i've been working fairly hard on the video for the belafonte and, as a result, have also become quite enamoured again of simple but clever stop motion animation. i'm pretty sure this is a mix of straight stop motion and computer emulated stop motion, but is pretty great nonetheless...
31/03/2010
23/03/2010
Lessons In Time - You Dance And You Dance Single
Just when you think you have heard it all before, there is an artist/band emerging from nowhere with a new, genre-defying, yet at the same time, accessible & sublime sound. Arcade Fire did it. Fleet Foxes did it. Bon Iver, Great Lake Swimmers, and so on, did it.
Blake Wassell AKA Lessons In Time is 19 and lives in Australia, he is fascinated by the capabilities of sound and music. Blake makes music, which is as beautiful as it is fascinating, made up with at-hand materials, field recordings, heartfelt and clever vocals and traditional instruments, using minimal recording equipment. His sound walks in the middle of electronic, experimental uniqueness and rustic, hillbilly folk, leaving you wondering how he at this young age is already creating music which falls in its own genre.
‘You Dance, And You Dance’ is out to download now, March 15th 2010 , and is taken from the forthcoming debut album by Lessons In Time out later this spring.
www.myspace.com/lessonsintime
Get it now!
iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/you-dance-and-you-dance/id353930228
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Dance-And/dp/B00373RVPY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1268635175&sr=8-3-catcorr
22/03/2010
The Lansdowne Hotel, March 21, 2010
I have to say that last night's gig at the Lansdowne was my favourite one yet in all areas except that Ellie wasn't there.
First and always foremost was the very good park that King-of-Parking Adrian was able to find. It was the easiest load in yet.
Second was that we got to play with a whole bunch of good friends. For me it was the first time I have ever seen Rattlesnakes and Romance, We are Volcanoes and Sounds Like Sunset. All very fine bands, so a very nice evening on that score. For me personally, my favourite was We Are Volcanoes. Tim Engelbrecht radiates energy and is entertaining in the extreme. He has a voice like Robert Smith and moves like David Byrne and plays the guitar with as much effort as blinking.
When Telafonica played it felt really good in all directions. I think we played well and felt relaxed and had fun, even with the sweat dripping from Adrian and Blake and making their guitars soap-slippery!
We met a few really nice people who appreciated our sound - very encouraging! Two of the most delightful of these were Joe and Carly Hardy. Joe introduced himself in a very humble way and then when Blake and I realised that he was Joe Blog, there was a very big "Oh! You're Joe Blog!" moment. It was lovely to meet them and we are really excited to be playing in their very rock'n'roll backyard on May 20.
Last but in no way least was our "reunion" with "Stu" the sound guy we grew to know and love at the Excelsior! He is the nicest guy and his work is so clear that it makes it much easier to do our best performance!
It was a very easy and friendly night and I personally quite enjoyed watching the traffic go by out the wide open doors of the Lansdowne Hotel as we sang "I can hear there's a peace in the dark..."
Set List
The Tail End of Winter
Smells Like Rain
Your Hands
The Unravelling Man
This is the New Thing
I Can Hear There's a Peace in the Dark
I Can't Make You Love Me
First and always foremost was the very good park that King-of-Parking Adrian was able to find. It was the easiest load in yet.
Second was that we got to play with a whole bunch of good friends. For me it was the first time I have ever seen Rattlesnakes and Romance, We are Volcanoes and Sounds Like Sunset. All very fine bands, so a very nice evening on that score. For me personally, my favourite was We Are Volcanoes. Tim Engelbrecht radiates energy and is entertaining in the extreme. He has a voice like Robert Smith and moves like David Byrne and plays the guitar with as much effort as blinking.
When Telafonica played it felt really good in all directions. I think we played well and felt relaxed and had fun, even with the sweat dripping from Adrian and Blake and making their guitars soap-slippery!
We met a few really nice people who appreciated our sound - very encouraging! Two of the most delightful of these were Joe and Carly Hardy. Joe introduced himself in a very humble way and then when Blake and I realised that he was Joe Blog, there was a very big "Oh! You're Joe Blog!" moment. It was lovely to meet them and we are really excited to be playing in their very rock'n'roll backyard on May 20.
Last but in no way least was our "reunion" with "Stu" the sound guy we grew to know and love at the Excelsior! He is the nicest guy and his work is so clear that it makes it much easier to do our best performance!
It was a very easy and friendly night and I personally quite enjoyed watching the traffic go by out the wide open doors of the Lansdowne Hotel as we sang "I can hear there's a peace in the dark..."
Set List
The Tail End of Winter
Smells Like Rain
Your Hands
The Unravelling Man
This is the New Thing
I Can Hear There's a Peace in the Dark
I Can't Make You Love Me
You, Me and the Missionary Lyrics
You, Me and the Missionary
(These are the lyrics, scroll down to listen.)
I am a suburb.
I knew it before.
I so wanted to be
A small country town.
There's much to be said
For the small man standing.
But I know that it's fiction.
I know it's not me.
But I know that it's fiction.
I know it's not me.
I am a suburb.
You know that I know it.
I so wanted to be
The bright CBD.
There's much to be said
For unlimited action.
But I know there are limits.
I know one is me.
But I know there are limits.
I know one is me.
Across the street
Or across the sea.
On the way my heart
Is undone and remade.
Across the street
Or across the ocean.
The journey is mine
The destination is You.
I am a suburb.
I have always known.
All that I have wanted
Is paper and dust.
There is much to be said
For an old man kneeling.
There is much to be said
And so I begin.
There is much to be said
And so I begin.
(These are the lyrics, scroll down to listen.)
I am a suburb.
I knew it before.
I so wanted to be
A small country town.
There's much to be said
For the small man standing.
But I know that it's fiction.
I know it's not me.
But I know that it's fiction.
I know it's not me.
I am a suburb.
You know that I know it.
I so wanted to be
The bright CBD.
There's much to be said
For unlimited action.
But I know there are limits.
I know one is me.
But I know there are limits.
I know one is me.
Across the street
Or across the sea.
On the way my heart
Is undone and remade.
Across the street
Or across the ocean.
The journey is mine
The destination is You.
I am a suburb.
I have always known.
All that I have wanted
Is paper and dust.
There is much to be said
For an old man kneeling.
There is much to be said
And so I begin.
There is much to be said
And so I begin.
21/03/2010
march 20th, 2010
Lyrics by Bec inspired by Edith Schaeffer, Karen Pack, Sharon Wood and Chris Smith.
Music by Adrian inspired by Konono No. 1 and Paul Simon.
Music by Adrian inspired by Konono No. 1 and Paul Simon.
17/03/2010
cyclic defrost review
it's taken a while, but there's finally a review on cyclic defrost. a couple of factual slips, but based on assumptions via listening so completely forgivable...
Telafonica – Love On The Second Stair (4-4-2 Music)
By Chris Downton March 17, 2010
Telafonica
In the twelve months that have passed since the release of Telafonica’s preceding mini-album I Saw This And Thought Of You, there have certainly been some substantial changes within the Sydney-based band. While founding member David Hughes is now based in the UK (though he’s still responsible for the album artwork here, three new members – Eliza Magill, Rebecca Elmer and Blake Wassell now augment original founder member Adrian Elmer. It’s a change that’s immediately apparent upon listening to this latest album. While I Saw This… saw Telafonica fashioning tracks still primarily geared around synths and electronics, Love On The Second Stair positively drips with increased sonic detail and live instrumentation, with glockenspiels, cornet and even curtain rods being pressed into service amongst the nine tracks collected here.
With all three new members contributing vocals and songwriting, there’s also more of a tangible ‘band’ atmosphere, as well as noticeably more stylistic variation. Opening track ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ manages to carry more than a stray hint of Animal Collective’s psychedelic rush as tumbling percussion and rattling textures give way to harmonised group vocals and the lush fusion of buzzing synths, rock guitars and tribal drumming, the latter element in particular calling to mind one of Caribou’s blissful wanders.
The electronics manage to rear their heads more on crisp electro-pop offering ‘Smells Like Rain’, with thick analogue synths and digitally-edited handclaps powering their way beneath Adrian Elmer’s slightly treated vocals, but in this case the more overtly synthetic elements are nicely counterbalanced by the crashing live cymbals and jangly guitar figures that play against them. The same is certainly true of ‘But I Lose Myself’ – with its insistent almost-house rhythm, sudden bursts of tripped-out synths and nagging melodic riff, it’s easily the most dancefloor-centred moment here; but in this case, the weary-sounding group harmonies and wheezing harmoniums manage to take it to a different place entirely. Elsewhere, the delicate ‘The Quest For Love Aboard The Belafonte’ sees typewriters providing an intriguingly effective rhythmic base for elegant piano keys and melancholic female vocals, while ‘Aeowyn And The Absolute Truth’, easily this record’s most stripped-back and direct moment, sees slow, rasping cello tones and swelling bass atmosphere forming an appropriately subtle backdrop for Elmer’s spiralling, delayed-out vocal harmonies. Love On The Second Stair manages to impress with both its level of ambition and diversity, making it easily the strongest release I’ve heard from Telafonica, as well as an intriguing new direction.
Chris Downton
Cyclic Defrost
http://www.cyclicdefrost.com/blog/2010/03/17/telafonica-%E2%80%93-love-on-the-second-stair-4-4-2-music/
Telafonica – Love On The Second Stair (4-4-2 Music)
By Chris Downton March 17, 2010
Telafonica
In the twelve months that have passed since the release of Telafonica’s preceding mini-album I Saw This And Thought Of You, there have certainly been some substantial changes within the Sydney-based band. While founding member David Hughes is now based in the UK (though he’s still responsible for the album artwork here, three new members – Eliza Magill, Rebecca Elmer and Blake Wassell now augment original founder member Adrian Elmer. It’s a change that’s immediately apparent upon listening to this latest album. While I Saw This… saw Telafonica fashioning tracks still primarily geared around synths and electronics, Love On The Second Stair positively drips with increased sonic detail and live instrumentation, with glockenspiels, cornet and even curtain rods being pressed into service amongst the nine tracks collected here.
With all three new members contributing vocals and songwriting, there’s also more of a tangible ‘band’ atmosphere, as well as noticeably more stylistic variation. Opening track ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ manages to carry more than a stray hint of Animal Collective’s psychedelic rush as tumbling percussion and rattling textures give way to harmonised group vocals and the lush fusion of buzzing synths, rock guitars and tribal drumming, the latter element in particular calling to mind one of Caribou’s blissful wanders.
The electronics manage to rear their heads more on crisp electro-pop offering ‘Smells Like Rain’, with thick analogue synths and digitally-edited handclaps powering their way beneath Adrian Elmer’s slightly treated vocals, but in this case the more overtly synthetic elements are nicely counterbalanced by the crashing live cymbals and jangly guitar figures that play against them. The same is certainly true of ‘But I Lose Myself’ – with its insistent almost-house rhythm, sudden bursts of tripped-out synths and nagging melodic riff, it’s easily the most dancefloor-centred moment here; but in this case, the weary-sounding group harmonies and wheezing harmoniums manage to take it to a different place entirely. Elsewhere, the delicate ‘The Quest For Love Aboard The Belafonte’ sees typewriters providing an intriguingly effective rhythmic base for elegant piano keys and melancholic female vocals, while ‘Aeowyn And The Absolute Truth’, easily this record’s most stripped-back and direct moment, sees slow, rasping cello tones and swelling bass atmosphere forming an appropriately subtle backdrop for Elmer’s spiralling, delayed-out vocal harmonies. Love On The Second Stair manages to impress with both its level of ambition and diversity, making it easily the strongest release I’ve heard from Telafonica, as well as an intriguing new direction.
Chris Downton
Cyclic Defrost
http://www.cyclicdefrost.com/blog/2010/03/17/telafonica-%E2%80%93-love-on-the-second-stair-4-4-2-music/
16/03/2010
one more thing on the a.mp. before letting it go...
there's quite an interesting article over here on the judgement for the winner of the australian music prize
however, what amazes me has nothing much to do with the issues raised by the article. it's actually some of the numbers and how they apply to telafonica. firstly, there were 234 albums entered this year. of that, there were 30 that made it to the 'long list'. that has pretty much blown my mind. i had imagined the long list had like 90 or 100 albums on it, just a list to cull the really bad stuff, but still keeping it wide open. we got into the final 30! that is just bizarre. the process is outlined in the article and it's reasonably rigorous.
time to make a new album!
however, what amazes me has nothing much to do with the issues raised by the article. it's actually some of the numbers and how they apply to telafonica. firstly, there were 234 albums entered this year. of that, there were 30 that made it to the 'long list'. that has pretty much blown my mind. i had imagined the long list had like 90 or 100 albums on it, just a list to cull the really bad stuff, but still keeping it wide open. we got into the final 30! that is just bizarre. the process is outlined in the article and it's reasonably rigorous.
time to make a new album!
15/03/2010
the bridge in hi-fidelity streaming audio
no posts for march yet!
this is a recording of the bridge show from 2 weeks ago for anyone who may have missed it. it ended up being just blake and i. worth a listen for you londoners just to hear the comments about telafonica's graphic design. can be downloaded over at archive.org or just streamed here.
this is a recording of the bridge show from 2 weeks ago for anyone who may have missed it. it ended up being just blake and i. worth a listen for you londoners just to hear the comments about telafonica's graphic design. can be downloaded over at archive.org or just streamed here.
28/02/2010
live set up idea
i've been toying with the idea of running everything we do live through the mixing desk - a little like we did for that gig up in newcastle, blake. so i've bought a pickup for the autoharp and installed it, and will look into contact mic-ing other things like the typewriter, toy piano etc in the next few weeks. the obvious instrument that might not enjoy that so much is the guitar, though. however, i've noticed that logic pro has this - http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/plug-ins/ - a bunch of amp modellers etc. does your version include something like that? if so, we could run your guitar without an amp while still getting a great (perhaps even better than now) sound.
25/02/2010
23/02/2010
monday bridge
justin zeltzer, who hosts the bridge on fbi on monday nights, has asked us if we'd like to go in next monday night. the bridge is an all sydney music show from 8-9. we'd be guest programming, so filling up the hour with our favourite sydney music, and we can play some live things if we'd like. i've already said yes. who's coming in with me?
21/02/2010
dos on bandcamp
i thought i'd set up a bandcamp site for our music - it's a nice looking site that i've come across that a few different artists i like have used. it basically means you can put the music up and people can download it. you can set whatever price you like, or make it free or, the option i've chosen, where the downloader can choose their own price, including for free. it also makes the music available in pretty much any format, including lossless formats. so i started at the beginning with dos (though i forgot about our first demo disc - should we put that up online?)
so head over here to see what all the fuss is about, or just stream the whole thing below. you can also click on the dos cover over in the telafonica releases thing on the left, and i've added those details to the entry for it.
17/02/2010
2rrr not to be confused with 3rrr
i got this from mel today (mel being our friend who regularly comes to our gigs, djs at bandwidth etc)...
>Hey Adrian
>
>When could I get you and maybe a couple of other of you lot into the radio show? It's >on 2RRR in Ryde and airs Saturdays 8pm to 11pm. It'd be good to do it close to some >major Telafonica event or Bandwidth or something.
>
>Cheers!
>
>Mel
should we maybe see if we can go in on the saturday before the gig on the 21st? or some other time?
>Hey Adrian
>
>When could I get you and maybe a couple of other of you lot into the radio show? It's >on 2RRR in Ryde and airs Saturdays 8pm to 11pm. It'd be good to do it close to some >major Telafonica event or Bandwidth or something.
>
>Cheers!
>
>Mel
should we maybe see if we can go in on the saturday before the gig on the 21st? or some other time?
16/02/2010
new ideas
blake and i have been discussing the idea of putting out another free download single. we were thinking maybe of an edit of 'i can't make you love me' (the intro edited down a bit, basically). fbi have been playing it a bit and it makes reasonable sense as a single. for the extra tracks, i was thinking perhaps of using up some of the songs we have backlogged, but which probably wouldn't otherwise get developed. things like 'monday. wednesday, sunday' and 'scarecrow in the melon patch'. they're songs that would have a similar feel to 'i can't make you love me'. they need polishing, though, especially in the vocal department. blake also suggested some live things - i thought maybe the live version of belafonte from the last fbi radio appearance. any other suggestions? it's a single, so it doesn't necessarily have to be a cohesive whole - but we thought maybe this time use some of our own things rather than remixes.
i would also really like to do a 3 track ep of the electronic things i started over january - http://telafonica.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-electronica.html and http://telafonica.blogspot.com/2010/01/some-electronic-music.html. i'd love to have some vocal things happening - especially in the last of those. probably more abstract kinds of vocals. i'd love them to then be released on a 3" cd-r which is attached to old floppy disc cases via a foam dot. the artwork would all exist just on the sticker on the floppy disc and on the actual disc itself. any thoughts?...
i would also really like to do a 3 track ep of the electronic things i started over january - http://telafonica.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-electronica.html and http://telafonica.blogspot.com/2010/01/some-electronic-music.html. i'd love to have some vocal things happening - especially in the last of those. probably more abstract kinds of vocals. i'd love them to then be released on a 3" cd-r which is attached to old floppy disc cases via a foam dot. the artwork would all exist just on the sticker on the floppy disc and on the actual disc itself. any thoughts?...
15/02/2010
06/02/2010
MILF at the World Bar, Friday Feb. 5
Well, from the band's perspective, I would rate this one just a notch above playing next door at Candy's Urine Soaked Apartment and being asked to stop after 3 songs because they were running out of time.
After we took all our gear to the very top floor, we were not made to feel welcome at all. One of the other bands were set up, playing around and parading and the sound guy, Scott, was fawning all over them. Our worksheet had been specific about the times we were to set up and that we would do a sound check but we were not given one. Scott was unhelpful, uninterested and, I'm so sorry to be so frank, unintelligent in the sound department. He text-messaged for half of our new song "I Can Hear There's a Peace in the Dark" while the vocals were turned completely off. In the end Adrian had to shout over some friend that Scott was greeting with a hug to get his attention to turn the vocals on.
We were made to start forty minutes late because the room "wasn't full enough" and so halfway through our set we were competing with the bass line and rhythms from the floor below that were vibrating heavily through our feet.
It was such an unwelcoming shocker of an experience that I am not as sorry as I should be that I accidentally played the other band's cymbals instead of ours (which drew from Scott a mid-gig remonstrance in Blake's ear - wasn't even paying enough attention to speak to the right band member.)
The real joy is to be with Telafonica and that Cherry was there and that Matt Wakeling came to see us play and help us get out of that dreadful place as fast as we could.
And we finally got to introduce Cherry to our midnight feast at La Ziko's and Matt came along too so there was definitely joy to be had.
We have had so many nice experiences at the World Bar, it's a shame to give it a bad review. Ellie said she saw the sound guy from downstairs at Mum while we were there - now there is a sound guy! Maybe Scott should go and learn from a professional. Or maybe not be a sound guy. Yeah, definitely not be a sound guy. He'd have more time for himself that way. It would be a win-win situation for everybody involved.
Set List
I Can't Make You Love Me
Smells like Rain
I Can Hear There's a Peace in the Dark
The Unravelling Man
Belafonte
Time to move the Nest
After we took all our gear to the very top floor, we were not made to feel welcome at all. One of the other bands were set up, playing around and parading and the sound guy, Scott, was fawning all over them. Our worksheet had been specific about the times we were to set up and that we would do a sound check but we were not given one. Scott was unhelpful, uninterested and, I'm so sorry to be so frank, unintelligent in the sound department. He text-messaged for half of our new song "I Can Hear There's a Peace in the Dark" while the vocals were turned completely off. In the end Adrian had to shout over some friend that Scott was greeting with a hug to get his attention to turn the vocals on.
We were made to start forty minutes late because the room "wasn't full enough" and so halfway through our set we were competing with the bass line and rhythms from the floor below that were vibrating heavily through our feet.
It was such an unwelcoming shocker of an experience that I am not as sorry as I should be that I accidentally played the other band's cymbals instead of ours (which drew from Scott a mid-gig remonstrance in Blake's ear - wasn't even paying enough attention to speak to the right band member.)
The real joy is to be with Telafonica and that Cherry was there and that Matt Wakeling came to see us play and help us get out of that dreadful place as fast as we could.
And we finally got to introduce Cherry to our midnight feast at La Ziko's and Matt came along too so there was definitely joy to be had.
We have had so many nice experiences at the World Bar, it's a shame to give it a bad review. Ellie said she saw the sound guy from downstairs at Mum while we were there - now there is a sound guy! Maybe Scott should go and learn from a professional. Or maybe not be a sound guy. Yeah, definitely not be a sound guy. He'd have more time for himself that way. It would be a win-win situation for everybody involved.
Set List
I Can't Make You Love Me
Smells like Rain
I Can Hear There's a Peace in the Dark
The Unravelling Man
Belafonte
Time to move the Nest
05/02/2010
stephenfox e-single
4-4-2 Music e-Single of the Month Club
Volume Five - Number One
January, 2010
stephenfox
A. House On Fire
B. Boat At Sea
stephenfox crawls out of his London bedsit with two understated, yearning acoustic entreaties. A-side 'House On Fire' uses classic 60s licks undermined by fuzzed out vocals and melancholy minimalism. B-side 'Boat At Sea' heads straight for instrumental beauty, flicking discords at the gentle tape hiss as he picks out his solo guitar duel.
download full release (.wav version + artwork) - 55mb
download mp3s - 7mb
download individual files
stream
03/02/2010
rewreckovery
if everyone remembers, we were going to do a gig on january 16 at the excelsior for the wreckovery series, but then the excelsior cancelled it because they decided they wanted to devote their summer sundays to 'acoustic sessions'. well, the acoustic sessions are a flop and they've asked ant if he would consider doing wreckovery again. so, the gig from jan 16 will now take place on feb 28. it's an early sunday arvo deal. i've already said yes and figure whoever can join me we'll work around that - the more, the better.
02/02/2010
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