electronic music

Robert Rich - Medicine Box: Ultima Thule 23rd Anniversary Concert
Friday 10 February 2012 at 08:00 PM

Over the course of his three decade-long career, California-based Robert Rich as become widely acknowledged as one of the seminal figures in the world of ambient music.

Rich's work is founded on the seamless integration of electric, electronic and acoustic instrumentation, and the exploration of just tunings. His musical compositions take the form of organically-coloured, longform, impressionist drone soundworks which are known for their subtle and exquisite layered complexity and beauty.

Ultima Thule Ambient Music is Australia's foremost radio programme of ambient and atmospheric music; it has been broadcast weekly by 2MBS-FM since 1989, and also reaches a national and global audience counted in the many tens of thousands via satellite, streaming audio and podcast.

I just heard tonight via Michael Watt's facebook feed that New Order are playing in Australia in March 2012. After the news earlier today that The Orb and Bomb The Bass were coming to Sydney, I almost couldn't believe it. such memories from all of these bands. Watt asked everyone on his feed, which is your favourite (apart from Blue Monday of course) - well it's hard to choose just one! I've posted a few below - but add every song on Substance album also, which had quite a workout in my house in the late 80s, let alone the earlier Joy Division albums and songs. there's songs to dance to, and songs to sing along to, all great. in my late night musings I was thinking, wouldn't it be great if they did a side show at a dodgy pub like in Melbourne 1982. that would be incredible!

at this rate (tonight's music announcement discoveries) I think we're going to get to relive the 80s & 90s all over again. bring it on!

The Orb Sound System and Bomb The Bass are playing a gig in Sydney on February 25, 2012 at the Metro Theatre. Tickets are General Admission. The last time I saw The Orb was in Brisbane at the December 1st Advent*jah party in 2001 - it was a great gig. I can't recall seeing Bomb The Bass play but we used to dance to their songs in the early 90s. I think this will be another reunion for the older dance party crowd.

from the ticketek site page :

Rarely do two such iconic acts who where so fundamental in shaping electronica music come together for two truly amazing Live sets Gusto international proudly present an amazing smorgasbord of sound and visuals to tantalize your every sense. The Orb and Bomb The Bass.

Dancecult: journal - special issue on the DJ, was released on 16 June 2011. Dancecult is a peer reviewed e-journal specializing on EDMC (electronic dance music culture). This issue has articles on DJs at NYC's "The Saint" nightclub, the changing roles of the DJ in Vienna, the "maleness" of drum'n'bass in London, DJs and cyborgs, psytrance DJ Goa Gil, part one of the Nomads in Sound series, a couple of articles on turntablists and hip hop DJs, the techno scene in Stockholm, a look at the EBM/Industrial DJs, as well as book reviews. A bumper issue!

DANCECULT | Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture
==================
Volume 3 * Number 1 * 2011
==================
http://dj.dancecult.net/

SPECIAL ISSUE ON THE DJ
with Guest Editors Anna Gavanas and Bernardo Alexander Attias

Step It Up in Brisbane

I was really excited to hear that Brisbane band Step It Up had a new EP, "Push", out in 2011 on Zyl Records, as I'd loved their earlier work on their self titled album released in 1996 and I'd seen them perform in Brisbane when I lived there in 2000/2001 or so. The new EP has different versions of the song "Push"—which includes a sample from their popular song "Flex" with mixes by Obese Bass Beast and Unison Sound System. There's also a new song called "Nudge" by Blunted Stylus (aka Geoff "Jigzaw" Blunted/ex Resin Dogs/Hydrofunk). The musical lineup has changed slightly over the years, but there's still a range of music styles and techniques explored on this release—from house, to jazz, to drum'n'bass, to bass-music and beats'n'squelch styles. All in all, it's a pleasure to listen to and I'm looking forward to hearing their future sounds, as well as the cache of songs yet to be released. Des Reid was kind enough to answer a few questions about the band and its future directions. Keep an ear to the ground for their live gigs in Brisbane and elsewhere—you'll be in for a treat from these talented musicians!

>> AliaK
> Des Reid, Step It Up

track # 1, "Push (Borrowed Moog And Juno) Mix" by Obese Bass Beast via Step It Up's soundcloud page

Push (Borrowed Moog And Juno) Mix by Obese Bass Beast by Step iT uP

>> for the "borrowed moog and juno mix", song #1 on Push—what's the story here? who'd you borrow the moog and juno from and can you keep them for a while?

> The Moog Prodigy belonged to Manny, our old keys player. I should have bought it when he sold it. The Juno 60 was DJ Damage's. They're both killer synths. I've since acquired a Juno 60 and JX-3p.

>> are there any favourite gigs, or memories of them that you'd like to share?

> The "Vibes on A Summer Day" festivals were always great. They were before festivals became commercial and unaffordable. Bondi Pavilion was a great venue. It's always nice to see a thousand people jumping up and down to your music in the sun from the stage.

>> for your live set: "Their new show has wide variety from instrumental hip-hop through Asian and Arabic influences to banging house". can you talk about some of these influences? particularly, the Asian and Arabic ones

> I have been learning some Arabic music and playing with some great oud players. We have an unreleased track called "Ïntefada" and a new one called "Free Gaza". I've always been interested in Indian music since seeing the Mahavishnu Orchestra, although I haven't studied it thoroughly and authentically. One of our best new tunes is an Indian groove tune called "Only One I know". That's partly because it's the only raga I know properly! Rohan plays in proper Indian ensembles in recitals at the Hindu temple in Virginia up here in Brisbane.

>> who are the band members of Step It Up?

> We've had some fantastic players in the past who have left town like Craig Hanicek, Darren MacPherson and Gavin Manikus on sax, Godoy and Steve Falk on percussion and DJ Frenzie. Terepai recorded the drums on "Flex" for us too.

The current line up is :

Steve Francis—drums
Steve is a great drummer and is in great demand in Brisbane. He tours with James Morrison too.

Neil Wickham is our great new sax player. He has a brilliant fusion type sound. The sax can't be too mellow in this type of music or it loses the edge and blands it out a bit.

Rohan Somasekaran is on keys. He is an awesome piano player and leads his own straight-ahead jazz outfit too. We're adding more synth to the live sound too.

I [Des Reid] play bass mostly live, but also a bit of guitar and guitar synth. I want to start contributing to the percussion too, but only in a support role—I'm only a simple player.

DJ Damage does the cuts on the EP. He's also in Terntable Jediz and The Optimen. He's one of the best turntablists I've ever seen.

Roger Gonzalez is our percussionist. He is a conga and cahon specialist, and a fantastic groove player. Marcelo, who played on the "Push" EP moved to Canberra unfortunately. We have loads of percussion recorded by him in the vaults though. Also heaps by his brother, Luis Schiavi—a killer timbales player.

Overall we have a giant backlog of tracks which we will be finishing and releasing soon. Although we haven't been playing out as often over the last few years, we never stopped writing and recording. We're sitting on a few albums really. The new label—Zyl Records will be our outlet now that we're organized.

>> do you improvise during the live sets too?

> There is a lot of improvising live. We follow the jazz tradition of arranged head—improvisation—head. We try to keep some tightly arranged sections too. One big feature of our sets is the breakdowns. We don't just have horn or keys solos—we have big sections where the drums, percussion and DJ are improvising together, feeding off each other. According to Cuban tradition, when two or more percussive players are resonating, that's when the spirits come. We're a bit tribal really.

Techno Lawn Party (Spin'n'Jam Reunion)
16 April · 12:00 - 18:00
East Brisbane Croquet Club (Mowbray Park), 19 Park Ave, East Brisbane, Australia

Join the Spin'n'Jam crew for an autumn afternoon of croquet and chilled beats at the East Brisbane Croquet Club (Mowbray Park) overlooking the Brisbane river .

Playing for your aural pleasure shall be:

Monkey Marc's studio was recently broken into and his equipment was stolen. You can help support him replacing his gear by purchasing one of his albums.

Download versions available from http://monkeymarc.bandcamp.com & CD versions from http://www.monkeymarc.com. There's also videos to watch and details of his Desert Workshops on his website

Call for papers : THE EXODUS OF PSYTRANCE?
http://dj.dancecult.net/index.php/journal/announcement/view/8

Special edition of Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture
Edited by Graham St John
http://dj.dancecult.net/

DANCECULT | Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture
==================
Volume 2 * Number 1 * 2011
==================
http://dj.dancecult.net/

Dancecult returns with two themes: the dystopian and remix aesthetics of
Detroit and a special From the Floor section on the Love Parade.

CONTENTS - DANCECULT 2(1)

## Feature Articles ##

Disco's Revenge: House Music's Nomadic Memory
-- Hillegonda C. Rietveld

Hooked on an Affect: Detroit Techno and Dystopian Digital Culture
-- Richard Pope

Maintaining "Synk" in Detroit: Two Case Studies in the Remix Aesthetic
-- Carleton S. Gholz

Festival Fever and International DJs: The Changing Shape of DJ Culture in
Sydney's Commercial Electronic Dance Music Scene
-- Ed Montano

## From the Floor ##

Nomads in Sound vol. 1
-- Anna Gavanas

# Special Section on the Love Parade #

Where is Duisburg? An LP Postscript HTML
-- Sean Nye, Ronald Hitzler

An Evening with Ozi Batla tour is on sale now http://www.moshtix.com.au/

Fri 4 Mar Cambridge Hotel Newcastle NSW
Sat 5 Mar Tone Surry Hills NSW
Fri 11 Mar Republic Bar Hobart TAS
Sat 12 Mar Workers Club Fitzroy VIC

One Day at The Basement is an entirely acoustic show starring Horrorshow, Spit Syndicate and Joyride. Sunday March 6 at The Basement in Sydney.
http://elefanttraks.oztix.com.au

This is a general call for contributions to Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture. Entering a new era with a new and expanded editorial and production team, Dancecult is extending its deadline on submissions for its next edition.

New deadline - December 20, 2010.

As the issue is hosting a special section on The Love Parade, submissions on this theme will be welcome, in both From the Floor and Feature article categories.

CALL OUT FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR "THE SOUND OF RED EARTH" COMPILATION
http://soundofredearth.tumblr.com/artist-submissions

Kaldor Public Art Projects are currently seeking submissions from sound artists and musicians for a free, digital compilation to be released later this year. The compilation is aimed at framing Stephen Vitiello’s work from ‘The Sound Of Red Earth‘ in a wider context, one that seeks to explore the prevalent themes of isolation, remoteness, distance, nature, environment and ‘earth’ through sound and music.

Edition 1.2 of Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture now published.
http://dj.dancecult.net

CONTENTS

Featured Articles

Making a Noise - Making a Difference: Techno-Punk and Terra-ism
Graham St John

Technics, Precarity and Exodus in Rave Culture
tobias c. van Veen

The Aesthetics of Protest in UK Rave
Ramzy Alwakeel

Memory and Nostalgia in Youth Music Cultures: Finding the Vibe in the San Francisco Bay Area Rave Scene, 2002-2004
Eileen M Wu

Conversations

The History of Our World: The Hardcore Continuum Debate
Simon Reynolds

"Let's Have At It!": Conversations with EDM Producers Kate Simko and DJ Denise
Rebekah Farrugia

From the Floor

Sound System Nation: Jamaica
Graham St John

Capturing the Vision at California's Symbiosis Festival

TOY DEATH
performance art / experimental music

Re-purposing children’s electronic toys and assuming toy-like characters, Toydeath create live music with sounds coerced solely from tortured electronic toys and accompanied by hilarious costumed antics. Using circuit-bending techniques, each instrument is a hand-crafted modified toy capable of extraordinary sonic possibilities. Audiences are exposed to a barrage of hyperactive hootenanny as Toydeath unleash the contents of a toy box six year olds would kill for. Formed in 1995, this Sydney-based trio have appeared at major Australian music festivals including the Big Day Out, Field Day and The Great Escape, and performed in Japan, China, South Korea, Austria, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Also playing | DJ Manila Vice

Website: www.toydeath.com

Event Information:

JULIAN KNOWLES, FUKNO, HINTERLANDT
___________________________________________________

:::::::::::::: SATURDAY THE 29TH MAY 8PM ::::::::::::::::

:::::::::::: IC CAMPUS NORTH WOLLONGONG ::::::::::::::

:::::::::::::::: THE DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER :::::::::::::::::::

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::$10 @ the Door:::::::::::::::::::::::::::

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=122122994479489

A strange location for a gig, but hey who's complaining. A seriously diverse line up, a kick ass PA, free bus to the door and probably the most left of field event in Wollongong you'll find on a Saturday night. Are you ready to go nuts!!!!

Julian Knowles (QLD), Hinterlandt (GER, SYD), FUKNO (GONG)

$10 on the door. 8pm till late.

Get on the guest list by hitting the attend button and receive discounted entry. Everyone likes a bargain. Sign me up SGT. Cycle!

How do you expect me to get to the gig? Directions on how to get to the IC Campus:

http://www.innovationcampus.com.au/getting-to-ic/

and a map here in PDF format of the Innovations Campus.:

http://www.uow.edu.au/content/groups/public/@web/@bg/documents/doc/uow076265.pdf

::Julian Knowles:: [ QLD ]

Julian Knowles is an Australian composer and performer, specialising in new and emerging technologies. His creative work spans the fields of composition for theater, dance, film and television, electronic music, sound and new media arts, popular music and record production. Since the mid-1980s, he has established himself as a prominent artist in the area of electronic and new music, achieving significant critical recognition for his performances and recordings.

His current musical output seeks to hybridise popular music structures in experimental electronic music contexts.

http://www.myspace.com/julianknowles

::FUKNO:: [ Wollongong, NSW ]

Cut and paste electronics, harsh noise, gabba, and karaoke.
FUKNO aka Guy Sterling is/has been banging his head against harsh noise, cut and paste/sample based electronics, performance and a variety of print based art forms including self publishing/zines for about 15 years. Working in collaborative groups and independently under pseudonyms including 7U?, Rank Sinatra, Dj Rainbow Ejaculation, rev777?, someguy, Count Zoloft, YSL, FUKNO, System Corrupt, Goulburn Poultry Fanciers Society, no frills and Victime de Mode. And will continue to so until he either falls over or starts receiving arts grants

http://www.667u.com/
http://www.667u.com/fuckno/htm
Contact:sevenuy[at]hotmail[dot]com(replace [at] with @ etc)

::HINTERLANDT:: [ SYD ]

Hinterlandt was founded by Jochen Gutsch in Australia in 2002 as an experimental music project. It relocated to Germany in 2004, before re-relocating to Sydney in 2010. Hinterlandt is known for long compositions that swing back and fourth between beauty, noise, rhythms, ambiances, melodies, silence and guitar feedbacks.

Hinterlandt has taken on many guises and is known to constantly change shape and colour. Live performances were played in various formats in Cologne, London, Rome, Sydney, Hamburg, Melbourne, Lisbon, Helsinki, Berlin, Amsterdam, and many other places.

www.hinterlandt.net

::News:: for anyone that reads this far down... well done :-)

August - Alex White and Anna Chase
September - 2 Very Special Guests!

the next edition of bandwidth is now all locked in and will also double as the official sydney launch of re:cognition. there's 15 different acts playing. entry is only $10. there's a facebook event over here - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119943508036268
feel free to spread the spam far and wide....

"DJ Culture": special issue for Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture
Call for Participation

We are guest editing a special issue on DJ culture for Dancecult (http://dj.dancecult.net) scheduled for possible publication in 2011. This is a call for submissions for an interdisciplinary collection of original articles, “from the floor” essays, artwork, and electronic multimedia on DJ culture. The issue addresses itself specifically to the relations of pleasure and power that intersect in the space between the DJ, the dance floor and the rest of the club world. Multimedia submissions are encouraged, including copyright permitted photographs, links on Youtube, Soundcloud, etc.

dualpLOVER is proud to announce the return or the avant-pop queen Kevin Blechdom with her BARNWAVE show spectacular touring australia and new zealand from dec til over the new year.

04 051209 Wellington
Ladyfest
http://www.myspace.com/ladyfest_wellington

081209 Brisbane
+ Flying Scribble (Melbourne)
+ Brutal Hate Mosh
+ DJ Dot.AY
@ The Troubadour, $8
http://thetroubadour.com.au/
http://www.myspace.com/peerpressurepresents

091209 Lismore
+Professor Blix, Skeletons Of The Devil
@ Tatts Hotel, 108 Keen St
http://tattshotel.net.au/

111209 Newcastle
+ Rice Corpse, Casiogloria, alps and Liz Hurley
@ Croatian Club, Albert St, Wickham, $10

151209 Sydney
+ SINGING SADIE, Rice Corpse
http://www.myspace.com/singingsadie
@ Hermanns, cnt Butlin and City Rd, Sydney Uni, starts 8:30pm $15 /$10 Con
http://www.hermannsbar.com/
http://www.moshtix.com.au/event.aspx?id=31870&ref=moshtix