GALLERY: Matt Corby Secret Garden Show

Photography by Lara Barker – North Wollongong, 29/1/12

(if you like Radar, see my new blog, Bleached)

(if you like Radar, see my new blog, Bleached)

NEW STUFF: Elliphànt

I’ve heard the name Elliphànt around a little bit recently, on gig posters and whatnot. It’s a one-man electronic project for Elliott Hitchcock, who is apparently from Foxground. After he added me on Facebook, I came across the Elliphànt band page online, and thought I may as well give it a listen.

Woah, that was definitely a good decision.

There’s only three tracks up on the Facebook page, two remixes – one of Kanye West’s ‘Power,’ and ‘Brother’ by Matt Corby – and one original, but it’s pretty amazing stuff that really has no parallels in Wollongong right now. The one original track, ‘Gentlemen Mallet,’ is a bubbly, serene, minimalist electronica, it really reminds me of guys like SBTRKT, Jamie xx and Little Dragon. An odd 80s hip-hop style beat drops in around a third of the way into the song, before it goes back into reverb-heavy, dreamy electronics again… then back into the hip-hop beat.

There’s a bunch of electronic producers doing the rounds in the Illawarra now, but Elliphànt really stands out in that it’s a calmer, simmering type of electro, rather than big pounding beats. The Matt Corby remix is a real special track.

Take a listen at Elliphànt’s Facebook page now. Hes’s also playing live at Yours & Owls on March 23 with Sleepmakeswaves and Siren Lines.

WEEKLY WRAP-UP: January 9-15

Big week on Radar Illawarra this week; in case you missed anything, let’s take a look back at the last seven days.

LOCAL NEWS:
EXCLUSIVE: first Main Street Studios “TV Tunes” recording:
Radar Illawarra premieres the first of the “Wollongong Music Scene vs. TV Tunes” recording project; Blood, Guts & Firetrucks covering ‘Sesame Street.’

Stacked Festival releases playing timetables:
Stacked Music Festival have released the playing schedule for their two-day event later this month.

Music Farmers to begin hosting gigs in February:
The Wollongong music institution announced they will host monthly band performances starting in February

Yardvark announce album launch mini-tour:
Yardvark will launch their new album, ‘Flannelette Heart,’ with a four gig mini-tour through January and February.

Never See Tomorrow announce album listening party:
Metalcore dudes Never See Tomorrow are putting the finishing touches on their upcoming album, and will preview the LP at a special listening party.

TOUR NEWS:
Matt Corby:
Matt Corby has announced a surprise, intimate gig in Wollongong for the end of this month.

Endless Heights:
Sydney hardcore dudes Endless Heights have announced a special one-off show at Yours & Owls at the end of the month.

sleepmakeswaves:
Sydney post-rock heroes sleepmakeswaves will also soon play Yours & Owls, with the band to visit Wollongong in March.

REVIEWS:
Happy New Year, Nite Fields, MBC, Basil’s Kite @ Yours & Owls:
It’s the kind of music to which you can close your eyes, get completely lost in, only to emerge in surprise to applause as the song ended without you even noticing. It seemed a perfect accompaniment to the ambience of Yours and Owls at such a late time of night; chilled out, gorgeous, and ever so alternative.

Faye Blais, Nicole Brophy, Kay Proudlove @ Dicey Riley’s:
Thursday night saw a smattering of locals fill Dicey Riley’s to engage in what became an accidental ‘Girls night in’, with locals Kay Proudlove and Nicole Brophy supporting Canadian guest Faye Blais.

FEATURES:
OPINION: Band Comps (a follow-up):
After the big response to, and discussion generated by, our article on band competitions, local music advocate Rob Carr – organiser of the ‘Rock The Vote’ campaign, and the State of the Music Scene forum – wrote to Radar, to submit his own take on the idea of band competitions

TOUR NEWS: Matt Corby

Matt Corby has announced a surprise, intimate gig in Wollongong for the end of this month.

Corby, currently enjoying massive Triple J love with his track ‘Brother,’ will play a sold out run of shows on his ‘Into The Flame’ tour in March, including multiple sold out dates in Sydney and Melbourne. Before this large national tour, however, Corby will play a run of pop-up shows around NSW as part of his ‘Secret Garden’ concert series.

The ‘Secret Garden’ shows are RSVP-only events held in backyards and parks. As part of a nine-date tour in January and February, Corby will play a show in North Wollongong on January 29.

The location of the Secret Garden shows are not revealed publicly, with only those successful in securing tickets via RSVP being given the specific details of the show.

See the Facebook event for more info.

OTIS BAR ANNOUNCES FINAL SHOW

Wollongong’s favourite small venue, the Otis Bar, has announced details for the final gig at their current location.

The Pennys, Rhys Stamnas, Obscura Hail and Jack R Reilly will help bid farewell to the Crown Street venue with a gig on Thursday July 14th; the bar will finally close for good on Friday the 15th.

Otis Bar’s closure was prompted by plans to demolish the building in which the venue is situated, on the corner of Crown Street and Crown Lane. The management of the bar have announced plans to move to a new location in Globe Lane, just off the northern end of Crown Street Mall. Management hope to reopen within months.

After its inception just a few years ago, Otis Bar quickly established itself as a venue unlike any other in town. While obviously small compared to the more established music venues including the Harp Hotel or The Patch, Otis always manages to draw a large and enthusiastic crowd for its gigs; focusing on more alternative, up-and-coming talent that may not have been as well received in other local venues, the cosy atmosphere and intimate nature of Otis always made for an entertaining show.

The venue hosted tours from the likes of Matt Corby, Owl Eyes, Guineafowl, Kyu, Megastick Fanfare, Grace Woodroofe, Gossling and Yellow Fever, but Otis also had a strong commitment to the local music scene; acts including Slow Waves, The Pennys, Vanguard Party, Jack Reilly and Bec Sandridge had become fixtures on the bar’s lineups in recent times.

Radar Illawarra, for one, is sad to see the Otis leave the local music landscape… but we’re excited to see what the management have in store for us, with their new venue! Stay tuned to Otis Bar’s Facebook page for more updates and news.

For now, make sure you come along to their final show – or drop in during the next week – and give the Otis the farewell it deserves!

OTIS BAR; FINAL SHOW
feat THE PENNYS, RHYS STAMNAS, JACK R REILLY, OBSCURA HAIL
THURSDAY JULY 14TH
8.30PM
$5

Local Legends: OTIS BAR

For the first of the ‘Local Legends’ posts, I thought I’d write about my favourite venue in Wollongong; the Otis Bar, on Crown Street.

Only a relatively new addition to the local nightlife and music scenes, the Otis has nonetheless quickly established itself as a classy, relaxed, upmarket venue in its own right. Whereas the vast majority of Wollongong venues fall into one of two stark categories – ‘nightclub’ or ‘pub’ – the Otis lies, in terms of aesthetic, somewhere in the middle of these two.

The small size of the Otis creates a sense of intimacy and warmth, with comfy couches lining the walls, and a large – and, it must be said, well-stocked – bar. It’s a spot to indulge in a quiet drink, but maintains a classy, sophisticated feel that’s hard to come by in Wollongong.

In terms of music, the acts hosted by Otis Bar largely reflect its image; acoustic, folk and jazz acts are the main fare of the Otis, the bar’s small size again creating an intimate atmosphere suited to these sorts of music. Otis also plays host to some of the smaller, ’boutique’ bands that pass through Wollongong; sell-out crowds have enjoyed performances from Matt Corby, Kyu, Grace Woodroofe and Guineafowl, acts that would have been passed over – or been horribly out of place in – most other local venues.  The bar is almost always packed out when there’s a band playing, and the sound quality is really excellent.

All in all, a wonderful and unique venue; classy and sophisticated, yet warm and welcoming, and a great place for live music.

CONTACT:
Otis Bar, Wollongong
226 Crown Street (opposite Subway)
For gig information, see In Spite of the Weather’s website or Facebook
otisbar@gmail.com

PLACES, PEOPLE ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM

Local singer-songwriter Brian Hugelmeyer has announced details about his upcoming  ‘Hid & Hunted’ album release, the debut recording under his solo moniker, Places, People .

‘Hid & Hunted’ will be launched with a show at Wollongong’s Otis Bar on April 14th, with the album available for purchase that same day. Hugelmeyer has also revealed that a book of poetry, short stories and writings, dubbed ‘From The Milton Wood, & Other Nonsense,’ will be included as part of a package with the album.

Recorded over the period of a year, ‘Hid & Hunted’ is Hugelmeyer’s first solo album. After a big twelve months, where he played alongside Kyu, Ben Jorgenson and Matt Corby and released his first single ‘Brothers’ (which gained Triple J airplay), Places People’s debut album will be launched with an intimate show at the Otis Bar on April 14th. Supports for the show will be Brisbane melodic rock four-piece Holland, and local singer-songwriter Rhys Stamnas.

Stay tuned early next week for Radar’s interview with Brian. For more information about ‘Hid & Hunted,’ and to get a sneak peek of a few songs, see the video below where Brian explains a bit about the album.

‘Hid & Hunted’ tracklisting:
1. The business of sadness
2. Changing (summer)
3. Such is, of a new Earth & season     
4. We are young (winter)
5. Brothers
6. The moderns of natives
7. Frost & fire (autumn)
8. Kingdom…..w/ The Orient interlude
9. German son, English tongue and soldier
10. Seasick (spring)
11. Ár máthair of De Børneflok
12. Rotterdam