This weeks Tunesday selection is brought to you by way of one of Melbourne’s nightclub scene’s favourite sons – Grant Smilie Nick Foley. Nick’s trademark larrikin charm that have led to his dominance of Thursday nights in Melbourne are applied here to what can only be described as an eccentric selection (of little relevance to the musical theme of the segment).
None of these videos hold a candle to the last video ‘The Foles‘ sent me but I can’t post that one.
Today’s post is one very close to my heart. Featured is a good friend of mine, Declan Palmer, whose first album has is due to be released via Gigantically Small on July 19th. It features guest vocals from labelmates Dash & Will, and is self-produced – to great effect.
I met Declan last year when he was working at a Melbourne nightclub, he introduced himself to me at the time as ‘Sideshow’ – a nickname apparently adorned to him by his friends (you should be able to see why), and in the months since we’ve shared many a drunken night. I tell you this, because Declan’s album is called ‘All My Friends’, it’s an album dedicated to the many faces he’s come across over the past few years and the fun he’s had, and that energy is concentrated through his music – it’s a fun, indie-rock sort of album that features one of my most played songs – Hold Me Tight. Recently, he was joined by The Antics for the purpose of live performance, and since then they have merged to become Declan and The Antics on a permanent basis.
The album will be available for purchase (signed) at Gigantically Small’s website when it is released, in the meantime you can check out Declan’s myspace here
Take a long, hard look at the above four men. They are the Temper Trap, and not only are they your next favourite band, but they’re going to be the biggest thing to happen to the Australian music scene in 2009. Think Bloc Party meets U2 meets The Killers.
The Temper Trap’s debut effort – Conditions, has just been released to universal acclaim. The Temper Trap are the sort of band we haven’t seen in some time in Australia (aside from maybe Empire Of The Sun) – they’re world beaters. They’re arena-shaking epic on the scale of a Coldplay or a U2, and in the wake of U2’s latest effort – their timing couldn’t be more perfect.
The album is paced beautifully, it’s nice to hear a band not concerned with making an album top-heavy for the sake of greater iTunes sales, but rather to pace it so that it’s the best that it can be. The highlights are aplenty, but without a doubt the stand out song still remains Sweet Disposition. You’ve likely heard it before, and if you haven’t – be prepared to. Like 2008’s Viva La Vida, be prepared to hear Sweet Disposition as the soundtrack to every advertisement, news event and sporting montage you see this year – get in early while you can still enjoy it for what it is, a gloriously etheral introduction to a fantastic new band.
The album’s appeal doesn’t rest solely upon its massive first single however, and unlike many others who have tried and failed before them – they don’t let it overpower their debut effort, but rather build upon it. The follower on the album, Down River, proves the perfect comedown and is another early favourite.
5 Stars, Two thumbs up, and a suprising mid-year contender for album of the year (Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Phoenix – watch you backs) – I mentioned the Killers and Bloc Party as reference points, and this is an album that can go toe to toe with both Silent Alarm and Hot Fuss – two of my favourite albums of all time.
This is one album that deserves your hard earned – you can buy it here, here or on
Alternatively, you can stream the entire thing from The Temper Trap’s Official Website
From the earliest stages of planning for the blog, I’ve had E-603 in my sights as someone I’d like to get involved. He produced what became my favourite mashup mixtape of all time with ‘Something For Everyone’, and my excitement for his second release was as high as I’ve had for anything else to come out so far this year.
Now that the second album has been released (to much fandom, he held the top 3 spots on hypem’s popular charts at one stage last week), we’re happy to post in full, our interview with E-603, conducted on the eve of the album’s release.
Having since spent some serious time with the album, I can conclude that it is in many ways exactly what I expected. The polish and level of production exhibited once again proves that for the time being, we’re witnessing a two horse race between Girl Talk and E-603, with a very large gap between them and the rest of the pack in that regard. Torn Up, however, is what I consider the first true mashup ‘album’. It’s not a non-stop, high tempo party, but rather follows a more traditional album progression, with it’s peaks and troughs well measured and considered – anticipation is controlled and the party manifests itself only when appropriate. It’s a fantastic album.
JG: Really excited for the new album!
E603: I was pretty startled by the amount of people that got into the tracks that other blogs (Animal Show) posted.
JG: Tell me a little bit about your background – What got you started as a DJ and in particular what led you to mash-ups?
E603: Well I used to compose original music that also contained sounds in them when I was significantly younger. Then after being in several bands I kind of started composing music while using popular samples in there, it was comparable to OCDJ, if you have heard of him. Then I got stuck on just using samples to compose music and at first it was more electronic and glitchy but then transformed into what it is now.
But if you are asking for who got me into DJ/sample based culture I would say names like: A-Trak, OCDJ, Diplo and obviously Girl Talk.
JG: So you say Girl Talk, that’s kind of the inevitable starting point for your kind of music, does the comparison ever get a bit grating? How do you think you differ from what he does?
E603: Well it is obvious. He has a very pure look at his music. He thinks very hard about what he samples and the context in which he is doing it. I think about that but not really through the same lens.
We are about 8 or 9 years apart in age so we look at music and more particularly “pop music” in very different ways.
JG: Yeah I totally agree, that’s actually something that’s really evident with ‘Something For Everyone’, it’s very much a Girl Talk-quality production through the filter of someone who grew up as part of a newer generation.
E603: Agreed. The production on the newer album is much higher quality so it more similar to GT in that aspect too.
JG: How long has the new album taken you to put together?
E603: Well I started working on it last Summer once I got out of school worked throughout the Summer and then when I had to go back to school it was just too difficult to find time to work on it. In fact,
my advisor actually told me that I was “not allowed to work on my album”
at one point. It was probably because I was missing valuable time when I was traveling and playing shows.
JG: Have you got any plans to produce any original tracks?
E603: Yeah, I was actually contacted about doing a remix or two this week so hopefully I can find time for that.
Also, I always have 3 or 4 musical projects going on at once and I am planning on starting one with a very talented producer friend of mine.
JG: So where do you normally play? What is the scene like where you’re from? (And for that matter where are you from/where do you go to school?)
E603: Well I don’t typically play shows around my school. I go to Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. At first people thought it was going to be more of a DJ situation where I would want a booth, but then I would freak them out and ask for a table to be put on the floor where kids are dancing.
JG: That’s awesome !
E603: Then more recently people understand that its not really about me playing music for people. It’s more like I am part of a party that involves everyone.
Some people like to dance on my table or stage dive or crowd surf when there is a more intense part. Which I think is fucking rad. At one show I smashed a guitar filled with glitter.
But typically I don’t plan stuff out.
JG: So you’ve said a few times you were suprised by the reception the first album has had – how did it spread so far? What was your big ‘break’ and what do you think about the internet and the impact it’s having on the music business?
E603: Well, the day I released my first album I got like 3 times the amount of listens I had ever gotten before. I have no idea why or how but I guess that is the magic of the internet. Some people used to exchange tapes and shit that would spread the word about these punk/hardcore bands. And they would be like “Oh yeah, I had a Misfits tape for a while, those guys are rad” and now its just making that process incredibly fast.
JG: You give all of your music away for free and in fact encourage people to share it with their friends. Where does that come from? Do you think it’s something you will always abide by (with your mash-ups at least?)
E603: It’s a little easier for me to do the “free music” thing than most musical projects because I only need a computer and many, many hours. But I feel like creativity is free and I don’t have too many expenses to pay for doing what I am doing. Indie bands that need to pay for studio time and such, I understand that situation and I love seeing a band live that blows me away and buying their albums.
JG: What do you think about music piracy?
E603: I think its rad.
Bands don’t realize it but a significant amount of their success come from their music being pirated.
JG: I agree completely. There are very few bands that I listen to now that I’d have been listening to if it weren’t for piracy, it makes it easier to take the plunge because it’s not a monetary investment (especially when you’re young.)
E603: I totally agree. Personally, I grew up just listening to what my brother had pirated. In middle school and early high school I was listening to all these bands that weren’t even sold in most stores because my brother was so on top of his shit.
JG: Well thanks heaps for your time, is there anything else you would like to say?
E603: Not really, thanks for helping me out. Take it easy brother.
Here for download is the album, in it’s entirety, and for those of you still unsure and not quite ready to take the plunge – the first 2 songs as a taster.
I’ve been given the go-ahead to post two tracks from E-603’s new album ‘Torn Up’, which we will have up for download alongside a full interview later today. The album is completely worth the wait, an HOUR of mashup gold from one of it’s masters.
Can confirm, as of today that Ajax (dance legend) – Australia’s No.1 DJ, is officially In It For The Money. With this news we can also announce that Ajax has a bunch of new stuff coming out under the monkier ‘Jax Attack’ soon, which will be available here first.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, we have the quintessential Ajax mix – Dusk Til Dawn (Directors Cut), a masterpiece of modern dance.
Realising that Tuesdays are a pretty boring day of the week, I’ve decided to spruce them up with a new feature we like to call… Tunesday.
God we’re good.
Basically we have someone cool come in and pick out 5 musical YouTube videos to be posted, whether they be fresh/cool/funny/blast from the past. Yes we’re ripping Rage pretty hard here, and that would probably be an issue if, you know, people still watched it.
Seeing as how this feature was born out of mine and my good friend Justin (aka Chocolate Panda – can DJ) ’s YouTube link swapping sessions, I’ve decided to let him be the first Guest Programmer.
So without further adieu, I give you Chocolate Panda’s top 5 picks – feel free to tell him what he missed out on in the comments.
We love mashups and mashup artists here at In It For The Money. However, not all mashups are created equal, and very few artists are able to sustain a fun and interesting mix of tracks over the course of a full-length mix. The shortlist of those who have succeeded includes (the obvious) Girl Talk, our very own E-603, and The Hood Internet.
Enter Naysayer & Gilsun.
Streetparty are promoting their Naysayer & Gilsun main set at WOW as ‘a mashup set to fall in love to’, and it was with that tagline in mind that I approached their mix ‘Naysayer and Gilsun Are In Love’. Oddly enough, the structure and progression lends itself more towards a traditional album than your typical mashup set – it works far better as a whole than it does in singles. It’s an experience thoroughly worth the time investment, however, as it truly lives up to it’s moniker as a set to fall in love to – it just might be Naysayer & Gilsun that you’re falling in love with.
An exciting debut, that provides endless promise of things to come – I’m excited.
Last month we were treated to one of the most delightful tour announcements in some time – that the ‘highly blggble’ (cheers Hipster Runoff) band Phoenix would be gracing our shores with their carefree, inoffensive brand of French pop.
Phoenix are the sort of band you think you might have a musical orgasm over – like the first time you heard Digital Love, or Kids – and it’s unsuprising as their rise to musical prominence was born in the French suburb of Versailles – the same region that produced the aforementioned Daft Punk as well as electronic pioneers Air.
Part of the joy of Phoenix is that they require none of the effort of their more pretentious ‘indie-pop’ counterparts, their instantly accessible and insanely likable no matter what your tastes. Their latest album – ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’ is no different, and has produced what are undoubtedly two of 2009’s best singles to date – Lisztomania and 1901.
It is surely due to their electronic roots that we see the current plethora of Phoenix remixes that have come from these two singles, and up for download today are the two songs themselves, alongside two of the better remixes to have come from them.
I also forgot to include the following, which is easily my favourite Youtube video of the year – featuring two of my favourite movies, this is pure win.
