Incoming

I'll be presenting the Incoming program on Melbourne radio Triple R this afternoon from 4pm AEDT. Tune in on 102.7 FM or stream online and hear interviews from Fearless Vampire Killers, The Little Stevies and also an interview with The Herd about the Elefant Traks' 10th birthday celebrations.

Tech Stream

The reason I've been so slack posting to this blog is that I've launched a new radio program and blog for ABC Radio Australia called Tech Stream. It is a weekly wrap of technology from around the world, focused on the Asia-Pacific region. We cover online trends, web culture, consumer electrical, mobile devices, software, IT and computers.

Now that its in production, I promise to be more forthcoming with music stuff on Everything at Once.

On Music

Rollo Grady, the music-news blog, has recently posted some great interviews on the music business. First up Seth Godin, respected online marketing entrepreneur/guru, discusses his thoughts on the changes in how we discover and consume pop music, being a successful artist or music business and tribe building.

"...music labels used to be in the business of grabbing shelf space, on the radio and in the record store. Now, the music industry needs to realign and be in the business of finding and connecting and leading groups of people who want to follow a musician and connect with the other people who want to do the same."

The full interview with Seth Godin is on Rollo Grady and hes interviewed aboutthe ideas in his book Tribes in Wired Magazine.

Also on Rollo Grady is an interview with the former longtime presenter of KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. Nick Harcourt discusses his new book Music Lust and how he was the first guy playing Coldplay in the USA. Ok, so don't hold that against him, its still an interesting chat.

"What I think is the album format is probably dead. People don’t listen to albums anymore. They just listen to songs and buy the songs they want. I think the world has to adapt to that because clearly that is how people are listening. The Internet had a lot to do with that. The iPod and MP3 players have an awful lot to do with the way people listen to music now."

Finally there's a really good chat with RCRD LBL's Peter Rojas, who I listen to every week presenting the GDGT podcast, which looks broadly at new technology and gadgets. Peter Rojas also started Gizmodo and Engadget. Yep, famous.

RCRD LBL itself is "a network of online record labels and blogs serving up fresh new music downloads and exclusive content." Its an incredible resource that is becoming an essential connection for people passionate about discovering new music. Peter Rojas talks to Rollo Grady about music blogs and the strategies that have made RCRL LBL such a success:

"You have to create something that people who really know what’s going on with music, those who are the most in touch and paying the most attention, are going to find credible and real. We can’t just throw a bunch of bands out there; its bands that we really believe in. The key is finding people with their ears to the ground, discovering great new music, kind of like A&R people."

And if you are interested in music criticism in Melbourne or Australia I'd suggest keeping an eye on Channel 31 in early March when Clem Bastow hosts Dancing About Architecture.

Here We Go Magic

New from Brooklyn we have Here We Go Magic. A wonderful folky three-piece peddling reverb-drenched psych-pop with electro leanings. "Tunnelvision" from their debut ticks all the right boxes - falsetto indie-dude whispers, steady looping percussion, offbeat/otherworldly BVs and strummy acoustic rhythms. Stream it on Myspace. The band is a vehicle for Luke Temple's songwriting, but he's also a mural painter, and his previous recordings (Snowbeast from 2007 as an example) only hint at what was to spring forth from this new project. The self titled album is out through Western Vinyl, home to J Tillman and The Dirty Projectors. I've been using eMusic to download albums for a couple of months now, its the perfect place to buy Here We Go Magic. You can also read and listen more on Obscure Sound.

Melbourne Laneway Festival backlash

As a follow on to my previous post about The Crayon Fields, the backlash against the badly organised Melbourne leg of the Laneway Festival has begun. The best coverage is on The Enthusiast and The Vine with another article and punters venting on Mess and Noise... and Faster Louder has the festival's somewhat weak response to the criticism.

Crayon Fields at Laneway

Piss-smelling inner-city streets, the stinking-hot weather and a ridiculous inability to get into the smaller stages detracted from what was one of the better festival lineups of the summer - Melbourne's now annual St Jerome's Laneway Festival.

Those who didn't cough up the $99 for a ticket had the opportunity to partake in the spirit of the fest at two FREE stages - one in the QV complex (see photo below) showcasing acoustic music. Tobias Cummings, Emily Ulman and Grand Salvo being highlights here...



...and around the corner Holly Throsby, Luluc, Oh Mercy (below) and more were on the Library steps, providing a more upbeat electrified experience.



As the sun slipped behind nearby buildings the pink-skinned crowd at this stage lounged around on the grass drinking smuggled cans of Carlton, smoked ciggies that were banned in the main event and allowed themselves to be wooed by the dreamy pop of Geoff O'Connor's group The Crayon Fields.


Crayon Fields - not at Laneway. Pic by Snipergirl.

The local four piece are back in action after a small hiatus, with a new 7" in tow...



"Mirror Ball" from their forthcoming, but delayed longplayer All the Pleasures in the World, is getting plenty of radio play on Triple R and Triple J, and they sound more exciting live than ever before. Adding cello and violin to their show at Laneway, they bopped their way through some older classics and a swag of fresh material. Geoff was at his bashful best and the rest of the dudes were rock solid in the clammy heat. "We should have gone into the library" he quiped shyly at one point "they'd have air conditioning. And books and computers". Nerdly banter rules.

Pitchfork approve of the new tunes too, and you can read all about them and download Mirror Ball for free. Guy Blackman, who often sits in with Geoff in his other project Sly Hats, is releasing the album through Chapter Music, hopefully sometime soon this year. But you can get the 7" now or grab their excellent first LP "Animal Bells".

The band play again tomorrow night, February 3rd, at Billboards supporting Stereolab from the UK before skipping over the Tasman to play in Auckland and Wainuiomata. Then they're off to Europe in April and May. Dates, as they stand, are on the Crayon Fields myspace page.