I’m not a huge fan of Cold War Kids, but this is way too cool not to post about. The indie kids from California have recently released the video for their new single ‘I’ve Seen Enough’ (from 2008′s Loyalty to Loyalty), but it comes with a twist – it’s interactive.

That’s right, how this one-of-a-kind video works is entirely up to you. The four band members are muteable, and there are four versions of the song available (accessible by clicking the coloured tabs above each member). So you can listen to the song without drums, if you like. You can mix genres and see how it sounds. This video, directed by Sam Jones (dude behind Wilco doco I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, puts you in total control of what you want to hear – and it’s awesome.

Song ain’t too bad, either.

Check the video out here and tell us what you think!

Sydney indie pop sweetheart Sarah Blasko has just released the video for her latest single, ‘All I Want’. The single debuted earlier this month on triple j and is taken from her forthcoming record As Day Follows Night, which was produced by Bjorn Yttling (of Peter, John and Bjorn fame). The album, recorded in Sweden, is set for a July 10 release.

This gorgeous song is accompanied by an equally gorgeous video that brings to mind a Sigur Rós approach to cinematography. It’s not much of a departure from Ms Blasko’s trademark breathiness, but it’s pretty awesome.

Sarah Blasko is scheduled to appear at the Sydney Writers Festival this weekend for two free events. She will appear tomorrow in a panel with four other writers, and on Sunday will engage in a discussion with Sydney Morning Herald music critic Bernard Zuel.

If you’re kicking yourself for not getting the cheaper tickets to see Simon & Garfunkel on their upcoming tour, kick no more – the legendary ’60s folk duo have added an extra date to their Sydney leg.

As well as their weekend shows on June 20 and 21, Paul and Art will also be playing at Acer Arena on TUESDAY JUNE 23. Tickets will be in the same tiered price format – ranging from $97 (bronze) to $493.50 (“Total Concert Experience” in platinum) – and they can be in your hot little hands from 9am on Tuesday May 19 through Ticketek.

Limited platinum and gold tickets ($385.50 and $285, respectively) are still available for the weekend shows.

Brisbane’s Yves Klein Blue have just dropped the video for their latest single, ‘Getting Wise’, from the upcoming record Ragged and Ecstatic out June 26.

The band will be officially launching this single, as well as providing a sneak peek of their new album, at two exclusive gigs in Melbourne and Sydney so get in fast if you don’t want to miss out. Tickets are available on Moshtix for $14.70 (BF included) and these events are 18+.

LAUNCH DATES
Wed May 27 – The Toff in Town, Melbourne
Thu May 28 – The Supper Club, Sydney

Self released – March 11 2009

Tara Simmons discovered her craft from an extremely early age, picking up the violin at the age of four and her main instrument, the cello, at nine. The Blue Mountains-born, Brisbane-based multi-instrumentalist presents a quirky and original collection of songs on her debut album Spilt Milk (on which she is also the producer, engineer and mixer), using instruments from the usual to the downright nutty – car keys, Tupperware, can openers, an apple…

Spilt Milk uses unconventional compositional techniques, featuring guitar on only two of ten tracks – the focus instead is on the combination of strings, layered vocals and electronic elements. Repeated bowed cello patterns act both as the music’s basis and its theatrical embellishments, whilst a double bass adds a jazz-inspired element to the mix – ‘Long After The Boy’ offers a modern take on olden jazz featuring a constant strum over improvisational piano flicks and Simmons’ heady vocals. There are songs that focus only on one aspect of Simmons’ virtuosity – ‘You and Me’ is a poignant strings-and-voice-only piece, whilst ‘The Worst Of It’ closes the album on an Imogen Heap-like note, relying on the programmed accompaniment to carry Simmons’ fluctuating vocals right to the end.

‘When You Say That I Don’t Care About You’ is built on a simple electronic progression with an accompaniment of cello both plucked and bowed. This curious marriage of classical and electronica is a recurring theme on the record and, when punctuated by Simmons’ dream-like vocals, ultimately culminates in a carefree kind of floatiness that feels and sounds incredible – and leaves the listener wondering why more people haven’t done this before.

TRACK LISTING
01. We Are
02. When You Say That I Don’t Care About You
03. Everything But The Kitchen Sink
04. Shake
05. Domino
06. Meet in the Middle
07. You and Me
08. Long After The Boy
09. Silent
10. The Worst Of It

DOWNLOAD: When You Say That I Don’t Care About You (m4a)

For those of you who are unaware, FBi 94.5 is a not-for-profit community radio station and is one of the strongest voices in the Sydney music and arts scene. Its license states that 50% of the music it plays is to be Australian, with at least half of that 50% to be Sydney-based. Past presenters include triple j’s Marc Fennell and DJ Kid Kenobi, and FBi was also the first station to play such bands as Wolfmother, The Presets and Angus & Julia Stone.

tl;dr version: There is no other station in this city that offers anything like what FBi does in terms of new music and promoting local talent.

“So,” I hear you say, “how is this relevant to me?”

Actually, it is relevant to you! FBi has hit a little spot of financial trouble and have dreamed up an ingenius idea to get them back on their feet – the Ask Richard campaign! Basically, the plan is this: FBi hands the reins over to you. You think of the most wacky, wild way you can get Richard Branson to notice the campaign and (hopefully) donate $1 million. And whoever Richard picks as the best entrant wins $50 000 of the million! That’s right – help save Sydney’s best station, and you get cash in YOUR pocket!

Head to the website for more details and do your thing to help a station that deserves it.

And in slightly more bogan news, Aussie hard rock icons AC/DC have announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand for next year – their first on home soil since 2001.

Filling in the support slot (in Australia only) will be our very own Wolfmother, who have recently revamped themselves, going from a trio to a quartet with Andrew Stockdale now the only remaining original member.

Tickets available from May 25 – lock up your daughter and snap ‘em up!

2010 TOUR DATES
Sat January 30 – VENUE TBA, Auckland (NO WOLFMOTHER)
Sat February 6 – VENUE TBA, Wellington (NO WOLFMOTHER)
Thu February 11 – Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Thu February 18 – ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Thu February 25 – Nathan Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, Brisbane
Tue March 2 – Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Sat March 6 – Subiaco Oval, Perth

SUPPORTED BY: PhDJ, Dept, Qua, Quan

Brooklyn electronic duo Ratatat have quite a devoted following in Australia, with this visit, on the back of their 2008 release LP3, being their fourth in about as many years. So it was no surprise that at their only Sydney show, at the University of Sydney’s Manning Bar, the door was tacked with a piece of paper which read, in bold red lettering, SOLD OUT. Fans who missed out on tickets frantically searched for scalpers from whom they could purchase tickets at inflated prices, but to no avail – and rightfully so. You’d have to be out of your bloody mind to pass up a chance to see this band for the sake of a couple of bucks in your pocket.

Watching someone sitting in front of a Macbook looking completely bored, occasionally looking up to push a button or two, isn’t the most enthralling experience, but that was how the night began with both PhDJ and Dept providing generic background music – sorry, DJ sets – for early punters filtering through the doors. The most memorable thing that happened through these two sets was the fact that a remix of Animal Collective’s ‘My Girls’ was played – and even that could have been done as a simple recording over the speakers, without people on stage.

The night began to chug along more steadily as Melbourne’s Cornel Wilczek, aka Qua, and percussionist Bongo Legs teamed up and took the stage. Adding a tuned drum pad to the usual laptop/synthesiser combination, Qua fused elements of seemingly unrelated genres to create a busy wall of sound carried forth by frenetic drumming. This brand of experimental noise pop was uniquely fascinating, but failed to fully capture the attention of the restless audience looking for something to get them on their feet.

That something was Quan, better known as the frontman of Regurgitator, who bounced his way through freestyle raps and chunky electronic riffs. Accompanied by a lady friend on the drums, the performance was brought to life by epileptic backdrop projections often flashing the lyrics in abrasively punchy colours. Though the music itself was nothing to marvel at, it was Quan’s charismatic audience interaction that held the performance together as he thrusted the mic towards the crowd to hear their energetic screams as they dirtied up the dance floor to tunes like ‘Year of the Jerk’.

But none of these acts were any indication of what was to come, and at 11pm sharp the lights dimmed and one word was emblazoned on the projector screen: RATATAT. When Mike Stroud and Evan Mast walked out on stage, the applause was deafening and they wasted no time in getting the party started. Bleeding in with the synth tinker of LP3 opener ‘Shiller’, the duo worked towards a shatteringly energetic spasm accompanied by film clips of the mundane made beautiful.

Drunk on both liquor and music, Stroud and his guitar fell to the ground during passionate solos whilst his shadow swelled to gargantuan heights against the swirling projections – Ratatat takes obvious inspiration from ‘70s psychedelia, pushing the band’s show to a rapturous eccentricity that few of their contemporaries can compete with. Despite my 100% sobriety on the night thanks to driving duties, I’d never felt more intoxicated in my life as I did staring up at the stage – they may be only two men, but the sound they make is bigger than you could possibly begin to imagine.

The throbbing pulse of tracks like ‘Lex’ and ‘Wildcat’ were heightened in a live setting, and the subtlety of Spanish-flavoured ‘Mi Viejo’ achieved a more intimate sense of musicianship with its urgent bongo drum outro leading into the electronic drum clutter of ‘Mirando’. Stroud feverishly banged on the bongos before holding them out for the audience to play, occasionally stopping to take a swig of beer – but what didn’t stop was the constant beat, burning hotter than ever on tracks like ‘Falcon Jab’ to the rhythm of sweaty bodies as machine smoke infiltrated eyes and lungs.

By the time the band encored with fan favourite ‘Seventeen Years’ it was well past midnight, but the crowd was far from ready to go home. The pumping fists, the nodding heads keeping time, the moving feet (both those of seasoned all-out pill-poppers and awkward indie kids finding to their horror that their feet can’t help but shuffle) – Ratatat could have played all night and it wouldn’t have been enough.

Self released – January 30 2009

Countless of couples have made music together before. Some are more discreet than others (think Meg and Jack White, who masqueraded as siblings for how long?); some sing their emotions shamelessly from the rooftops (Sonny and Cher, anyone?); some, like Brooklyn electro-punks Matt & Kim, use their love to birth a youthful energy that every hipster teen can relate to.

Joining these ranks is duo Charlotte & Magon, the former a Frenchwoman and the latter an Israeli man. They chatted online for two years before meeting in the flesh in March 2008 to record an album together – and, as the story goes, fell hopelessly in love in the process. That album, Love Happening, is a perfect reflection of their feelings for each other – but it’s sometimes so overly emotional that it leaves the listener feeling a little voyeuristic.

The album opens with the rumble of waves before drifting into the euphoria of ‘Vagalam’, where Charlotte introduces herself by murmuring in a mid-range sigh about “making love in the sand” whilst her lover Magon’s “hair shines in the sun”. In the same vein as French ambient pioneers Air, the song – and the album as a whole – relies on a subtle electronic zephyr to carry it forth which, when coupled with Charlotte’s waif-like vocals, produces a gorgeous atmospheric calm. That is, until Magon’s voice joins the scene, sonorously whispering in a seductive tone: “The smell of your feet is invading me”.

Now, there is no boundary in art. People are permitted to express what they want, as they want – but there’s something about listening to an urgent, almost animalistic ode to foot fetishism that is incredibly unsettling, teetering on the edge of an accidental peepshow. Put it this way: looking at a couple in love is heartwarming and sweet, but walking in on the same couple in a compromising position is awkward, even though the act is obviously a manifestation of their love.

When sex is not so explicitly mentioned, however, the lyrical blends more subtly and tastefully into the musical and has a much more poignant effect. Introducing elements such as flute and synthesiser, Charlotte & Magon experiment with different types of vocal delivery, from whispered spoken word to heavily layered fifth progressions – their singing voices work quite well together (her wispy alto and his gently shaking tenor). And if you find yourself thinking you’ve heard this music before, you have – Serge Gainsbourg pioneered this exact style of atmospheric chanson years ago, right down to the heavy sexual themes. In this sense, the French influence in the music and lyrics is almost overwhelming, but there’s much less of a nod to Israeli musical styles – a real disappointment as it would have been fascinating to hear more on how the meeting of two cultures emotionally would transpire musically.

With the continuing theme of the ocean and its vast nature (much like the nature of love, actually), Love Happening rolls just as recklessly as the sea. It starts with the calm arousal of ‘Vagalam’, slides into the electric sexuality of ‘Howard’, turns the lights out with the seductive ‘Waves’, becomes a subtle lullaby with ‘I Love You, You Are My Friend’, bows out humbly with the piano echo of ‘Sounds Like An Ending’. Like the ocean, it lurches and lulls unexpectedly – the music is calm yet frenetically charged, atmospherically vast and touching.

Love Happening is just what its title suggests: the lushly atmospheric sound of two people entangled in each other, wrapped up in the delicious sensation of discovering what it means to fall in love. The sounds are sweepingly grand and the ideas formidable, and the fact that Charlotte and Magon discovered their passion for one another whilst making this album makes the emotions rampant in the music – however excessive – all the more credible.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Vagalam
02. Mon Amante
03. All My Sorries
04. Howard
05. Rivage
06. Waves
07. Dead Sea
08. I Love You, You Are My Friend
09. Nine Cloud
10. Sounds Like An Ending

DOWNLOAD: Vagalam (mp3)

K Records/PopFrenzy – March 28 2009

Jeremy Jay looks like American Idol Clay Aiken – he’s clean-cut, cute, take-home-to-your-parents material. And sure, his latest album Slow Dance has its romantic moments – the L.A/Paris musician scrubs up pretty well when he’s being cutesy like on ‘Winter Wonder’ where, over a gentle strum, his soft croon slides seamlessly into an ethereal sigh. And ‘Slow Dance 2′ – Danny Zuko, is that you?

But this album’s aim isn’t to woo your mum – its primary focus is the evocation of a winter soundscape through the curious marriage of crunchy guitars and disco synths, with influences ranging from old-school punk to new wave and electro. Jay takes us on a haphazard journey painted by soaringly icy synths – ‘Gallop’ and ‘Canter Canter’ are urgent horseback rushes through his imagined landscape, while the title track is agitated rather than expectedly romantic. The four bonus tracks (marketed overseas as the Love Everlasting EP) don’t quite flow with the rest of the album, but do demonstrate a heavier use of electronic techniques to underscore Jay’s quiet cynicism.

Jay’s music has often been tacked with the odd term ‘suicide twee pop’, and listening to this album one can see why – it’s almost schizophrenic, but manages to remain strangely sweet. Whilst Jay is not always profound with his lyrics and sometimes leans too heavily on repeated sighs to fill in wordless gaps, he remains sincere and humble; a young boy at heart with a boundless imagination.

This album plays like The Clash would have if they’d harboured a penchant for disco magic – quaking with a gritty punk edge and slathered in danceable melodies, it’s immediate and fresh.

TRACK LISTING:
01. We Were There
02. In This Lonely Town
03. Gallop
04. Canter Canter
05. Slow Dance
06. Winter Wonder
07. Will You Dance With Me?
08. Breaking The Ice
09. Slow Dance 2
10. Where Could We Go Tonight?
BONUS TRACKS (LOVE EVERLASTING EP):
11. Love Everlasting
12. Lite Beam
13. Jet Stream
14. Love Everlasting (Winter Version)

DOWNLOAD: In This Lonely Town (m4a)