Mistletone

Artwork by Ben Montero; design by James Wallace

MISTLETONE MANATEE MATINEE XMAS PARTY: Sunday, December 23 at Northcote Social Club (Melbourne) starring Ross McLennan + his ensemble (single launch) + The Orbweavers + Wintercoats + Mistletone DJs. Afternoon show, doors open at 2pm. Kids welcome. Tickets on sale now from The Corner box office.

We’re gonna celebrate Mistletone’s 6th birthday and the end of a bumper year with a Manatee Matinee Xmas party at Northcote Social Club (Melbourne) on Sunday, December 23. A matinee being a musical or dramatic performance, social or public event held in the daytime and especially the afternoon; a manatee being the most ridiculously cute mammal known to creation. All three artists are launching new songs into the world; scroll down below to listen………..

This merry occasion doubles as the launch of Ross McLennan‘s new single, Clarity b/w Get This! — a captivating first taste of Ross’s eagerly awaited third solo album The Night’s Deeds Are Vapour, set for release in February. A much revered songwriter, Ross McLennan creates intriguing daydream sequences in his music, whilst engaging deeply with the most vexed and heartbreaking issues of our time. Accompanied by his ensemble of strings, woodwind and a choir, Ross’s rare live performances are richly orchestrated, lush, complex and simply breathtaking. Have a listen below to the first two tracks from this stunning album to be unveiled so far, Clarity b/w Get This!, both of which are out now on digital release via Mistletone/Inertia.

On a par for enthralling audiences are The Orbweavers, who will perform their enchanting songs  accompanied by Marita Dyson’s equally entertaining and educational anecdotes from Melbourne’s rich forgotten urban history. The Orbweavers have just unveiled a beautiful new single The Hook, which is available on iTunes as a digital single b/w Merri Christmas – Allocasuarina Remix. You can stream both tracks below:

“The Hook is about the end of a season. It was written after finding a piece of rotting wood in our yard, filled with beautiful decay from rain, moss, lichen and small insects living underneath in the hollows, making way for the next season. Reminders of passing time are often in familiar places: out in the yard, on a window ledge, in old shoeboxes. They catch, like the sting of a small hook, pulling from the past.”

“The Merri Christmas Allocasuarina Remix (a remix of Merri from Loom – Mistletone, 2011) returns to the Merri Creek on a summer evening in Melbourne, amid shimmering Allocasuarina verticillata trees (commonly known as the Drooping Sheoak) found growing along the bank. Allocasuarinas have small needle-like branchlets reminiscent of pine tree needles, a similarity which lead us to the Christmas reference for this seasonal remix. Listen out for wind whispering through the needles, gentle shivers and chiming echoes along the basalt creek bed.” – Marita Dyson & Stuart Flanagan (The Orbweavers)

Opening the matinee is Wintercoats, a/k/a one man chamber pop orchestra James Wallace, who creates an entire universe to get lost in with his swoon-worthy violin/voice/loop pedal patterns. James has had a big year, touring the UK and Europe with The Townhouses, performing at Torstrassen Festival (Berlin) & Laboratorium festival (Heidelberg, Germany) playing a Cascine showcase for The 405 in London, and most recently being handpicked by Beach House as the sole support for their upcoming theatre shows in January.

Mistletone DJs will fill the intervals with musical oddities from the Miles Family Vaults, and most excitingly, every single punter will receive a handmade memento of the occasion featuring all-new tunes by Ross McLennan, The Orbweavers, Wintercoats and Montero; all designed to evoke squeals of joy worthy of the most jolly manatee. Doors open 2pm and tickets are on sale now; just remember, if you miss this, “dugong regret it”!