Credits
Editor : Paul Finn . Writers : Tabi Sari , Daniel Thomson , Christina Kalleske , Mayhem Magazine , Renae at Katz Alley , Patrick Perkins , Laurie Page , Mayhem Magazine and Wayne FKN Chandler . Photographers : Craig McDonald , Aaron Ashley and Geordie Elliott , Jake Reid , Camin Tuxworth . Graphic Design : Jake Reid Volunteers : Tim Pellegrino and Laurence Backer For advertising or to submit an article contact Paul Finn , paulfinn83 @ hotmail . com or 0416 223 287
Note from the Editor
So , last month The Music Rag hit the streets for the first time and received a positive response … Except for comments from one of my friends who tried to give me sh ! t about the name of The Music Rag sounding too much like a woman ’ s monthly menstruation cycle . “ WTF ?!” she said … In response to this I ’ d like to say that the music biz is not always pretty or glamorous and most of it is not even close to the falsified image of pleasure or sex , drugs and rock n roll . Don ’ t get me wrong , there are certainly many high points and great moments working in the industry … but the entire industry is built from the back breaking work that goes into setting up a show , and also the blood , sweat and tears that artists pour into their craft . The Music Rag represents all this , supporting the great moments of sold out shows to supporting the struggling artists who have no choice but to sleep in their broken-down car on the side of the road . We ’ re all in it together regardless of what day of the month it is . :)
Cheers , Paul
Birds of Tokyo
Forever evolving their artistic endeavors !
There is a lot of ground work put in place before releasing an album . Often it takes a lot longer than anticipated , however , for a band like Birds of Tokyo it has been worth the wait and effort .
Their new album ‘ March Fires ’ showcases a massive leap forward in maturity and is a reflection of their epic journey . Ian Berney who is the bass player for Birds of Tokyo said , “ This record is less about the hard-hitting two minute pop-rock songs , and more about musical landscapes and sound textures . We ’ ve stripped back some of the aggressive sounds to allow more melody to come through . The song ‘ Lanterns ’ is kind of like a pulse and it grows with every bar , it ’ s like a train that builds up speed and in the end you are there . It never felt right to put anything heavy to it . I guess every album we release will always be different .”
Every band that becomes established always faces risk when releasing a new album that is different to the last . Ian Berney shared his perspective when releasing a new album . “ I believe as long as you have good strong songs with a good story behind why you decided to change direction , your music will be fine . If you have the means to back it up with logical artistic explanations then it will work out . But if your new album is full of rubbish songs and you ’ ve taken away a lot of what people love then it probably won ’ t work . We feel the strength of our songs will carry this album , and we are happy with what we achieved artistically .”
Rockin ! Birds of Tokyo @ The Venue Townsville , Thursday 25th July 2013 . By Paul Finn
Hungry Kids of Hungary
Kicking back on their day off …
It had been a whirlwind ride since the release of their stellar debut album ‘ Escapades ’ in 2010 . The festivals , the meetings , the almost constant touring both here and around the world . The impressive thing is that their new album , ‘ You ’ re A Shadow ’ has nailed it , solidifying this band on their adventure to becoming one of Australia ’ s finest .
It ’ s pretty rare when Hungry Kids of Hungary have a day off and do nothing . And that ’ s exactly what Dean , the lead vocalist and guitarist , was doing when he spoke to us about his upcoming show at this year ’ s Townsville Cultural Fest . “ We don ’ t get many days off , we just got back from an 8 week tour so it really feels great to not have anything to do today , it ’ s really nice .”
Hungry Kids of Hungary were recently up here for Groovin The Moo and are stoked to be one of the first major headlining acts at Townsville Cultural Fest . “ We are really lucky in that respect , we love playing shows that are on the beach . It ’ s nice to be able to play the types of shows where you feel a lot closer to the locals , we ’ re really excited about this one .”
This really will be a unique experience to see a band of this stature without blowing your budget . Townsville Cultural Fest is a family friendly , drug and alcohol free event .
See Hungry Kids of Hungary @ Townsville Cultural Fest Friday 16th of August . By Daniel Thomson
Salmonella Dj
Soundsystem
Two decades of awesome !
Mat . McHugh
Love Come Save Me downloaded 50,000 times !
It ’ s been over a decade now that Mat . McHugh has been at the forefront of the Australian independent music industry . Previously , he was the front man for ‘ the Beautiful Girls ’ where he has released 4 success ful studio albums that have sold in excess of 300 thousand copies Worldwide . Mat explains , “ We achieved a lot , the numbers are cool but the music on the CD is more important than how many albums you sell . We haven ’ t really had a budget to advertise our music , so we rely completely on word of mouth .”
A couple of years ago , Mat started focusing on releasing music and touring under his own name . In mid 2012 he released his new album ‘ Love Come Save Me ’ as a free download as a ‘ thanks to the people that have supported me over the years as well as the spirit of music itself . I feel like you have to balance out receiving with giving otherwise the whole thing falls apart .’ Love Come Save Me has now been downloaded just under 50000 times and was voted in the Top Ten Roots Albums of 2012 by highly influential national radio station , Triple J .
Having had so much success as an independent artist , Mat says , “ Think about the artists who add real value to music , I ’ m thinking about people like Miles Davis to Bob Dylan to Radiohead . To me , these people just do what they do . They don ’ t just try to get famous through Facebook … They spend their lives living and breathing music . Anyone can do it and you don ’ t have to be signed to a major label to do it .”
Mat McHugh performing @ Base Magnetic Island , Sunday 14th of July . By Tabi Sari
Clubfeet
Put on your dancing shoes
Clubfoot is a relatively common congenital deformity that affects either one or both feet and occurs often during birth . Clubfeet are a 5-piece synth-pop band based in Melbourne , consisting of members hailing from Cape Town , South Africa . Clubfoot or no , Clubfeet want to make you dance . Disco beats , funk guitar and chunky synth lines come together with the end product resulting in nothing less than smooth , intelligent dance music . Their poppy brand of disco especially lends itself into the capable hands of producers too , putting out danced up edits of tracks more suited to the club atmosphere .
The band ’ s debut LP Gold on Gold ( Illusive Sounds ), was released to relative critical acclaim and showcased their intriguing sound , where one can find a multitude of comparisons made by reviewers across the internet ; from Hot Chip to Cut Copy to Boy George ’ s rat-tail . The one thing all the opinions had in common however was that the music was good . While Gold on Gold was recognized as a solid record at the time , it wasn ’ t really until the release of the single Heartbreak in 2012 that the band enjoyed fairly heavy circulation on Triple J , and thus anticipation built for the release of their follow up album Heirs and Graces . When it did drop , the anticipation proved to be well deserved , the album showcasing a mix of dance driven excitement , received well by critics and the general population alike .
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Any successful band will have copyists , those who think that by following in giant ’ s footsteps they too will enjoy critical and public acclaim . Then there are bands no one would attempt to copy . These are the rare ones – and for more than 19 years Salmonella Dub out of Aotearoa / New Zealand has cut a path so distinctive and thrilling none would dare try to take them on their own ground . Salmonella
Dub created a unique style melding dub , rock futuristic , jazzy horns , drum ’ n ’ bass , electronica and reggae . Their music existed within its own world , and Kiwi and international remixers lined up to enjoy their alchemy .
Formed in 1992 by guitarist Andrew Penman , drummer David Deakin and bassist Mark Tyler , their classic line-up settled with arrival of vocalist Tiki Taane and multi-instrumentalist Conan Wilcox , and they launched their golden era with the platinum-selling album Killervision in ‘ 99 . Then it was remarkable run : Inside the Dub Plates two years later went double-platinum ; Outside the Dub Plates ( gold ); One Drop East ( double-platinum ) and – even after departure of the charismatic Taane in 2007 – Heal Me earned a platinum disc . Their earlier Calming of the Drunken Monkey from ‘ 97 has also recently gone gold ...!
Salmonella Dub commanded concert halls and stadiums at home and across Britain , Ireland and Australia ; won a loyal following for their ambitious shows ; and constantly extended their music into unexpected and exciting new areas . In ‘ 94 when they released their self-titled debut album no one could have foreseen what they would become . The band released their double album Freak Controller in 2009 and are now working on their next album to be released for the 20th birthday next year .
Salmonella Dub @ Base Magnetic Island , Saturday 27th of July .
Clubfeet are soon to be embarking on an Australia wide adventure , The Cape Town Tour , in aid of the release of Heirs & Graces .
The tour sees the group stop in at Flinders Social on the 19th of July , a night not to be missed . Patrick Perkins