Mistletone

Artwork by Alex Fregon

Mistletone + Melbourne Music Week present Labels Live @ St Michael’s Church (corner Collins & Russell Sts, Melbourne).
Friday 25 November, 7pm start. All ages. Featuring HTRK, Beaches, The Orbweavers, Montero + Wintercoats. Tickets $20 + booking fee on sale now from Moshtix.

Mistletone + Melbourne Music Week present Labels Live @ St Michael’s Church (corner Collins & Russell Sts, Melbourne).
Friday 25 November, 7pm start. All ages. Featuring HTRK, Beaches, The Orbweavers, Montero + Wintercoats. Tickets $20 + booking fee on sale now from Moshtix.

Playing times:

7:00pm Doors open
7:30 Wintercoats
8:10 Montero
9:00 The Orbweavers
9:55 Beaches
10:55 HTRK

Food, drink & sweet jams from DJs LA Pocock + Shags in Elements bar (behind the church) from 6.30pm.

Mistletone has curated an extra special lineup as part of Melbourne Music Week‘s Labels Live series of concerts staged in extraordinary locations. Mistletone’s Labels Live event, set within the cathedral walls of St Michael’s Uniting Church, will coincide with our 5th birthday celebrations and features five faves from the Mistletone roster: HTRK, Beaches, The Orbweavers, Montero and Wintercoats.

HTRK is Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang, a two-piece live electronic/noise/avant pop/rock act known for their subtlety of gesture and stubbornly languorous performances and capable of seducing audiences through disciplined waves of sonics, crisp 808 beats and soft, calm threats. Having released their hugely anticipated and acclaimed new album Work (work, work), a recent Triple R Album of the Week, HTRK spent the late 2000s touring Europe extensively at the personal request of Liars, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Shellac, The Horrors, The Locust and Fuck Buttons. Their defiantly underground pedigree derives from strong associations with the late, great Rowland S. Howard and UK industrial legend Paul Smith, whose label Blast First Petite (Pan Sonic, Martin Rev) has released their album in the UK/Europe. HTRK’s headline set in St Michael’s Church promises to be an immersive and intense experience, the emotional centrepiece of HTRK’s first hometown tour in over five years.

Melbourne quintet Beaches imagine themselves as overdriven pop boogie psych kraut molten lava rock. If you can see past that mouthful, youll find five women, three guitars, tons of hair, and a buttload of loud and uncompromising psych, sweetened with sun-drenched fuzztone. Having toured the US twice, most recently playing Austin’s Psych Fest with Roky Erikson, and gracing such festival stages as All Tomorrows Parties, Big Day Out, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Laneway and Meredith, Beaches are currently prepping their sophomore album.

The Orbweavers, praised by The Age as a “particularly special Melbourne band”, will showcase their Mistletone debut Loom; a collection of beautifully evocative, country-tinged songs about creeks & quarries, dangerous needlework, basalt foundations, rising tide and greyhounds. Formed by Marita Dyson and Stuart Flanagan in 2006, The Orbweavers’ songs have a special place in Melbournians’ hearts, thanks to Triple R and PBS who have devoted much airplay to Japanese Mountains, Spotswood and new single You Can Run (Fern’s Theme).

Montero is a new project from Melbourne comic/video artist (and Mistletone artist-in-residence) Bjenny Montero. The two jams on the debut Montero 7″ single, Mumbai b/w Rainman, are shaping up to be the pop/schmaltz/glam/prog/post-mellow/wave-wave/ man-core anthems for tomorrow. A soft rock supergroup of sorts, Montero features the musical smarts of Guy Blackman (Chapter Music honcho and balladeer), Geoffrey OConnor (Crayon Fields), Cameron Potts (Ninety Nine, Baseball, Cuba Is Japan), Robert Bravington (Cuba Is Japan) and Gerald Wells (The TM Band). A powerful, sensual group of sensitive and inspiring men.

Wintercoats aka Melbournes James Wallace creates aural artworks of fragility and grandeur, weaving violin, glockenspiel, piano and a plethora of other instruments into a glorious yet unmistakably poignant artistic vision, fortified by haunting and cavernous vocals. Having supported Beach House and Mirah, plus appearing at the 2011 Melbourne Festival with MONO, Wintercoats has just released his impressive Mistletone debut Sketches, a 12″ EP featuring 6 shimmering tracks. Further immense feats and achievements are expected from one of the most humble, gifted and opulent prospects on the contemporary scene.

HTRK TOUR DATES:

MELBOURNE: Saturday, November 19 @ RAOBGAB with Lost Animal, New War + Free Choice Duo * SOLD OUT

NEWCASTLE: Wednesday, November 23 @ Emma Soup Gallery (Emma Soup 1st birthday celebration) with In the Dollhouse + Stitched Vision. Tickets $15 + booking fee on sale now from Oztix. 7pm start. All ages.

SYDNEY: Thursday, November 24 @ Goodgod Small Club with Lost Animal + Kirin J. Callinan. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

MELBOURNE: Friday, November 25 @ St Michael’s Uniting Church, corner Collins & Russell Sts: Labels Live showcase curated by Mistletone to celebrate the label’s 5th birthday & presented by Melbourne Music Week. Featuring HTRK, Beaches, The Orbweavers, Montero & Wintercoats. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix. 7pm start. All ages.

BRISBANE: Saturday, November 26 @ The Bridge Club with Lakes, Secret Birds, Nite Fields. Doors open 7pm. Tickets $18 + booking fee on sale now from Oztix. Presented by Mistletone, The Thousands and 4ZZZ.

Mistletone proudly presents the return of Melbourne-born, London-based HTRK in their first Australian tour for over five years.

HTRK is Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang, a two-piece live electronic/noise/avant pop/rock act known for their subtlety of gesture and stubbornly languorous performances and capable of seducing audiences through disciplined waves of sonics, crisp 808 beats and soft, calm threats.

From the mid-2000s, HTRK (pronounced “haterock”) toured Europe extensively at the personal request of Liars, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Shellac, The Horrors, The Locust and Fuck Buttons. Their defiantly underground pedigree derives from strong associations with the late, great Rowland S. Howard and UK industrial legend Paul Smith, whose label Blast First Petite (Pan Sonic, Martin Rev) has just released their acclaimed new album Work (work, work), in the UK/Europe. The album has been released locally through Mistletone Records / Inertia, and in the US on Ghostly International.

• “Fans of raw drone will zone out in their glory” – ALL MUSIC GUIDE
• “Awe-inspiring” – ROCK A ROLLA
• “Extraordinarily sexy” – TIME OUT UK
• “Amazing, heartbreaking sound” – 20 JAZZ FUNK GREATS
• “Obsessed.” 8/10 – NME
• “A musical suicide pact between Swans and Mazzy Star”– PLAYLOUDER

HTRK sound like a comedown, a bad trip, a hip romance, “a motel room, a tyre print in the rain, an alibi” (Plan B). 808 beats, evocative basslines, texture on texture. Jonnine’s wry, androgynous slur melts on top – sliding the masculine into the feminine. People say it sounds like Suicide and Swans, but more beautiful.

HTRK’s vision is mainly about emotion – having just the right amount of expression versus restraint. They could unleash a sonic nightmare – how they temper their power is what makes them unique.

Introductions: bassist Sean Stewart met guitarist Nigel Yang through music school in Melbourne. Inspired by David Lynch, protopunk and noise, they dropped out and decided to start Hate Rock Trio. Art director Jonnine Standish noticed Stewart’s good looks at a bar one night and charmed her way into band rehearsal. This was 2003.

Their first release in 2004, the Nostalgia EP (self-released, reissued by Fire Records), has since been used as a soundtrack for live suspension hangings by performance artist Kareem Gnoheim, and described by Allmusic (in a four-star review) as “an agitated haze of addictive ambivalence instead of the swagger and violence of their influences, the overall feeling is of beautiful disharmony”.

Their strangely detached live shows caught the attention of post punk legend Rowland S. Howard (ex-The Birthday Party), who invited them to record their debut at Birdland Studios. The result, Marry Me Tonight, was their ‘pop’ album, designed explicitly for teenagers and described by brainwashed as “an almost purely emotional experience… a wet dream”.

They moved to Berlin in 2006 and cut their teeth touring Europe with Liars. They’ve played Glasgow’s famed Optimo club, the unfamed but equally as potent London anarchist squat party Behind Bars, and toured Ireland briefly with Shellac. They half-moved to London, signed to Blast First Petite and played with personal heroes Alan Vega, Lydia Lunch and Martin Rev. Their slick DJ sets at Dalston club ‘Faction’ further revealed their talent at creating (and sustaining) a mood; their mixing of Vangelis and Coil with choice cuts from Basic Channel, Sahko and Muzique gave hint of their new synthetik direction.

Marry Me Tonight finally got released in 2009, sans hype, but got listed in Wire magazine and NME (8/10) and somehow found its way into the hearts and bedrooms of the disaffected youths (and young at heart) they were aiming for. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs took them on tour, as did The Horrors. In January 2010, wanting to start something new, HTRK organised a “tech-noir” party at Cargo London with Factory Floor and unsung electro genius Andrea Parker.

After years of living on a slippery slope, Stewart committed suicide in March 2010. Standish and Yang’s resolve strengthened. They completed their album in the months following and played a comeback show at the ICA described by the NME as being of “purging redolent beauty”. Stewart’s death will not help HTRK shake the common description of them as dark, despite their intentions. But the new album Work (work, work) is a record of heartbreak, finding another world, with soft allusions to the future. Darkness has been overplayed; it’s too representational now. HTRK do not aim for pitch black or lights off… it’s a murkier, more mysterious, heavy space.

Work (work, work) is out now on Mistletone in Australia/New Zealand, Ghostly International in the Americas and Blast First Petite elsewhere. Pre-order vinyl here and get an immediate digital download; vinyl will ship from September 19.

Artwork by Bjenny Montero

DAEDELUS TOUR DATES:

BRISBANE: Wednesday, November 23 @ Bridge Club with Outerwaves (EP Launch), Tincture, Dot.AY vs Rubijaq + Dank Morass DJs. Tickets on sale from Moshtix. Presented by Silo Arts and Mistletone.

SYDNEY: Friday, November 25 @ Goodgod Small Club with special guests Collarbones and Galapagoose. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

MELBOURNE: Saturday, November 26 @ ArtPlay. Presented by Melbourne Music Week as part of the DJ Kidz program. Ticketing details & more information soon.

PERTH: Saturday, November 26 @ The Bakery with special guests Collarbones, Diger Rokwell, Ben M and Clunk. Tickets on sale now from heatseeker / now baking, Planet Video, 78 Records, Mills Records and Star Surf. Presented by Life Is Noise.

MELBOURNE: Sunday, November 27 @ RAOBGAB with special guests Collarbones and Galapagoose + DJ Mack Daddy Albino Dwarf. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

Mistletone proudly presents Los Angeles beatmaker, producer, instrumentalist and Ninja Tune artist Daedelus, bringing his latest creations to Australia this November.

The genre-defying sounds of Daedelus reflect Alfred Darlington’s fascination with the philosophies of dandyism and art for art’s sake. His image and his music are coloured by this philosophy, which translates into a captivating and dazzling live show that will fly audiences enticingly close to the sun.

Alfred Darlington isn’t a paint-by-numbers musician. From how he looks to how he makes music, how he expresses himself and views the world, his is a very individual ‘bespoke’ outlook.

Alfred was born in Santa Monica in 1977 to an artist mother and professor father. Musical from very early on, as a child he was classically and jazz-trained in a number of instruments, but his interests were broad and varied – less a prodigy than a renaissance boy whose obsessions ranged from Greek legend to the mountains of Wales. As a 15 year old he finally persuaded his parents to take him to the Principality. Whilst in a YWCA in London he flipped the radio dial, found a pirate radio station and taped some UK rave and hardcore. “It was my first ‘Eureka!’ moment in music,” he says.

Alfred had wanted to be an inventor from an early age, a sentiment that led to him choosing this artistic moniker (in Greek mythology Daedalus was known as an inventor, although Alfred also cites the character Stephan Dedalus in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and the ship in the Japanese cartoon Robotech as equally valid reasons for his selection) when he decided to begin releasing his own work. Despite the fact that he was formally trained on double bass and bass clarinet (and also played the guitar and accordion, among other things) and studied jazz at USC, Daedelus chose to go the electronica route, often incorporating samples from the ’30s and ’40s into his IDM and left-field hip-hop.

Back in the US he joined local rock bands, jazz bands and ska bands, which he enjoyed but felt limited by, too. At home he was listening to Warp, Ninja and your harder electronic stuff. He started DJing out the more leftfield side of drum & bass and making his own rudimentary productions. They were meant to fit the d&b template but they kept turning out different and from his outsider’s experiments his own style was born. He chose the name Daedelus as he had a childhood obsession with invention, and what was he doing, after all, if not tinkering and fiddling and experimenting like the “gentleman inventors” of old?

In 1999 he started DJing on Dublab.com for his Entropy Sessions and began dropping in his own early demo productions. Carlos Nino (of Ammoncontact) had the show after him and usually pushed Alfred out the studio as quickly as possible as he was not so enamoured with Alfred’s leftfield-electronic DJ style, but when he heard a tranquil Daedelus production he took Daedelus and introduced him to the LA scene. Nino placed Daedelus tracks on two influential compilations and then Plug Research released his debut album Invention in 2002. Remixers included Madlib, who later took Daedelus’ accordion parts and used them on 2004’s Madvillain record.

In 2003, he was booked to play a show in San Diego by Brian Crabtree and Peter Siegerstrong and the pair asked him to test out an early prototype of the Monome. “It’s a Non-traditional electronic instrument,” Daedelus explains. “Basically it allows for massive improvisation.” Since then Daedelus has continued to use this revolutionary controller, bringing much genuine liveness to the sometimes static world of performed electronic/dance music.

In 2003 he did The Weather album with Busdriver and Radioinactive and the remix album Rethinking the Weather on Mush records. 2004 saw the release of Of Snowdonia on Plug Research, the album with which Daedelus says he first “felt true artistic confidence, finding a true voice. I was finally in the right zone.”

There was certainly no let up in his creativity. Also in 2004 he released the concept album A Gent Agent on micro-label Laboratory Instinct. The 2005 album Exquisite Corpse on Mush featured the likes of TTC, Mike Ladd and MF DOOM. Ninja signed Daedelus for UK/Europe (a relationship which reached its full expression on 2008’s Love To Make Music To, his first album for the label worldwide and put together with the help of their team).

In 2006 Denies the Day’s Demise came out, a record showcasing his love of Brazilian music. Last year he released his first live album, Live At Low End Theory, and Fairweather Friends EP. Later that year came the release of his collaboration with his wife, Laura Darling, as the pastoral The Long Lost.

There has been no let up in Daedelus’ productivity. He has remixed or been remixed by and produced with all of his LA scene peers including Flying Lotus, Nosaj Thing, The Gaslamp Killer, Baths, and countless others from further afield. In addition, singles and EPs under his own name have come out with Brainfeeder, All City, Magical Properties (the Daedelus home-imprint), Alpha Pup, Warp and Stones Throw. And all the while his reputation has grown internationally, his place in the LA scene has also solidified as a musician that many of the hottest names in the city turn to for everything from bass clarinet licks to advice on obscure electronics; all the while with a continuous string of tour dates across North America, Asia, Europe, the UK, and beyond.

2011 started not only with his new album but the meticulous planning of a huge tour featuring guest vocalists from his Bespoke LP and with a spectacular visual show curated in part by Emmanuel Baird (of Manchester’s Warehouse Project and Hoya Hoya nights) featuring a top secret new invention codenamed ARCHIMEDES which promises to yet again re-invent live electronic performance.

The most recent Daedelus release is Overwhelmed, a digital only EP out now on Ninja Tune and locally via Inertia.

Winter’s course is almost run, so it’s high time for some notes about all that’s forthcoming in the Mistletone realm. We have some sweet tours coming up (& heaps more to be announced over the summer), and the rest of 2011 is an incredibly exciting time for our label. We are about to release some of the best records we’ve ever worked with, and all of them are Australasian. Read on for news of tours, releases & other Mistletone happenings.

TOURING: KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS

Mistletone proudly presents for the first time in Australia, Kurt Vile & The Violators. Kurt Vile has been on a slow burn ascent since 2008, steadily rising from the American underground through relentless touring and the release of four smashing albums, most recently this year’s epic Smoke Ring For My Halo (out on Matador and locally on Remote Control). Kurt will tour with his crack ensemble The Violators, who add the perfect modicum of live grunt to Kurt’s songs and make them roar. Catch Kurt Vile & The Violators at the 21st Meredith Music Festival plus national headline dates below.

KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS TOUR DATES

PERTH: Saturday December 3 @ The Bakery with special guests Split Seconds and The Long Lost Brothers. Tickets on sale from lifeisnoise.com, Now Baking, Heatseeker, 78 Records, Mills and Planet. Presented by Mistletone, Life Is Noise, The Thousands, RTR & Drum Media.

SYDNEY: Tuesday December 6 @ Oxford Art Factory with special guests Royal Headache and Step-Panther. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix. Presented by Mistletone, Drum Media and The Thousands.

MELBOURNE: Sunday December 4 @ The Corner with special guests Fabulous Diamonds + Chook Race. Tickets on sale now from The Corner box office. Presented by Mistletone, Triple R, Inpress and The Thousands.

BRISBANE: Thursday December 8 @ Woodland with Blank Realm. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix. Presented by Mistletone, Happy Endings, The Thousands, Street Press Australia & 4zzz.

TOURING: THE BATS

The Bats fly in across the Tasman to launch their all-new album, Free All The Monsters, due for an October release on Mistletone Records in Australia and the mighty Flying Nun label in NZ. Expect some reworkings from The Bats’ much-loved and timeless back catalogue alongside the sparkling new tunes, but this is no nostalgia trip. The Bats are at the height of their powers, touring in their original lineup of Robert Scott (vocals, lead guitars); Kaye Woodward (guitars, vocals); Paul Kean (bass, guitar, backing vocals); and Malcolm Grant (drums). To quote a review from their 2010 Aussie tour: “Is there a word for better than perfect? If there is, New Zealand’s The Bats are it…. Like a band reborn, The Bats absolutely smash this show — they’re back for real, and they rule.”

THE BATS AUSSIE ALBUM LAUNCH DATES:

MELBOURNE: East Brunswick Club, Friday 14 October with Witch Hats + Guy & Marcus Blackman. Tickets on sale from The East box office.

SYDNEY: Notes, Saturday 15 October with special guests Loene Carmen + The Reservations. Tickets on sale from Oztix.

TOURING: BLACK DICE and LUCKY DRAGONS

Black Dice and Lucky Dragons are coming to Australia in October by invitation of Melbourne Festival plus a headline show in Sydney. Rightly renowned as one of the pre-eminent forces of the noise art movement, Black Dice have built a reputation as one of the most mercurial, abrasive and overwhelming live music experiences touring the world today. From their origins as an occasionally violent post-hardcore outfit in the late 90s, through to the improvised distortion epics that marked their middle years, Black Dice have emerged in 2011 as a techno-influenced amalgam of noise atmospherics, jaggedly programmed beats and snatched, scrambled sample work. Black Dice’s transformative live show will feature visuals Los Angeles filmmaker Danny Perez, best known for his work on Animal Collective’s ODDSAC film and for providing Panda Bear’s incredible live visuals.

Lucky Dragons are about the birthing of new and temporary creatures — equal-power situations in which audience members cooperate amongst themselves, building up fragile networks held together by such light things as skin contact, unfamiliar language, temporary logic, the spirit of celebration, and things that work but you don’t know why. A review of the 2008 Lucky Dragons Australian tour marvelled: “Forget about things like ‘songs’, ‘gig’ and ‘live’, theirs was a performance, and one that mainly hinged on simply providing the tools for happiness. The audience, half-seated, half-standing, did the rest, either directly or by some obvious signs of contentment. Attempts to ‘involve the audience’ usually come off trite, embarrassing or, worse, just fail, but Lucky Dragons intuitively knew how to orchestrate the crowd into a communal group of music makers.”

BLACK DICE / LUCKY DRAGONS TOUR DATES:

SYDNEY, Fri 7 Oct @ Oxford Art Factory: Black Dice + Lucky Dragons + Holy Balm. Tickets $40 + BF from Moshtix.

MELBOURNE, Sat 8 Oct @ Forum Theatre: Black Dice + Lucky Dragons. Tickets $40 from Ticketmaster or phone 1300 723 038.

MELBOURNE, Wed 12 Oct: Lucky Dragons supported by Geoffrey O’Connor @ The Toff. Tickets $25 from Moshtix or phone 1300 438 849.

TOURING: BACHELORETTE

New Zealand-via-New York’s one-woman space-pop goddess Bachelorette is coming to Australia in October as a guest of Melbourne Festival, plus one Sydney show only at Goodgod Small Club on Saturday 22 October, with support from Donny Benet and Jasmina Maschina. Described variously as a one-woman Animal Collective and a female Syd Barrett, Bachelorette (AKA Annabel Alpers) is set to transport you with her singular brand of psychedelic computer folk pop, comprising expansive, layered loops and radiant multi-tracked harmonies. Bachelorette’s wonderful and much-acclaimed third and self-titled album is out now on Mistletone; have a peep at the dazzling new video for Blanket directed by Steven Grisé here, and download Blanket from Mistletone Soundcloud.

BACHELORETTE TOUR DATES:

MELBOURNE, Wed 19 Oct: Bachelorette supported by Rat Vs Possum @ The Toff. Tickets $25 from Moshtix or phone 1300 438 849.

MELBOURNE, Fri 21 Oct: Bachelorette supporting Konono No. 1 @ Forum Theatre. Tickets $40 from Ticketmaster or phone 1300 723 038.

SYDNEY, Sat 22 Oct: Bachelorette supported by Donny Benet and Jasmina Maschina @ Goodgod Small Club. Tickets $22 + booking fee on sale now from Moshtix.

TOURING: HOLY FUCK

Electro-noise pop bros Holy Fuck are heading back our way for the inaugural Harvest Festival amidst an epic lineup including Portishead, The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev et al. Fans should note there will be no sideshows for any Harvest Festival artists, so you’re best advised to snap up tickets, especially in Melbourne which is selling fast.

HOLY FUCK @ HARVEST FESTIVAL DATES:

MELBOURNE, Sat 12 Nov: Harvest Presents “The Gathering”, Werribee Park

SYDNEY, Sun 13 Nov: Harvest – A Civilised Gathering, Parramatta Park

BRISBANE, Sat 19 Nov: Harvest – A Civilised Gathering, Botanical Gardens.

Ticketing details here.

TOURING: DAN DEACON

We are so happy to announce that Dan Deacon is returning to Australia for The Falls & Southbound festivals; and this time he’s bringing his posse! Dan has toured Australia twice before, as a solo artist in 2008 for Laneway Festival, then in 2009 for Golden Plains and Perth Festival. This tour will see Dan with a four piece ensemble taking his incredible live show to another level, combining acoustic and mechanical instruments, samples and electronics and the warmth of live instruments to bring Dan’s sonic experiments and feel-good party anthems to life. More details soon. In other super exciting Dan Deacon news, Dan is scoring the next Francis Ford Coppola film! It’s a gothic romance/horror flick called Twixt Now and Sunrise, starring Val Kilmer with narration by Tom Waits. Dan will tour the film around the US, using his iPad to re-edit and re-perform the film’s score in real time based on the audience’s reaction. Awesome, huh?

DAN DEACON FESTIVAL DATES:

LORNE (VIC): Falls Festival, 28 Dec – 1 Jan (sold out).

MARION BAY (TAS): Falls Festival, 29 Dec – 1 Jan. Tickets available here.

BUSSELTON (WA): Southbound Festival, 7 – 8 Jan. Tickets to the general public are on sale now. You can purchase your Camping Tickets here and your Weekend Festival Tickets here.

And now, to Mistletone’s upcoming releases…

MONTERO: MUMBAI b/w RAINMAN 7″ (out Sep 2)

Montero is a new soft-rock/slow-wave supergroop led by Melbourne video artist (and Mistletone artist-in-residence) Bjenny Montero, featuring the musical smarts of Guy Blackman (Chapter Music honcho and balladeer), Geoffrey O’Connor (Crayon Fields), Cameron Potts (Ninety Nine, Baseball, Cuba Is Japan), Robert Bravington (Cuba Is Japan) and Gerald Wells (The TM Band). Mumbai is best described as post economic meltdown relaxation pop; its lilting cadences evoke a flood of associations — self help rock, Wall Street relaxation tape sounds, stress ball gazing, new age ocean rock, positive thoughts manuals and the Indian Ocean. Rainman is the big daddy of the hitherto-unknown genre of custody battle space rock, or should we call it camp psychedelic divorcecore? The 7″ features cover art by Bjenny Montero and Sonny Smith (Sonny & the Sunsets). Check out the amazing videos for Rainman (by Bjenny Montero) and Mumbai (by Laura Cashman). Both tracks are now available digitally via iTunes.

MONTERO 7″ SINGLE LAUNCH DATES:

MELBOURNE: Fri Sept 9 @ Grace Darling Bandroom with special guests Time Shield, Super Star + DJ Clem Bastow. Tickets $12 at the door.

SYDNEY: Thu Sept 15 @ Goodgod Small Club with special guests Domeyko/Gonzalez, Erik Omen + DJ Shesh Besh. Tickets $10 at the door.

MELBOURNE INSTORE: Fri Sept 16 @ Polyester City Store. Free, all ages, starts 6pm.

HTRK ~ WORK (WORK, WORK) LP/CD (out Sep 9)

There is an intense buildup of anticipation for the new album from London by way of Berlin and Melbourne art-rock duo HTRK (pronounced “Hate Rock”). This extraordinary, beautiful and (dare we say) sexy album was completed while grieving the loss of founding member Sean Stewart to suicide in March ‘10. But it’s about much more than abject darkness. Much, much more. On Work (work, work), HTRK craft a stark soundscape: achingly slow 808 beats, eerie synth arpeggios, vaporous guitar noise, and Jonnine Standish’s androgynous, detached vocals, dripping with reverb. And yet it’s the careful way Jonnine & Nigel Lee-Yang combine those elements—organising and juxtaposing them with a minimalist’s attention to detail—that makes their music so emotionally devastating. Work (work, work) will be released on vinyl and CD. You can download the first single Eat Yr Heart and a Suicide cover, Sweetheart (A.K.A. Love You) from the Mistletone Soundcloud. HTRK will tour Australia for the first time in over five years in November.

TORO Y MOI ~ FREAKING OUT 12″ (Sep 16)

Ever prolific producer Chaz Bundick a/k/a Toro Y Moi has a brand new batch of lavishly funky material to offer. This new 12″ vinyl release finds Bundick reveling in twenty minutes of boogie, roping in the heavy sounds of groups like the Gap Band and Mtume. The Freaking Out EP is no sloppily assembled bunch of Underneath The Pine session throwaways — it was put to tape in June, during a period of touring quiescence. While the first two tracks are modern takes on the 80s post-disco vibe, “Sweet” sounds like the product of a Todd Edwards and Teddy Riley collaboration, with smooth synths weaving in and out of meticulously chopped and arranged vocal samples. Full of energy and concisely crafted, Freaking Out is Toro Y Moi’s most concentrated venture into pure dance floor hedonism. You can download a new jam Saturday Love from the EP from the Mistletone Soundcloud. It’s a disco/dance/R&B cover, originally released by Alexander O’Neal & Cherelle in 1985. Golden! Oh and check out the new video for How I Know from Underneath The Pine; it’s on a rad haunted house / Ghostbusters / Scooby Doo tip.

WINTERCOATS ~ SKETCHES 12″ (Sep 30)

Wintercoats a/k/a Melbourne’s James Wallace creates aural artworks of fragility and grandeur, weaving violin, glockenspiel, piano and a plethora of other instruments into a glorious yet unmistakably poignant artistic vision, fortified by haunting and cavernous vocals. James’ work is rich in symbolism; narrations of unwanted and uncontrollable realities, but ideologically hopeful, optimistic and confident, seamlessly weaving violin, glockenspiel, piano and a plethora of other instruments into a glorious yet unmistakably poignant artistic vision, fortified by haunting and cavernous vocals. This impressive label debut is out on Mistletone in Australia/NZ, Cascine in the US and Rallye in Japan. Truly one of Melbourne’s most talented and promising solo musicians, already widely celebrated within the underground community and having supported the likes of Beach House and Mirah alongside an upcoming appearance at the 2011 Melbourne Festival with MONO, we expect further immense feats from one of our most humble, gifted and opulent prospects.

UPCOMING WINTERCOATS SHOWS:

SYDNEY: Sat 27 August Astral People launch @ Tone w/- Jonti, Bon Chat Bon Rat, Albatross + more. Tickets from Moshtix.

MELBOURNE: Fri 7 October supporting MONO at The Forum Theatre as part of Melbourne Festival.

JONTI – TWIRLIGIG LP/CD (Oct 7)

Jonti (yes, the artist formerly known as Danimals/Djanimals), is the first Australian artist to sign to visionary US label Stones Throw, and Mistletone’s first Sydney artist. This ultra-talented producer’s incredible debut Twirligig draws inspiration from many of Jonti’s favorite artists — Madlib, Stereolab, Free Design, The Beach Boys and cartoonist/ filmmaker Norman McLaren. To quote uber-blog Altered Zones: “His organic, sun-bleached sounds come off like electronic versions of summer’s best: chirping crickets, reeds blowing in the breeze, crackling bonfires. The itch to ditch your home base for an adventure usually comes on strong this time of year, so take note from your own instincts and let the long days of sun guide you on an exploration outside– of your house, of yourself.” You can download Twirligig‘s fantastical first single Firework Spraying Moon from Mistletone Soundcloud and watch the flipped-out video, directed by Henry DeMaio (Dam Funk, Mayer Hawthorne), here.

THE BATS ~ FREE ALL THE MONSTERS CD (Oct 14)

This all new album from Kiwi indie-pop legends is classic Bats. Produced by NZ studio legend Dale Cotton, Free All The Monsters sparkles with poppy and insightful songwriting, at once instantly catchy and revealing ever more depths with each listen. Inpress called their last album The Guilty Office (Mistletone, 2008) “One of the purest distillations ever of The Bats’ strengths… showing off the poppy propulsion and happy-sad core that made The Bats one of the defining bands of the Flying Nun catalogue… the band’s revival appears complete.” Free All The Monsters takes it all up another notch, embedding The Bats as one of the great bands of our time.

THE ORBWEAVERS ~ LOOM CD (Oct 28)

The Orbweavers were formed in Melbourne by Marita Dyson & Stuart Flanagan in 2006 and have been praised by The Age as “a particularly special Melbourne band”. Their songs are already dear to many Melburnians’ hearts thanks to the loving airplay Triple R has given to their beautiful songs Spotswood and Japanese Mountains — a tribute to the historic Spotswood Sewerage Pumping Station and an ode to Japanese volcanoes — which first came to life as a self-released double A-side single last year. Their forthcoming Mistletone debut Loom is a collection of gorgeously evocative, dark folk-tinged songs about creeks & quarries, dangerous needlework, basalt foundations, rising tide and greyhounds. Listen to the first single You Can Run on Mistletone Soundcloud.

PANEL OF JUDGES ~ MOODS ON THE MOVE LP (out now)

Melbourne indie-pop institution Panel of Judges recently launched their new and brilliant vinyl-only release Moods On The Move with a couple of blistering shows in Melbourne and Sydney which may be their last for some time, as Dion Nania has moved to New York City and Alison Bolger is expecting twins any day now! The album has received high praise such as this from The Thousands: “Panel of Judges, or simply ‘Panel’, have long been an influential presence in the Melbourne indie pop/rock landscape. Their newest, Moods on the Move, is all that. Just listen to Dainty Vagabond. The way the second understated guitar comes stumbling in like a dressing-gowned housemate into a kitchen, sleepy but familiar. From the laconic, deadpan-but-gentle delivery of Nania to the ‘whoah whoah’ harmonies of Bolger, it’s a song that encapsulates all that is great about the Panel sound. Fingers crossed that Moods on the Move is no swan song. But if it is, this vinyl-only release – which comes with download code and stunning original cover art by drummer Paul Williams – will be a damn fine one.” The LP comes with a digital download code and is also available on iTunes. You can download two tracks from the album, Dainty Vagabond and Coconut Trees, from Mistletone Soundcloud.

VIVIAN GIRLS ~ SHARE THE JOY (out now)

Our fave Brooklyn girl group outdo themselves on the sassy, high camp new video for Take It As It Comes. Directed by Travis Peterson, it’s more fun than a Pink Lady pyjama party. Take It As It Comes is the latest single from the fantastic new Vivs album Share The Joy.

JULIANNA BARWICK ~ THE MAGIC PLACE (out now)

This extraordinary album by Brooklyn soundscaper Julianna Barwick has resonated strongly with local audiences. The Age gave it 4.5 stars, waxing lyrical: “Barwick constructs opaque audio atmospheres from swarms of heavenly harmonies and cloudy drones, making music equal parts canonical and environmental”. The Sydney Morning Herald gave it 4 stars and called it “So beautiful it might indeed reach the ear of heaven”. Find out more about this enthralling artist in this feature article by Anthony Carew which ran in The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald last month, and download the title track from Mistletone Soundcloud. And keep your eyes and ears open for a Julianna Barwick tour in the Australian summer.

And on a final “aww, shucks” note, we were chuffed indeed that Laneway Festival recently profiled Mistletone alongside such titanic labels as DFA, Stones Throw, 4AD and Young Turks in a piece titled Not Surviving, Thriving: Five Inspiring Indie Labels. You can read all about it here. Indie labels forever!

Stand by for launch dates and more Mistletone news. Til spring!

♥ ♥ TEAM MISTLETONE

New Zealand-via-New York’s one-woman space-pop goddess Bachelorette is coming to Australia in October as a guest of Melbourne Festival, plus one Sydney show only at Goodgod Small Club on Saturday 22 October, with support from Donny Benet and Jasmina Maschina.

Described variously as a one-woman Animal Collective and a female Syd Barrett, Bachelorette (AKA Annabel Alpers) is set to transport you with her singular brand of psychedelic computer folk pop, comprising expansive, layered loops and radiant multi-tracked harmonies.

BACHELORETTE TOUR DATES:

MELBOURNE FESTIVAL, Wed 19 Oct: Bachelorette supported by Rat Vs Possum @ The Toff. Tickets $25 from Moshtix or phone 1300 438 849.

MELBOURNE FESTIVAL, Fri 21 Oct: Bachelorette supporting Konono No. 1 @ Forum Theatre. Tickets $40 from Ticketmaster or phone 1300 723 038.

SYDNEY, Sat 22 Oct: Bachelorette supported by Donny Benet and Jasmina Maschina @ Goodgod Small Club. Tickets $20 + booking fee on sale now from Moshtix.

Bachelorette, the third album by Bachelorette, was recently released by Mistletone Records / Inertia in Australia, Drag City in the US and Souterrain Transmissions in Europe, and has been attracting the highest praise for its accomplished blend of 70s psychedelia, 80s electro-pop, 90s shoegaze and 00s electronica.

The music of Bachelorette is a strange, enveloping tangle of synthesised melody and claustrophobic texture built around Alpers’ raw and endlessly multi-layered voice. Her hypnotic live show with synchronised visuals will take you on a sonic journey to a universe sustained by the logic of androids, cities, waveforms and love.

PRAISE FOR BACHELORETTE by BACHELORETTE

• “Playful in parts, solemn, and sombre, this is a deep, dense weave of rich psychedelic pop… Alpers closes the book on Bachelorette at the height of the project’s powers” – MUSIC AUSTRALIA GUIDE

• “Bachelorette is its own universe… the whole package is pulsing with life.” – MESS +NOISE
• “There’s always been a peculiar warmth to the analog synths and the drowsy, shivering harmonies, but there are more frequent bursts of humanity when xylophones, guitars and whistling filter through the radiophonic state” – BEAT

• “A swirling mix of folky introspection, driving, Kosmische repetition, and undulating drones. The constant throughout is Kiwi Annabel Alpers beautiful voice, an otherworldly croon that’s gospel-like in its devotion.” – TWO THOUSAND

• “Alpers is making music like few others, a one-of-a-kind blend of electronics and folk lyricism” – DRUM MEDIA

• “Few exponents of electronic pop create albums as original and enduring as (Bachelorette)… a refinement of her already prodigious talent for vocal harmonies over infatuating synth hooks” – SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

• “Infused with the radiophonic experiments of the 60s & the synth innovations of the 70s and 80s and a distinct interpretation of pop classicism that is Annabel’s alone… This self-titled work represents in some ways a culmination of all the Bachelorette  material recorded to date; a brilliant balance of consonance and dissonace the lingers in the imagination and demands repeated listens.”– TRIPLE R Album of the Week

Artwork by Bjenny Montero

Mistletone proudly presents for the first time in Australia, Kurt Vile & The Violators.

Philadelphia’s Kurt Vile can bring to mind anyone from Suicide to Leo Kottke to My Bloody Valentine, Nick Drake and Eastern ragas. Mistletone is proud to be bringing Kurt Vile and his band, The Violators to Australia for the very first time for the 21st Meredith Music Festival, plus national headline dates below.

Kurt Vile might belong to a long lineage of classic American songwriters, but he’s the only one who’s alive and in his prime today. He has been on a slow burn accent since 2008, steadily rising from the American underground through relentless touring and the release of four smashing albums.

The culmination of this groundwork was this year’s epic Smoke Ring For My Halo (out on Matador and locally on Remote Control) which perfectly showcases the amazing range of Kurt’s music. It’s tender and evocative, elusive but companionable, tough in the gut and the arm, swollen in the chest and giddy in the head. It’s a record that is perfect for any given day in whatever season, to satisfy all moods in every possible scenario, first thing in the morning or last thing at night, today, tomorrow or five years from now.

Kurt Vile is touring with his crack ensemble The Violators, who add the perfect modicum of live grunt to Kurt’s songs and make them roar.

KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS TOUR DATES:

PERTH: Saturday December 3 @ The Bakery with special guests Split Seconds and The Long Lost Brothers. Tickets on sale from lifeisnoise.com, Now Baking, Heatseeker, 78 Records, Mills and Planet. Presented by Mistletone, Life Is Noise, The Thousands, RTR & Drum Media.

MELBOURNE: Sunday December 4 @ The Corner with special guests Fabulous Diamonds + Chook Race. Presented by Mistletone, Triple R, Inpress and The Thousands. This show is now sold out.

MELBOURNE: Monday December 5 @ Northcote Social Club with special guests Twerps and Montero. Doors 7:30pm. Tickets on sale now from the venue.

SYDNEY: Tuesday December 6 @ Oxford Art Factory with special guests Royal Headache and Step-Panther. Presented by Mistletone, Drum Media and The Thousands. This show is now sold out.

SYDNEY: Wednesday 7 December: Kurt Vile & the Violators @ Red Rattler Theatre, 6 Faversham St, Marrickville with Circle Pit + Bed Wettin Bad Boys. Doors open 7:30pm. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

BRISBANE: Thursday December 8 @ Woodland with Blank Realm. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix. Presented by Mistletone, Happy Endings, The Thousands, Street Press Australia & 4zzz.

Artwork by Alex Fregon

THE BATS AUSSIE ALBUM LAUNCH DATES:

MELBOURNE: East Brunswick Club, Friday 14 October with Witch Hats + Guy & Marcus Blackman Experimentation. Tickets on sale from The East box office. Presented by Mistletone + Triple R.

SYDNEY: Notes, Saturday 15 October with special guests Loene Carmen + The Reservations. Tickets on sale from Oztix.

Kiwi indie-pop legends The Bats are heading back to our shores this October to launch their all-new album Free All The Monsters in Melbourne & Sydney. Free All The Monsters will be released on October 15 on Mistletone Records / Inertia in Australia, and on the mighty Flying Nun label in NZ.

Free All The Monsters is classic Bats, instantly catchy and revealing ever more depths with each listen. Aussie audiences can also expect some reworkings from The Bats’ much-loved and timeless back catalogue, but this is no nostalgia trip. The Bats are at the height of their powers, touring in their original lineup of Robert Scott (vocals, lead guitars); Kaye Woodward (guitars, vocals); Paul Kean (bass, guitar, backing vocals); and Malcolm Grant (drums).

To quote a review from their Australian tour last year: “Is there a word for better than perfect? If there is, New Zealand’s The Bats are it. Like a band reborn, The Bats absolutely smash this show — they’re back for real, and they rule.”

In the meantime, The Guilty Office by The Bats (Mistletone, 2008) and the brilliant solo album by Robert Scott, Ends Run Together (Mistletone, 2010) are both available on mail order.

Artwork by Bjenny Montero

Black Dice and Lucky Dragons are coming to Australia in October by invitation of Melbourne Festival plus a headline show in Sydney. Black Dice’s transformative live show will feature visuals Los Angeles filmmaker Danny Perez, best known for his work on Animal Collective’s ODDSAC film and for providing Panda Bear’s incredible live visuals.

BLACK DICE / LUCKY DRAGONS TOUR DATES:

SYDNEY, Fri 7 Oct @ Oxford Art Factory: Black Dice + Lucky Dragons + Holy Balm. Tickets $40 + BF from Moshtix.

MELBOURNE, Sat 8 Oct: Black Dice + Lucky Dragons + Kangaroo Skull @ Forum Theatre (Melbourne Festival). Tickets $40 from Ticketmaster or phone 1300 723 038. Over 18s event only.

MELBOURNE, Wed 12 Oct: Lucky Dragons supported by Geoffrey O’Connor @ The Toff. Tickets $25 from Moshtix or phone 1300 438 849.

Rightly renowned as one of the pre-eminent forces of the noise art movement, Black Dice have built a reputation as one of the most mercurial, abrasive and overwhelming live music experiences touring the world today. From their origins as an occasionally violent post-hardcore outfit in the late 90s, through to the improvised distortion epics that marked their middle years, Black Dice have emerged in 2011 as a techno-influenced amalgam of noise atmospherics, jaggedly programmed beats and snatched, scrambled sample work. Feared and respected in equal measure, Black Dice’s live shows are relentless audio-visual assaults, exercises in virtuosic musical cohesiveness and defiant experimentation that will splinter opinion and also, potentially, your eardrums.

Lucky Dragons’ live shows are the epitome of coming together – less performance, more all-in, collaborative jam session where the shape of the song is dictated by the audience as much as it is the band. Listening to Lucky Dragons is like having your preconceptions of what music should be gently disassembled and recombined by two of your oldest friends. Armed with a varied and ever-changing array of synthesisers, loop pedals, wind instruments and percussive elements, the Lucky Dragons live experience is half interactive art project, half neo-hippy freak jam, and all shimmering sonic dreamscape.

Mistletone is psyched to bring you Toro Y Moi‘s new EP Freaking Out as a digital and 12″ vinyl release on September 16. You can download a new jam Saturday Love from the EP from the Mistletone Soundcloud. It’s a disco/dance/R&B cover, originally released by Alexander O’Neal & Cherelle in 1985. Golden!

For Toro Y Moi’s Chaz Bundick, 2011 has seen the release of his acclaimed sophomore album, Underneath the Pine, remix work for Tyler, the Creator, a split 7” with Cloud Nothings, and a steady stream of international tour dates. Just over halfway through what’s already been a busy year, the prolific producer has a brand new batch of lavishly funky material to offer.

Bundick’s latest is no sloppily assembled bunch of Pine session throwaways—the Freaking Out EP was put to tape in June during a period of touring quiescence. The release finds Bundick reveling in twenty minutes of boogie, roping in the heavy sounds of groups like the Gap Band and Mtume. While the first two tracks are modern takes on the 80s post-disco vibe, “Sweet” sounds like the product of a Todd Edwards and Teddy Riley collaboration, with smooth synths weaving in and out of meticulously chopped and arranged vocal samples.

The New Jack influence spills over into the cover of Cherrelle and Alexander O’Neill’s “Saturday Love,” in which a swingbeat carries along fluttering piano lines steeped in delay. The EP’s crown jewel, “I Can Get Love,” sees Bundick assimilating styles of each of his to-date releases, with the synthesized funk of Causers of This, the irresistible hooks of Pine, and dance alias Les Sins’ penchant for filter effects and house beats.Full of energy and crafted with a conciseness that begs repeated listens, Freaking Out is Toro Y Moi’s most concentrated venture into pure dance floor hedonism.

Artwork by Bjenny Montero

Mistletone is proud to take our turn in the “Released Series” of indie label showcases at Melbourne’s Workers Club on Wednesday, August 17.

Our Released Series lineup features the latest additions to the Mistletone family — Montero, The Orbweavers and Wintercoats (see blurbs below), plus special guest DJ Rose Quartz on major pop jams betwixt bands.

Tickets $10 at the door. Every payer gets a three-pack of Mistletone CDs, and there will be acres of ludicrously discounted Mistletone back catalogue gems on the merch table.

Montero pic by Leah Robertson

Montero is a new project from Melbourne music compadre, comic book and video artiste Bjenny Montero. This soft-rock/slow-wave supergroop features the musical smarts of Guy Blackman (Chapter Music honcho and balladeer), Geoffrey O’Connor (Crayon Fields), Cameron Potts (Ninety Nine, Baseball, Cuba Is Japan), Bobby Fresh Bravington (Cuba Is Japan) and Gerald Wells (The TM Band/Baptism Of Uzi). Montero epics such as Mumbai and Rainman are the schmaltz-prog anthems for tomorrow. Look out for a debut Montero 7″ single in September with cover art by Bjenny and Sonny Smith.

The Orbweavers were formed in 2006 by Marita Dyson & Stuart Flanagan, humming along to the corrugated iron reverb and sewing machine ghosts of Brunswick’s derelict textile mills. They will be interweaving new songs from their forthcoming album Loom into their set for the Released Series; listen close for songs about creeks & quarries, dangerous needlework, basalt foundations, rising tide and greyhounds. Loom will be out on Mistletone before year’s end.

Wintercoats is the solo dream pop project of Melbourne multi-instrumentalist James Wallace. Beginning at the dawn of 2009, Wintercoats began composing various pieces for strings and piano, before expanding the instrumentation and shifting his direction from folk inspired music to dream pop. Opting to play solo, Wallace performs through the live sampling of piano, strings, percussion, and vocals, often drenched with reverb creating the sound of a ethereal, pop inspired orchestra. Mistletone will release Wintercoats’ Sketches EP on 12″ vinyl and digital release on September 30, in collaboration with Cascine in the US and Rallye in Japan.

DJ Rose Quartz (alias Richard MacFarlane) joins us from across the oceans. Rose Quartz: the love stone. It opens the heart chakra to all forms of love, including self-love. Rose Quartz has a gentle vibration of love for the owner and gives inner peace. In the spiritual realms it is often used to attract love, and for love spells. Rose Quartz can also be helpful for dream recall and dream work, and will keep the atmosphere of a room positive.