Abi Tucker’s One December Moon
by Australian actor and singer-songwriter, Abi Tucker, has a new album out — One December Moon — which is a startlingly good follow-up from her 2003 release, Dreamworld. We asked her about the process behind One December Moon’s recording: ‘I wanted to write another album after my first album, Dreamworld. To see it as an entire piece seemed more inspiring than to see each song individually, though I’d write each track as individuals. I would get one idea and I’d want to hear it completed with whatever instruments would suit the track. I wouldn’t just write entirely on guitar, nor on keyboard. I’d often tune the guitar to make the chord. I’d dabble in string ideas. I would try and think about the instruments that I thought might suit the original idea’.
‘But for me, it is always about the vocal melody and the lyrics. They’d always be awakened by something simple and I would generally want to get them out. I’d hone in on the melodies, often finding the chords to suit the vocal lines in my head. Sometimes there would be harmony ideas. Stream of conscience is something I love to play around with when I am jamming with other people. I don’t know many covers, I’ve always loved flying by the seat of my pants with vocals. Writing the album was more structured. I pieced the album together as demos first and then approached the musicians. Some of the songs were more formed than others. The musicians are all incredible. The harp was more a wish for the album. I had to fulfill that vision as one of the finishing touches’.
Tagged: Australian songwriters, roots music
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I love the subtle acoustic finger-picking which weaves delicately into the wistful storytelling lyrics on the track, Brown Shoes, by Australian songwriter Ange Takats. In the tradition of local female-fronted acts such as Blanche DuBois and New Buffalo, Takats creates a sparse instrumental base, the repetitive guitar motif providing the perfect accompaniment to her elegant and timeless vocals. The artwork for her album — Aniseed Tea — on which this track appears is equally as impressive, the work of Brisbane artist, Danielle O’Brien. Read more
Bonnie Prince Billy’s Lie Down in the Light
One of the most gifted singer-songwriters this side of early Bob Dylan rarely makes a public appearance: his fans are getting desperate, hence the timeliness of this live album, Lie Down in the Light. The most immediately notable aspect of this, however, is the lack of difference between his concert recordings and his studio releases. This has nothing to do with squeaky clean production on the former, however: the focus should be on the genius production on past studio albums. There is perhaps no other artist around today that reaches so far out of the speakers and into your private space. More than most live recordings can offer, Oldham sounds so immediate and so clear that he may as well be sitting on the end of your bed. 1999′s I See A Darkness was completely disarming in this respect. Producer Steve Albini summed it up well: ‘He chooses the people he’s going to play with shortly before the session, so everyone is playing by the seat of their pants, and the music is at constant risk, subject to the weaknesses of whoever’s in the room’. The live album is certainly no disappointment, despite the distance between him and listener growing slightly. This time he’ll be sitting outside your window, the pane of glass giving a haunting, lo-fi quality to the sound, but still the man is right there carrying the same, heavy presence.
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There are probably only a handful of artists in the world now that are a genre unto themselves; so idiosyncratic that they get their own special unit in the CD rack. Such is the case with Tom Waits, who lies somewhere across the normally clear boundary between rusty, stripped down blues and a musical product of the nuthouse. What makes him so interesting is that the root of the music isn’t so obviously the influence of a batch of seminal artists but instead the crazed inner workings of his own mind, which he has managed to adapt and project onto a market now so polluted with squeaky clean, ordinary music. Read more
Also by ZOLTON
Maths explains the origin of superhero characters
I love the colours and simple reasoning in this clever series by Scottish illustrator Matt Cowen, which uses basic maths equations to explain how certain pop culture icons came to be. Read more
Star Wars Uncut: a fully crowdsourced version of Episode IV
The project of creative technologist, Casey Pugh, this full length version of the George Lucas masterpiece was created from multiple 15 second segments recreated from the original movie and submitted by thousands of Star Wars fans, which were then spliced together by editor Aaron Valdez to form the final product. Genius, as both a commentary on contemporary pop culture trends (there are references to LEGO, stop motion, memes and the like) and on the power of tapping your audience for quality material.
Filmmaker creates LEGO stop motion to propose to girlfriend
Now, this is one for the ages: back in 2010, Atlanta film-maker Walter Thompson created a jaw-dropping LEGO stop motion to propose to Nealey Dozier, his girlfriend of four years. The video took 22 hours of shooting and some 2,600 pictures to splice together, a small sacrifice to pay for years of happiness together. Right? Right! Oh, and she said yes. Bonus.
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Chloe Aftel’s artistic vision is to ‘create new worlds filled with beauty and emotion through the medium of moving pictures’. Her photography initially consisted of one-frame movie stills, but it evolved into less production design-heavy, but still highly evocative, scenes with a strong narrative. She prefers to shoot with Polaroid film. With each shot and each subject, she attempts to capture an effortless sensuality and intimacy, focusing on the precise moment the image took place. Read more
Sometimes people just take things a bit too far. That may be the case with David Schwen and his fabulously ridiculous What The Fork artwork. Eknife of that.
Andrew Fagan, lead singer of The Mockers, the poppiest New Zealand band of the 80s, came around to my place once when I was an impressionable 10-year old with stars in my eyes and a head full of shiny, shiny melodies. Read more
Attention Asian fetishists: Sanrio is about to open a Hello Kitty theme park in the city of Anji in Zhejiang Province, China. It will be the first of such parks outside of Japan.
Attention all foodies: Sip, Chat, Chow, an alluring food blog, has highlighted a new way to eat your food. Or rather, wear your food. But the question remains, is Louis Vuitton Jerky the new black? Read more
After getting lost in the quagmire that is the internet, M83’s Digital Shades, first released digitally in 2007, has just been given a space on the shelf in your nearest music shop. Before shooting to acclaim with Saturday=Youth, Anthony Gonzalez looked closer to Krautrock and Eno and produced this ambient sometimes beautiful record. There’s much less of a disco feel than both Saturdays and his first album, Before the Dawn Heals Us. Some might say it’s a bit self-indulgent, not easily accessible, and more of a soundscape than a pop attempt. Yet, like Eno, Gonzalez is slowly becoming a master of the perfect chord sequence, and the result is an interesting, often heart-wrenching, set of compositions. Read about M83′s favourite songs right now.
Can you ever really get sick of red plaid pants? Geography defying brand, Mjolk certainly doesn’t think so and looking at their Autumn/Winter ’08 collection, it’s hard not to agree. Read more
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A little infectious lollipop rock anyone? Feel free to embarrass yourself singing along at the stoplight. If the other drivers give you that look, roll down the windows and spread the love.
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Cookie Boy’s creative cookie designs
I don’t eat cookies, so good thing Cookie Boy’s cookies are little pieces of art too pretty and cute to eat. Read more
Francoise Nielly’s Yellow series
Parisian visual artist Francoise Nielly brings technicolour to the forefront in her latest series, Yellow. Featuring thick impasto palette knife strokes and trippy neon hues, Nielly captures the vulnerable expressions of her muses to a tee. Read more
Baltimore Mural by Josh Van Horne
My friend Josh Van Horne, a local Baltimore artist, did this amazing mural in our neighborhood that depicts the history of this warehouse-laden area.
Never ever, ever, ever, ever park here
Some friendly advice for the neighbours, who simply don’t get it, or street art? You decide which one it is.
Inspired by the unique digital clock apps created by the designer, Sean Zoega, the i-toc watch is a colorful physical manifestation of digital ideas featuring bespoke two-disc Japan quartz movement. The outer gradient displays the minutes while the inner gradient shows the hours. The rings interact, creating an ever-changing pattern of design and colour. We have them for sale in our online store. Read more
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