smith & frank - where did they come from?

smith & frank is home-made ambient indie pop duo, toby meadows and taija marie davis, from brisbane. their tunes are full to the brim with beautiful guitar riffs, distant and whimsical vocals + oddly haunting percussion, which is delivered from tapping and banging of household objects.  

after a night of rain and wine, with the help of a built-in macbook microphone, they discovered their sound was something pretty cool, after recording 'sorry for being brief'. the better part of instruments are found in household items and oddities lying around, giving their sound a raw and powerful feel. the following weeks saw plenty of writing and studio time then the release of their debut single 'charlie', which i think is a very lovely treat for the ears. you can download and sway to smith & frank at triple j unearthed. 

toby is a familiar name around brisbane being the head honcho for local creative collective, contortionist studios. having an incredible ear for music, toby has set up his own studio within the contortionist warehouse where he has been recording the likes of mosman adler and arial haze. taija is well known for her work with rare finds as the online media publicist and freelance artist manager. her realisation of musical ability came a little later. never having had a singing lesson in her life, it was a shock to all when  those notes came out.

needless to say, this pair are sure to be a prescence to keep an ear out for as they prepare for the stage! i can't wait for more recordings. because frank & smith are pretty alright. 

new andrew bird single: 'eyeoneye'.

it's the song he was working on and played in part on TED talks - andrew bird's one-man orchestra of the imagination - back in february 2010! i was wondering when it woud make an appearance. his sound is not as clear and crisp as i thought it might be. perhaps that is due to the album being recorded at bird's barn in western illinois.


pitchfork [via soundcloud] has shared it with us:

new single & album from andrew bird.

my favourite musician, andrew bird, will very shortly be releasing the first single from his upcoming album break it yourself. earlier today, bird revealed that the 'eyeoneye' was "coming next week...", linking to a rolling stone article, which reviewed the song: "who pissed off andrew bird? "go ahead and congratulate yourself", the normally mild-mannered chicagoan snipes over surging guitars on this refreshingly sour preview of his new lp. resentment suits Bird well – even his whistling sounds more urgent". ooh. intriguing to say the least. i cannot wait to hear this man's genius. 

break it yourself, his sixth studio album, is released on march 6 via mom + pop music. 

there are once again some wonderful, quirky track names. break it yourself tracklist:

01 Desperation Breeds…
02 Polynation
03 Danse Caribe
04 Give it Away
05 Eyeoneye
06 Lazy Projector
07 Near Death Experience Experience
08 Behind the Barn
09 Lusitania
10 Orpheo Looks Back
11 Sifters
12 Fatal Shore
13 Hole in the Ocean Floor
14 Belles

new ep from oliver tank: 'dreams'.

oliver tank burst seemingly out of nowhere with his own brand of incredibly textural glitch pop. but don't be fooled, he's no stranger to the game, having played music in various forms since he was young. he now combines real instruments with computers to create heartfelt soundscapes so vivid they could only be dreamed of.

the last month or so has been huge for oliver, filled with many firsts. his debut ep 'dreams' was released less than a month ago and has quickly traveled by word of mouth, attracting incredible reviews all over the globe.

the single 'last night i heard everything in slow motion' was recently used in getup's campaign for marriage equality. it's their most successful campaign ever, over the first week it was the highest trending viral video on youtube, with over 3 million views!

oliver's just been nominated by sydney's fbi radio for a smac award in the "next big thing" category and triple j has included him in their "next crop 2011". richard kingsmill described oliver's single 'embrace' as "in a word: perfect". 

his music is near perfect. it is elegant and contemplative electronica, filled with beautiful sounds, understated vocals and  quirky emotion; perfect for a quiet afternoon with a good book. 

this must be the place.

i love the roles that sean penn takes. and i simply can't wait for this gem to be released in australia.

friday music treat: lykke li & bon iver 'dance dance dance'.

is this the end for montpelier?

30 minutes ago, i received an email telling me that brisbane’s montpelier has decided to call it a day – well, they're taking an indefinite hiatus. to celebrate their time together as a band, their second ep, ‘feed the city’ will be released in early 2012.

montpelier would love more than anything for everyone [existing and new fans] to share one more night of music with them and to celebrate what you've helped them achieve as a band. to thank their fans for coming to their shows, singing their songs, buying their records and enabling to make music that we all love, the boys will play a special farewell gig on 14^th janurary 2012, at the zoo. they will be joined by dear friends charlie mayfair.

‘feed the city’ is a project that started way back in late 2009 when the band met aria nominated producer, member of the church and hall of fame member tim powles [aka timebandit]. this is a collaboration that has so far produced the amazing ‘china shop’ single. i can’t wait to hear the new stuff recorded.

MONTPELIER 'CHINA SHOP' from LoveHate Productions Ltd on Vimeo.

tickets for the show are now on sale from oztix. as part of the ticket price you can choose to pre-order a copy of ‘feed the city’ which will be released digitally in january. included will be a booklet of all the artwork from the project as well as complete lyrics. all the artwork is by artist jefferton james who montpelier has collaborated with for the entire project.

goodbye, montpelier. it has been a pleasure. sadly, i will be back in uganda by the time the show comes round. but you will surely be sorely missed. and best of luck with hey geronimo! i hear 'why don't we do something' has gone viral.

regurgitator is back: and they take on 1960s japanese monsters.

brisbane's alternative rock/post grunge heroes, regurgitator, have made a long-awaited comeback. and they are celebrating the holidays with the online release of the amazing film clip for their single 'no show' from the band's seventh studio album, superhappyfuntimefriends.

when quan found this old japanese monster movie was in the public domain, he just had to screw with it and the results are a holiday gift that keeps on giving. what better way to celebrate the silly season than with this quintessential 'gurg number?

in 2011, the three wise men have been replaced, quan, ben and peter, and the star giving direction to the kiddies is a gabble of summer radio-tuned stereos pumping out the year's singalong summer anthem from the regurgitator hymn book.

the destination is some of australia's biggest festivals including this year's big day out, where regurgitator make their welcome return to the main stage right around the country after smashing shows dedicated to their classic unit album over christmas/new year at falls and southbound.

the prophecy of this regurgitator rebirth was set in stone with the launch of the new album superhappyfuntimefriends this year when the band grabbed airplay around the country with 'one day' and embarked on a sellout national tour playing to thousands of fans both new and old.

if ever there was a single made for summer, this is it. whether you're moshing at all this season's biggest festivals, vomiting on your boyfriend's shoes at a new year's party or celebrating with your family, there's only one choice of soundtrack for this season's greatest memories and latest hits.

i'll be adding this to my 2011/2012 summer mixtape.

dream farmer // il coltivatore di sogni.

friday's tune: the xx 'shelter'.