New Weird Australia.

‘Vagrant’ – small grants available to participate in NWA’s open-source gig series

Stu — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 23:14:26 +0000

In a bid to connect like-minded artists, enthusiasts and promoters around Australia, we’re launching a new project titled Vagrant – a travelling gig series, a pop-up club-night with no fixed abode, an open-source platform for eclectic and experimental music.

Vagrant exists anywhere and everywhere – the name travels from city to city and from town to town, but each instance of Vagrant is curated by local individuals and artists. The events will be connected by an ideology and the same approach to experimentation in Australian music, but – uniquely – Vagrant will be staged and curated by different promoters in each location. It’s an open-source platform, where each event is defined by its participants, and is supported and promoted by New Weird Australia.

It’s our hope and intention that Vagrant will be an on-going project, although its success depends on you. We’re looking for individuals or collectives who are keen to stage a Vagrant event in their local area (whether that’s a thriving metropolis or a small regional town) – and to encourage you to do so, we’re offering small grants of up to $750 to make it happen.

Here’s how it works:

you stage an event in your city or town, with your own curated selection of artists and performers whose approach marries that of New Weird Australia
you find a venue, source production equipment as necessary, promote the show locally and manage the event on the night
the event carries the name ‘Vagrant’ and is noted as being a New Weird Australia project, but otherwise the design and style of promotion is up to you
you can charge a ticket price or make it a free event – whatever you collect on the door is retained by you
you can apply for a small grant of up to $750 to cover artist fees, travel, marketing and production costs – whatever you deem the grant to cover, we insist the artists are not out of pocket and that their fees and expenses are covered within your budget
New Weird Australia will commit to promoting the event through its online channels, and will circulate media releases regarding the project as a whole

What we’d like in return:

an eclectic and original event, in keeping with the New Weird Australia sensibility
an event which clearly fosters the appreciation of eclectic and experimental music within your community
a commitment to ensuring that artists are looked after both financially, and with appropriate support and resources on the night
a good-quality, mixed audio recording of the event (ideally a desk recording) and photographic documentation of some form
all events to be staged by 30th July 2012

How to apply:

email info@newweirdaustralia.com no later than Monday 14th May 2012 with the following information:

a proposed overview of the event you’d like to stage with an indicative list of artists (need not be final at this stage) and venue location. Note, you must have in principle commitments from artists and the venue before applying.
a budget / financial breakdown of the event, showing proposed New Weird Australia contribution of up to $750, with an express indication of how artists will be remunerated
a brief overview of your work either as an artist or promoter, showing commitment / experience in staging or participating in events of this nature

Feel free to email us in advance of the 14th May deadline with any queries or clarifications. We will respond to applications and confirm either way by Monday 21st May 2012.

Note: this round of funding is designed to act as a pilot for future Vagrant events – if you are unsuccessful in your application for June 2012 events, please note that we may well be interested in staging your event later in the year.

NWA Podcast #27. Nadir, Live-to-air Set & Interview

Stu — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 23:09:31 +0000

In this episode of the New Weird Australia podcast series, we delve into modular synthesis, off the back of a two-day Sydney festival that both celebrates and explores the concept, titled Moduluxxx.

The organisers described the event as somewhere between “a museum, a lan party and a petting zoo”. To get the full meaning behind the analogies, we hear from artist and festival co-director, Pia Van Gelder, who also discusses the ideas and activities behind modular synthesis in more detail – and in particular, why it has undergone something of a renaissance in recent times.

The podcast also features an example of the artform in action with a 20 minute set from Nadir – a collaboration between Sydney artist Alex White and Melbourne’s Ben Byrne – and acting as something of a warm-up for their Moduluxxx experience.

The interview and live set was originally broadcast on 26th April 2012.

DOWNLOAD: NNWA Podcast #27. Nadir, Live-to-air Set & Interview

Subscribe to our podcast feed by using this URL: http://newweirdaustralia.libsyn.com/rss or click here to subscribe directly in iTunes. You can also download our Podcast App for iPhone or Android which includes an archive of all podcasts to date, plus automatic updates of all new podcasts as they are released. Check the Podcast Archive for download links for all previous episodes.

NWA Podcast #26. Dale Gorfinkel, Profile

Stu — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:47:59 +0000

In this podcast episode, we feature the first of our irregular new series, NWA Profiles – new stories, interviews and recordings from around the country; filed by contributors from New Weird Australia’s volunteer network. For Episode 26, Matthew O’Shannessy and Michael Prior from Tape Projects talk to Melbourne-based improvisor, installation artist and instrument builder, DALE GORFINKEL.

Dale has previously curated the Now Now Festival in Sydney, and currently coordinates the Out Hear Festival, a Melbourne festival focused on outdoor performances and soundwalks. In this report, we hear about Dale’s study of ping pong balls, kinetics and the problem of invisible speakers. We also hear a live performance by Dale for prepared vibraphone recorded at Bouverie Studios in Melbourne.

Originally broadcast on 22nd March 2012.

DOWNLOAD: NWA Podcast #26. Dale Gorfinkel, Profile

NWA Podcast #25. Emily Grantham, Live-to-air Set & Interview

Stu — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:23:49 +0000

If you’re making eclectic and experimental music here in Australia, and you’re looking for a way to be heard, New Weird Australia welcomes and encourages submissions from new bands and producers – new work is regularly released through our netlabel, featured on our weekly radio show and to otherwise distributed through our networks.

Sydney’s EMILY GRANTHAM is a young producer who contacted us last year, and after submitting a regular series of off-kilter electronic recordings, will soon be releasing her debut EP through New Weird Australia. In Episode 25 of our podcast series, she plays a special live set written exclusively for the radio show, and chats about her work and future plans.

The interview and live set was originally broadcast on 15th March 2012.

DOWNLOAD: NWA Podcast #25. Emily Grantham, Live-to-air Set & Interview

Seeking Photographers for upcoming Album Covers

Stu — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:31:31 +0000

New Weird Australia is seeking contributions from photographers to help build a unique library of Creative Commons images to be used on our upcoming album covers and posters + to promote & connect emerging Australian talent.

If you would like your work to be considered, please download some of our releases and – once you have a feel for our work – submit images directly to our Flick group at www.flickr.com/groups/newweirdaustralia.

A couple of notes to be aware of:

(1) all of our artists are Australian, so we’re looking for Australian-born or Australian-based photographers only.

(2) any work submitted to the group must be made available to us under a Creative Commons licence.

(3) we’re particularly keen to see images of nature, urban decay, occult paraphernalia, vintage electronics & computers, strange phenomena and abandoned buildings – but open to other images of a similar weird sensibility.

You will of course be consulted before your work is used, and full attribution will be given on the release. Do get in touch if you have any questions about the process. Now get submitting!

NWA Podcast #24. Haunts, Live-to-air Set & Interview

Stu — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:20:55 +0000

In Episode 24 of the NWA Podcast series, we present the debut live radio performance from Haunts, recorded only a few days before their second ever show at Dirty Shirlows in Sydney. Haunts sees the coming together of two members of Sydney’s Underlapper with producer and musician Peter Hollo (Raven, Fourplay).

Underlapper are a well known fixture of the Sydney underground music scene – with three albums under their belt, ranging from the anticon-esque indie hip hop of their debut ‘What Came Forth From The Sea’ to the epic, post rock vocal of their 2011 release, ‘Softly Harboured’. With the band on hiatus, Greg and Matt teamed up with Peter Hollo to form Haunts, and in this podcast they tell us how it all came together and play an exclusive live set in the studio.

The interview and live set was originally broadcast on 23rd February 2012.

DOWNLOAD: NWA Podcast #24. Haunts, Live-to-air Set & Interview

img: Haunts, Live at the Dirty Shirlows, Sydney, February 2012. Photo by Paul Threthni.

NWA Podcast #23. Ian Rogers (No Anchor / Ambrose Chapel), Interview

Stu — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 04:57:41 +0000

In Episode 23 of the NWA Podcast series, we talk to Ian Rogers, who performs and records as part of two Brisbane projects, No Anchor and Ambrose Chapel.

No Anchor formed in Brisbane in 2007, playing their own unique variation of ‘sludge doom’ with two bass guitarists and a drummer. To date they have recorded three albums, most recently the acclaimed ‘Real Pain Supernova’. Ambrose Chapel is Ian’s laptop doom solo project – the rare output to date includes appearances on two New Weird Australia compilations, Volume Six and Bleak Metal.

Ian was in Sydney as part of a a research project titled ‘Popular Music & Cultural Memory’, and we talk the opportunity to have him in the studio to discuss his musical output and forthcoming projects. He also brought along new material from No Anchor as well as an exclusive unreleased track from Ambrose Chapel titled ‘A Small Return To A Big Nothing’.

The interview was originally broadcast on 16th February 2012.

DOWNLOAD: NWA Podcast #23. Ian Rogers (No Anchor / Ambrose Chapel), Interview

img: Ambrose Chapel, Live at the Red Rattler, Sydney, 2010

New Weird Australia Live Recordings Series

Stu — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:00:28 +0000

New Weird Australia has released a series of archive live recordings, exclusively via the Free Music Archive. The free download recordings, dating back to 2010 and 2011, are culled from New Weird Australia events staged during the period, and feature exclusive work from Ambrose Chapel, Axxonn, Forenzics, Scattered Order and Stitched Vision.

The Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads, directed by WFMU, the most renowned freeform radio station in America. Inspired by Creative Commons and the open source software movement, the FMA provides a legal and technological framework for curators, artists, and listeners to harness the potential of music sharing.

View Releases:

NWA Podcast #22. 10 Thousand Free Men And Their Families and Abortifacient, Live-to-air Sets & Interview

Stu — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:27:00 +0000

In Episode 22 of the NWA Podcast series, we celebrate Australian chiptune with two artists who recently represented the city of Sydney at Australia’s first international chiptune festival, Blipfest which took place mid-February 2012 in Melbourne. 10 Thousand Free Men And Their Families and Abortifacient both came into the NWA studio to have a chat and play a live set ahead of the Festival event, and to give us an insight into how they found their way into chiptune in the first place.

Sean from Abortifacient has taken his work overseas, playing with the likes of Ove-Naxx, and touring to Japan, UK, Spain. He blends breakcore into his chiptune, and his seemingly relentless schedule of releases recently gave us the succinctly titled ‘my name is Abortifacient’. Tom from 10K describes himself as “a guy who yells at Game Boys” and – when you hear the live set he plays at the start of this session, you’ll know why.

This session originally aired on 9th February 2012.

DOWNLOAD: NWA Podcast #22. 10 Thousand Free Men And Their Families and Abortifacient, Live-to-air Sets & Interview

img: Abortifacient, Live on New Weird Australia

NWA Podcast #21. Thomas William vs Scissor Lock, Live-to-air Set & Interview

Stu — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:38:26 +0000

Thomas William vs Scissor Lock is a unique collaboration between two prolific Sydney producers.

Thomas William is a fixture of Sydney’s experimental music scene, shapeshifting through many guises as a musician, teacher, and director of artist run initiative, Serial Space. His blend of shifting synths, broken percussion and unstable tunings has so far featured on three full-length releases, two as Cleptoclectics, and a third most recently on Melbourne’s ‘This Thing’ imprint.

Marcus Whale’s relentless restlessness has seen him present a unique combination of manipulated voice, feedback and laptop processing under his Scissor Lock pseudonym, as well his much-lauded Collarbones project with Travis Cook (aka Cyst Impaled) and his debauched faux R&B boy band Black Vanilla (formed with Guerre and Marseilles).

The pair gave audiences a first glimpse of their project with a face-to-face match at New Weird Australia’s ‘Unpopular Music’ event in 2010, and then in March 2011 they visited us on New Weird Australia to play a short live live-to-air set and to talk about the genesis of their collaboration.

DOWNLOAD: NWA Podcast #21. Thomas William vs Scissor Lock, Live-to-air Set & Interview

Photo by Miles Matignoni.