The Seabellies - In Limbo Lake

Spending three years in relative isolation without releasing a single single, Brisbane 6 piece The Seabellies have finally unveiled their long awaited masterpiece after seven weeks of recording. It just so happens it was time well spent – their debut album is a tightly focused, lovingly crafted work of the finest tuneful experimentation. Band members play anything from melodicas to metallophones, creating ethereal musical soundscapes each instilled with a distinctly European feel. The end result is a uniquely rich and layered sound, putting it leagues above the increasing amount of pedestrian indie around today. While their extended hiatus may have pushed them temporarily to the back of fan’s minds, their debut should see them catapulted back up into their supporter’s consciousness.

Yum Cha Experience

This year’s Valley Fiesta will feature the premiere of Yum Cha Sunday, a culinary experience like no other.

If you’re after an affordable and unique dining experience, bring your family and friends this Sunday to the Chinatown mall in fortitude valley for authentic eastern cuisine and enjoyable live entertainment.

All the neighbouring restaurants in Chinatown will be joining forces to provide their tasty services for this special event. Don’t let the name fool you -Yum Cha Sundays will be offering far more than your average garden variety Yum Cha. Tastebuds will be treated to an endless array of ethnic delights, ranging from Vietnamese, Chinese, and spicy Thai cuisine. There really is no better way to satiate your tastebuds than this diverse variety of eastern gastronomic grub.

“All the neighbouring restaurants in China town will be providing the food for the event.” Margaret Nguyen, owner of the Red Lotus restaurant, said. “There’s about six restaurants participating”
This eatery extraordinaire is completely new for Valley Fiesta, with Yum Cha Sunday set to makes its debut a successful one.
“This is the first year that Yum Cha Sundays will occur. We’ll have to see how it goes.” Margaret said. “We’re hoping that it’ll be crowded in China town mall, and this will give us a bit more business in the area.”
Not only will patrons be treated to a delicious and affordable banquet, but this year’s event will feature the spectacular Pyrophone Juggernaught, a cross between a dazzling light show and a tightly choreographed percussion performance. Diners will be able to observe the flame emitting multi octave organ in between bites of Mongolian beef.

After you’ve consumed your delicious meal, take time out to see the many amusements Chinatown has to offer. There are the lively and animated supermarkets, the exotic teahouses and the authentic oriental architecture that is spaced throughout the culturally rich neighbourhood. Upon entering the square you’ll be greeted by a pair of 320 kilogram stone lions, whose purpose is to guard against evil spirits and stands as a symbol of friendship. Once you’ve experienced all that Chinatown has to offer, you’ll be sure to return. So if you’re after cheap yet appetizing chow, make sure you don’t miss this unique event.

Yum Cha Sunday will be held from eleven till three in the Chinatown mall on the twelfth of September.

Super Wild Horses - Fifteen

Often the only means of escaping the unavoidable ‘girl band’ label is to play excellent music. Super wild horses have managed to break free from this lazy gender pigeonholing and craft a distinctive blend of garage pop which sets them apart from your standard basement based bands. Its minimalistic, low fidelity production gives it a certain analogue warmth, and the anthemic garage grunge is laden with sweet harmonized duets which clash brilliantly with the frayed guitar stabs. Songs rarely exceed one or two minutes, and this brevity suits their simple and catchy riffs superbly. From this moment on, the Super Wild Horses will be known as a garage pop band, not a garage pop girl band.

Department of Eagles - Archive 2003-2006

Compilations of B sides and other unfinished leftovers are always a mixed bag. So it was with some degree of apprehension that I went into The Department of Eagles latest release, an eclectic collection of songs dating from the period between the often messy ‘The Cold Nose’ and their more focused ‘In Ear Park’. Never intended for human ears, Archive 2003-2006 offers a glimpse at the transition between these two points, the period where a trifling project became a legitimate band. While various tracks only act as fancy segues, the fully formed songs are masterpieces, which wouldn’t be out of place in a Grizzly Bear album. An essential release for fans, only highly recommended for everyone else.

The Stress of Leisure - Soft Approach

The reasons you’ll like this Brisbane based quartet are the same reasons others will dislike them. On one hand you have trite pop gems filled with corny romantic clichés, and on the other there’s plenty of grating attempts at punk rock. Many songs feel like witty spoofs of various genres, until with creeping unease you realize they might be sincere. This is apparent on the obviously titled ‘All Australian Punk Band 1979’ and the showy ‘At Any Moment This Could Be Massive”. Sadly, it never is, and the album on a whole feels like a massive anti-climax. The Stress of Leisure are enjoyable when they are in their summery pop wheel house, rather than when they are trying vainly to be a punk band. In the end, they are more suited to wearing their heart on their sleeve than an ill-fitting leather jacket.

Lorne Padman - Interview

Internationally touring DJ, general manager of the Vicious record label and the producer of numerous chart topping tracks, Lorne has accomplished feats many of his peers only dream of.

Beginning his career as a lighting engineer and official piss break DJ, Lorne rose quickly through the disc jockey ranks and was soon playing main rooms at nightclubs across Perth. “From year 2000 onwards was me taking it quite seriously” Lorne explains, “During the week I was doing all this proper daytime work, stuff that your parents would be happy for their son to do, but on the weekend I’d be totally rocking out as a DJ and loving it.” Performing at massive venues and supporting major acts had him brought to the attention of one John Course, co-owner of the record label Vicious. Amid playing at the esteemed Russian club ‘RAI’ and collaborating with some of the biggest names in the country, Lorne ultimately landed the position of managing the massive dance label.

“I got caught up working for Vicious and I’ve been running the company for two or three years now. It was just very organic. I must admit I really don’t know what I want to do when I grow up.” Lorne has managed to delay growing up for awhile now, amassing 15 years experience on the decks. But his longevity as a DJ hasn’t lessened his adolescent attitude. “I really don’t want to be old. If you asked me how old I feel, I would say I’m 22. And I know that I’m 28. But the reality is I’m actually 34 on paper. I just don’t get that. I didn’t sign anything or agree to anything, I have no idea how that happened. I just blinked.”

His association with Vicious and his experience on the decks has bestowed Lorne with a keen inkling as to what’s the future of music will look like. With tracks coming in daily from veteran DJs across the country, Lorne knows more than most the future of music. “Working with Vicious definitely helps me in understanding what’s hot in music land, as I’m hearing music a lot earlier than most people on the planet. I’m always looking for the next thing, stuff that really motivates a crowd and gets them really excited. I’m interested in stuff that injects a little bit of emotion into dance music, which is not simple to do without it coming off as too fluffy or sweet.”

LORNE PADMAN IS JOINED BY JOHN COURSE AT THE MET TUESDAY AUGUST 10

The Belligerents - Interview

Known for their intensely physical live performances, the boisterous boys behind The Belligerents give us a rundown of their upcoming EP, the band’s origins and plans for the future.

Self-described as the “longest eargasm of psych dance you’ve ever encountered”, The Belligerents have fashioned a unique concoction of toe-tapping dance-rock to get even the most reserved jumping around. With their hit singles “These Hands” and “Bye Bye Bye” clocking in at number two and nine respectively on Triple J's Unearthed program, it’s no wonder this fivesome is fast becoming one of Brisbane’s hottest acts. With their released songs achieving such rapid prominence, it comes as a bit of a surprise that the band emerged only recently, from very humble beginnings. Andy Balzat, keyboardist, explains, “Before recording our songs it was kind of hard to market a band properly because we only had really bad tracks on our MySpace, and it was always embarrassing because it looks like shit and sounds like shit.”

The members were brought together and united by their love for, well, other band member’s sisters, friends from Germany and a variety of other school based relationships. Emerging from the Sunshine Coast and picking up members along the way, the band exploded into the Brisbane music scene last November, setting the Hangar ablaze with dancefloor dynamite. But their rapid popularity hasn’t been an accident, according to the band. Since their inception, the boys have laboured rigorously in rehearsals and concerts, at one point performing a show every weekend, minimum.

“That period really helped us to determine what we wanted in the band, and in the music,” Andy continued, “and eventually we finished our EP, which we are set to release in about six weeks.”
In addition to the impending EP, the band hopes to be touring the East Coast in the next two months.
“Hopefully we can go as far as we can. We are also looking to travel internationally next year, maybe to Berlin. We’ll take it like it comes, we don’t have any plans. We’ll still like to be together and make music we love, that’s why we’re together in the first place.”

But what motivates the Belligerents? What gets them out of bed in the late afternoon? Well, the band’s mission statement is fairly straightforward. They simply aim to get people on their feet and wildly flailing their limbs.
“We want our audience to be dancing, smiling, and partying. Frantic and sweaty. I like nakedness as well. I imagine most people listening to our music naked. It makes me happy.”

THE BELLIGERENTS SUPPORT TIN CAN RADIO AT THE HI-FI FRIDAY JULY 23.