A Rest Is All You Need…

The lovely dudes at Textura.org have put a wonderful review of ‘The Hummingbird Dream’ this month, which you can read below:

For whatever reason, I’d thought before hearing it that The Ghost Of 29 Megacycles’ The Hummingbird Dream might be a blistering, guitar-fueled meltdown of some kind, but the thirty-two-minute release, the Australian outfit’s follow-up to its debut CD Love Via Paper Planes, turns out to be the complete opposite. Born from “sleepless nights, morning silence, and sadness,” the new release pairs a twenty-four-minute first part played entirely by Greg Taw using guitar, organ, and field recordings as sound sources with a shorter second part where Taw is joined by Jessyca Hutchins (vocals), Rupert Thomas (organ), and Rebecca Orchard (vocals).

The elegiac drone that is Part one generates a beautiful drifting character when its crystalline guitar figures stretch out interminably and its slivers and shadings flicker overtop the thick drone that the organ establishes underneath. The mood is becalmed yet blissed-out too, especially when the smoldering slow-burn of the electric guitar moves to the forefront. The late-inning appearance of bird sounds gives the track an early morning feel, which in turn suggests that what has come before could be read as an aural simulation of a somewhat restless sleep state. “The Hummingbird Dream (Part 2)” comes a bit closer to the shoegaze spirit I’d expected before hearing the recording but even here the music is pitched way down, and consequently the dream-like quality of the opening piece persists into the second albeit in different form. Electric guitar strums and hushed vocals lend it a haunting, song-like quality, while a brief vocal interlude courtesy of Rebecca Orchard points the music heavenward again. Call it dreamscaping for the lost and lonely. (Ron Schepper – Textura.org)

Having spent a large portion of 2010 recording and touring abroad, this November and December will see My Disco return home for yet another extensive national Australian tour, this time in support of their imminent third album, Little Joy.

As always with Melbourne trio My Disco, the best thing about the new album Little Joy is its weird kind of absence. Ever since their first shows back in 2003, it’s like there’s been something lacking, a piece missing from the puzzle, but it’s a lack so intriguing that it keeps you coming back, trying to work out what’s not there.

And each time, that lack changes subtly. The set up is still the same – Liam Andrews on bass and vocals, brother Ben Andrews on guitar, and friend Rohan Rebeiro on drums. But each new record sees My Disco refine their essence, removing what most people expect to hear and leaving them something new in its place. The bare bones of a drum beat, a rumbling bass, one repeated phrase and some bursts of feedback add up to a wholly compelling sound world. It’s the sound of a band using the fewest tools to create the greatest range of possibilities. It’s a record both expansive and minimal, a compressed expression of vast emotions.

“The minimalist trio don’t so much defy convention as simply deny it, sidestepping genre and tradition to smash together their own sound. Identifiable elements include shards of black noise, striking percussion, lyrical snatches delivered with prosecutorial zeal and pulmonary bass parts.The band have used the ethos of the DIY scene they came out of to craft a fascinating sound, where repetition gives way to harsh beauty” Craig Mathieson, The Age

Supporting on the night are local favourites Hoodlum Shouts and Spartak. Starts 7pm, $15 tixs ($10 for ANU students) on the door. Each payer also receives ‘Atlanta’, an exclusive hellosQuare disc of live recordings by My Disco from last year’s American tour. Only 150 are to be made so it’s strictly first come, first served!

The songs of Grouper aka Liz Harris are densely compelling micro-universes. Each piece is layered with glowing washes of reverb and softly howling echoes of delay, in which Harris positions herself. Soft focus, and at times lost amid the clouds of audio, her voice emerges with a haunting fragility. Grouper’s work epitomises the potentials of textural songwriting – a practise of ukiyo-e like qualities, where audio colours are squeezed through a gauzy treatment, ultimately imprinting new and unexpected sound-shapes.

Over the past 5 years, Grouper’s records including Way Their Crept, Cover The Windows And The Walls and the highly successful Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill have defined her as one of the most evocative and unique voices to emerge from the USA. She travels to Australia on the back of several new releases including a soon to be issued new solo LP.

Grouper also will be releasing a special Tour 7″ with Room40 titled ‘Hold/Sick’, which will be available at the shows.

Joining her for this special show in Canberra is Melbourne’s Ghost Of 29 Megacycles launching his beautifully dream-like album ‘The Hummingbird Dream’ on hellosQuare and local funsters Ah! Pandita.

Grouper
supported by The Ghost Of 29 Megacycles + Ah! Pandita
Sunday 3rd October
The Street Theatre (foyer)
starts 3pm – $10 tixs at door

A long time coming – this cassette (named ‘Version Room’ in homage to classic dub works) sees Spartak hand over each pieces from their first album ‘Tales From The Colony Room’ to be reworked and abstracted by some of their favourite artists from the last few years, going hand in hand with their openess to collaboration. Flirting between minimal electro-acoustic music to heavily processed noise, the seven deconstructions by Pillowdiver, Cleptoclectics, Tomasz Bednarczyk, Freiband, Lawrence English, Lim-Klumpes and Jasper TX are glorious explorations of new ideas within Spartak’s already unique sound.

This release comes in a trademark Stumptown Printers Brad! Pak (recycled brown) with two insert cards letter-pressed by Ben Owen at Middle Press and purchase also includes immediate download in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.

Available as a pre-order now right HERE

Ollie Bown from the acclaimed duo Icarus pulls together Peter Hollo (FourPlay String Quartet, Raven), Adrian Lim-Klumpes (3ofmillions, ex-Triosk) and Spartak to perform in a series of duos, trios and other combinations in a super special, potentially one-off live collaboration to take place in the wonderful aural space that is Sydney’s Megaphon Studios. To get you in the mood for this evening of improvised sound, we have put up a free compilation over HERE

Friday 8rd October
supported by Cleptoclectics
Megaphon Studios (Level 2, Building 8/70 Edith St, St Peters).
Doors 7:30pm (8pm start), $10 entry

The Hummingbird Dream is now available online from our shop HERE and in support of this new record, he will be playing a series of shows up and down the east coast over the next few weeks, the upcoming dates below:

SYDNEY – Thursday 30th September
Bohemian Grove w/ Spartak
starts 7pm – $10 entry

NEWCASTLE – Friday 1st October
Crack Theatre Festival w/ Spartak
starts 3:30pm – free entry

CANBERRA – Sunday 3rd October
The Street Theatre (foyer) w/ Grouper + Ah! Pandita
starts 3pm – $10 entry

MELBOURNE – Thursday 7th October
303, Northcote w/ Amplifier Machine, Aktion Unit + Quick
starts 8pm – $8 entry (or $15 w/ CD)