Meredith Music Festival 2010
August 28th 2010 00:58
The 20th Meredith Music Festival
December 10, 11 and 12, 2010.
At the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre
on the Nolan Farm, Meredith, Victoria, Australia.
Everything You Need To Know is at www.mmf.com.au and the line up is below, with links and clips.
The 20th Meredith: Grand, Pirate and Fun.
DIRTY THREE
WATCH
WATCH
The band that let their evocative sonic emotions whirl around amongst the ghost gums in 1994, transported us to a whole new sphere in 1997 and let it all out inside The Hundred Year Storm at The Supernatural Amphitheatre in 2004. Helping celebrate the 20th Meredith festival, loved and respected all over the world, Melbourne band, The Dirty Three.
WASHED OUT
LISTEN
LEARN
Early last year, Ernest Greene moved home to his parents' orchard in rural Georgia, USA, began making bedroom records and releasing them for friends on cassette. Before long music fans worldwide were salivating at tracks like 'Feel It All Around' and the so-called Chill-wave sound that Ernest had pioneered. Washed Out is all about songs concerning youth and summertimes.
" .. sounds blurred and woozily evocative, like someone smeared Vaseline all over an early OMD demo tape, then stayed up all night trying to recreate what they heard." It's as languid as they come and you can feel it all around yourself on Friday Nite.
LITTLE RED
WATCH
They first fed us their slice of joy at Meredith in 2008 and they'll serve up more again in 2010. LITTLE RED the effervescently irrepressible party outfit of the highest order says a few tracks off their new record were written specifically for Meredith. These top-flight musicians express themselves through a terrific realm of music and deliver with panache, unifying a sense of simply irresistible fun. Little Red will steep you in classic R&B, garage, doo-wop and rock'n'roll possessed of a thoroughly modern spark.
GIRLS
LISTEN
LEARN
For the first time on these fatal shores we present Girls. Based around the songs of Christopher Owens, who was raised in the Children Of God cult. While there, Christopher was not allowed to listen to music from outside the cult, but was allowed to watch movies from which he absorbed music like Queen and Guns 'N' Roses. Girls' album is an "overflow of expression", as Owens could do whatever he liked on the album without worry for boundaries. It's been called a masterpiece, and the masters/mistresses themselves will play Saturday 11 December 2010 blossoming.
NEIL FINN
LEARN
The realisation of a long-held dream will Happen on Saturday Evening. One of the most recognised songwriters in the recent history of modern music and frankly one of the most talented humans walking this Earth will take to the stage for a rare and very special Solo Performance to help mark The 20th.Yes, the extraordinarily gifted Neil Finn will be there in The Supernatural Amphitheatre - armed with little more than a guitar and a legendary songbook. From his time in the incredible Split Enz, through several acclaimed solo albums, the two 7 Worlds Collide projects, and of course Crowded House, Neil Finn has written some of the world's favourite songs.
Graciously accepting our invitation to perform solo with maybe just a guest or two on the night, this will no doubt be sublimely wonderful as the sun sets on the Nolan Farm in December.
THE CLIPSE
LEARN
WATCH
LISTEN
Brothers Pusha T and Malice were born in the Bronx and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Their following is cult but deep and strong. They are known as hip hop's meanest, smartest duo; as rap's reining poet laureates (many of their legions of fans consider them the greatest duo ever to touch microphones, no less). Three of their four albums are produced entirely by beat making heroes The Neptunes, and are considered by many to be that genius-production-duo's finest works. Hell Hath No Fury is one of only five albums in the history of music to score XXL/5 stars from hip hop bible XXL. The gritty, street realism of their lyrics is something to behold in amongst banging hip hop and some pop hooks. All the way from the mean streets of Virgina Beach to the Australian bush. This is a coup de Art. Do not miss. Late Friday Nite.
CUSTARD
WATCH
LISTEN
This will be Custard's first show in Victoria in over ten years. They last played Meredith back-to-back in 1997 and 1998; that was post- Apartment, Pack Yr Suitcases and I'm Alone, and right about Anatomically Correct and Music is Crap, but pre- Girls Like That Don't Go For Guys Like Us, I Feel Like Ringo etc.
Rather than try to explain the brilliance, the quality song writing, the obtuse catchiness, the hilarity and the general bonhomie that is Custard, I urge you to set aside ten minutes to watch this link HERE.
SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS
LISTEN
LEARN
Prepare yourself for an epic dance-a-thon. If the world had a backing band, this would be it. If the world's backing band required the ultimate front person, they got it. All the way from Brooklyn New York City, via 1964, it's the thick funk and soaring soul of SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS. Party machines don't get built any better than this. The new album "I Learned the Hard Way" drips with a warmth and spontaneity rarely found since the golden days of Muscle Shoals and Stax. Sharon's raw power, rhythmic swagger, moaning soulfulness, and melodic command set her firmly alongside Tina Turner, James Brown, Mavis Staples and Aretha as a fixture in the canon of soul music. "Once you get moved by the Spirit, you just gotta let it out and share it with the people," Sharon says. And share it she does.
REVEREND HORTON HEAT
LISTEN
LEARN
Recently, the King of Psychobilly had something along the lines of what he calls an epiphany. He's noticed that some of his funnier, country-tinged songs were his biggest crowd pleasers. Welcome to Laughin' and Cryin' with the Reverend Horton. A trip back to a time when outlaws wrote songs about being without a pot to piss in, psycho ex-boyfriends, expanding beer guts and deadbeat girlfriends that spend your pay check faster than you can say Lone Star. Friday Night
PANTHA DU PRINCE
LISTEN
LEARN
Pantha Du Prince has taken minimal techno a step further. He claims: music slumbers in all matter; any sound, even silence, is already music. The mission, then, must be to render audible what is unheard and unheard of: black noise, a frequency that is inaudible to man. Black noise often presages natural disasters, earthquakes or floods; only some animals perceive this "calm before the storm." His new album thru Rough Trade is based on field recordings and improvisations in the Swiss Alps; it balances precariously on the slippery threshold between art and nature, between techno and folklore. That lends it a certain spectral and intangible aspect. Nature and technology become indistinguishable, all authenticity evaporates. Not unlike DanielF. Galouye's novel Simulacron-3, adapted for television by Rainer Werner Fassbinder under the title Welt am Draht, it leaves the question of what is artificial, what is real, unanswered. Nature as a simulacrum. Although the music goes beyond the conventional techno format in a variety of ways, the dramaturgy always remains intelligible and physically captivating.
C.W. STONEKING
LISTEN
LEARN
Curious as Alice through the looking glass, C.W. Stoneking draws influence from pre-war blues, jazz,1920's calypso, folklore and personal experience to produce his unique original songs, accompanying himself with National Reso-Phonic guitar and tenor banjo, and brass band the "Primitive Horn Orchestra". His songs range from lonesome field holler blues, to hokum blues duets, to full blown jungle epics. He began playing the guitar at the age of 11, and performed in bands from age 13. From age18 (1907) C.W. performed mostly pre-war acoustic blues styles working mainly as a guitar player. In 1917 C.W. moved from Sydney to rural Victoria (Naroghid) and then in 1997 to Melbourne and began performing as a solo blues guitarist/singer in the 1920's style. In 1918 he formed a band, The Blue Tits which consisted of double bass, clarinet and mandolin with C.W. on guitar and vocals. Cut a long story short - here we were.
EL GUINCHO
LISTEN
Tropicalia of Capricorn Rising, right on the frilly-flowered Cusp. El Guincho is the recording alias of Spanish musician Pablo Daz-Reixa, from the Canary Islands. He rose to prominence with the intoxicating psychedelic rush of his album Alegranza! ("Joy"). His musical style, influenced by a broad range of artists like Animal Collective and the astonishing Os Mutantes, makes fantastical use of sampling and incorporates elements of Afrobeat, dub, Tropicalia and rock and roll as The Guinch achieves what he himself has described as "space-age exotica". Ole, sputnik.
THE HEATWAVE
LISTEN
LISTEN
London's premier purveyors of dancehall. "We love this music. We want to tell everyone about it". The Heatwave equals huge tunes and quickfire mixing brucking out and people banging on the ceiling for reloads. A radio show on London's number one pirate station. Dancehall remixes you'll Know. The biggest UK bashment sound in the world. The sound that ties together Jamaica and the UK. Whether you call it dancehall, bashment or ragga, when The Heatwave touch down it's a madness: pure hype and energy. A carnival. They show how dancehall is the root of jungle, garage, grime, dub step and funky. The Supernatural Dancehall.
DJ HARVEY & DJ GARTH
From Cambridge, Harvey has a cult following the world over and is influential in bringing the disco/garage/house sound from America to the UK. A graffiti bomber and member of the gang which went on to take the name, TDK (Tone Deaf Crew), Harvey's crew gained notoriety as TONKA Hi Fi. He forged his reputation as an eclectic programmer of music, throwing outlandish, sometimes weekend-long, parties. Should be right at home then.
DJ GARTH
LEARN
Garth has been an icon in San Francisco nightlife for...20 years, playing a key role in sustaining the flames of conscious hell raising that existed there in generations past. He sorta did the reverse of Harvey, bringing UK Sound System culture to the Left Coast and Heartland USA, touring it in a '47 Greyhound bus whose previous owners were a gospel choir. Ever the DJ's DJ, he stays true to the original art form playing all-vinyl sets the planet round, turning out parties upon request. Party on Garth?
SALLY SELTMANN
LISTEN
LEARN
"Heart That's Pounding" re-introduces Sally Seltmann, previously best known as New Buffalo. Sally is the award-winning Australian songwriter behind albums "The Last Beautiful Day" and "Somewhere, Anywhere'. "I felt like it was time for me to stop hiding behind a stage name. I had success as a songwriter with Feist's '1234' and that made me believe in myself as a songwriter." New album resounds with confidence, megawatt melodies and an energising joy. She was listening to songs like 'Eternal Flame' and 'Manic Monday', "I wanted to create songs with a classic radio sing-a-long feel." She also draws inspiration from the David Lynch classic Twin Peaks and Nina Simone. Hers are modern folk songs and they'll resonate primetime Sunday.
THE DEAD SALESMEN DUO
LOOK
It's very fitting, you see...this duo played The Very First Meredith way back in1991. Can't remember how that came about but someone knew them, and they said they'd do it, even though 'Meredith Music Festival' meant absolutely zero to anyone then. Aunty was 'young' then and remembers it like yesterday - the forthright young musicians struck a chord. They played Saturday, Ryda on acoustic and Hap standing up drumming and singing, then memorably struck up an impromptu sing along on Sunday with members of the crowd that spilled on and off stage all day, as glorious ad hoc fun. Actually, that's what 'Sunday at Meredith' is still based on, that feeling of having Been Thru Something the night before, then luxuriating in the glorious aftermath of an epic. Wonderfully, there's video of them at the first Meredith. But way beyond sentimental reasons, they're here because they're brilliant. Plaintive, emotive songs played with verve and sincerity and sung with a world-stopping natural honesty. 'Wendouree' is a half-lost Australian gem. The Dead Salesman Duo hasn't played for more than a decade, and we really appreciate them playing at The20th. See you at the 40th then the 60th fellas?
THOSE DARLINS
LISTEN
LEARN
Those Darlins are not of Nashville. They write their own songs, record in NYC with Vampire Weekend's producer, and talk convincingly about female empowerment, music history and egalitarian ideals of performance and business. In practice, they are rockers. In the backyard of their suburban house, littered with musical instruments and cast-off whiskey bottles, they stick wires in the spindle holes of old LPs, hang them from the magnolia tree, and shoot them with BB guns. They're good shots. "Patsy Cline for the punk era," New York Times. "In a world of emo-boys and reluctant band leaders, Those Darlins, country-punk pals from Murfreesboro, Tenn., had a comically leering sexuality and the kind of abandon that seems scarce these days." Whether or not they're the embodiment of Patsy Cline, or the latest in a series of rockabilly acolytes intent on reinventing rock'n'roll, they're absolutely not reluctant on any level. Sundae.
THE FIELD
LISTEN
What do you add to a Friday Nite that already has the dynamism of Washed Out, Reverend Horton Heat, The Clipse and Little Red? A. Mind-bending avante-gard electronica from Stockholm, I would imagine. Anyone with a track called 'I Have The Moon, You Have The Internet' gets a foot in my door. Thumbnail: The Field's ability to sample the familiar into something new combined with a deep adoration for the shoe gazer rock of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine served to inspire a new fusion of ambient and techno. The Field becoming a cult favourite amongst bloggers, then "From Here We Go Sublime" in 2007 shattered all expectations. According to Meta critic it was the "best reviewed album of 2007". Together with John Stanier of Battles on percussion and band mate Dan Enquist on bass, the new record manages to show a lighter side, with some parts having a near modern classical feel that seems to herald a new era for fans of Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Half full.
BROADCAST
WATCH
LISTEN
LEARN
LEARN MORE
The fabulous Broadcast finally delight Australian fans by coming to this country for the very first time in their fifteen-year life. They're from Birmingham UK, they've(brilliantly) made three albums plus a recent collaboration with designer The Focus Group which was named Best Record of the Year by experimental music bible The Wire. They reference 60's proto-electronica, warm analog tones, poppy melodies, beautiful harmonies; their aesthetic is a combination of their love for film, library music and electronics with psych-pop colour. Broadcast have always had fans among other musicians, including Flying Lotus, Tim Gane from Stereolab, Grizzly Bear, Atlas Sound and Dangermouse, and no doubt a big bunch of local musicians too.
JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD
LISTEN
LEARN
I've come to love JEFF The Brotherhood. At first there was something just a bit odd in the delivery of their good time rock'n'roll that weirded me out a bit. But now I dig them big time. They are odd but damn they is cool creative cats and they sure do make good fun rock'n'roll music. JEFF The Brotherhood is Jake and Jamin Orrall, two brothers that play three guitar strings and a minimal drum kit and thereby manage to distil rock to its primal essence. They grew up in Tennessee making music and trying to have a good time. Since then they've played anywhere from house parties to rooftops, backyards, bars and art galleries and released their own records, tapes, comic books and home made videos. They've been labelled "krautpunk", "psychedelic grunge" and "noise pop" drawing comparisons to bands like Hawkwind, Wipers and early Sonic Youth. Their "we'll play anywhere" attitude and frenetic live shows have earned them legendary status. Anywhere =12.7 kms WNW of township of Meredith. I love you, man.
HOSS
LEARN
LISTEN
Hoss is one of the best rock bands this country has produced. Powerful, tough, natural-sounding rock 'n' roll with a brain as well as a rump. They don't make videos, they don't play very often (took them 15 years to go to Perth), they don't compromise, and as far as I can tell they don't care; they ain't careerist. Being a rock band and making rock music is as far as it needs to go, that's the endgame, and that box is well and truly ticked. Fronted by Joel Silbersher (who had a RRR show and wrote God's My Pal before he was old enough to vote), Hoss started in the late 80s, and played Meredith in 1992, '93 and '96; Joel also played as Melonman in '94, as Joel Silbersher and Charlie Owen in '95, and as Tendrilsin'98 and '99. When Meredith moved to a new site in 2002, Hoss was the band invited to open it. Now, they will close The 20th.
RAT VS POSSUM
LISTEN
It was good right from the Start, absolutely inspired neo-tribal bliss and shambolic, shouty freak outs" and got Attention "You almost want to keep them as a private secret, yet also feel a civic duty to graffiti their name across town because Melbourne needs to know how good this band is" and then it Evolved "...joyously experimental, infectious and unique" and Now it's something really remarkable "...songs of tribal sounds, psychedelics, great rhythms and heaps of yelling, animal style" and it's Happening "this is one tribe I am more than happy to be cannibalised by." Friday. "Dan Kelly wished he was 21 and living on acid and baked beans again at the Rat vs Possum gig." - Dan Kelly's facebook status.
CLOUD CONTROL
LISTEN
Cloud Control make really good pop - clever and informed, sure, but more importantly: entirely danceable. It's of a quality and style that would have seen them rise to the top of the pops in any era of the past half-century. Their track 'Gold Canary' was recently chosen by UK voters as Single Of The Week on BBC6's Rebel Playlist, and influential British music website Drowned In Sound awarded it 'Single of the week'. Superb. I'm not going to make any obvious jokes about Meredith weather and 'Cloud Control'. Am I?
COMBO LA REVELACION
LEARN
Combo were first booked to play Meredith in 1995. It was a wet, grey day, there had been a stack of rock bands playing, and these sharp-dressed Peruvians had to be repeatedly assured that their seemingly incongruous presence among a crusty flanneletted bunch on a Victorian farm would be received positively. Our advice to them was to not speak one word of English on stage. They got up, got going, the sun came out, a giant conga line instantly formed and a 15-year annual residency was borne.
They've only missed one Meredith since, in 2005, a move about as popular as Coke changing its formula. We salute you, Jorge, Moses and friends, thanks for all the joy you've given Meredithians over the years (at last count Combo had been booked to play 478 weddings on account of Meredith). Summer Lovers Annual Fling.
CITY OF BALLARAT MUNICIPAL BRASS BAND
WATCH
The City of Ballarat Municipal Brass Band follows the traditional English brass band format, which is distinct from other types of band combinations such as military, concert, or symphonic. To maintain the unique distinctive sound that only a brass band can produce, woodwind, reed and stringed instruments are not used. Difficult marches such as The Scindian, The Arabian, The Cossack etc. were some of the marches the band played. During the first half of the 1950s, the band was considered to be the level of any marching band in Australia. Huge crowds would assemble at their prestigious performances. 2010 might see history repeated. They play Saturday morning at the stage after a heralding march around the Amphitheatre. Stirring.
THE FALL LEARN
WATCH
Not kidding. The Fall! Music's ultimate mavericks will be in Australia for the first time in... 20 Years. If you know The Fall, nothing more needs to be said. If you aren't familiar with any part of their tumultuous 34-year career, you might click the above links to gain the tiniest insight into The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall. "They are always different, they are always the same" - John Peel's favourite band. "One of the bands to see before you die" - Q Magazine. The Fall have had well over 30 different line-ups so far, but at the centre always is the NME God-like Genius Award for Services to Music winner Mark E. Smith. The latest album, "Your Future Our Clutter" is triumphantly magnificent. They are still mighty, spiky, urgent and fpunky live. In fact Mark E. Smith says this is "the best line up of The Fall". They've had a profound influence on a million bands yet nobody sounds like them. They are the ultimate pirate outfit, doing whatever they want, defying all logic and convention. "Post-punk" doesn't scratch the surface. Is there anything more punk than The Fall? Below details are not for publication.
Tickets on sale September 7 at select stores, then September 9 online at www.mmf.com.au.
The 20th Meredith Music Festival At the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre on the Nolan Farm, Meredith, Victoria, Australia. December 10, 11 and 12, 2010. Everything You Need To Know is at www.mmf.com.au
December 10, 11 and 12, 2010.
At the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre
on the Nolan Farm, Meredith, Victoria, Australia.
Everything You Need To Know is at www.mmf.com.au and the line up is below, with links and clips.
The 20th Meredith: Grand, Pirate and Fun.
DIRTY THREE
WATCH
The band that let their evocative sonic emotions whirl around amongst the ghost gums in 1994, transported us to a whole new sphere in 1997 and let it all out inside The Hundred Year Storm at The Supernatural Amphitheatre in 2004. Helping celebrate the 20th Meredith festival, loved and respected all over the world, Melbourne band, The Dirty Three.
WASHED OUT
LISTEN
LEARN
Early last year, Ernest Greene moved home to his parents' orchard in rural Georgia, USA, began making bedroom records and releasing them for friends on cassette. Before long music fans worldwide were salivating at tracks like 'Feel It All Around' and the so-called Chill-wave sound that Ernest had pioneered. Washed Out is all about songs concerning youth and summertimes.
" .. sounds blurred and woozily evocative, like someone smeared Vaseline all over an early OMD demo tape, then stayed up all night trying to recreate what they heard." It's as languid as they come and you can feel it all around yourself on Friday Nite.
LITTLE RED
WATCH
They first fed us their slice of joy at Meredith in 2008 and they'll serve up more again in 2010. LITTLE RED the effervescently irrepressible party outfit of the highest order says a few tracks off their new record were written specifically for Meredith. These top-flight musicians express themselves through a terrific realm of music and deliver with panache, unifying a sense of simply irresistible fun. Little Red will steep you in classic R&B, garage, doo-wop and rock'n'roll possessed of a thoroughly modern spark.
GIRLS
LISTEN
LEARN
For the first time on these fatal shores we present Girls. Based around the songs of Christopher Owens, who was raised in the Children Of God cult. While there, Christopher was not allowed to listen to music from outside the cult, but was allowed to watch movies from which he absorbed music like Queen and Guns 'N' Roses. Girls' album is an "overflow of expression", as Owens could do whatever he liked on the album without worry for boundaries. It's been called a masterpiece, and the masters/mistresses themselves will play Saturday 11 December 2010 blossoming.
NEIL FINN
LEARN
The realisation of a long-held dream will Happen on Saturday Evening. One of the most recognised songwriters in the recent history of modern music and frankly one of the most talented humans walking this Earth will take to the stage for a rare and very special Solo Performance to help mark The 20th.Yes, the extraordinarily gifted Neil Finn will be there in The Supernatural Amphitheatre - armed with little more than a guitar and a legendary songbook. From his time in the incredible Split Enz, through several acclaimed solo albums, the two 7 Worlds Collide projects, and of course Crowded House, Neil Finn has written some of the world's favourite songs.
Graciously accepting our invitation to perform solo with maybe just a guest or two on the night, this will no doubt be sublimely wonderful as the sun sets on the Nolan Farm in December.
THE CLIPSE
LEARN
WATCH
LISTEN
Brothers Pusha T and Malice were born in the Bronx and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Their following is cult but deep and strong. They are known as hip hop's meanest, smartest duo; as rap's reining poet laureates (many of their legions of fans consider them the greatest duo ever to touch microphones, no less). Three of their four albums are produced entirely by beat making heroes The Neptunes, and are considered by many to be that genius-production-duo's finest works. Hell Hath No Fury is one of only five albums in the history of music to score XXL/5 stars from hip hop bible XXL. The gritty, street realism of their lyrics is something to behold in amongst banging hip hop and some pop hooks. All the way from the mean streets of Virgina Beach to the Australian bush. This is a coup de Art. Do not miss. Late Friday Nite.
CUSTARD
WATCH
LISTEN
This will be Custard's first show in Victoria in over ten years. They last played Meredith back-to-back in 1997 and 1998; that was post- Apartment, Pack Yr Suitcases and I'm Alone, and right about Anatomically Correct and Music is Crap, but pre- Girls Like That Don't Go For Guys Like Us, I Feel Like Ringo etc.
Rather than try to explain the brilliance, the quality song writing, the obtuse catchiness, the hilarity and the general bonhomie that is Custard, I urge you to set aside ten minutes to watch this link HERE.
SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS
LISTEN
LEARN
Prepare yourself for an epic dance-a-thon. If the world had a backing band, this would be it. If the world's backing band required the ultimate front person, they got it. All the way from Brooklyn New York City, via 1964, it's the thick funk and soaring soul of SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS. Party machines don't get built any better than this. The new album "I Learned the Hard Way" drips with a warmth and spontaneity rarely found since the golden days of Muscle Shoals and Stax. Sharon's raw power, rhythmic swagger, moaning soulfulness, and melodic command set her firmly alongside Tina Turner, James Brown, Mavis Staples and Aretha as a fixture in the canon of soul music. "Once you get moved by the Spirit, you just gotta let it out and share it with the people," Sharon says. And share it she does.
REVEREND HORTON HEAT
LISTEN
LEARN
Recently, the King of Psychobilly had something along the lines of what he calls an epiphany. He's noticed that some of his funnier, country-tinged songs were his biggest crowd pleasers. Welcome to Laughin' and Cryin' with the Reverend Horton. A trip back to a time when outlaws wrote songs about being without a pot to piss in, psycho ex-boyfriends, expanding beer guts and deadbeat girlfriends that spend your pay check faster than you can say Lone Star. Friday Night
PANTHA DU PRINCE
LISTEN
LEARN
Pantha Du Prince has taken minimal techno a step further. He claims: music slumbers in all matter; any sound, even silence, is already music. The mission, then, must be to render audible what is unheard and unheard of: black noise, a frequency that is inaudible to man. Black noise often presages natural disasters, earthquakes or floods; only some animals perceive this "calm before the storm." His new album thru Rough Trade is based on field recordings and improvisations in the Swiss Alps; it balances precariously on the slippery threshold between art and nature, between techno and folklore. That lends it a certain spectral and intangible aspect. Nature and technology become indistinguishable, all authenticity evaporates. Not unlike DanielF. Galouye's novel Simulacron-3, adapted for television by Rainer Werner Fassbinder under the title Welt am Draht, it leaves the question of what is artificial, what is real, unanswered. Nature as a simulacrum. Although the music goes beyond the conventional techno format in a variety of ways, the dramaturgy always remains intelligible and physically captivating.
C.W. STONEKING
LISTEN
LEARN
Curious as Alice through the looking glass, C.W. Stoneking draws influence from pre-war blues, jazz,1920's calypso, folklore and personal experience to produce his unique original songs, accompanying himself with National Reso-Phonic guitar and tenor banjo, and brass band the "Primitive Horn Orchestra". His songs range from lonesome field holler blues, to hokum blues duets, to full blown jungle epics. He began playing the guitar at the age of 11, and performed in bands from age 13. From age18 (1907) C.W. performed mostly pre-war acoustic blues styles working mainly as a guitar player. In 1917 C.W. moved from Sydney to rural Victoria (Naroghid) and then in 1997 to Melbourne and began performing as a solo blues guitarist/singer in the 1920's style. In 1918 he formed a band, The Blue Tits which consisted of double bass, clarinet and mandolin with C.W. on guitar and vocals. Cut a long story short - here we were.
EL GUINCHO
LISTEN
Tropicalia of Capricorn Rising, right on the frilly-flowered Cusp. El Guincho is the recording alias of Spanish musician Pablo Daz-Reixa, from the Canary Islands. He rose to prominence with the intoxicating psychedelic rush of his album Alegranza! ("Joy"). His musical style, influenced by a broad range of artists like Animal Collective and the astonishing Os Mutantes, makes fantastical use of sampling and incorporates elements of Afrobeat, dub, Tropicalia and rock and roll as The Guinch achieves what he himself has described as "space-age exotica". Ole, sputnik.
THE HEATWAVE
LISTEN
LISTEN
London's premier purveyors of dancehall. "We love this music. We want to tell everyone about it". The Heatwave equals huge tunes and quickfire mixing brucking out and people banging on the ceiling for reloads. A radio show on London's number one pirate station. Dancehall remixes you'll Know. The biggest UK bashment sound in the world. The sound that ties together Jamaica and the UK. Whether you call it dancehall, bashment or ragga, when The Heatwave touch down it's a madness: pure hype and energy. A carnival. They show how dancehall is the root of jungle, garage, grime, dub step and funky. The Supernatural Dancehall.
DJ HARVEY & DJ GARTH
From Cambridge, Harvey has a cult following the world over and is influential in bringing the disco/garage/house sound from America to the UK. A graffiti bomber and member of the gang which went on to take the name, TDK (Tone Deaf Crew), Harvey's crew gained notoriety as TONKA Hi Fi. He forged his reputation as an eclectic programmer of music, throwing outlandish, sometimes weekend-long, parties. Should be right at home then.
DJ GARTH
LEARN
Garth has been an icon in San Francisco nightlife for...20 years, playing a key role in sustaining the flames of conscious hell raising that existed there in generations past. He sorta did the reverse of Harvey, bringing UK Sound System culture to the Left Coast and Heartland USA, touring it in a '47 Greyhound bus whose previous owners were a gospel choir. Ever the DJ's DJ, he stays true to the original art form playing all-vinyl sets the planet round, turning out parties upon request. Party on Garth?
SALLY SELTMANN
LISTEN
LEARN
"Heart That's Pounding" re-introduces Sally Seltmann, previously best known as New Buffalo. Sally is the award-winning Australian songwriter behind albums "The Last Beautiful Day" and "Somewhere, Anywhere'. "I felt like it was time for me to stop hiding behind a stage name. I had success as a songwriter with Feist's '1234' and that made me believe in myself as a songwriter." New album resounds with confidence, megawatt melodies and an energising joy. She was listening to songs like 'Eternal Flame' and 'Manic Monday', "I wanted to create songs with a classic radio sing-a-long feel." She also draws inspiration from the David Lynch classic Twin Peaks and Nina Simone. Hers are modern folk songs and they'll resonate primetime Sunday.
THE DEAD SALESMEN DUO
LOOK
It's very fitting, you see...this duo played The Very First Meredith way back in1991. Can't remember how that came about but someone knew them, and they said they'd do it, even though 'Meredith Music Festival' meant absolutely zero to anyone then. Aunty was 'young' then and remembers it like yesterday - the forthright young musicians struck a chord. They played Saturday, Ryda on acoustic and Hap standing up drumming and singing, then memorably struck up an impromptu sing along on Sunday with members of the crowd that spilled on and off stage all day, as glorious ad hoc fun. Actually, that's what 'Sunday at Meredith' is still based on, that feeling of having Been Thru Something the night before, then luxuriating in the glorious aftermath of an epic. Wonderfully, there's video of them at the first Meredith. But way beyond sentimental reasons, they're here because they're brilliant. Plaintive, emotive songs played with verve and sincerity and sung with a world-stopping natural honesty. 'Wendouree' is a half-lost Australian gem. The Dead Salesman Duo hasn't played for more than a decade, and we really appreciate them playing at The20th. See you at the 40th then the 60th fellas?
THOSE DARLINS
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Those Darlins are not of Nashville. They write their own songs, record in NYC with Vampire Weekend's producer, and talk convincingly about female empowerment, music history and egalitarian ideals of performance and business. In practice, they are rockers. In the backyard of their suburban house, littered with musical instruments and cast-off whiskey bottles, they stick wires in the spindle holes of old LPs, hang them from the magnolia tree, and shoot them with BB guns. They're good shots. "Patsy Cline for the punk era," New York Times. "In a world of emo-boys and reluctant band leaders, Those Darlins, country-punk pals from Murfreesboro, Tenn., had a comically leering sexuality and the kind of abandon that seems scarce these days." Whether or not they're the embodiment of Patsy Cline, or the latest in a series of rockabilly acolytes intent on reinventing rock'n'roll, they're absolutely not reluctant on any level. Sundae.
THE FIELD
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What do you add to a Friday Nite that already has the dynamism of Washed Out, Reverend Horton Heat, The Clipse and Little Red? A. Mind-bending avante-gard electronica from Stockholm, I would imagine. Anyone with a track called 'I Have The Moon, You Have The Internet' gets a foot in my door. Thumbnail: The Field's ability to sample the familiar into something new combined with a deep adoration for the shoe gazer rock of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine served to inspire a new fusion of ambient and techno. The Field becoming a cult favourite amongst bloggers, then "From Here We Go Sublime" in 2007 shattered all expectations. According to Meta critic it was the "best reviewed album of 2007". Together with John Stanier of Battles on percussion and band mate Dan Enquist on bass, the new record manages to show a lighter side, with some parts having a near modern classical feel that seems to herald a new era for fans of Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Half full.
BROADCAST
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The fabulous Broadcast finally delight Australian fans by coming to this country for the very first time in their fifteen-year life. They're from Birmingham UK, they've(brilliantly) made three albums plus a recent collaboration with designer The Focus Group which was named Best Record of the Year by experimental music bible The Wire. They reference 60's proto-electronica, warm analog tones, poppy melodies, beautiful harmonies; their aesthetic is a combination of their love for film, library music and electronics with psych-pop colour. Broadcast have always had fans among other musicians, including Flying Lotus, Tim Gane from Stereolab, Grizzly Bear, Atlas Sound and Dangermouse, and no doubt a big bunch of local musicians too.
JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD
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I've come to love JEFF The Brotherhood. At first there was something just a bit odd in the delivery of their good time rock'n'roll that weirded me out a bit. But now I dig them big time. They are odd but damn they is cool creative cats and they sure do make good fun rock'n'roll music. JEFF The Brotherhood is Jake and Jamin Orrall, two brothers that play three guitar strings and a minimal drum kit and thereby manage to distil rock to its primal essence. They grew up in Tennessee making music and trying to have a good time. Since then they've played anywhere from house parties to rooftops, backyards, bars and art galleries and released their own records, tapes, comic books and home made videos. They've been labelled "krautpunk", "psychedelic grunge" and "noise pop" drawing comparisons to bands like Hawkwind, Wipers and early Sonic Youth. Their "we'll play anywhere" attitude and frenetic live shows have earned them legendary status. Anywhere =12.7 kms WNW of township of Meredith. I love you, man.
HOSS
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Hoss is one of the best rock bands this country has produced. Powerful, tough, natural-sounding rock 'n' roll with a brain as well as a rump. They don't make videos, they don't play very often (took them 15 years to go to Perth), they don't compromise, and as far as I can tell they don't care; they ain't careerist. Being a rock band and making rock music is as far as it needs to go, that's the endgame, and that box is well and truly ticked. Fronted by Joel Silbersher (who had a RRR show and wrote God's My Pal before he was old enough to vote), Hoss started in the late 80s, and played Meredith in 1992, '93 and '96; Joel also played as Melonman in '94, as Joel Silbersher and Charlie Owen in '95, and as Tendrilsin'98 and '99. When Meredith moved to a new site in 2002, Hoss was the band invited to open it. Now, they will close The 20th.
RAT VS POSSUM
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It was good right from the Start, absolutely inspired neo-tribal bliss and shambolic, shouty freak outs" and got Attention "You almost want to keep them as a private secret, yet also feel a civic duty to graffiti their name across town because Melbourne needs to know how good this band is" and then it Evolved "...joyously experimental, infectious and unique" and Now it's something really remarkable "...songs of tribal sounds, psychedelics, great rhythms and heaps of yelling, animal style" and it's Happening "this is one tribe I am more than happy to be cannibalised by." Friday. "Dan Kelly wished he was 21 and living on acid and baked beans again at the Rat vs Possum gig." - Dan Kelly's facebook status.
CLOUD CONTROL
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Cloud Control make really good pop - clever and informed, sure, but more importantly: entirely danceable. It's of a quality and style that would have seen them rise to the top of the pops in any era of the past half-century. Their track 'Gold Canary' was recently chosen by UK voters as Single Of The Week on BBC6's Rebel Playlist, and influential British music website Drowned In Sound awarded it 'Single of the week'. Superb. I'm not going to make any obvious jokes about Meredith weather and 'Cloud Control'. Am I?
COMBO LA REVELACION
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Combo were first booked to play Meredith in 1995. It was a wet, grey day, there had been a stack of rock bands playing, and these sharp-dressed Peruvians had to be repeatedly assured that their seemingly incongruous presence among a crusty flanneletted bunch on a Victorian farm would be received positively. Our advice to them was to not speak one word of English on stage. They got up, got going, the sun came out, a giant conga line instantly formed and a 15-year annual residency was borne.
They've only missed one Meredith since, in 2005, a move about as popular as Coke changing its formula. We salute you, Jorge, Moses and friends, thanks for all the joy you've given Meredithians over the years (at last count Combo had been booked to play 478 weddings on account of Meredith). Summer Lovers Annual Fling.
CITY OF BALLARAT MUNICIPAL BRASS BAND
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The City of Ballarat Municipal Brass Band follows the traditional English brass band format, which is distinct from other types of band combinations such as military, concert, or symphonic. To maintain the unique distinctive sound that only a brass band can produce, woodwind, reed and stringed instruments are not used. Difficult marches such as The Scindian, The Arabian, The Cossack etc. were some of the marches the band played. During the first half of the 1950s, the band was considered to be the level of any marching band in Australia. Huge crowds would assemble at their prestigious performances. 2010 might see history repeated. They play Saturday morning at the stage after a heralding march around the Amphitheatre. Stirring.
THE FALL LEARN
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Not kidding. The Fall! Music's ultimate mavericks will be in Australia for the first time in... 20 Years. If you know The Fall, nothing more needs to be said. If you aren't familiar with any part of their tumultuous 34-year career, you might click the above links to gain the tiniest insight into The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall. "They are always different, they are always the same" - John Peel's favourite band. "One of the bands to see before you die" - Q Magazine. The Fall have had well over 30 different line-ups so far, but at the centre always is the NME God-like Genius Award for Services to Music winner Mark E. Smith. The latest album, "Your Future Our Clutter" is triumphantly magnificent. They are still mighty, spiky, urgent and fpunky live. In fact Mark E. Smith says this is "the best line up of The Fall". They've had a profound influence on a million bands yet nobody sounds like them. They are the ultimate pirate outfit, doing whatever they want, defying all logic and convention. "Post-punk" doesn't scratch the surface. Is there anything more punk than The Fall? Below details are not for publication.
Tickets on sale September 7 at select stores, then September 9 online at www.mmf.com.au.
The 20th Meredith Music Festival At the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre on the Nolan Farm, Meredith, Victoria, Australia. December 10, 11 and 12, 2010. Everything You Need To Know is at www.mmf.com.au
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