Mistletone

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.