Mistletone

Mistletone and Thump are proud to present for the first time in Australia, acclaimed electronic musician Forest Swords. Performing as a duo and integrating immersive HD projections, Forest Swords live show is a truly overwhelming experience.

FOREST SWORDS: SUNDAY MARCH 15 – Oxford Art Factory with special guests Cassius Select + Noise In My Head. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

Liverpool’s enigmatic Forest Swords makes textured, gauzy music as indebted to the region’s rich musical heritage as it is the windswept and beautiful coastal environment from which it was born. The result is something completely organic, sounding like a mix of Massive Attack’s sample strewn claustrophobia, King Tubby’s sweating dub, with hints of Ennio Morricone’s legendary guitar soundscapes.

Clattering beats, thunderous grooves and cavernous melodies rub shoulders with hip hop/ R&B shuffles and heavy drone to create a smeared, blurred take on electronic music that sounds weighty, chilling and triumphant. Forest Swords’ deep epics were first seen on the Dagger Paths EP, released via No Pain In Pop/Olde English Spelling Bee in 2010.

His debut album Engravings, released last year via Brooklyn electronic label Tri Angle (Holy Other, Evian Christ, The Haxan Cloak), saw Barnes refine and streamline his unique sound to huge critical acclaim, receiving praise from the likes of Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, The Guardian, Mixmag and FACT.
His shows, as seen at festivals across Europe including All Tomorrow’s Parties, CTM and Unsound, utilise propulsive soundscapes, visuals and live bass, combining to create a striking, immersive, and euphoric live set.

HTRK + MIKA VAINIO:

• MELBOURNE: Sunday March 15 @ The Shadow Electric, Abbotsford Convent. HTRK + Mika Vainio + special guests Jonny Telafone + DJ Conrad Standish. Tickets on sale now from The Shadow Electric..

HTRK have announced two intimate headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne to celebrate the first ever vinyl release of their 2009 debut, Marry Me Tonight. Produced by Rowland S Howard and originally released on CD by UK label Blast First Petite, Marry Me Tonight will now at last be reissued on a vinyl edition with a 20-page booklet featuring photos, liner notes and credits. One of Australia’s most esteemed bands, HTRK (Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang) have been longlisted for The Amp and shortlisted for The Age Music Victoria Awards “Album of the Year” for their latest, exceptional release, Psychic 9-5 Club.

The relationship between HTRK and Mika Vainio can be traced back to Berlin in 2008, when HTRK co-founder Sean Stewart became friends with the revered Finnish artist, who was a big influence on all three members of the band. Last year, Mika Vainio created a stormy, minimalist remix of HTRK’s “Poison” from Work (work, work) (Mistletone Records, 2011) which was released on 10” vinyl by US label Ghostly International.

Currently based in Berlin, Mika Vainio was one half of influential Finnish minimal electronic duo, Pan Sonic (the other half was Ilpo Väisänen). Before starting Pan Sonic in the beginning of the 1990s, Vainio played electronics and drums as part of the early Finnish industrial and noise scene in the 80’s. His solo works, under his own name and under aliases like Ø, are known for their analogue warmth and roughness. Be it abstract drone works or minimal avant techno, Vainio is always creating unique, physical sounds. He has released on labels like editions Mego, Touch, Wavetrap and Sähkö and he has been collaborating among others with Alan Vega of Suicide, Keiji Haino, Chicks on Speed, John Duncan, Bruce Gilbert and Stephen O’Malley and has contributed the music to Cindy van Acker’s dance pieces since 2009.

Marry Me Tonight by HTRK is set for vinyl release via Mistletone Records / Inertia on March 13 in Australia/New Zealand and Ghostly International in the US.

Mistletone and Thump are proud to present for the first time in Australia, acclaimed electronic musician Forest Swords. Performing as a duo and integrating immersive HD projections, Forest Swords live show is a truly overwhelming experience.

FOREST SWORDS: SATURDAY MARCH 14 – Howler with special guests Kangaroo Skull + Andrew Tuttle. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

Liverpool’s enigmatic Forest Swords makes textured, gauzy music as indebted to the region’s rich musical heritage as it is the windswept and beautiful coastal environment from which it was born. The result is something completely organic, sounding like a mix of Massive Attack’s sample strewn claustrophobia, King Tubby’s sweating dub, with hints of Ennio Morricone’s legendary guitar soundscapes.

Clattering beats, thunderous grooves and cavernous melodies rub shoulders with hip hop/ R&B shuffles and heavy drone to create a smeared, blurred take on electronic music that sounds weighty, chilling and triumphant. Forest Swords’ deep epics were first seen on the Dagger Paths EP, released via No Pain In Pop/Olde English Spelling Bee in 2010.

His debut album Engravings, released last year via Brooklyn electronic label Tri Angle (Holy Other, Evian Christ, The Haxan Cloak), saw Barnes refine and streamline his unique sound to huge critical acclaim, receiving praise from the likes of Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, The Guardian, Mixmag and FACT.
His shows, as seen at festivals across Europe including All Tomorrow’s Parties, CTM and Unsound, utilise propulsive soundscapes, visuals and live bass, combining to create a striking, immersive, and euphoric live set.

Mistletone and Thump are proud to present for the first time in Australia, acclaimed electronic musician Forest Swords. Performing as a duo and integrating immersive HD projections, Forest Swords live show is a truly overwhelming experience.

FRIDAY MARCH 13 – Unsound Festival, Adelaide. Tickets and information from Adelaide Festival.

Liverpool’s enigmatic Forest Swords makes textured, gauzy music as indebted to the region’s rich musical heritage as it is the windswept and beautiful coastal environment from which it was born. The result is something completely organic, sounding like a mix of Massive Attack’s sample strewn claustrophobia, King Tubby’s sweating dub, with hints of Ennio Morricone’s legendary guitar soundscapes.

Clattering beats, thunderous grooves and cavernous melodies rub shoulders with hip hop/ R&B shuffles and heavy drone to create a smeared, blurred take on electronic music that sounds weighty, chilling and triumphant. Forest Swords’ deep epics were first seen on the Dagger Paths EP, released via No Pain In Pop/Olde English Spelling Bee in 2010.

His debut album Engravings, released last year via Brooklyn electronic label Tri Angle (Holy Other, Evian Christ, The Haxan Cloak), saw Barnes refine and streamline his unique sound to huge critical acclaim, receiving praise from the likes of Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, The Guardian, Mixmag and FACT.
His shows, as seen at festivals across Europe including All Tomorrow’s Parties, CTM and Unsound, utilise propulsive soundscapes, visuals and live bass, combining to create a striking, immersive, and euphoric live set.

HTRK + MIKA VAINIO:

• SYDNEY: Friday March 13 @ Goodgod. HTRK + Mika Vainio + special guests Marcus Whale + DJ Conrad Standish. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix. Doors open 7:30pm.

HTRK have announced two intimate headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne to celebrate the first ever vinyl release of their 2009 debut, Marry Me Tonight. Produced by Rowland S Howard and originally released on CD by UK label Blast First Petite, Marry Me Tonight will now at last be reissued on a vinyl edition with a 20-page booklet featuring photos, liner notes and credits. One of Australia’s most esteemed bands, HTRK (Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang) have been longlisted for The Amp and shortlisted for The Age Music Victoria Awards “Album of the Year” for their latest, exceptional release, Psychic 9-5 Club.

The relationship between HTRK and Mika Vainio can be traced back to Berlin in 2008, when HTRK co-founder Sean Stewart became friends with the revered Finnish artist, who was a big influence on all three members of the band. Last year, Mika Vainio created a stormy, minimalist remix of HTRK’s “Poison” from Work (work, work) (Mistletone Records, 2011) which was released on 10” vinyl by US label Ghostly International.

Currently based in Berlin, Mika Vainio was one half of influential Finnish minimal electronic duo, Pan Sonic (the other half was Ilpo Väisänen). Before starting Pan Sonic in the beginning of the 1990s, Vainio played electronics and drums as part of the early Finnish industrial and noise scene in the 80’s. His solo works, under his own name and under aliases like Ø, are known for their analogue warmth and roughness. Be it abstract drone works or minimal avant techno, Vainio is always creating unique, physical sounds. He has released on labels like editions Mego, Touch, Wavetrap and Sähkö and he has been collaborating among others with Alan Vega of Suicide, Keiji Haino, Chicks on Speed, John Duncan, Bruce Gilbert and Stephen O’Malley and has contributed the music to Cindy van Acker’s dance pieces since 2009.

Marry Me Tonight by HTRK is set for vinyl release via Mistletone Records / Inertia on March 13 in Australia/New Zealand and Ghostly International in the US.

Aunty Meredith has just announced Sharon Van Etten and Parquet Courts will perform at Golden Plains Number Nine (March 7-9). Sign up for the ticket ballot here.

We at Mistletone are overjoyed that Sharon Van Etten — or Shazza, as we like to call her in this hemisphere — and her stunning band, are coming back to Australia in March. For all the attention that was paid to her 2012 break-through Tramp, Sharon Van Etten is an artist with a manifest hunger to turn another corner. Writing from free-flowing emotional honesty and vulnerability, she creates a bond with the listener that few contemporary musicians can match. Compelled by a restless spirit, Sharon Van Etten is continuously challenging herself, and has outdone herself this year with Are We There; a self-produced album of exceptional intimacy, sublime generosity and immense breadth. She sings of the nature of desire, memory, of being lost, emptiness, of promises and loyalty, fear and change, of healing and the true self, violence and sanctuary, waiting, of silence. The artist who speaks in such a voice is urging us to do something, to take hold and to go deeper. Here’s hoping she brings the personalised tissues which have graced her merch desks overseas…

Parquet Courts left delirious punters reeling in their wake after last year’s brilliantly bombastic Laneway Festival shows and sweaty headline gigs in Sydney & Melbourne. To quote The Vine‘s review of their Sydney show, “The partying gets harder and the screaming gets louder, until it ends abruptly, with no encore, leaving behind a convincing case for Parquet Courts as the best band in the Northern Hemisphere”. Parquet Courts delivered another impeccable album this year in Sunbathing Animal, which took a huge leap forward in terms of songwriting and vision whilst heightening the heaviness, mania and punk rock drive that has made the band beloved of music nerds everywhere. Still rooted firmly in the unshackled exploration and bombastic playing of their earlier work, everything here is amplified in its lucidity and intent. The songs wander through threads of blurry brilliance, exhaustion and fury at the hilt of every note. Parquet Courts sounds more like themselves than ever, a pinpoint accurate reading of the same American punk expansion they all but defined on Light Up Gold. Watching Parquet Courts tear it up in the sup’ at Golden Plains — “Late on Sunday night, before the kings of disco” — is our dream come true.

Below, watch the video for Parquet Courts’ “Black and White”, co-directed by Parquet Courts’ Austin Brown and Australia’s own Johann Rashid, who besides directing the UV Race film Autonomy and Deliberation and Eddy Current Suppression videos, plays in East Link and Home Travel:

And here is some sweet live footage of Sharon Van Etten performing Tarifa at Cafe De Le Danse in Paris, filmed by Valerie Toumayan:

PARQUET COURTS MELBOURNE SHOW: FRI MAR 6 – THE HI-FI with The UV Race + The Stevens. Tickets on sale now from Oztix.

Parquet Courts left delirious punters reeling in their wake after last year’s brilliantly bombastic Laneway Festival shows and sweaty headline gigs in Sydney & Melbourne. One reviewer wrote of their Sydney show: “The partying gets harder and the screaming gets louder, until it ends abruptly, with no encore, leaving behind a convincing case for Parquet Courts as the best band in the Northern Hemisphere”.

The ever-prolific Parquet Courts delivered another impeccable album this year in Sunbathing Animal (Remote Control), which took a huge leap forward in terms of songwriting and vision whilst heightening the heaviness, mania and punk rock drive that has made the band beloved of music nerds everywhere. Still rooted firmly in the unshackled exploration and bombastic playing of their earlier work, everything here is amplified in its lucidity and intent. The songs wander through threads of blurry brilliance, exhaustion and fury at the hilt of every note. Parquet Courts sounds more like themselves than ever, a pinpoint accurate reading of the same American punk expansion they all but defined on Light Up Gold.

And with impeccable timing, Parquet Courts just announced a new album, Content Nausea, under the name Parkay Quarts, which drops digitally on November 11, and on vinyl early December, via Remote Control. As well as the country-swaggering first single, “Uncast Shadow of a Southern Myth” (named Best New Track by Pitchfork – listen below), the new album contains a “gender-bending” cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots are Made For Walkin’”, a karaoke favourite of singer-guitarist Andrew Savage. Parquet Courts truly are the band that keeps on giving.

THE ORBWEAVERS play PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL, March 6-9. Tickets on sale now from the Port Fairy website.

PARQUET COURTS BRISBANE SHOW: THU MAR 5 – BRISBANE: THE ZOO with Blank Realm + Kitchen’s Floor. Tickets on sale now from Oztix.

Parquet Courts left delirious punters reeling in their wake after last year’s brilliantly bombastic Laneway Festival shows and sweaty headline gigs in Sydney & Melbourne. One reviewer wrote of their Sydney show: “The partying gets harder and the screaming gets louder, until it ends abruptly, with no encore, leaving behind a convincing case for Parquet Courts as the best band in the Northern Hemisphere”.

The ever-prolific Parquet Courts delivered another impeccable album this year in Sunbathing Animal (Remote Control), which took a huge leap forward in terms of songwriting and vision whilst heightening the heaviness, mania and punk rock drive that has made the band beloved of music nerds everywhere. Still rooted firmly in the unshackled exploration and bombastic playing of their earlier work, everything here is amplified in its lucidity and intent. The songs wander through threads of blurry brilliance, exhaustion and fury at the hilt of every note. Parquet Courts sounds more like themselves than ever, a pinpoint accurate reading of the same American punk expansion they all but defined on Light Up Gold.

And with impeccable timing, Parquet Courts just announced a new album, Content Nausea, under the name Parkay Quarts, which drops digitally on November 11, and on vinyl early December, via Remote Control. As well as the country-swaggering first single, “Uncast Shadow of a Southern Myth” (named Best New Track by Pitchfork – listen below), the new album contains a “gender-bending” cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots are Made For Walkin’”, a karaoke favourite of singer-guitarist Andrew Savage. Parquet Courts truly are the band that keeps on giving.

SHARON VAN ETTEN BRISBANE SHOW: Wednesday 4 March – The Zoo with Tiny Ruins (NZ) & Heather Woods Broderick (USA). Tickets on sale 9am, Tuesday 28 October from zoo.oztix.com.au.

Mistletone, The Music, 2SER & Triple R present the return of Brooklyn singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten and her stunning band. While in the country for Golden Plains Festival, she will perform at Factory Theatre in Sydney on March 1, The Hi-Fi in Melbourne on March 3, and Brisbane’s The Zoo on March 4. Tickets on sale 9am, Tuesday 28 October.

For all the attention that was paid to her 2012 break-through album Tramp, Sharon Van Etten is an artist with a manifest hunger to turn another corner. Her last Australian tour in early 2013 turned heads, and saw her perform a stunning rendition of ‘Give Out’ live on Channel 7’s Sunrise program, and delight triple j listeners and a global audience with a spin-tingling cover of Nick Cave’s ‘People Aint No Good’ for Like A Version.