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| The Twinkle Tune | |
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Ok, so there's this quote from The Office
where David Brent says: ‘I thought I could see the light at the
end of the tunnel, but it was just some bastard with a torch, bringing
me more work”. And I think that beneath his cringeworthy facade,
Brent was onto something. We are rapidly becoming a society — an
‘age' — that lives to work, rather than the other way
around. I'm as guilty as the next person. But mind you, Brent also
noted that ‘Eagles may soar high, but weasels don't get sucked
into jet engines', so can he really be trusted with philosophizing
on behalf of our generation. I seriously doubt it. Though his deluded
ramblings often make more sense than an Anthony Robbins seminar. Or two
tickets to a Fellini
retrospective. And, yes, in my next reincarnation I will be life coach.
Or a motivational speaker. Or a member of The Clash.
Those guys had it made. But that's another lifetime altogether.
The point is that balance is good. And that, try as they might, weasels
can't fly. Just don't tell these people.
As far as they're concerned, they can do no wrong. Speaking of
which, there's some amazing work up on both the Owl
Tooth website and Paula
Castro's site. Meanwhile, feature artist, Naja
Conrad-Hansen, is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer working
from Copenhagen. She's working on a new perfume - 'nononecansaywedidn't'
- and hates doing the dishes. |
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| Fun Anyway | |
| I interviewed Canadian songwriter, Kathleen Edwards, during the week. I love her new album (Back To Me), so I started off by asking what they were putting in the water in her part of the world to produce all these amazing artists. ‘Nothing, and that's what helps. I think the Canadian scene is a lot like the Australian one. We have a large country with a small population and a lot of the mainstream pop culture comes from the U.K. and the U.S. Obviously there have been hugely successful acts from both our countries, but the fact that we are more isolated keeps things happening organically in the music scenes'. Why the title Failer for your debut album? ‘It was a play on words meant more to be a self-deprecating kind of joke. I take myself seriously, but not very often. I never realized how naming my album that would be forever a topic of conversation. I just thought it was funny that we spell it with a URE and I liked the idea that messing up spelling failer failure was appropriate. Most of the songs are pretty personal and true to the changes my life had taken in such a short period of time. I went from living in the backwoods an hour outside of Ottawa to playing on TV shows and being in a van and seeing more highway lines than is normal for anyone person'. Btw, the feature artist is Jeff Gilligan, a designer, illustrator and all-round creative force from New York City. | |
| Alternate Cuts | |
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Mattafix's
new album, Signs Of A Struggle, is a tasty mix of urban beats and
pieces, incorporating the disparate ethnic mix (Indian and West Indian)
of the producers, Preteesh and Marlon Roudette, and blending lush instrumental
touches which sit within tight structural parameters. This is superbly
crafted with punchy basslines cutting through a thick sonic haze of synths
and programmed drumbeats. The duo have been killing it in the overseas
market with their fusion of r&b and hip-hop. In their bio, Roudette
suggests that ‘the past two years have been spent trying to merge
all of these elements into our own style of music. The creative process
is not always clear and many of our breakthroughs have come about through
coincidences and mistakes”. The single, Big City Life is about as polished and
airbrushed as it comes, so it looks as though any mistakes have been well
and truly ironed out. We have 10 CDs of Mattafix's new album to giveaway to those who email us. |
| Outside the Square | |
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Interview with Vladislav Delay of electro group, The Dolls. One album by another producer that has made your jaw drop in astonishment? The Roots, The Tipping Point. What is one special quality that each of the three Dolls bring to the project? Antye Greie — curiosity and his ability to always challenge on a musical level; Craig Armstrong — his inner strength and musical knowledge; Delay — musical restlessness. Common denominator in all three? A passion for interesting music. Period'. Another great electro-talent is Jimmy Edgar, who also moonlights as a designer. I asked him what elements the two creative mediums share. ‘Graphic design evolves more interestingly than music. The end result of a music piece is a design, a layout in time. An important process of how I work is alternating techniques and exaggerating ideas and emotions. I'm interested in creating work that evokes a new emotion'. |
| And Finally | |
| A couple of recent works by young Australian artist, Lilly Piri. Her work is so delicate and ethereal yet imbued with a strong sense of calmness and resilience. It's been featured in Black & White magazine and Frankie amongst other publications. Till next time ... Zolton | |
