Thursday, December 23, 2010

BLIND NOSTALGIA - DRUNK HANDS


DRUNK HANDS - BLINDS
"Blinds is a mood piece of brutalising and enervating denseness: the droning feedback of the twenty-plus minute ‘Drunk Hands Make Love’ hangs thick in the air, lolling like smoke at the top of a room; the drum beat of ten-plus minute ‘Sojourn of the Psyche’ doesn’t shift for its duration, waiting like a senile old man for a bus that never comes. Only the guitars move – and they wriggle and shift with all the limber action of Rowland S. Howard after a cup of coffee, snaking around surf figures and post-punk grooves. Blinds is a radical exercise in stasis. Dark, deep and unforgiving, it’s an invitation to black moods." - Mess+Noise

This is an album I recorded during 2005 and released early the next year. The limited release sold out long ago, so upon discovering friends at the now defunct net-label FauxFetus have created an archive of their catalogue, I thought I'd post a link to download the album.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

PSYCHIC BAGGAGE UNCUT


PSYCHIC BAGGAGE
Endless Melt
"Built around stumbling drum improvisations, indistinct, hazy waves of six-string drone, and meandering, slack-stringed guitar lines that tangle and buckle like power-lines under stress, this self-titled debut is gorgeously indistinct. At its most powerful, like the sprawling 'Drums Meet Guitar', the spray of mottled tones recalls similarly potent explorations by The Dead C, or English post-punk pioneers This Heat. It's beautifully humid, deoxygenating stuff." - John Dale, Uncut (UK)


Mail order Psychic Baggage from www.endlessmelt.com

WIRE REVIEW


Byron Coley, The Wire (UK), December 2010


Mail order Rubbish Throwers from www.endlessmelt.com

Sunday, November 28, 2010

ACTUAL HOLES CASSETTE



Actual Holes - High Horse Oblivion
Two sides of free form improvisation recorded direct to found cassette tape. A caravan-heavy key stomper, backed with a sax 'n' drum faux-jazz workout.

Cassette available through Endless Melt, DL version available here.

Actual Holes - High Horse Oblivion - 01 Moth Lights by Endless Melt

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

SOFT FUTURE

SOFT FUTURE (featuring members of Zond, Snawklor, Panel Of Judges, Hi God People, and Das Butcher) play HELLO DARKNESS HALLOWEEN PARTY at warehouse 127 A'Beckett St, Melbourne CBD, Saturday 30th Oct. Kicks off 9pm, SOFT FUTURE on 11pm. Shower. Dress. Come.

ACID VE$$ELS



From THREETHOUSAND
Halloween celebrations are generally for Americanised Gen Z:ers (or iGeners) trick or treatin' to terrorist paranoids and climate skeptics (aka righteous-nostalgic baby boomers). VERY UNAUSTRALIAN! Why not let go of all your pre-Halloween jitters at Rear View Gallery instead? Get loose and avoid horrible venue-style events featuring 5+ awful bands. Celebrate by seizing your last chance to see 'Scandostralian' conceptual dance 'outfit' PISSYPAW before half of it returns home to the lands of Fire and Ice; AOI will be rollin' with the proverbial 'homies' via rhythmz'n'beatz; Fatti Francis will be bringing more o'da wigger vibes. See also: Close Shave Kreme (33.3% of Bum Creek), pop-rapist Jonny Telafone, and Actual Holes (the latest project of jazz-savant Duncan Blachford from Snawklor). Dress code: Camo, double-tie-dye, water-proof pants and/or anything from Ministry of Style. - DGR

Where: Rear View Gallery, rear of 244 Smith St, Collingwood
When: Fri Oct 29, doors 8.30pm
How much: $6

Friday, August 20, 2010

WORST ALBUM 2010



PSYCHIC BAGGAGE
Psychic Baggage
(Endless Melt) *1/2 

In the press release, Psychic Baggage are described as "water-damaged free jazz" and "a soundscape of fried theta waves". And that's exactly what it sounds like. Incomprehensible, ocassionaly inaccessible and totally far out, man. Not suprising, given Psychic Baggage is the work of Duncan Blachford, former Witch Hats drummer. The name was taken from an interview published on Mess+Noise last year, in which Witch Hats' Kris Buscome talks of producing an album's worth of "gacked-off-our-faces material". Psychic Baggage may have been recorded in a similar state but Blachford is a talented musician and, through delicate drumming, droning guitars and the odd patch of white noise, creates a Lynchian sense of foreboding. Opening track Free Sunshine is anything but light - and claims to feature vocals from Beaches' Alison Bolger. Didn't hear any, unless I mistook her voice for a reverberating piece of sheet metal. She also plays sax on the album closer, Drums Meet Sax. I can't say I enjoyed this record but if you're into water-damaged free jazz (as opposed to drought-stricken or fire-ravaged jazz), you just might.

Annabel Ross, The Age, 20 August 2010



Voted worst album in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, December 2010

Mail order via Endless Melt

Monday, August 16, 2010

MUSIQUE POVERA: SNWKLR / HI GOD PEOPLE



Dylan Martorell (Snawklor/Hi God People) is currently exhibiting Musique Povera at Heide Museum of Modern Art.

This Sunday, Snawklor combine 'forces' with The Hi God People and a huge cast (VDO, Oblivion Hex, Mudra Woo Hoo, Bruce Mawson, Charles Ives Singers, Lachlan Conn, Donkeys Tail) for a special collobarative performance. Here's what HGP's own J.W has to say about it ...

the hi god will rock the environs and modern art must die. they will do mantras of Kurt switters ur sonata (1923 come 2010),we will take you cosmic surfing on the public transport of the 12 th realm,the hgp performance unit will fight the hgp musical unit till death or conquest occurs. bulleen will fall then templestowe will follow

Sunday 22 August
3:30pm - 4:30pm
Heide Museum of Modern Art
7 Templestowe street
Bulleen, Australia
http://www.heide.com.au

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Psychic Defrost

Mr Doug Wallen reviewed the new Psychic Baggage album for Cyclic Defrost. Here's what he had to say





















Psychic BaggagePsychic Baggage (Endless Melt)
By Doug Wallen July 28, 2010

Psychic Baggage is yet another fascinating outlet from Melbourne’s Duncan Blachford, the former Witch Hats drummer now splitting his time between Rubbish Throwers, Snawklor, Actual Holes, and Miniature Submarines. Released via his label Endless Melt, this project is fairly accurately dubbed “water-damaged free jazz.” Most of the six tracks on this self-titled debut average eight minutes, during which Blachford explores gaping space with minimal, improvised elements.

‘Free Sunshine’ sets the stage with intuitive drumming and skittering guitar that ranges from noise to melody to bristling afterburn. Blachford also slips in some jazz-ish cymbal play for a few teasing moments, confirming the project’s thirst for deconstruction. ‘Drums Meet Guitar’ starts with a nocturnal hum of keyboard and some haunted guitar before the drumming kicks in, and it’s ultimately much more about spine-tingling atmosphere than the instrumental cage match suggested by its title. ‘Sick In Memphis’ then sets a low and distant guitar loop set against much closer drumming. There’s some more burning guitar noise, but again it’s in the service of exploration as Blachford continues to feel out the changing textures at his disposal.

Like the soundtrack of a good horror film, ‘Autumn Monument’ sets foreboding bass tones and unearthly sounds against disturbing whimpers of trumpet. The percussion that birthed that track was a direct reaction to the motion of leaves in the wind outside a studio window, but there’s nothing calming about the finished piece. On the other hand, ‘Dreams, Sir’ is kind of sweet, thanks to a kinder and more hushed interplay of guitar and drums. Beaches’ Alison Bolger lends the titular saxophone to ‘Drums Meet Sax’, another spattered improv excursion. As with the rest of this album, it’s eerie and open, primordial and freeing.

Doug Wallen
Cyclic Defrost

ZOND LAUNCH





















The amazing ZOND launch their self titled album, out now thru the mighty RIP Society Records

ZOND
Beaches
Snawklor

Saturday 31st July
John Curtin Bandoom

/-/-/-/-/-/





















Read an interview with Zond on Mess+Noise ...
“I like explosions. I wish fireworks were still legal.”

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Rubbish Throwers - Tapeworms 7"





















Rubbish Throwers - Tapeworms 7" EP
Deep and dark sub-industrial banging and swirling. Title cuts sounds like a satanic Swell Maps. Total deadman post-punkrock clang. "Weak Eyelids" is the Antipodean answer to Lamps, but without any of Monty's good-naturedness. Out of step rhythm-n-burl. B-Side has a atmospheric droner backed with an explosive Gordons-like banger called "Willworker". Heavy and dark stuff from Melbourne via Tasmania, highly recommended, with members of Miniature Submarines and Actual Holes and links to The Stabs if you need to do a background check before buying. For fans of the Parts Unknown aesthetic and that new Deaf Wish LP. Scum stats: 150 copies only, jeeezus...
--Terminal Boredom (USA)

/-/-/
Rubbish Throwers - Tapeworms (7" EP)
Lead-off ‘Tape Worms’ is turbulent and primordial, all blown-out drums, bullying bass, and guitar that alternately stabs, screeches, and bristles ... Hungry, mean, and mysterious. Play it enough times for the vinyl to begin to degrade and you’d be hard pressed to hear any difference in this inky ruckus.
--Cyclic Defrost (AUS)

/-/-/
Rubbish Throwers, Heavy Airplay on WFMU:
http://www.wfmu.org/Playlists/Wfmu/top30.100630.html
http://www.wfmu.org/Playlists/Wfmu/top30.100715.html
http://www.wfmu.org/Playlists/Wfmu/top30.100728.html

MAIL ORDER HERE

Monday, July 19, 2010

Actual Holes, Lichens/Wadley Duo, Aaron Wallace @ S+G

















Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (Lichens) & Ian Wadley (Drunk Dial etc)
Aaron Wallace
Actual Holes 


Sunshine & Grease

Thurs 22 July 2010

Rob Lowe (USA) has just toured Australia (as Lichens, and as a member of Om). He and Ian Wadley met and recorded in Chicago in 2008 (when the latter was on tour drumming for Six Organs Of Admittance and Mick Turner).

RUBBISH THROWERS - PKE/AU SPLIT CD LAUNCH





















PAUL KIDNEY EXPERIENCE
AKTION UNIT
THE DONKEYS TAIL
RUBBISH THROWERS
EKO EKO AZARAK
PKE/AU SPLIT CD LAUNCH

SATURDAY JULY 23
OLD BAR
$10

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Mini Subs Duo @ Empress





















Miniature Submarines
White Woods
Elizabeth Pistol Club
Sunday 13th June @ The Empress
Doors open 7.30pm, bands start 8pm

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Difference and Repetition
















"Improvised free-form drumming recorded direct to a found cassette tape. Each piece had the following parameters: don't test the recording levels, don't stop until the tape does. The results are a total malfunction of hands, brain and tape."

Difference and Repetition recently sold out. Here it is for anyone who missed it: Difference and Repetition

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Sunshine & Grease

Thursday 6th May
Snawklor & Shoeb Ahmad
(Collaboration, two sets)
8.30pm
$6

@ Sunshine & Grease.
9 Queens Parade
Clifton Hill
http://www.sunshinegrease.com

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Stutter

This Wednesday the 5th of May @ Stutter...
Pure Evil Trio (Syd)
Snawklor
Shoeb Ahmad (Canb)
Kharkov
8:30pm

$10 (full) / $5 (conc)

@Horse Bazaar
397 Little Lonsdale Street
Melbourne
www.myspace.com/stuttermelb

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Bus Closing Party


Bus Projects Closing Party from 4pm on Saturday 20th March
Tickets are $10 each and are strictly limited so be quick!

Bands
4.30 – 4.50 Fatti Frances
5.45 – 6.45 Bert Alphett
7.00 – 8.00 Super Star
8.15 – 9.15 Gugg
9.15 Final speech from Bus Crew then V-dentatas
9.45 – close Snawklor
DJs
4.30 – 6.00 Helen Johnson
6.00 – 8.00 Roda Roda Sound System
8.00 – 9.15 Andrew McClelland

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Drunk Hands
















Climbed the mast and looked to sea: Drunk Hands

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Saturday, February 13, 2010

National Gallery of Victoria: John Nixon Presents...


SNAWKLOR
VORTICES
DYLAN MARTORELL

Saturday 13 Feb 2010
1:00pm

FREE

THEATRE
Ian Potter Centre
NGV AUSTRALIA

Thanks to John Nixon

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Rubbish Throwers




















Recorded back in 2007, these four ultra-blown-out scraps finally see the light of day on 7". Cover features the amazing artwork of Dylan Martorell. Limited to 150 copies.

Meanwhile, Rubbish Throwers have morphed into an ectoplasmic jazz mess, recording sloppy goop direct to cassettes found on the road, with a tape player found on the road: RTS.

Actual Holes

 

Several cassettes filled with space junk so far: saxophone, drums, percussion, guitar and keys. Recorded live to cassette by the duo. A selection of these early pieces will be released on cassette soon. In the meantime, some samples have been uploaded to the virtual wasteland: Actual Holes