Mistletone

Artwork by Alex Fregon

Mistletone is throwing another one of our perennial parties! We’re calling it Mistletone Fright Night, ‘cos it’s on Friday 13th January (at The Corner in Melbourne), and also as a nod to Mistletone’s first artist and spiritual leader, Ariel Pink. The super spooky lineup features Dan Deacon Ensemble, John Maus, Rat vs Possum, Jonti, Montero and Parking Lot Experiments. Door prizes galore for the most frightful costumes. Tickets $35 + booking fee on sale now from The Corner Box Office.

Effervescent Baltimore DIY-party hero and absurdist electronic composer-performer Dan Deacon has transmogrified our hearts and minds on his two previous solo tours, and now he’s bringing his fervent and inspiring musical troupe to headline Mistletone Fright Night as Dan Deacon Ensemble. This is going to rule! 2011 has been a huge year for Dan. Criss-crossing the US as a solo artist and as part of the Wham City Comedy Tour, he’s also been working closely with director Francis Ford Coppola on the score & soundtrack for the new gothic-horror-romance film TWIXT starring Val Kilmer, as well as composing, arranging and recording the Dan Deacon Ensemble album with producer Chester Gwazda.

Hypnagogic, hypnotic, mind and life altering; John Maus makes music that taps into melancholic fantasy, and affirms that we are all truly alive. His groundbreaking new album We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves (released on one of our fave labels ever, Upset The Rhythm, distro’d locally through Inertia) has been one of the iconic records of 2011. The confrontation of punk, the fleeting poignancy of 80s movie soundtracks, the insistent pulse of Moroder and the spirituality of Medieval and Baroque music all find salvation in John Maus. It’s a world where the Germs jam with Jerry Goldsmith, Cabaret Voltaire relocate to Eternia and Josquin des Prez writes a new score for RoboCop. Questing synthesisers, tensely strung bass lines and chasing drum machines provide the perfect backdrop for John’s deeply resonant reverb-drenched vocal. John comes to Australia for the first time from his birthplace of Austin, Minnesota, where is working towards his PhD in Political Science.

Melbourne’s own kaleidoscopic noise-pop celebrationists Rat vs Possum bring their nouveau disco summer of love anthems and pulsing polyrhythms to propel this party into outré overdrive. Rat vs Possum have had a lot of fun over the past 3 years, and things have only gotten better with the release of their second album Let Music & Bodies Unite, out now via Sensory Projects. It’s an accelerated burst of pop music more akin to a vivacious, brightly coloured firework than just another catchy tune on the radio. Gone are the ‘tribal’ group vocals, loop pedals and multiple floor toms; the Rat vs Possum of now sees Daphne Shum officially stepping into the roll as lead vocalist against a sea of buzzing and bubbling synthesizers, incessant beats, intricate rhythms, funk-inspired bass lines, and even a piano vamp thrown in for good measure.

Sydney-based beat wizard Jonti (the artist formerly known as Danimals/Djanimals) has spent much of 2011 in Los Angeles, promoting his incredible debut Twirligig (which drops locally  on Mistletone/Inertia in a fortnight) for his US label Stones Throw. Jonti’s in his element in the States, earning props from the likes of Questlove, Dam Funk, Madlib, Mark Ronson and Albert Hammond Jr. He’s been keeping busy too: check out Nagoya, Jonti’s mad collaboration with Odd Future’s Hodgy Beats. Jonti will debut his new solo live show in one of his first Melbourne shows in many moons.

Life’s a beach when pop/schmaltz/glam/prog/post-mellow/wave-wave/man-core supergroup Montero take the stage. Montero’s debut 7″ Mumbai b/w Rainman has been declared “one of the year’s best debuts” (Inpress). Led by Bjenny Montero, Mistletone’s artist-in-residence who has crafted amazing animations for Sonny and the Sunsets, The Ancients and more, Montero’s anthemic and grandiose live show is abundant bliss-out inspiration.

Parking Lot Experiments will open proceedings with customary exhiliration and elation. PLE — who happen to be Dan Deacon’s favourite Melbourne band — are four guys of varying attractiveness who play an immersive set of unhinged, ecstatic and melodic pop songs. Their tunes are unconventional yet totally unpretentious, fluctuating between fiercely danceable loops, folky interludes and playful banter. Currently recording their second album, PLE make music with a free-spirited ethos, roaring colourbursts for last-level triumphs and enthusiasm measured in buckets of sweat.