Standing in stark contrast to your standard rappers running rhymes over a four bar loop, Yasiin Bey, aka Mos Def, was introduced over funk flute and jazz horns. His flow sat in with the breaks and stabs like a lyrical Charlie Parker running be-bop over the top. Backed by Gold Metal Man on beats and […]
When those pole posters first appeared in Sydney, Soulfest seemed as unlikely as it was exciting. The names were like a mirage. Frankly, this kind of lineup was absolutely unheard of, not just in Australia, but in the world, and two names in particular proved most earth-shattering. Don’t get me wrong. Maxwell, Common, Angie Stone, […]
This all-star recreation of cult band Big Star’s album Third (also know as Sister Lovers), a feature performance for Sydney Festival 2014, could be described in similar language to the album itself – the oft-quoted “shambling wreck” alongside “impassioned, erratic and stark” come to mind. Here, though, the observable decay of Alex Chilton’s mind and […]
It started with a lone piano playing ragtime in the corner. Then, one by one, the Sun Ra Arkestra, draped in sequinned capes and sparkly hats, all the finery of alien regalia, stepped out from the wings singing, “Interplanetary music”. You knew then that this orchestra is truly something else. To put it bluntly, the […]
Throw an orchestra behind a rock band and everyone’s a fan. The orchestra imbues depth, a grandeur that makes ordinary music just so much more epic. Or does it? Hurricane Transcriptions, an experimental piece by Sonic Youth noise rock legend Lee Ranaldo was a shining example of what happens when you get too big for […]
