T12:30:00.001+10:00

tanya voges

2011-07-27T21:34:00.001+10:00

last week, a choreographer named tanya voges contacted me about telafonica doing some collaboration with her. she was put onto us via kiri morecombe at blacktown arts centre, who is organising the show there on november 26, as a possibility of doing something with dance for our performance. so i've had a few brief facebook discussions with tanya since then.

today, tanya asked if we might be interested in doing something musical as part of some performances she is doing at newtown theatre as part of a festival there in november. her performances will be over the weekend of november 18-20. i have to say, i would absolutely love to do something for it - playing in art venues to an audience expecting challenge would be wonderful. and we could then double up whatever we do there at blacktown arts centre as well, so it wouldn't theoretically involve more work to prepare than we would have been doing anyway.

anyway, tanya's website is here - http://tanyavoges.wordpress.com/gallery/ and here's a recent clip (she's currently at bundanon (the house in the southern highlands that boyd family owned that has now become an artist retreat) of some of her work.

rehearsal / learning

2011-07-24T19:44:00.000+10:00

when shall we rehearse for next friday's gig? do we want to learn another new song before having a set rehearsal (heartbeatings for those with heartbeats)? that would involve 2 more gatherings, though we do have (almost) 2 weeks to fit them in.

i'm free mondays and thursdays, plus this wednesday and this friday. weekends are an option, too, if we can't find a weeknight.

hermann's bar - 5.8.11

2011-07-23T21:49:00.000+10:00

go to facebook event page here

sonichimæra

2011-07-17T16:23:00.001+10:00

a friend you may remember, lachlan (he runs the improv thing i play with sometimes and we've played a few things he's asked us to play at, including our fist deja gig) has asked if we would like to play at an event he's organising called sonichimæra. it will most likely be on saturday, september 3. everyone keen?

i also got marcus whale's scissor lock remix of viceroy last night - i'll e-mail it to everyone. it's very different to the option command one (which is good) and very much in the vein of scissor lock's music (which is also good!). hopefully the first remix e.p. of viceroy remixes might come out by the end of the week.

credits and lyrics

2011-07-03T18:52:00.000+10:00

i think i may have finished the mixing for sleeping with the fishermen. i'll get copies out so that people can make any final observations for adjustments they'd like made. in the meantime, we also need to round up all the lyrics and any credits people would like included. sooo.....

can i get all the lyric writers to post the lyrics for their songs exactly as they should be written, so that i don't make any mistakes with them. and also, if there is any information that people would like included, post that as well. i know that, on the last album, we credited all the guest musicians, designer, printer etc etc, but forgot to include any reference to the names of the band members! so oversights like that would be more easily avoided if everyone thinks.

hermann's

2011-06-30T20:07:00.000+10:00

steve coull, he who worked on the sound for us when we played at the opening of that arts festival at sydney uni a couple of years back, is booking hermann's bar at sydney uni at the moment and asked us if we'd be up for a gig there on friday, august 5. do we have enough available members? ellie - i notice it's one of the weekends that twisted tree's romeo & juliet is happening - just make sure the 5th isn't the date you were planning on seeing that before saying 'yes'!! (p.s. bec and i are planning on seeing one of the performances, maybe we'll see you there.)

saints and hills

2011-06-21T17:54:00.001+10:00

is friday, august 26 an ok date for everybody to play at mars hill café? matt/st jambience has organised another gig.

viceroy

2011-06-15T21:46:00.001+10:00

sam and jos went out filming this morning.

i heart gallery

2011-06-15T17:10:00.001+10:00

emma, who organises deja, also helps run a great shop/gallery on king st (she's got our music in there) called i heart gallery. they've put a call out for people to be part of an outside market thing on the first sunday of next month. i thought it might be nice to do some more acoustic stuff. would anyone be interested in doing it? i don't have any more details than that at the moment, but will find out.

deja

2011-06-13T14:49:00.000+10:00

Telafonica and Karoshi at Deja from Telafonica on Vimeo.

Our set and some of Karoshi's set at Deja in Marrickville on 4th June. Thanks to Julian for filming us while we played!

practise to play

2011-05-26T21:18:00.000+10:00

so we have a gig at deja next saturday night. when is the best time for everyone to rehearse? i can do any night except tuesday. bec can't do wednesday and would prefer monday. everyone else?

also, seeing as it's cherry's last gig for a little while, i figured she could start the ball rolling on a set list. basically, each band has an hour slot, during which time they need to set up and allow time for the next band to setup. so i'd guess we'd probably get a 40-45 minute set in. so, cherry...

we all shine on

2011-05-21T21:47:00.000+10:00

just because i loved it at the gig last night, here's the original of instant karma. the story behind this is that john wrote and recorded it over a weekend, including making the film clip, then had it sent off to be mastered and pressed and the 7" single was in the shops by the next weekend. this was, of course, john lennon at the end of the 60s - a guaranteed money earner - so the label would jump through any hoops for catchy new product. impressively, it has stood the test of time very well.

counterfeit - post-beatles

2011-05-10T21:32:00.001+10:00

rum and coca-cola

2011-05-10T21:31:00.000+10:00

this comes to my attention courtesy of my tasmanian friend fred showell (better known as one charles du cane). i couldn't resist posting it here. it's an entire website dedicated to the story of the song about telafonica's new favourite drink (that none of actually drink)...

the rum and coca-cola reader

some promo pictures

2011-05-05T23:26:00.001+10:00

i put a new promo photo up today (the full res version is down the right column). i've been working on a few different ideas over the last few weeks. i have planned to screen print these faces onto the actual collages i made, but i needed to get a promo photo together quickly for someone (i'll tell you all that story later) so i ended up photoshopping it onto scans of the collages (i also plan to do a whole set of the ones like the orange one of myself that you might have seen currently on our loungeroom wall, using these same images). anyway, here it is, let me know if there's anything you particularly don't like, i can always edit...

i also uploaded a thing i put together last year using some of miles' photos, but never ended up using it. thought i might as well stick it online, though, since the photos are quite great.

sydney spawn

2011-05-04T20:41:00.000+10:00

counterfeit

2011-05-02T19:56:00.000+10:00

leyne, who organised the ween keen night, has been running a similar (though slightly smaller scale) version for the last couple of years called counterfeit, which has a different band/theme each time. the next one is on friday, may 20. it's a post-beatles one - beatles solo, wings, plastic ono band, travelling wilburys etc etc. would anyone be interested in doing something? i would.

crackling black

2011-05-01T15:06:00.001+10:00

over the last few weeks i've (as has bec) become a bit obsessive with our collection of vinyl records, actively putting them into action again. i've never stopped buying vinyl records, but i've never been a huge purchaser of them (compared to my intake of cds) but i've been developing a renewed soft spot for them recently. anyway, i had an idea to blend some newer 12" releases i've bought with some really old records and some in between ones, so this mix has grown out of that idea. all of the tracks are taken from vinyl versions in our collection, a fair portion of which have never been released on cd or digitally. some are tracks released and bought this year, some are from the 70s and bought this year, others are somewhere in between and purchased somewhere in between. there's a copy of kraftwerk's radioactivity which dave bought me when his family spent a year living in france, some classic late 80s/early 90s dance tracks, though i've headed for the more obscure remix versions, through to brand new releases from my new favourite label, 100% silk. and, as a feature bonus, the very first track you hear is actually from an early 80s christian aerobics record - courtesy of bec's mysterious past and possibly the strangest thing we have in our collection. of course it fits in perfectly here.

1. intro - michael & stormie omartian
2. say no go (new keys instrumental) - de la soul
3. the trip - s'express
4. queens - ital
5. invasion of the estate agents - beats international
6. come together (the hypnotone brain machine mix) - primal scream
7. blessed - wet hair
8. radioactivity - kraftwerk
9. towel - cuticle
10. disko bliss - maria minerva
11. i feel love - donna summer
12. power of love (turn up the radio mix) - deee-lite

51:06 minutes / 192kbps mp3 / 94.4mb (download here)

arhive.org release page

fbi social

2011-04-29T12:04:00.002+10:00

i just got an e-mail from justin zeltzer from fbi (blake and i were on his monday night show about a year ago) and he's asked us if we'd like to headline at fbi social on thursday, may 12 (http://www.fbiradio.com/events/parentdetail/fbi-social). i said a tentative 'yes' and told him i'd confirm this afternoon. can everyone let me know their availability/desire?

20th april, 2011

2011-04-21T20:14:00.003+10:00

it's been a few months since we posted our 20th tracks on the blog (which reminds me, there's a small backlog of them which i'll gradually post up). being a school holiday, bec and i had a little more time than normal to work on things, so there's two tracks. the first is one i did inspired by a book i'm reading at the moment called 'haunted weather' by david toop. it's about sound as music and music and sound as memory and lots of interesting offshoots of those kinds of things. this track is called 'fourthirtythree in a suburban backyard'. it's a decumulation of recordings of nothing, inpired by john cage, made by sticking two microphones just outside the studio door. of course, 'nothing' is very relative. the piece starts out with 9 recordings of 'nothing', working down to one recording of 'nothing'.

second up is the more regular song thing. musically, i've been listening to animal collective lots over the past few days, which is the most obvious inspiration. the drums are a sample ripped from a track called 'down' by p major from a great sydney free download compilation i got recently called 'free the beats vol 3'. very worth downloading (featuring our friend m.o.r.). i made a very skeletal piece of music with just the straight drum loop, the chopped up electric guitars and a bit of glockenspiel. bec wrote the lyrics. for one of the first times ever, ellie contributed as she was over for dinner, so she made up the melody to sing the words over the music. you'll have to ask bec and ellie where their inspirations came from.

here are the lyrics...

to me

go, go
get up on your feet
you stayed too long
you've been asleep
put on your shoes
and open the door
get into the seat
put your foot to the floor

you've been sleeping in dust
you've got dirt in your brain
if you don't get out now
you'll be sleeping again

get out of this suburb
it's making you cold
get out of this city
before it takes hold
lift your thoughts from a whisper
get your heart up to speed
set your face to the headlights
you know there's nothing you need

so go!
push out into the road
travel on 'til the outside
go on out into the known

that other band

2011-04-17T23:40:00.000+10:00

a couple more videos from lessons in time's set at the gate late last year, this time in full electric band mode...

there's also a few videos up online that tim englebrecht recorded at the recent dodgefest. but the sound mix is not very good and the only thing you can see is the top of tim's head and the drumkit. but you can see them if you go to tim's youtube channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/timothyengelbrecht.

voicelive touch

2011-04-06T15:59:00.000+10:00

the next time i have a spare couple of thousand dollars, i will be buying one of these each for everyone. until then, maybe we could save up and buy one at a time. they're exactly what i've been looking for for a few years now - they were released late last year. don't worry so much about the autotune function, but all the other bits are perfect - reverbs, delays, flangers/choruses, overdrives, filtering, de-essing, compressing, looping etc etc etc.

here's the website... the video is very informative.

and here's a video from everyone's favourite stylophonist giving a very quick rundown...

expanding on the idea

2011-04-04T14:08:00.000+10:00

i've been thinking a little more about the album/remixes/film clips ideas. i've also been watching the movie embedded below with my year 10 photography and digital media class - we're studying appropriation at the moment. it's very well worth watching (i'd even demand that everyone watch it, but you all know i'm not really a tyrannical dictator).

in line with bunches of those ideas, i was wondering what everyone might think of releasing the master stems of each track along with each of the remix eps, so that anybody can make their own remix and then upload it? or, a step further again, release the master stems the month before and include one or two of the other people's remixes in the upcoming ep?

kill the page

2011-04-01T16:43:00.000+11:00

got a message on our facebook page from a guy in melbourne today who has included 'need you tonight' in a downloadable mixtape he's posted on his blog - kill the page. click on the picture...

deja

2011-03-30T00:06:00.002+11:00

we've been invited back to play at deja on may 7. who's in?

remixers

2011-03-25T21:20:00.000+11:00

so i thought i'd start a list of remixers we'd like to have redoing our music if we go ahead with this remix/video project. this is all in an ideal world stuff, of course - whether these people say yes or not is a different story. some are very wishful thinking. but hopefully, most might. don't know which songs might best go with each, but if you have any thoughts...

so, here goes......

lessons in time
karoshi
loopsnake
st jambience
stephenfox
actual russian brides
collarbones/scissor lock
underlapper
seekae
jono boulét/parades
lipstick
ghoul
cloud control
thunderclapper
alps/scalps
charles du cane
lunar module

that's my start for now. please add suggestions. especially maybe some international types. even if they're people we don't know, we can always ask.

live review

2011-03-19T21:51:00.001+11:00

a nice review of last week's show on the spit press blog - click on the nice logo -

film / album idea

2011-03-19T14:33:00.000+11:00

i was talking with sam last night. her and jos are still keen to do the film for the album, even though we didn't get the grant money. however, time restraints may be an issue, as they wouldn't be able to afford the same amount of time to the project as they would had we had money for them to do so. sam suggested that they maybe get one done in time for a june/july release, then work on more over time. which led me to thinking....

i suggested to her that maybe we could aim for one film to go out a month before releasing the album, then one a month from there, until all 7 or 8 (depending on how many tracks end up on the album) are completed. we could use that to keep some sort of interest in the album around for a longer period of time than normal, as we could make a big promotional deal every month until they're all done. it also gives sam and jos more time to get things done.

and just this afternoon, i had another idea that could tie in with it. what if we got a whole bunch of people to remix different tracks off the album, like 30 different artists or something, then, each month, as the film for a track is released, we can put it out as part of a free download single that comes with the film and 3 or 4 remixes of the track. the original versions would remain solely the domain of the album release, so they wouldn't take away from that, but we'd also end up with a whole array of different takes on the tracks from the album, which we can use to keep radio interested and things like that. (of course, all this would also be perfect for the 20th anniversary box set to be released in 2031 complete with a remastered version of the original album, all the remixes, and the film, in a bespoke, handmade box.)

any thoughts?

Karoshi Album Launch

2011-03-14T19:26:00.004+11:00

As a response to Adrian's repeated hinting (who says men don't nag?) I am writing this here review of our splendiforous Saturday night soiree.

I think it would be universally agreed that we had a delightful time sharing music around the fairy lights at Tone.

Some highlights of the evening were as follows:

Ellie, Cherry and I wore our matching purple paisley dresses and $4 gold swan earrings and impressed Jack Colwell. (Yes!)

The music was all good.

Jack Colwell and the Owls were wonderful - especially loved the flute and the recorder. We were greatly inspired by the very very rock 'n roll tambourine playing. Lovely people!

Scissor Lock vs Cleptoclectics were great - they sat facing each other and battled it out with dramatic soundscapes. Also very lovely people.

Andrew Maxam's DJ-ing was just what you would expect from him - catchy, irresistable with just the right amount of darkness and light... and ukulele! I particularly liked his own track "Loose Swamp Riddim". This is a must-hear-before-you-go-deaf kind of experience.

Telafonica? We had a ball! Even though our performance involved straining into the foldback abyss to hear our own individual contributions, we were all nice and cosy on stage and playing together. We may not value perfection but we do cherish togetherness and it was a whole big mess of fun! We whipped out a newbie - Blake's song "There's Something About Your Face" which is very Blake delicious, of course, so very exciting to perform. I also really enjoyed Sister Zephyr. I get to play AJE's BeepIt which is a handheld theremin. I like playing instruments that ask very little of you and give so much in return.
People seemed to enjoy it which is a big encouragement. I think the best compliment came from one of the bar tenders who was clearing a table near to Ellie and I afterwards. She said she really enjoyed hearing something different. Usually the people who run these places are fairly detached so it was very humbling to have one of them notice and respond to what we do.

Karoshi were, as always, sparklingly beautiful. Whenever I listen to them I am overwhelmed by joy. And that marimba! The skill with which Yvonne (? sorry, is that correct?) played that thing was astounding. It was fantastic.

And Tone is a really, really nice venue. For musicians, it is easy to load in, has a great space "backstage" and the people who run it treat you like you're human (very generous with drink tickets too). For everyone, the room is lovely and nooksy, the bar an almost central part of the space and not a little barricade to the side. And the toilets were clean! Most most important when your band has a girl to boy ratio of 3 to 2.

A night of bliss.

some inspiration for you

2011-03-10T22:34:00.005+11:00

I couldn't resist sharing some giggles.
This is how all good music should be listened to..

grants and other things

2011-03-07T22:23:00.000+11:00

we didn't get the ozco grant to make the film for the next album. not exactly sure where that might leave things, we'll have to talk it over with sam and josiah and maybe go for something a little more lo-key. more soon.

a few days ago i asked miles if we could hire him in an official capacity to take some proper band photos. he was very keen, though hesitant at his skills (!) as he said he hasn't taken staged band photos before, only live ones. anyway, we'll do it in a few months, when the album might be getting closer to release, so we have a little while to think of any ideas. so if anyone has any ideas for band photos that don't involve any regular band photo clichés, especially ones that are trendy at the moment, that would be good. air them here and we can discuss them.

The Go! Team - Buy Nothing Day

2011-03-02T19:02:00.000+11:00

hump day video.

set list

2011-02-25T23:30:00.000+11:00

any requests for the set on march 12 so i can get the computer organised before rehearsal? it's basically up to us how long we play, so i reckon 40-45mins would be good. let me know what tracks you're all burning to play and i shall get them ready.

indiegogo

2011-02-23T18:47:00.000+11:00

what do people think of this concept? http://www.indiegogo.com/. the basic idea is that you register and tell people about your thing and they pledge the money. but what might work, which lots of the projects do, is that rather than people just giving money, you can actually set it up so that they receive a product for their money. so it would work like a presale idea. so, for example, you can ask people to give $10 each and, once the project is complete, they receive a copy of the cd you're making, or whatever it is. i was thinking it might be a good way to get some funds for the dvd/album thing that sam and josiah are working on, in case the ozco grant doesn't get granted to us. or, even if it does, it could be a way to increase the funds available.

any thoughts?

blogs and rehearsals

2011-02-17T21:03:00.001+11:00

a little bit of loving over at this rather great blog (who also bother to make their own, nicely enigmatic images for each of their posts) called east to west. check it out here.

on a different note - the karoshi launch gig is in 4 weeks and we're playing a 40/45 minute set. all 5 of us haven't been in the same room to make music since november, so it might be a good idea to get a couple of practices in. are we going to do anything new - there's something about your face? when is it good for everyone to practise? what nights of the week?

I Can Hear There's A Peace In The Dark

2011-02-16T16:58:00.003+11:00

I Can Hear There's A Peace In The Dark is available for free download. Click here.
__________________________________
Released February 14, 2011

The EverythingIsChemical Virtual 7” train really gets moving with the second for the year and the 5th overall. Hot on the heels of RxGibbs' 3 tracks of ambient dream pop comes all new music from Australia's Telafonica.

The A-side is an all new original track - 'I Can Hear There's A Piece In The Dark'. Low-key, shoe-gaze verses make way for the joyous outbreak of soaring 5-part harmonies in the choruses (the first recording featuring all 5 of the band's current live line-up). Evoking feelings of waking at 3am amidst the tranquility of suburbia, the song is both celebratory and melancholy. This is the single version and is a preview of the band's new album, Sleeping With The Fishermen, which is slated for release in mid-2011 through 4-4-2 Music. Check out the video clip as well, streamable from the EverythingIsChemical website.

The B-sides find a couple of cover tracks in keeping with one of the original ideas for the Virtual 7” series. The first is 'Like The 309', the last song Johnny Cash ever wrote, which he recorded in the months before his death and was released posthumously on his American V : A Hundred Highways album in 2006. Telafonica push the original's jaunty country feel through a wash of abstract autoharp atmosphere and deep electronic bass pulses, with Eliza Magill's vocals floating delicately over the top. The second B-side is a special Valentine's Day bonus, conceived and recorded after the release date of February 14 was set for the single. The crisp production of INXS's 'Need You Tonight' is replaced by Telafonica's murky tangle of lo-fi rhythms, xylophone and mandolin. Phased vocals remain upfront with those 5 voices again featuring in the call and response sections.

Visit EverythingIsChemical.com

i can hear there's our song on the radio.

2011-02-11T22:50:00.000+11:00

i can hear there's a peace in the dark has been playlisted on fbi - http://www.fbiradio.com/content.php/1132.html.
you'll need to go to the 11/2 playlist if you're looking after this week, and it will be on that page for 4 weeks (after which time, i assume you'd need to go directly to their soundcloud page). it's the last track on the list, so you do need to scroll down on the playlist.

tone - 12.3.11

2011-02-09T19:07:00.004+11:00

To buy presale tickets for just $10, click on the MOSHTIX logo above.

i can hear there's a peace in the dark

2011-02-02T23:27:00.001+11:00

Video clip created for the single 'I Can Hear There's A Peace In The Dark' to be released exclusively by EverythingIsChemical.com

The original idea was developed from a small series of films, using upside-down scenery, called 'Horizon Shift' by StephenFox (http://www.thisisnotmybrain.blogspot.com/).

Inspiration was also taken from Michael Snow's 1967 film, 'Wavelength' as well as Andy Warhol's minimalist films, all if which amplify every small action, as not much actually takes place.

Filmed and edited by Samantha Lee (http://vimeo.com/user4981014).

sufjan stevens' jan 28 show at the opera house

2011-01-30T22:45:00.004+11:00

photos courtesy of cherry's camera; smiles courtesy of sufjan stevens

being filmed

2011-01-20T22:11:00.000+11:00

sam and i spent this evening filming a sunset projected onto our house. which means there is just one more stage of filming needed for the video clip for i can hear there's a peace in the dark. but that stage requires us all to be present together at night. we're also thinking that ellie's house would be a good place to do it, as we need to project what we've already filmed onto a white house. sam is going to be away for two weeks from the end of next week and we need the video in time for the single release on the everything is chemical blog (which has already been pushed back) so we kind of need to get it done next week.

is there an evening early next week that we might all be free to go around and do it?

more more cover

2011-01-18T23:27:00.001+11:00

sam's cover film has officially become university of nsw propaganda, featuring on the unswtv website...

http://tv.unsw.edu.au/video/cover

stereolab

2011-01-05T23:27:00.000+11:00

i've been on a bit of a stereolab kick over the last few days. georgie from groovescooter once said we reminded her a lot of stereolab. i can see why. here's a great live recording....

p.s. blake - i enjoyed your noisemaking from across the stage this evening. not just the new toy, but lots of times there were really great shards of sound coming from over there. i'll leave it to bec to write up the official write up for the gig.

plastic people

2011-01-04T10:12:00.000+11:00

i've been playing around with an idea for some photos - transplanting us onto tiny model figures (made for model train sets etc.). what do people think? (click on the image to see a larger size)

393372000 Bits

2010-12-30T10:57:00.002+11:00

To purchase 393372000 Bits head over to Bandcamp. The cost is $7 which includes world wide postage plus an immediate download of the digital files. Or you can download individual tracks digitally.

______________________
released november 7, 2010

A limited edition, 3" CD-R released by the Sydney label Curt Recordings. The disc contains 3 tracks which were all begun earlier in 2010 when Adrian's laptop was in for repair. This meant that Bec's laptop was used for music making for a few weeks, but it initially lacked the ability to be able to record acoustic sounds. As a result, all these pieces started out very electronically, which is a slight jump away from other recent output by the band. The pieces were also a little more minimal and experimental.

Over the next few months, with original laptop back in action, the pieces were edited and overdubbed with more acoustic sounds, resulting in the finished pieces. '4/4 - 136' was originally modelled on the work of Robert Hood. The drum samples were all taken from Blake's ancient Yamaha PSR-150 keyboard and provide a gritty, lo-fi basis for the pushing rhythms and lead static swirls. '4/4 - 140 (6/8 - 105)' takes dubstep as its original template. The music was then sent to London where Marcella worked up a vocal to sing over the sounds. This was all then shipped back to Sydney where Blake and Adrian chopped, edited and manipulated Marcella's work back into the master recordings, creating a dark, polyrhythmic epic. '9/4 - 120' started life as a Public Enemy inspired rhythmic mess with samples stolen from EmptySet. A rough take was improvised in realtime, then Blake added some abstract cornet blasts and, in her first ever recorded instrumental work, 9 year old Imojjen laid down some abstract clarinet improvisation. These elements were then all taken and sculpted together into the finished form heard on the release.

The track titles all derive from the time signature and bpm of the relevant track, while the EP title is the number of digital bits found in the 18 1/2 minutes of music on the disc. The disc itself comes attached to an old 3 1/2" floppy disc and stored in an anonymous, hand numbered postage envelope.
__________________

1. 4/4 - 136 (purchase individual track)
2. 4/4 - 140 (6/8 - 105) (purchase individual track)
3. 9/4 - 120 (purchase individual track)

new gigs

2010-12-29T14:10:00.001+11:00

we're going to be playing at the album launch for karoshi's new album. it will be on saturday, march 12, so write it on your brand new 2011 calenders.

secondly, chris hearn (alps) has invited us up to newcastle on march the 11th (yep, the night before - we can call it a tour). he's starting up a new monthly thing there called 'intellectronica' where a variety of electronic bands play from 8:30, but before that, there's a workshop on whatever topic can be covered by presenters from the bands that are playing. he's asked me to be part of a workshop on running an online label. karoshi will also be playing on the night, an official newcastle launch show for his album. who is in?

beep it

2010-12-25T08:38:00.002+11:00

look what bec bought me for christmas!

Beep it Deluxe from Michael Una on Vimeo.

some side project videos

2010-12-24T11:26:00.003+11:00

some nicely shot acoustic videos made on the afternoon that lessons in time played at the gate. one lessons in time track, plus a cameo by the band during a paper scissors track.

myrrh is mine

2010-12-24T01:01:00.001+11:00

Myrrh Is Mine is available for free download. Click here.
__________________________________
Released December 8, 2010

The third annual installment of the extended Telafonica family Christmas compilation gets bigger this year, with Telafonica adding a new member (Cherry), Marcella phoning in a contribution from London, and an all new contributor who's not even in Telafonica, but is our good friend - Matt Wakeling of St Jambience fame. So, for the first time, it's officially become a '4-4-2 Music Compilation' instead of a Telafonica compilation. which just makes it even better.

Imojjen Elmer makes her first ever appearance as a music writer, with a little thing she whipped up in music lessons at school during the year. Lessons In Time plays the first of two very different readings of Silent Night, with StephenFox playing the other. LIT features backing vocals from Blake's mum and Jack Saltmiras from The Middle East. Marcella makes it two new Telafonica tracks for the year with her haunting 'Little Heart'. Eliza turns out one of the most ancient and beautiful of all carols, 'Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel' and almost everyone in Telafonica contributes to 'We Three Kings' (last minute schedule clashes ruling out some backing vocalists). Goldberry, otherwise known as Cherry, surprises everyone with her engineering skills and the melancholic beauty of 'I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day'. Lastly, Bec joins up with Imojjen and Æowyn for a partial rendition of U2's 'Yahweh', rounding out the best of the three Christmas compilations so far.

just like now - mars hill café - 5.1.11

2010-12-24T00:25:00.000+11:00

scheduling

2010-12-13T14:32:00.000+11:00

sam's currently in the filming stages of a video clip for 'i can hear there's a peace in the dark' and will need to film us at some stage in the next few weeks. what are everyone's absence/presence plans over the next few weeks? we're aiming to have the video clip ready mid january. bec and i are unavailable until december 24.

the internet loves sam.

2010-12-09T14:00:00.000+11:00

a few good blogs have started picking up on the cover video with some nice words being said...

polaroids of androids

who the hell?

cover loving

2010-12-08T17:19:00.000+11:00

the ever wonderful everything is chemical blog has posted the cover video clip this week. eliza, you'll be delighted to know it comes in the same post as a coldplay christmas clip. i'm sure he was being ironic posting that one.

http://everythingischemical.blogspot.com/2010/12/cool-video-funtime-210-x4-christmas.html

grant grant grant.

2010-12-06T17:34:00.002+11:00

application for ozco grant for funds to make a film for the entire sleeping with the enemy album now lodged. if only the hours spent getting an application together could be spent on actually doing the work!

the christmas compilation is almost done as well - just working out some logistics to get cherry on there somehow within the maddening end of school year rush.

the gaelic

2010-11-30T16:52:00.000+11:00

the guy who books the gaelic club sent an e-mail the other day asking if we'd be interested in playing at a midweek thing they have there during jan/feb. rattlesnakes and romance played there a few weeks ago (the booker asked both telafonica and lessons in time at the time, but it wasn't a good time) and isaac says it was reasonably good, the only drawback being not much of a walk in crowd, so you actually have to draw your own (along with the other bands). :)

would we be interested? it's on wednesday nights. if so, what dates are good?

TelafoniChristmas Invite

2010-11-23T18:28:00.004+11:00

Dust Video

2010-11-23T17:30:00.002+11:00

Dust from Telafonica on Vimeo.

Initially begun back in 2005, the original footage of Marcella was shot and edited with the intention that each frame would then be hand drawn in lead pencil, rephotographed, and put together as the final film clip, when the track was originally released as a single from the album, 'Morpheme'. About 10 seconds worth of frames were hand drawn before it became apparent that the task was way beyond the time and energy we had to put into it! So the film was put into the back of everyone's minds.

A few months ago, I got a new laptop and began transferring files across from my old one. I rediscovered the black and white film of Marcella singing and thought she looked great and that it was about time to use the footage so it wasn't wasted forever. So it was combined with some old hand drawn and scratched 8mm film that has been used in various guises in Telafonica's live projections for many many years to make a simple video clip. The song is now about 5 years old, so it's really just going to function as a nice curio, rather than for any real promotional value but, anyway, here it is.

Adrian

November 2010

20th november 2010 - she's coming home

2010-11-20T21:10:00.001+11:00

a bit of a strange one musically this month, in that i can't really pinpoint who i was trying to rip off! i kind of had a vague idea of making a lo-fi, psychedelic kind of groove thing (pocahaunted, sun araw, caught ship (who i've listened to a bit this week) etc) but, by the time it took shape, there wasn't much lo-fi and everything seems to get telafonicanised. which is ok, i guess. there were a few melodic things, like the last line, which was always the intention of bec's lyrics, referencing the beatles' 'she's leaving home'. the first vocal idea was a fairly monotone ian curtis type of thing, but that didn't work too well amidst the repetitive music. normally i need to de-melodicise my songs (david, marcella and bec have all independently suggested i do so at different times over the years), but this time, at bec's suggestion, it was decided it needed more melody, to counter the music. so i actually used the first little bit of melody from 'she's leaving home' as the starting point ("wednesday morning at..."). although being set against a minor key it probably isn't immediately obvious. but there it is.

As Adrian has just stated, I wanted to write a song that countered the Beatles' "She's Leaving Home". I wanted a prodigal song where home is a good place. I wrote it in phrases that kinda float and join with each other in different ways depending on how you say it/sing it. As usual, I wrote a complete whole and then Adrian said to write more so I had to undo some seams and "let it out" a bit more but I think it still works as a narrative arc. Was fun!

She's Coming Home

Wheels on the tarmac
Steaming horizon
The height and the distance
Once she was Wednesday
And choosing was leaving
The depth and the weight
And the distance between
The emptiness rising
Like endless destruction
Despair and the silence
The vanishing vision
The darkness consuming
Like cancer and coffee
Blame spreading out
Like blood in the water
The emptiness rising
And bringing her under
The mess and the media
Tedious beating
Of heart, mind and radio
In through the window
The ache of blank solitude
Squalor and servitude
The inner corrosive
The rust and the rubbish
Of madness and memory
Tedium timeless
The breathing monotonous
Breathing and absence
Of one Other breathing
The waiting for nothing
The lonely control
The choice and the keeping
The space and prediction
Of residence distant
Flat plain kilometres
Every direction
Every perspective
Is loss and the absence
Of goodness and grace
Grim face of honesty
Honesty speaking
Speaking her name
In the unlikely place
The sun and the exit
The exit quite open
The slope and the landslide
Of prodigal hearts
Wheels on the tarmac
Steaming horizon
The height and the distance
Now she is Sunday
And choosing returning
The high and the free
And the distance behind
She's coming home

mars hill & st jambience

2010-11-19T22:17:00.000+11:00

matt has organised another midweek show at mars hill café and has asked telafonica along for the ride. it's on wednesday, jan 5. who's around and happy to play?