27/11/2008
peats ridge times
i've just received details from the peats ridge festival organisers, and we will be doing a 45 minute set at 6pm on wednesday, december 31.
26/11/2008
art and practice
i've been speaking with our various painters/artists over the last few days.
mele-katalina is away and won't be able to do the 6th of december. however, i have asked her to maybe take some photos of us some time, so if anyone has any ideas for band photos...
johan will be painting for us again, which i'm very excited about.
samantha will also be there to do something, but she suggested that rather than use a canvas, she did something on one of us. after discussing ideas coming from that, she's settled on the idea of, over the course of our set, painting onto each of our faces. that will mean that while each of us doesn't have their face pressed up against a micrphone, she'll flit between us and art us. after a suggestion from bec that it would be good to make sure it was going to work, sam is going to come to one of our rehearsals and practise it as we practise.
which also means we need to find some rehearsal time. between lessons in time, eliza magill and telafonica, rehearsal time is sitting at a premium. keep friday the 5th free - we'll have dinner and demolish a gingerbread house then rehearse - but sam can't do friday nights, so we'd need another time as well. we're free sunday, monday night, and wednesday night. another option may be that, seeing as it's uni break time, we could do an afternoon rehearsal, say from 4ish, which might free up some more time for others.
mele-katalina is away and won't be able to do the 6th of december. however, i have asked her to maybe take some photos of us some time, so if anyone has any ideas for band photos...
johan will be painting for us again, which i'm very excited about.
samantha will also be there to do something, but she suggested that rather than use a canvas, she did something on one of us. after discussing ideas coming from that, she's settled on the idea of, over the course of our set, painting onto each of our faces. that will mean that while each of us doesn't have their face pressed up against a micrphone, she'll flit between us and art us. after a suggestion from bec that it would be good to make sure it was going to work, sam is going to come to one of our rehearsals and practise it as we practise.
which also means we need to find some rehearsal time. between lessons in time, eliza magill and telafonica, rehearsal time is sitting at a premium. keep friday the 5th free - we'll have dinner and demolish a gingerbread house then rehearse - but sam can't do friday nights, so we'd need another time as well. we're free sunday, monday night, and wednesday night. another option may be that, seeing as it's uni break time, we could do an afternoon rehearsal, say from 4ish, which might free up some more time for others.
25/11/2008
the thickness of white
how bizarre that you should post that plato quote, blake. i finished this off yesterday which is something i started on a couple of weeks ago. well, it's not necessarily finished, but it's presentable. i finally caught up with ricardo villalobos and luciano about 5 years after the rest of the (minimal techno) world, so they've been a fairly obvious inspiration here. the main idea is that, when not much happens, everything that does happen takes on much greater weight. you notice tiny shifts in sound which you wouldn't notice if everything was constantly changing as it does in the average 'song' song. so here it is (hopefully the full version will be accessable in the next few hours - until then it's only a 30 second preview, which pretty much defeats the point entirely).
the bass, which is the only melodic/harmonic element, is quite subliminal - you won't hear it on computer speakers, but it's mixed to sit well through a decent system.
oh, and the title is a reference to a series of rauschenberg paintings of the 1950s which were explorations of all white.
the bass, which is the only melodic/harmonic element, is quite subliminal - you won't hear it on computer speakers, but it's mixed to sit well through a decent system.
oh, and the title is a reference to a series of rauschenberg paintings of the 1950s which were explorations of all white.
24/11/2008
22/11/2008
p.i.l. - rise
one of those songs where everything is just perfect. the kick drum. the tenseness of the violin. understated guitar. the pent up emotion which never quite explodes, making it even more menacing. john lydon's hair (which i am seriously considering copying).
21/11/2008
the mixtape.
a few years back, david and i were thinking about what directions we might go musically. one of the things we did, which i really liked, was to make each other a compilation cd of the types of things each of us were thinking at the time. in the end, i'm not sure how useful it ended up being as we didn't do anything specifically straight after that, but i thought it was a great idea and i still listen to the cd david gave me.
if we are thinking of spending a block of time working on music in the summer holidays, i've been thinking that it might be nice to do a similar thing beforehand. so might i suggest to rebecca, eliza and blake that we each make a 30 minute compilation of music to give to each other in the next couple of weeks? i guess the idea is to make it of sounds that you think might be useful to blend into telafonica. so it might be just a bunch of stuff you like at the moment, but not necessarily so. it would obviously need to be within the reach of telafonica's sound, but telafonica's sound is very open to being pushed around. there might be things that are more to do with song structure than actual sound, or lyrical content etc etc. i figure between 4 30minute discs there would be an array of stuff, and possibly some suggestions of interesting combinations of sounds as well. that then would hopefully give us all an idea of the headspace we are entering in with.
if we are thinking of spending a block of time working on music in the summer holidays, i've been thinking that it might be nice to do a similar thing beforehand. so might i suggest to rebecca, eliza and blake that we each make a 30 minute compilation of music to give to each other in the next couple of weeks? i guess the idea is to make it of sounds that you think might be useful to blend into telafonica. so it might be just a bunch of stuff you like at the moment, but not necessarily so. it would obviously need to be within the reach of telafonica's sound, but telafonica's sound is very open to being pushed around. there might be things that are more to do with song structure than actual sound, or lyrical content etc etc. i figure between 4 30minute discs there would be an array of stuff, and possibly some suggestions of interesting combinations of sounds as well. that then would hopefully give us all an idea of the headspace we are entering in with.
17/11/2008
Wreckovery at the Excelsior, Sunday November 16
Every gig this year has been a completely different (but always marvellous) adventure for Telafonica. Eliza was not there, which is a minus, especially for female conversation, and Blake was barely there, coming straight in after a week of schoolies. However, we must have played well because we impressed Ant and he doesn't drink. Enrique and Aaron very generously came to paint on stage and were very gracious about being squished to one side. Besides some nice red line paintings of the band, they also participated in the set's sonic crescendo by both painting and strumming Blake's guitar with their brushes.
As usual, our performance was only part of the pleasure. Musically: we were very pleased to be acquainted with the live performance of Luminarsi; we were thrilled as always to bask in the sonic beauty of Seekae; we were compelled to move and completely dazzled by Lunar Module. Socially: it was really lovely to get to know Andrew of Luminarsi; we had great conversation with Andy Rantzen (are now inspired to play music for free in a garden somewhere) and Michael MD; it was also fun to chat to Ant of Lunar Module - the mastermind of the whole afternoon; last but not least, we got to meet some of the wonderful audience members while we were on the door (always a great introduction - much better than the blinding light curtain of performance). Culinarily: had an absolutely fabulous serve of beer battered fish (very light and crispy) and chips with a homemade tartare sauce that I'm still thinking about!
All round, a very satisfying Sunday afternoon!
P.S. Must mention, Blake's Mum Michelle came along and finally got to see Blake's magic at work. Great to finally have someone to put on the door! Yay!
Set List
1. But I Lose Myself
2. Smells Like Rain
3. Blending the Edges
4. This is the New Thing
5. Your Hands
6. Manifesto
As usual, our performance was only part of the pleasure. Musically: we were very pleased to be acquainted with the live performance of Luminarsi; we were thrilled as always to bask in the sonic beauty of Seekae; we were compelled to move and completely dazzled by Lunar Module. Socially: it was really lovely to get to know Andrew of Luminarsi; we had great conversation with Andy Rantzen (are now inspired to play music for free in a garden somewhere) and Michael MD; it was also fun to chat to Ant of Lunar Module - the mastermind of the whole afternoon; last but not least, we got to meet some of the wonderful audience members while we were on the door (always a great introduction - much better than the blinding light curtain of performance). Culinarily: had an absolutely fabulous serve of beer battered fish (very light and crispy) and chips with a homemade tartare sauce that I'm still thinking about!
All round, a very satisfying Sunday afternoon!
P.S. Must mention, Blake's Mum Michelle came along and finally got to see Blake's magic at work. Great to finally have someone to put on the door! Yay!
Set List
1. But I Lose Myself
2. Smells Like Rain
3. Blending the Edges
4. This is the New Thing
5. Your Hands
6. Manifesto
09/11/2008
another name
this is a remix of 'japan bell disco' created by luminarsi, otherwise known as andrew maxam, and all round great guy. we'll be playing with him next sunday at the excelsior. he can also be heard on fbi radio every week at 10pm. he told me he'd been working on a remix of this a few months back. he asked me if i had any of the master tracks which, i assume, don't actually exist anymore since it was all done on the playstation. so he just took bits from the final,mastered track from the solid gold ii compilation. he deliberately gave it a brand new name as i told him about the history of misnomers given to the track on that cd (it is listed on that cd as 'paris bell' on the back and 'japan bell' on the inside, both of which, of course, are incorrect. so he made up yet another variation and went with it!
07/11/2008
obama and the nearly controversy
something i've been meaning to do is upload the artworks that get done during our performances - i've still got some of mele-katalina's to upload sometime from a few months back. anyway, this is the collaboration between johan and tim at the bald faced stag on thursday, november 6. some vaguely significant event happened the day before which might have had an influence on the work. :)
actually, there's a story with it that i think is worth telling. we were playing our set and got probably about half way through, when we notice in front of the stage that the two bouncers are standing looking towards the artwork. these guys are built, and also happen to be black. then the sound guy approaches them and there's harsh words going back and forward and a little bit of hands on each others' shoulders kind of stuff. i look around at the painting and there's the words 'black is back' and the picture of obama, looking like a puppet. we, of course, can't actually hear what's going on between the bouncers and the sound guy. anyway, it seems to settle down and they head off. when i look at the painting at the end of the show, i notice that johan has added 'hope', 'change is here' and 'cut the bariere' in nice big writing. i could tell those bouncers had obviously freaked him out and he was making sure the message couldn't be misinterpreted! anyway, afterwards, the sound guy told us that the bouncers had been wandering around the audience checking i.d.s, and then started heading for the stage. the sound guy had thought they were coming to check out our i.d.s - mid set! he got a bit upset at that and told them to go away, which is where the 'incident' came from, so johan and tim were probably safe anyway.
actually, there's a story with it that i think is worth telling. we were playing our set and got probably about half way through, when we notice in front of the stage that the two bouncers are standing looking towards the artwork. these guys are built, and also happen to be black. then the sound guy approaches them and there's harsh words going back and forward and a little bit of hands on each others' shoulders kind of stuff. i look around at the painting and there's the words 'black is back' and the picture of obama, looking like a puppet. we, of course, can't actually hear what's going on between the bouncers and the sound guy. anyway, it seems to settle down and they head off. when i look at the painting at the end of the show, i notice that johan has added 'hope', 'change is here' and 'cut the bariere' in nice big writing. i could tell those bouncers had obviously freaked him out and he was making sure the message couldn't be misinterpreted! anyway, afterwards, the sound guy told us that the bouncers had been wandering around the audience checking i.d.s, and then started heading for the stage. the sound guy had thought they were coming to check out our i.d.s - mid set! he got a bit upset at that and told them to go away, which is where the 'incident' came from, so johan and tim were probably safe anyway.
the bald face stag
It would appear that the stag is much less feisty a creature than the fox. Last night was not the romp we had at the Sly Fox, it must be said, but it definitely was, as Eliza says "a whole fat sushi roll of fun". To eat together, to travel together (Telafonica is committed to eco-friendliness - at least until other members get their license and a functioning vehicle of their own), to laugh together and to perform together would be joy in itself, of course. But on top of all this, we got to welcome fabulous artists Tim Englebrecht and Johan Neeve into the growing honey hive that is Telafonica. And on top of this, we got to bathe in the powerful and beautiful music of Underlapper in a set that ended way too soon. And on top of this, we got to experience the fascination and musical mastery of The Parades. I personally have learned four things from last night's experience. One: Drummers who play standing up are a wonderful sight to behold. Two: I really like the art of Johan Neeve. Three: Tim Engelbrecht is a really lovely person, even with a hairless stomach. Four: Do not offer Johan dark chocolate. Make sure it's milk.
Set List
1. Manifesto
2. But I Lose Myself
3. Smells Like Rain
4. Separation
5. Nothing Ventured
6. This is the New Thing
7. Your Hands
8. An Invitation
Set List
1. Manifesto
2. But I Lose Myself
3. Smells Like Rain
4. Separation
5. Nothing Ventured
6. This is the New Thing
7. Your Hands
8. An Invitation
04/11/2008
03/11/2008
30/10/2008
20th artwork
i've been making the covers for this month's 20th compilation over the last few days. thought i'd put up a picture of the finished things just to give an idea of the format - it's the same width and height as a jewel case but is just a sleeve, and is held together by the stitching down each side. would this work with your concept, david?
this cover recycles an old screenprint image you made once for a just like now poster, david, and features the number '20' embossed quite large on the front, though you can't really see it in the photo. the back has all the track info photocopied in black.
Grizzly Bear - Knife
it's probably a bit old now, but i've just discovered grizzly bear via a side project of their singer's which i just reviewed. anyway, this clip is pretty brilliant, in a strange, surreal way, and the music is nice and bitsy as well. though the sounds and visuals would appeal to various factions within telafonica. the final shot is also bizarrely hilarious, but it's worth sitting through the six minutes to get to it, or it might just seem peurile. as it is, it's just surrealist humour at its best.
29/10/2008
monday arvo - the show
do we want to do a live track in the studio on monday afternoon? we can if we would like, but that would mean practising something - would you have time, blake? and if so, what should we play? we can always do this is the new thing again, but something new might be nice. nothing ventured could probably sound good with little instruments - though it would require blake learning some more mandolin bits. any other ideas?
I saw this and thought of you artwork
28/10/2008
afternoon show
samantha, one of the producers of fbi's afternoon show wrote and asked if a couple of us would like to go in next monday afternoon, mostly to plug thursday's show. is anyone free? i would need to get last period off school, but i think it would be worthwhile doing so, unless blake and eliza are both free and can get themselves there and are happy to do it that way?
27/10/2008
art groupie photos
a couple of shots from the opening of art groupie. the crowd was actually much more crowded than it looks. still, no-one bought any of our works.
25/10/2008
intertextunderworld
every few months i revisit the underworldlive site and fall in love with underworld all over again. i dream of being able to maintain the mix of design, art and music that they do in the form of telafonica. not in terms of copying their work, but definitely in terms of having those three (and anything else that might relate) interweaving, feeding off each other. i also love that the old band cycles of record, release, tour, rest are thrown out the window. their latest album is now about a year old, but using the 'net means that things are constantly refreshed, new artistic and musical works are thrown into the public domain and keep them interesting. the prices for their music downloads are a little capitalist for my taste but, aside from that, i think they have the model of artistic creation and output that i most like.
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