Utility Fog

Sunday, 14th of October, 2012

TONIGHT: Paul and Joe from 65daysofstatic talk about their decade plus of blistering electronic/postrock, and heaps more...
If you would like to listen to just the 65 interview (and tracks), download it here.
Also LISTEN AGAIN to the whole show as per usual - see bottom, subscribe to podcast, or stream on demand at FBi.

Started with one of my favourite tracks by 65daysofstatic, from their 2005 album one time for all time, which is the next release to be re-released by Bird's Robe in Australia. More about them later...

But for now we keep it emphatically postrock, with an excerpt from the new album by the mighty Godspeed You! Black Emperor. While they quite explicitly never broke up, and while they've been touring on and off again for the last few years, it was never expected that we'd have a new album from these guys, especially released so suddenly. It's classic Godspeed - spoken word samples, long drone sections, big postrock bombast with tremolo guitar melodies, quiet string bits, everything you need. Not going to replace their classics but great to have something new! I played half of the second long piece.

Gail Priest and Kate Carr have co-released a split 12" on their two labels, from which I played some lovely tracks a couple of weeks ago. Tonight I played another Gail Priest tune – field recordings (I assume of a ghost gum) with her ghostly vocals and electronics. It's a captivating EP, and they're launching it on Sunday week (2 weeks from today) at 107 Projects in Redfern, from 5 & 9pm.

And then we're back into 65daysofstatic. A band who've been with us since the inception of this show in 2003, who I've followed through their whole history (I was corresponding with Paul in 2003). Combining two of my musical loves in a way that can't help but perfectly suit UFog, they did glitchy electronica & breakcore as comfortably as postrock/s quite/loud guitars and drums. Over the years they've perfected this amalgamation, while throwing around countless remixes, mashups, pre-show mixes and the like. You can find a lot of rare stuff at the probably unofficial 65kids site. Particularly notable is the amazing video of their infamous Christina Aguilera mashup I'm Dreaming of a White Noise Christmas, featuring footage from the movie Changing Places. It's strangely moving as was as impeccably postmodern and totally 65.
Tonight we heard a bunch (mostly) of their more obscure tracks, and had a long conversation with founding members Paul Wolinski and Joe Shrewsbury.
They're touring Australia in January (starting December 30th at the Peats Ridge Festival) – full dates here.

EL Heath is a folktronic artist from Shropshire in the UK, connected to the epic45 folks in some way &ndashl; in fact Rob Glover of epic45 turns up remixing one track here as The Toy Library. Eric Heath's music is rooted in the countryside where he lives (much like epic45). There are more acoustic folk style numbers, and more droney numbers, but also some classic folktronica with acoustic instruments and beats. Lovely stuff.

Sydney's Alister Spence Trio last released an album in 2009. Featuring the brilliant Toby Hall on drums and the Necks' Lloyd Swanton along with Spence on piano and samples, they can sound like a straight melodic jazz piano trio one minute, and then go into shimmering post-jazz the next, glitchy soundscapes, layered close-mic'd double bass, skittering drums. I was blown away by fit in 2009, and the new album brings us a double CD's worth of lovely stuff to discover. They're launching the album this Friday, Oct 19th at the Sound Lounge at the Seymour Centre.

To finish tonight, one track from the beautiful and somewhat insane new release from Japanese chanteuse Cuushe. Three new songs have been released by the excellent flau on three 3" CDRs, each also featuring remixes from both Japanese electronica artists and some surprising international guests. The wonderful Rachel Evans aka Motion Sickness of Time Travel designed the luscious artwork and contributes a blissful ambient remix.

65daysofstatic - drove through ghosts to get here [monotreme/re-released in Australia through Bird's Robe]
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - We Drift Like Worried Fire [Constellation]
Gail Priest - ghost gum [Flaming Pines/Metal Bitch Recordings]
65daysofstatic - Asphalt and Trouble [monotreme/re-released in Australia through Bird's Robe]
...interview with Paul Wolinski and Joe Shrewsbury from 65daysofstatic...
65daysofstatic - DNL - mash up [Dustpunk Records]
65daysofstatic - Broken Ship Ruse [Dustpunk Records]
65daysofstatic - it's guy time (I don't mind) [self-released]
65daysofstatic - Goodbye, 2007 [monotreme/re-released in Australia through Bird's Robe]
EL Heath - The Bridges, Ratlingthorpe [Wayside and Woodland]
EL Heath - A Song For The Village Of New Invention (The Toy Library Remix) [Plenty Wenlock]
Alister Spence Trio - Felt [Rufus Records]
Alister Spence Trio - neon and rain [Rufus Records]
Alister Spence Trio - Lux [Rufus Records]
Cuushe - Dust of Dreams (Motion Sickness of Time Travel Remix) [flau]

Listen again — ~ 106MB

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