30/12/2010
393372000 Bits
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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.
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1. 4/4 - 136 (purchase individual track)
2. 4/4 - 140 (6/8 - 105) (purchase individual track)
3. 9/4 - 120 (purchase individual track)
29/12/2010
new gigs
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?
25/12/2010
24/12/2010
some side project videos
myrrh is mine
Myrrh Is Mine is available for free download. Click here.
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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.
13/12/2010
scheduling
09/12/2010
the internet loves sam.
polaroids of androids
who the hell?
08/12/2010
cover loving
http://everythingischemical.blogspot.com/2010/12/cool-video-funtime-210-x4-christmas.html
06/12/2010
grant grant grant.
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.
30/11/2010
the gaelic
would we be interested? it's on wednesday nights. if so, what dates are good?
23/11/2010
Dust Video
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
20/11/2010
20th november 2010 - she's coming home
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
19/11/2010
mars hill & st jambience
18/11/2010
On This Day - 2010 - 4-4-2 Music Sampler
Free download only compilation available here via Bandcamp
On This Day is a collection of tracks which have been released on the 4-4-2 Music label over the past year, a snapshot of the label’s life in 2010. Featuring artists from around the globe, the music you find on this download compilation reflects the diversity to which the label is attracted, from abstract pop and electronica, to
lush atmospheres and sound improvisations.
10/11/2010
miles @ the red rattler
09/11/2010
08/11/2010
31/10/2010
Myrrh is Mine
Okay, the cover is well under way! Time to get your carols together Telafonicans! If you cannot record at home, book yourself into AJE's high tech studio!
24/10/2010
track requests
21/10/2010
october 20, 2010 - sister zephyr
needless to say it sounds best when played immersively loud. with good bottom end.
Sister Zephyr
She has forgotten herself
This is the time to cry
When the darkness is at the window
When the breathing is slow
And the time hovers over your head
This is the time to cry
When your heart has slipped down to the floor
When the sleeping is over
And you know you can't stay in your bed
This is the time to weep
When the morning moves past you
When light cannot touch you
And the words that you hear don't make sense
This is the time to weep
When the darkness comes back through your door
When the striving is over
And you know you must sleep once again
She has forgotten herself
She holds His eyes and His heart
He still remembers her name
16/10/2010
video videos
in that slight vein (redrawing a filmed thing) i came across this the other day, which telafonicans should hopefully find interesting on both an æsthetic/conceptual level and a subject matter level. it's a nice concept where anyone can contibute, so if you actually go to the website, you can watch multiple versions based on different copies different people have contributed. this is the 'director curated version'. the idea is that you go to the site, can be given a random frame which you redraw yourself (digitally, mostly) and then upload so that it joins the database of frames. www.thejohnnycashproject.com
14/10/2010
new weird australia
who's free and keen? are there any other suggestion of what we might do if tail end of winter is not an option?
12/10/2010
Two Things
Second, I want to announce that this year's long awaited Telafoni-Christmas CD is about to take shape. The title is going to be "Myrrh is Mine" - a phrase from "We Three Kings" which is going to be the song that AJE and I work on. I chose it because it tells a bigger picture about Christmas and I think it captures the difficult year that many of us have had and are still having.
SO, Ellie, Cherry, Blake, Steve, Dave, Celli and the Bells, it's time to whip out your offering for this year's effort! AND we still need to figure out when this year's Christmas party is going to happen - complete with sing-a-long around the old pianer!
Love to everyone! Looking forward to playing with you on Friday night. Let's hope our rescheduled rehearsal on Thursday will be perfect first go. :)
09/10/2010
take two
08/10/2010
snippet
"Hello explorers, after much debate I’ve decided to upload an almost complete version of one of the scenes in Cover.
I think it’s finished.. we’ll see"
05/10/2010
27/09/2010
Karoshi / Ah! Pandita split 7"
7" split single from Karoshi and Ah! Pandita can be bought via Bandcamp. When you purchase the 7" vinyl, you also receive the tracks as digital downloads, plus 5 remixes, including one by Telafonica.
Split 7" release from Karoshi and Ah! Pandita, both coming from Canberra, Australia these days. Both sides could be considered dark lullabies, soothing and melodic on the surface with darker currents bubbling below.
The release is only available on glorious 7" vinyl. BUT, once you send your payment, you'll gain access to not just the physical release, but a mountain of digital goodies by way of the two original tracks plus 5 remixes from the likes of Telafonica, Vorad Fils, Loopsnake, StephenFox and Karoshi himself. These push the tracks into new vistas of ambience and abstract beats. These can be downloaded in your choice of MP3, lossless FLAC or any number of file formats to suit all tastes.
A. Karoshi - Sleepwalker feat. PJ Wolf
B. Ah! Pandita - Gone Missing
bonus downloads
3. Ah! Pandita - Gone Missing (Loopsnake's Delicate Mess)
4. Ah! Pandita - Gone Missing (Karoshi Remix)
5. Karoshi - Sleepwalker feat. PJ Wolf (Vorad Fils Remix)
6. Karoshi - Sleepwalker feat. PJ Wolf (StephenFox Remix)
7. Karoshi - Sleepwalker feat. PJ Wolf (Telafonica Remix)
The Telafonica remix basically keeps the structure of the song as is, just flying some of the later backing vocals in as a hook up front. All the original instrumentation has been removed apart from a synth bass line, which has then been processed, bit-crushed, distorted, pitch shifted and layered numerous times to provide the harmonic information, while a new drum beat was created which flits between straight and triplet timing from bar to bar.
24/09/2010
soundclash again
anyway, we should apply. remembering that you can't apply for money for equipment! and the project is for march of next year on. which might tie in nicely with the timing for a new telafonica album or two. though you can't apply for money for cd pressing. but you can use it for things like vinyl pressing, or maybe packaging (i just got the deluxe edition of underworld's new album and it's truly beautiful). or touring costs. or something else more creative than the stock standard costs. like commissioning a dvd/film for a whole album (like anton cornijn's 'linear' for u2's last album). we've got a couple of months until the deadline in early december, but it would be good to have something definitive and concrete. and a bit ambitious, i think.
20/09/2010
cover previews
15/09/2010
14/09/2010
has something gone wrong around here?
we have a gig in a few weeks time and if we'd like to get some new things ready, as blake said, we should have a few rehearsals. any preferences for times? i'm free most nights except every second wednesday (this week being one of those), and the next 2 fridays.
i have booked the red rattler theatre for sunday, november 7. telafonica, lessons in time (?), karoshi, st jambience will be playing, and hopefully andy rantzen will do something in some guise, as might andrew maxam/loopsnake. i've also been talking with marcus whale and we're thinking it might be a good opportunity to launch the 3" cd-r ep on his curt label at the event. i'm reviving the 'just like now' moniker for the thing.
the tibet benefit thing looks like it will include telafonica, that's on saturday, november 27.
30/08/2010
the bon scotts
bon scotts here.
23/08/2010
ask me
the liquid fact
the literary fact
the literal fact
fact fact
the liquid real
the literary real
the literal real
real real
is not truth
the liquid truth
the literary truth
the literal truth
it's just not
and that's the way it is
not a simple head
but a simple heart
22/08/2010
august 20th, 2010
bec and i did this one. i had heard a dj on fbi radio the night before playing some old-school house/acid bits, and that's where the music started - very simple and minimal with tiny bits of syncopation to make it swing. bec then gave me some words, and it immediately started to veer into territory reminiscent of some band we saw a few weeks ago. bec's had a dead throat for a few days and couldn't contribute the required female vocals, so i dragged imojjen out to the studio at quarter to nine to fill in...
the next piece is blake's. i do know it features the samples i made of his old yamaha keyboard. i don't know if it's telafonica or lessons in time, we'll have to wait for blake's input...
20/08/2010
4-4-2 music mixtape vol. 1
4-4-2 Music Mixtape Vol. 1
442-mix-001
August 2010
23mins 25secs
Download mp3 version here (31mb)
Download .wav version here (237mb)
Download flac version here (115mb)
Download ogg vorbis version here (15mb)
Download artwork jpg here (809kb)
A layered mix of demos, sketches and otherwise unreleased pieces of music. All music by Telafonica. Mixed by Telafonica.
Tracks (in vague order):
Elec 25.12
Near Foregone Conclusions
Does It Know
The Thickness Of White
Circumvent The Obvious
I Heard A Ring So I Buried
Home Song
Simple
10/08/2010
demo mixtapes
so....the question is, does anyone have a name they think might work for the idea?
06/08/2010
parramatta sun article
well, it didn't make it to print in the end, but here it is on the website. please note - the quotes are not verbatim!
30/07/2010
photoshoot
28/07/2010
blog layout
everything is chemical virtual 7" single
"The virtual 7" idea is something I plan on starting this summer/fall. What I am asking from each artist is to really step out of their shell a little bit. I would prefer mostly chill/relaxing ambient tracks, but that doesn't mean no vocals or "peppy/upbeat" sounds. I would prefer to keep it a little more on the electronic side, but that doesn't mean I'm against "organic/natural sounds". Each track must be exclusive to the EICV7". At least one newly composed track (or two), and/or one cover."
any suggestions for tracks we can contribute? there's probably something from a 20th we can polish up. a cover would also be fun - are any of the covers we've worked on suitable (i don't think any are particularly laid back that i can recall)? if not, any suggestions for a track we can cover that would fit the bill? or, actually, just a track we could cover - if we start from scratch we can make it fit the bill no matter what the original sounds like.
27/07/2010
24/07/2010
july 20th, 2010
mars and venus is just a single bass drone which i repeated about 4 times, pitching each slightly differently (+/- about 10% of a tone overall) so they phase in and out, causing lots of random peaks and troughs. if you aren't listening with any bottom end on your playback system, the first half will probably sound like silence. it's actually relatively loud, but needs bass speakers to be present. the rest is one drum loop sped up and chopped up lots, then a little blippy arpeggio. that's about it.
blake - blunt and unreferenced versus new and black: i used an acoustic guitar recording, a couple of voice recordings, some straight percussion samples and delay on probably everything. the song is probably a little shorter than what i want it to be. it was originally a little longer but i didn't like it all, so i deleted some bits.
21/07/2010
mars hill café
20/07/2010
an update from sam
"heres a still of how its going.. note: not complete............................."
(this is just a detail - if you click on the image it will take you to the full thing)
17/07/2010
scissor lock
14/07/2010
11/07/2010
nothing ventured /an invitation
speaking of which, how about slipping nothing ventured back into the set list on friday? we haven't done it for a while. any other requests for the set list so i can start getting it ready? also, it seems that thursday evening is the only time everyone is free before friday, so that looks like it will be the date for rehearsal.
28/06/2010
mr maps again
if anyone other than bec or i, who shall be in port macquarie next week, is looking for something to do next thursday night - might i suggest the excelsior in surry hills, where they'll be doing the original gig they asked us to do (which we're not, obviously, doing) alongside underlapper and a few others.
22/06/2010
rebecca
21/06/2010
eliza
18/06/2010
cherry cherry
future name-themed videos to no doubt follow.
13/06/2010
Bandwidth at the Red Rattler
This was definitely a Telafonica record for a so-late-it's-early bed time. It was after 3.30am that I crawled into bed and Cherry and Blake had even further to go.
It is well known that Telafonica loves the cosy grandeur of the Red Rattler and that we love hanging out with Clan Analogue so it was going to be a success whichever path the evening took.
There was a moment when I was sitting in a deep red arm chair and I looked over to see the royals, Andy and Rachel Rantzen (forgive me Rachel if you didn't take Andy's name), surrounded by their courtiers and it felt incredibly grand to be at such a gathering.
It's always great for me to see Andy and Rachel, Ant and Maja, Mel, Nick, Andrew from Loopsnake...It really was a big night that I don't know how I can fit it all in here!
O.K. Here are Bec's highlights:
* Receiving a very cool Lunar Module badge from Ant. Am going to wear it everywhere.
* Bloodloss Vegas singing Pulp's "Disco 2000". I can imagine a sing-a-long in my future retirement village featuring that song.
* A T2 Earl Grey tea for only $2!!
* DJ Tigerlily's set - was very excited to hear a little tune from one of my favourite CDs - "G Swing".
* I quite liked the music of Swingin' Tasty Bag.
* I loved the drama of the Actual Russian Brides (and the huge Russian hat, and the tiny waste - how does Elle fit all her organs in there?).
* I got to hear Cherry playing the saxamaphone next to me on stage (although her brothers in the audience didn't).
* I always love Loopsnake's music and we got to see a shadow performance of him from behind the screen as we were packing up.
* Lunar Module was even greater than usual with Mel on keyboards. Always great to see women onstage. Especially when they dress like Mel - from purple-streaked hair bob to shoe buckles, Mel looked splendid! I love the rest of the band. Let's not be sexist here. Ant had a very nice jumper with a red cross and it was good to see Peter singing and Grant playing bass. Really liked it. "I wanna be on TV..."
* It was really nice to meet M.O.R. - Antonio - of whom I have been a fan ever since we played the same night at The Sly Fox and he wore his extremely realistic horse head.
* Watching Rachel dance is always a highlight. Others follow a repetitive loop of movement regardless of what song is playing (and that's fine - the collective movement works together like a visual orchestra). Rachel, however, doesn't just move, she dances. And the joy on her face is beauty itself. Not the self-conscious apology of a smile that the rest of us front when dancing with friends, but the pure delight of music and dance.
There are always downers and items for improvement.
* I lost one of my knitting needles and two pieces of dark chocolate, I know not where.
* The sound was very uneven in the foldback. We could only really hear the computer, Adrian's voice and Blake's guitar but we have had really positive feedback from a few people and a few CD sales so it must have sounded OK from the front.
* Also, our DVD that was projected onto us blinded me from the audience most of the time so it felt a bit cold and like singing without an audience. Less connection than our other previous gigs.
* My biggest disappointment was that by the time Andy got up, almost everyone had gone. His set last year was so wonderful and irresistible, I was sad for everyone who missed out. It was very late/early by then so AJE and I decided to quickly pack the car so we could dance and then leave but Andy's set finished just as we stepped onto the dance floor. There was a debrief afterwards between Andy, Nick and AJE and it sounded like there were some good ideas to try out for next time.
* Finally, we didn't get our dinner at all and were hanging out for Laziko's at 3am only to discover that all the World Cuppers were chowing down when we got there so we trundled off down the motorway back to the burbs with empty bellies.
We did have the privilege of Nick's company for a trip to Paddington which was a lovely surprise and, when we got home, Adrian cooked us a tomato, lentil and chorizo treat with a fried egg and toast and that smoothed out all the wrinkles of the evening.
All-in-all it was a wonderfully grand Ben Hur kind of evening celebrating the very special Clan Analogue and reuniting with friends from last year. A good time had by all. Many many thanks to Ant and Adrian!!!
P.S. Cherry, Blake and Adrian, please add your highlights in the comments box.
Set list:
I Can Hear there's a Peace in the Dark
Smells Like Rain
Your Hands
The Tail End of Winter
I Can't Make You Love Me
show offer
11/06/2010
cover film
(and bec - take a close look at the crane's tail.)
02/06/2010
mr maps
i reviewed mr maps' double ep release last year on cyclic defrost (read it over here). as you could probably tell from my review, i'd be pretty keen to play with them. bec, you mightn't quite remember, but the ep was one of the things i've reviewed that you liked quite a bit as well.
31/05/2010
roxbury review
firstly, miles is a master with the camera. there's some more shots over at his photoblog. (as an aside, blake, over on miles' page put your mouse on the close-up shot of me and leave it sitting there until the caption comes up)
secondly, bec was absent from this gig (many thanks to bec for doing all the babysitting that i was supposed to help with so that telafonica could play this gig), while blake and cherry were at pains to remove themselves from the responsibility of writing up the review, so it has fallen to me...
blake commented in the spacia on the way in that it was a rather quiet trip, since bec and eliza are the loud ones (his words, not mine). the roxbury was as red as we remembered and luchi were setting up as we got there. it was their second gig, and the sound guy, who was otherwise great, didn't seem to quite know what to do with a band with so much electronics and no drums! so they took a little while to sort that out, but got there in the end (which also made things relatively easy for us as later the sound guy now had his head around the whole concept!). anna chase set up once they were done and pretty much went straight into her set. she ran her guitar and an accordian through her loopstation, layered over some loops she had prepared at home, and made a really beautiful mix of drones and melodies. i enjoyed it greatly.
we then set up our stuff, though couldn't get the autoharp to register on the mixing desk, so that was a bit unfortunate, but anyway. we started with blending the edges in bec's absence, as blake loves it and bec doesn't. it went rather nicely, with some new additions from cherry's saxophone. the set, on the whole, was quite up and electronic. the rendition of i can hear there's a peace in the dark was the closest to fully satisfying that we have done so far - i think the gradual changes are getting it there and i'm nearly satisfied with it now - it doesn't just rest on it's chorus anymore. i also enjoyed smashing my drum stick on the very last bar of i can't make you love me - so rock and roll. it was a successful set, i thought. it also means there's another permutation of the line-up which we now know will work well!
luchi came on next. i commented to them afterwards that it was very rare that we got to play with a band who are actually doing something in a similar vein to what we do - mixing electronic beats with guitars, fx, melodies and harmonies. i thought they were great and i had a smile on my face for their whole set. they also did an excellent job of filling the room with an audience, for which we are very grateful.
after lugging our gear out through the fancy dress party taking place on the bottom floor, with the assistance of the very friendly older indian gentleman who was the venue's security guard for the evening, we drove off into the west.
30/05/2010
I Can't Make You Love Me
Released as a free download via bandcamp (click to go there). you can download it as mp3, flac, ogg vorbis, aac etc. or stream the entire release here.
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released may 19, 2010
The second single for the 'Love On The Second Stair' album. 'I Can't Make You Love Me' is the album's opening track. The edit here abbreviates the introduction but still has all the joyful racket that distorted kalimba, castañelas, floor tom, an Adam and the Ants drum sample, cowbells, phasing synth washes and 4-part vocals provide. 'Scarecrow In The Melon Patch' is the first of the B-sides, and was originally written with the idea of mixing the two great forms of garage - 60s garage rock and 90s garage house. 'Monday Wednesday Friday' is a low-key electronic pulse with bit crushed guitar and monotone/melodic vocal contrasts. 'The Quest For Love Aboard The Belafonte' was the first single from the album. This version was performed live to air on Sydney's FBi Radio in November of 2009. It features melodica, toy squeezebox, typewriter and floor tom - an acoustic version of sorts.
To download the entire release in mp3, flac, ogg vorbis, aac or alac, with artwork included, go here. The bandcamp pop-up menu will ask you to choose your desired format and the price you wish to pay. The release is free, so just type a '0' in for the price. Of course, you can choose to make a small donation to the Telafonica cause if you choose, but that's certainly not a requirement!
A. I Can't Make You Love Me (download)
B1. Scarecrow In The Melon Patch (download)
B2. Monday Wednesday Friday (download)
B3. The Quest For Love Aboard The Belafonte (Live on FBi Radio - Acoustic Version) (download)
27/05/2010
The Gate, May 20th, 2010
The Gate was a great place to play. Telafonica turned up in two contingents and then discovered that the all-important "Bag of Little Things" was totally and tragically missing. This resulted in some Telafonican girl bonding time for Cherry and me as we battled peak hour traffic between Ryde and Toongabbie to retrieve the bag and save the gig. We felt quite super in our heroic efforts.
I would have liked to stay and soak up the atmosphere at The Gate - I always feel more comfortable playing when I have been a part of the audience first - but Cherry's company and her chocolate chip cookies well and truly made up for it.
What were the male Telafonicans doing while we were gone? I suppose they were doing the peripheral business of "patching" and setting up and sound checking all the not-so-essential instruments - the computer, the keyboard and Blake's guitar.
We arrived back just in time like good superhero girls should, and not a moment too soon. It was fun fun fun to play in Joe and Carly's backyard! We had a great grassy stage that I could dance on without all our music stands swaying in a crazy rhythm, and we had heaps of room!
The audience were very supportive with their cheers and clapping. I think I saw a few of them move during the song, just a little to the left and right. It wasn't really a dance kind of event perhaps but we didn't mind. They may just be the first audience to actually listen to the lyrics!
Blake and AJE came away from it a little unsure about their performance, but I had a ball. I think I am finally learning to be happy to make mistakes and let it go. I make a few. On each song. Besides, perfection is not really a Telafonican ideal.
Adrian and I had to leave pretty soon after we played so I cannot report on Garage Hymnal. Perhaps Cherry and Blake could fill everyone in on that score in a comment.
I can't remember the set list and I am too comfortable on the lounge to go find out at this juncture but I do know that we roughly ordered our songs into a gospel of sorts for this event. We definitely started with "An Invitation" and finished with "I Can Hear There's a Peace in the Dark". Thanks Joe and Carly for having us!
25/05/2010
what to do...
22/05/2010
may 20th, 2010
Hush, hush my son
Don't rattle the bars
Lay, lay down your head
On the pillow and sleep
Hush, hush my love
Don't, don't fight the sleep
Soon, soon you will rise
And play once more with me
Hush, hush my father
Don't rattle the bars
Lay, lay down your head
On the pillow and slip away
Hush, hush my love
Don't, don't fight the dying
Soon, soon we will rise
And we, we'll be together
17/05/2010
11/05/2010
10/05/2010
20th on the bridge
so tune - 94.5fm or http://www.fbiradio.com
09/05/2010
Style Announcement Telafonifolks!
03/05/2010
telafonica @ deja, may 1, 2010
It was Cherry's initiation into the band and she passed with supersonic purple colours. The audience loved her. And they told her so. No jealousy implied.
We enjoyed, as always, listening to Alps. Art Rush was..well..interesting. Memorable. The Fuji Collective were big, polished and impressive. Andy Golledge had a nice sound. And we... well we rocked! Well we must have if that means we had fun and and there were people dancing and that they begged us to keep playing at 1am! And the folk from Fuji Collective (who live where we played) and Emma, all of whom organised the gig - were exceptionally great to work with.
We also learned a great deal. Much of it was joyful. Some of it sad. There was one precious soul that didn't seem to have a very high opinion of herself and finished our set unconscious on the floor with an empty vodka bottle in her hand. It has affected me a great deal. I want to give her the hope I have been given but I don't know how.
I do know, though that there were others who were there for the music. Our most cherished meeting was with Colin - a new friend who greeted Adrian with a cup. (for context - colin e-mailed the telafonica e-mail address to find out what the address was. i sent the details and told him to come up and introduce himself if he made it. except, in my haste, i accidently wrote 'cup up' instead of 'come up' - which colin literally did (see photo) - adrian)
One miraculous occurrence was that even after the last piece of equipment was carried past the water heater and into the back of the Spacia and the four Telafonicans had looked longingly into the next door bakery and had taken one more whiff of its aroma; even when we were on the M4 and even in Prospect, Blake was still chatty and wide awake. A Telafonica first!
A surprisingly wonderful evening for which Telafonica are extremely thankful.
And the setlist:
Æowyn And The Absolute Truth
The Tail End Of Winter
Smells Like Rain
The Unravelling Man
This Is The New Thing
Your Hands
I Can Hear There's A Peace In The Dark
I Can't Make You Love Me
02/05/2010
the woes/ the morning after effect of deja
25/04/2010
The Exoneration of Cherry
22/04/2010
Ballad of the Drowning Landlord
and she stands with her hand
over the mouth of truth
He is the head
and he's handing out lies
and half-truths constantly
I am the landlord
and my problem is this
I believe every word that they say
They told me there was a fleet of arks
Coming to save my soul
The water is rising up past the windows
And the waves beginning to roll, roll over me
21/04/2010
april 20, 2010
16/04/2010
box-stomper wanted!
15/04/2010
I Don't Buy Records In Your Shop Now I Tape Them All
This release is a free download mixtape available from the ever wonderful Discontent blog and can be found over here or via the download button below.
____________________________________________________________________
“In December of 2008, the Australian based members of Telafonica decided to specifically focus on the creation of a new album. They already had a handful of tracks in various stages of development that they had been playing in their live shows but were looking to see how to draw all these together, as well as create some new songs. One of the tactics used to give focus was the creation of half hour inspiration ‘mixtapes’ on CD to be shared around. In the end, only Blake and Adrian ended up compiling whole mixtapes, though Rebecca and Eliza contributed other tracks themselves as inspiration for specific Telafonica songs.
“The album was created and released in November of 2009 as ‘Love On The Second Stair’. This mixtape, developed especially for the Discontent blog, combines some of the tracks that were on the initial inspiration discs, along with other inspirations that came to the fore in the process of making the album, as well as some tracks from which samples were directly taken and used within the music that formed the finished album.
“There is obviously a wide range of things to be heard, from the most mainstream of mainstream to obscure side channels in the history of music. These reflect Telafonica’s bower bird approach to music construction, begging, borrowing and stealing from any and everywhere in order to compile their own postmodern, post-retro pop.
“In this mix, where a track appears in full, it has been either already made available by the original artists on the internet for free, or specific permission has been gained from the original artists to include their work. Obviously, a number of the tracks have not been made available for free and permission would be difficult (and costly) to secure. In those cases, the tracks have been used in a traditional sampling sense, with only very brief snippets occurring, and are generally processed in some manner.” Telafonica
DOWNLOAD: I Don’t Buy Records In Your Shop Now I Tape Them All | A Mixtape By Telafonica (69.7MB)
(nomo – all the stars)
(adam and the ants – kick)
(parts & labor – satellites)
(the martini bros – dance like it is o.k. (dj koze & the tease remix))
(the flying lizards – money (that’s what i want))
1. beem – RER
(the beatles – sgt pepper’s lonely hearts club band reprise)
2. balun – a surprise
3. whitewash – feather
(sigur ros – festival)
4. slareffenklang – you win
(bow wow wow – c30, c60, c90, go!)
(the jam – that’s entertainment)
5. ghoul – swimming pool
6. sufjan stevens – sister winter
7. hamilton yarns – newhaven to dieppe
8. go! team – junior kickstart
(the smashing pumpkins – tonight, tonight)
9. parades – exodus (telafonica treble remix)
10. underlapper – choking ibis
IMAGE: Cover Design by Telafonica
14/04/2010
cherry
06/04/2010
a new label etc
i've also been talking to marcus whale, who you may have noticed popping up commenting on the website a little over the last few weeks. he runs a 3" cd-r label called curt. you may have remembered the very electronic things i started in january when i didn't have my laptop and bec just got hers, but we didn't have an external soundcard so couldn't record acoustic noises, so i made electronic stuff for a few weeks. well, marcus has said he'd like to release it on curt, which i think would be a good way to get exposure to some slightly different people. so we're aiming for either late june or sometime in august. i've sent the files to marcella, who was keen to abstract some singing on some of them, but would also be keen to get more input in terms of our other usual esoteric array of instruments, so have a listen and see what it inspires.
http://telafonica.blogspot.com/2010/01/some-electronic-music.html
http://telafonica.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-electronica.html
04/04/2010
excelsior hotel - 11.4.10
02/04/2010
music i played on 2rrr
if you really want to, you can across to http://www.archive.org/details/telafonica-on-2rrrfm and download it.
31/03/2010
stop motion
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
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
(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
Music by Adrian inspired by Konono No. 1 and Paul Simon.
17/03/2010
cyclic defrost review
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/