And we are back….. Here’s what we are collectively listening to on the reg. Pretty poppy mix this time around. Hope you enjoy.
Hayden Calnin Interview
23 Oct
At the impressivly young age of 22, Hayden Calnin’s first recognised offering to the music world suggests big things are on the horizon. With the success of his single ‘For My Help’, from his debut EP City, Calnin has deservedly garnered the attention of the Australian music industry. This culminated in a spot on the Big Sound 2012 line up held in Brisbane last month.
3Links were fortunate enough to spend some time with Hayden on the eve of the festival to talk all things from music to the predicted end of the world.
3LM: Your music is receiving airplay on Australian radio along with a strong reception online. What is your reaction to the swell of positive sentiment?
HC: It’s nice that people are getting onto it. I don’t feel I’ve done very much but it’s a nice feeling to have the radio play your music and people blog about it.
3LM: Do you welcome comparisons of your music to that of artists such as Bon Iver, James Blake and Matt Corby?
HC: I do. I get compared to artist that I love, thats good. I’m very influenced by everyone I seem to be compared to. Its a nice thing. Honestly, I’m a bit over the Bon Iver/ Justin Vernon comparison. It’s like no one can sing in falsetto now without being compared to Justin Vernon. I love his music but I never try to sound like him. It just kind of happens. People who like that will find my stuff. It’s a good thing.
3LM: Will this influence you going forward? Can you see yourself pushing away from these similar sounds?
HC: No. I play a lot of genres. For this EP I’ve kind of just played a folky electronic vibe. I don’t think it will change what I’m doing, its just interesting to read sometimes how my music come across.
3LM: Most children are vulnerable to the listening habits of their parents at a young age. What sort of music (if any) were you hearing as a child?
HC: No one in my family is musical, they’re all tone deaf, but they all love good music. Growing up in a household that appreciates good music always helps. My parents listened to a lot of Fleetwood Mac and Crowded House. It’s interesting because that sort of got me into making music and I’ve discovered artists from being involved in the industry. Now it’s reversed and I’m showing my parents music and they’re loving it. My mum loves James Blake and a lot of electronica. It’s bizarre.
3LM: Having produced and recorded most of your music in the confines of your home, how have you found the transition to live performances?
HC: It’s good. It’s pretty much the same thing. All the gear I have at home is similar to the stage set up anyway. Obviously what you get live isn’t exactly what you get recorded, but I think thats the same with any band. I haven’t found the transition difficult at all.
3LM: You do a lot of looping on City. Do you loop on stage or do other musicians help you out?
HC: Yeh a bit of both. Recently I’ve been working with other musicians on stage. Sometimes if I do a song relying on loops it will be an extra minute or 2. I’ve been working with a band for about half of my set for the last few months. That helps a lot. Less thinking on stage allows me to concentrate on putting on a show.
3LM:Talk to us a bit about your debut EP ?
HC: Its called City as I wrote all of the songs while living in the city (as opposed to the peninsula). It’s pretty much about living out of home and doing your own thing…finding your own independence.
3LM: The lyrics of ‘For My Help’ are very evocative. Are they directed at anyone in particular?
HC: Yeh they totally are. I can’t say who. I haven’t told anyone yet.
3LM: Do you find it hard to write about personal experiences or does it come naturally?
HC: Yeh that’s natural. If i don’t want to offend somebody or if I don’t want them to know I just use heaps of analogies.
3LM: What do you get up to when you’re not playing music?
HC: Not much, I just hang out. I haven’t had down time in a while. I look forward to a holiday. There is so much momentum at the moment so that’s a while away.
3LM: Do you set time aside to write?
HC: Yeh I just started writing again the other day. I’ve had all these ideas but no time to sit at home and spend a day doing it. For the first the I got some stuff out.
3LM: Finally, can you share your thoughts on the Mayan prediction that the end of the world is imminent?
HC: Haha. Yeh. Im all up for it. It will be cool. I’d just keep doing the same thing. I’m totally interested in that topic. I have conversations about this with my mate everyday.
Hayden Calnin – 3Links
You can (and should) catch Hayden Calnin for a measly $15 this Thursday (25th October) at The Northcote Social Club. Grab tickets here before they sell out.
Tys
Mystery Jets Review – The Corner – Wednesday 26th September
27 Sep
A full house at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel greeted London indie rockers the Mystery Jets last night. Touring on the back of their 2012 LP, Radlands, the five-piece have a strong back-catalogue to complement their new hits.
Northeast Party House set the tone for the evening with a groove-inducing set. Having not heard much from this local outfit, I was suitably impressed! Sounding a bit like a fusion between Foals and Bloc Party, they played an up-tempo set, full of alternative rock tunes, which coupled with the infectious energy from lead singer, Zach, and guitarist, Jack, had many in the crowd dancing along. Although interspersed with sound issues, the set was a great pre-cursor to the main act. I expect we will be hearing a lot more of these lads in the coming future. ‘Empires’, ‘Dusk’ and ‘Pascal Cavalier’ were crowd favourites.
The main act strolled on stage at about quarter to ten, and opened with a flawless rendition of ‘Someone Purer’. Lead singer, Blaine Harrison was at one with his band-mates throughout the gig, rarely missing a note, and this opener definitely set the tone for the evening. The harmonies Harrison created with William Rees were certainly a highlight, especially on the sprawling rock track ‘Lost in Austin’. The ability for a song to, tell a story, evoke emotion from the listener and be insanely catchy is an underrated skill, and one that the Mystery Jets have in spades. ‘Sister Everett’, written about a nun the band met on a plane to Texas to record Radlands, and ‘The Ballad of Emmerson Lonestar’ are two specific examples of this. Both were performed to perfection, although I was somewhat disappointed when they omitted the choir-style refrain ending of ‘Sister Everett’, instead rolling into ‘Veiled in Grey’. Another minor gripe of mine was the omission of ‘Radlands’ – the title track to their new album, and one of my favourites on the album.
The bands’ older hits attracted the most attention from the crowd, with ‘Serotonin’, the hauntingly beautiful love-song ‘Flake’ and ‘Two Doors Down’ garnering big sing-a-longs from the crowd. Harrison implored the crowd to join him to sing the opening lines from ‘Two Doors Down’. This led to the crowd singing most of the song with the band, in what was a highlight of the night.
They finished with Radlands closer ‘Luminescence’ – which could only be described as a mesmorising rendition. The buzz of all 5 musicians playing simultaneously was palpable, it felt like the band forgot they were playing a gig at all, and instead were jamming in private. The Mystery Jets played their euphonic brand of indie rock with seamless ease, obviously all comfortable with their role in making one of my favourite albums of 2012, and performing an unforgettable gig.
Mystery Jets – 3Links
Tols
St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2013
26 Sep
The much anticipated St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival line-up dropped this morning! And wow-we, are we excited that some of 2012′s best new music will be performing live in our laneways next year!! And here’s to hoping that there aren’t too many timetable clashes! Several of these acts have featured on 3linksmusic before.
Stevo reviewed Alt-J’s (∆) stunning debut album An Awesome Wave in June! Read it here. Unfortunately they will not be doing a sideshow, so unless you scored a ticket to their gig in October, Laneway will be the only place to see them!
Chet Faker featured on our mid-year top 10′s, and most likely will at the end of the year too. See his 3links here
Ms Mr featured as song of the day in August, with their track ‘Hurricane’ – See their 3links here.
The Rubens recently released their self-titled debut album, and their single ‘Don’t Ever Want to Be Found’ was our song of the day back in May. Have a look here.
Fragrant World, Yeasayer’s latest album was reviewed by Tys last month, and will undoubtedly fill a headline spot on the bill. Have a look here.
I’m looking forward to discovering more of the artists on the Laneway bill, prior to what is always a must-go-to festival! Alpine, Bat For Lashes, and Snakadatal all feature on the 3links below:
St Jerome’s Laneway Festival – 3links
The whole line up in alphabetical order is:
ALPINE – ALT J – BAT FOR LASHES – CHET FAKER – CLOUD NOTHINGS – DIVINE FITS – EL-P – FLUME – HENRY WAGONS & THE UNWELCOME COMPANY – HIGH HIGHS* – HOLY OTHER – JAPANDROIDS – JESSIE WARE – JULIA HOLTER – KINGS OF CONVENIENCE – THE MEN – MS MR – THE NEIGHBORHOOD – NICOLAS JAAR – NITE JEWEL* – OF MONSTERS AND MEN* – PERFUME GENIUS – POLICA – POND – REAL ESTATE – THE RUBENS – SHLOHMO – SNAKADAKTAL – TWERPS – YEASAYER
Tickets go on pre-sale on Wednesday 3th October, and to the general public on Friday 5th of October from lanewayfestival.com.au.
St Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2013 Dates
Singapore
Saturday 26 January 2013
Facebook / Twitter
Auckland
Monday 28 January 2013
Brisbane
Friday 1 February 2013
Sydney
Saturday 2 February 2013
Melbourne
Sunday 3 February 2013
Adelaide
Friday 8 February 2013
Perth
Saturday 9 February 2013
Tols
Parklife – Preview
18 Sep
The first major festival to hit our shores this spring is Parklife, and the Parklife crew has gathered together a ripping line up to shred our winter coats, and put our dancing shoes on for!
Combining artists from the electronic, dance, hip-hop, rap, synth and electro pop genres, the 2012 edition of Parklife promises to be one of the best yet. A perfect entree to the Australian summer music scene. Up and coming artists include – Parachute Youth who will bring their pulsating track ‘Can’t Better Than This‘, British five-piece Citizens! melodic-pop and their hit ‘True Romance’ and various Triple J Unearthed competition winners – like the chilled beats from Willow Beats (only at Parklife Melbourne) – ‘From Under the Ground‘.
Boston synth-pop outfit Passion Pit grace our shores following up from their sophomore album Gossamer (3linksmusic review here). Mixing current songs like ‘Take A Walk’ and ‘Constant Conversations’ with older classics like ‘Sleepyhead’ and ‘Moth’s Wings’ will no doubt produce a highly energetic performance and have the crowd in full-voice!
Plan B will combine his repertoire of hip-hop, soul and rapping in one of the most anticipated slots of the festival. Bound to get the crowd singing in unison is his anthemic track ‘She Said’.
Philadelphia duo Chiddy Bang will bring their catalog of samples and guest vocals to the Parklife stage. After dropping their debut album, Breakfast earlier this year, the insanely catchy ‘Ray Charles’ will be the highlight. It will also be interesting/exciting to see if Passion Pit play a live role for the track ‘Truth’.
Perhaps my favourite artist on the line-up is Chairlift. Their 2nd trip for 2012 down under brings the sexiness of lead singer, Caroline Polachek and the wonderful catalogue of songs from the 2012 LP, Something. Crowd favourite ‘Bruises’ and ‘Met Before’ shape as the highlights of this indie-pop set.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Brisbane – Saturday 29th September, City Botanic Gardens
Sydney – Sunday 30th September, Centennial Park (NEW VENUE)
Perth – Monday 1st October, Wellington Square
Melbourne – Saturday 6th October, Sidney Myer Music Bowl and Kings Domain
Adelaide – Sunday 7th October, Botanic Park
For more clips of other artists see the 3links!
Parklife – 3Links
Tols
Paralyzed – Oddisee
18 SepOddisee is a soulful producer/MC and a product of his Maryland upbringing. 2012 has seen the release of more new music and his first solo album People Hear What They See, a good demonstration of how technology can assist a talented artist in their early recording days. ‘Paralyzed’ is not on the album, but is part of a series of samples Oddisee has also created this year, this one in particular sampling one of our favourites at 3Links, Bon Iver‘s ‘re: stacks’. Oddisee‘s work this year is worth checking out both for it’s production value and hip hop quality.
Oddisee – 3Links
Chook
How To Dress Well – & It Was You
11 Sep
Tom Krell is an experimental dream-pop producer hailing from Brooklyn who goes under the stage name, How to Dress Well. A new song from their eagerly anticipated sophomore album, Total Loss, was premiered a couple of days ago via NPR. It’s called ‘& It Was You’, and channels the R&B pop groove emanating from the 90′s. Worth a listen!
How To Dress Well – 3Links
Listen to: How to Dress Well – & It Was U
Pre – Order the album, Total Loss, due for release September 18th.
Tys
The xx – Swept Away and Sunset
10 Sep
Picking my favourite song from The xx‘s sophomore LP Coexist is comparable to a parent choosing a favourite child. It’s an impossible quandary!
So in picking my song of the day, I posed the question to all of the guys at 3Links. While their answers didn’t give any confirmation of my preliminary thoughts, it did clarify one thing. Everyone will have a different favourite song from Coexist and that’s exactly what makes this album so memorable.
It was suggested that I go with my gut felling, so that’s what I’ll end up doing and instead of posting just the one song, here are two instead.
‘Swept Away’ is the longest track on the album and also the closest thing to dance music. The popping percussion of Jamie Smith is the highlight.
Listen: Swept Away
While Oliver Sim and Romy Madley-Croft’s lyrics about ex-lovers becoming strangers is poetic and all too true, it is Sim’s catchy bass solo that I look forward to each time ‘Sunset’ comes on.
Listen: Sunset
Both of these songs are worthy of my song of the day. To be honest, the rest of the album is too, so head over to above link and stream the album in full.
The xx – 3Links
Tones
Chet Faker – ‘Love and Feeling’ tour
7 Sep
Chet Faker brings his national tour to his hometown of Melbourne tonight, and the 3links team are very excited to see him live!
Promoting the new single ‘Love and Feeling’, from his critically acclaimed EP, Terms and Conditions, Chet Faker has embarked on a national tour. Taking the Melbourne musician to Perth, Fremantle Adelaide, Sydney and Canberra, Chet Faker hits his home-town of Melbourne tonight for the first of two sold-out shows.
It has been a break-through year for Chet Faker. Since his garage recordings, ‘No Diggity’ and ‘I’m Into You‘ garnered big popularity and major airplay on both Australian and international radio, his fame has soared. Chet played at the musical mecca of SXSW in Austin, after just a handful of live shows in March, impressing there, and landing an opening spot for The Temper Trap’s European tour. He comes back to Melbourne for his first show in months, and we are anticipating an impressive performance.
Look out for the review in the coming days.
Chet Faker – 3Links (2)
Chet Faker – 3Links
Tols
