The secret diary of The Grates
by A few weeks back we asked Patience, frontwoman of Aussie pop starlets The Grates, to write about a typical day in her ever-hectic life. Today, it’s drummer Alana’s turn: ‘On the menu. I had soup and a sandwich. How very American of me. Actually, I really miss America. I can’t speak on behalf of the other two but I’m really keen to head back for a tour. Today I had quite a few over the phone interviews (in the biz we just call them ‘phoners’. If you are in an up-and-coming band, saying ‘phoners’ will make you appear as though you have done some too) which was heaps better than usual because my flatmates and I all went in for a cordless phone’.
‘Some things I did while being interview included making a cup of tea, drinking it, rearranging the fridge magnets, pace, push things on the floor around with my foot. Things will never be the same. Before the introduction of the cordless phone I was bound to a chair in the coldest room of the house. Now I’m a multi tasking legend! After all that was over and done with, I rode my bike in to [record label] Dew Process with John, who also rode his bike which is 982156 times better than mine. We did an interview with a street press mag then headed over to the ABC studios in Brisbane for an interview with Caroline Tran for triple j. She’s a lovely person and a great interviewer. I like dinosaurs a lot’.
Listen to the new Grates track, Two Kinds of Right.
Tagged: Australian bands, diaries, pop music, rock music
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The music behind the new Howling Bells album, Radio Wars
The last time I caught up with London-based, Australian band, Howling Bells, was in New York in early 2007 when they played a show at one of the many seedy Lower East Side bars. Since then, they’ve recorded a new album, the aptly named Radio Wars [listen to their song, Treasure Hunt, below], a remarkable follow-up to their 2006 self-titled debut. I checked in with guitarist Joel Stein to find out what music the four-piece had been listening to around the time the album was written: ‘The Byrds’ Eight Miles High always sounds so futuristic to me. It has one of the best guitar sounds ever and really moves me with its color and power. Every time I hear the Tortoise track, I Set My Face to the Hillside, I instantly get transported to the ocean. Beautiful! Joy Division’s Isolation is incredible. I love the intro keyboard riff, in particular (the keyboard was self-built). It expresses urgency and truth. And then there’s Neu!’s Hallogallo, a truly inspiring instrumental track that I always want to go on for longer. Its fuzzy guitars are so warm and vibrant. Perfect!’ Read frontwoman Juanita Stein’s Playlist of inspiring songs.
The Grates: an ongoing diary by Patience
We love Australian band The Grates. So much so that we asked their frontwoman Patience to write an exclusive diary for Lost At E Minor over the next week, giving us the inside word on what the band are up to. We’ll run a new posting from it each day. This is her entry from last Saturday: ‘Today nothing happened. Actually, that’s not true. Today by sheer coincidence we all went and saw Batman independently. Awesome. So good. Don’t see Batman because you want to, see it because you need to. I don’t care what you think, just see it. Spend your money. At the very least it will give you something to debate with your friends about. This is something we do all the time at Grates headquarters. It’s a fun way to find out more about your friends and also solidify your own opinions. Who knows when your already explored opinion on weather it’s okay to kick a robot dog will be challenged. Trust me, something like this will one day happen to you and if you take part in regular debates with friends you will be more than able to cope with the situation’.
Listen to The Grates track, Sukkafish.
It’s hard to find a misstep on the full-length debut from Melbourne band, Children Collide. The Long Now doesn’t sound like a first album: its mature, yet completely varied sound and lyrical concept makes it feel like something you’d expect from a band on their third or fourth album (you know, after the ‘cursed’ second album). Children Collide are most definitely in control, something that could have been lost while working with big-name producer, Dave Sardy. It’s rare that you pick up a CD and feel like the band has decided on everything, right down to the artwork that encases their killer album. We threw guitarist-singer Johnny Mackay a few questions about how they managed to wrap everything up in such a … errr … tight little package. Read more
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Crimea X is the coming together of two offbeat, disparate characters, DJ Rocca (Ajello, Super Sonic Lovers, Maffia Sound System) and Jukka Reverberi from 90s Italian glam cult rockers, Giardini di Mirò, who have often have been compared with the sound of Mogwai, Arab Strap, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. We asked them about their favourite music and they started with The Smiths song, Ask [listen below] ‘I saw them playing live on Italian TV. It was during the 80s when I was extremely young, and I’ve never stopped listening to this song’. Read the rest of Crimea X’s Secret Playlist.
I love the curated selection of abandoned swimming pool photos on Feature Shoot today, featuring work by Carlo Van de Roer and Albert Jodar, amongst others.
Win a set of Sony personal audio prizes
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
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I’m a big fan of Fernanda Cohen’s work. The Brooklyn-based illustrator — and sometime Lost At E Minor contributor — has just completed a new series called War of Words which has received two silver medals from the Society of Illustrators of NY and LA, and will be featured in HOW International Design in March. Read more
With waiting lists and pre-orders already taking place, there’s enough competition for this label without sharing it with the world. But what the heck. A little bit of fashion karma never goes astray. So listen up ladies. If you haven’t heard of Aussie label Maurie & Eve, you need to pay attention. Because their current collection, ‘End of the Line‘ is due to sell out as soon as it drops during October. Read more
Harma Heikens makes disturbing, perverted mash-ups of children’s toys, dolls, and figurines — all life-sized for extra creepiness Read more
A Paper Tiger is a new venture that launched in January of this year selling exclusive prints by some of my favorite artists such as Jack Long [shown above]. Read more
How many times can we play the same song in different settings? Hmmm, I don’t know. But it is a hell of a song, from a hell of a band, as that uniquely English oddity, Jules Holland would no doubt concur.
Lindstrom, the man who single-handedly coined the term ‘minimal space-disco’ (well, perhaps nudged in the right direction by Orbital et al), recently released a new, rather ambitious, album, Where You Go I Go Too. Weaving between ambient trance and breakbeat-flecked disco, the producer responsible for the mesmerizing reworking of that tune we all secretly love, Roxy Music’s Avalon, has produced a worthy follow-up to his 2006 album, ‘It’s A Feedility Affair’. This time, however, there’s only three tracks, ranging between 10 and 29 minutes in length, and the Eno/Ferry influence is thankfully clear to all.
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Hong Kong-based illustrator Man-Tsun draws dark and beautiful painterly images that look like they are straight off a high-end Japanese animated film. Read more
Karen Caldicott’s clay head models
British born, New York-based model maker Karen Caldicott has been making clay heads for all major US publications over the last decade. Read more
Good thing Kris Kuksi channelled the trauma of growing up with an alcoholic stepfather, his disdain for ‘the typical American life and pop culture’, and his fascination with the macabre into obsessive, baroque assemblages, paintings, and drawings. Read more
Charlie Immer’s pastel-pallete sometimes obfuscates the gory violence in his surreal images. At other times, it heightens the gut-wrenching and visceral effect of his work. Read more
Creative advertising packaging
Despite the intentions of many, it’s not so often that advertising — as an industry — truly thinks outside the box. Yet, when executed well, clever eye-catching advertising actually works. It does. As these examples will attest to. Read more
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
Australian fashion label Das Monk is my new favourite t-shirt label and this shirt is more comfortable to wear that a thousand pairs of Ozone socks. Super soft 100% cotton. Grab one now from the Lost At E Minor store for $35. Read more
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