STACK #160 Feb 2018

MUSIC NEWS

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TOURING 16/02 - 29/03

in bands was awesome – I had a bit of a lead in the songwriting of all of that – but what I loved so much about learning how to produce my own music is the fact that you don’t have to wait for everyone else to commit. Playing in bands can be a really rewarding thing but it can also be really hard. You’re looking at organising rehearsals, and you’re fighting over who gets what percentage of the writing. It doesn’t always happen as easily as it could. I guess the really great thing about my project [is] when it comes to whether I like something or not, if I don’t like it, that’s cool. That’s my decision. It’s not like I have to fight for it. I’m still getting used to it. I’m Dreaming (another collab withVan Etten) is a stand-out; its horns are just gorgeous. Have you thought about bringing a live brass section into your live show? That is the dream, to be honest. The Bonobo style: full horn section, full band, strings. Especially at Splendour, [Bonobo] was so sick. He played the tent stage and he had a whole string section and a full rhythm section. There was a vocalist doing those top lines. He had dope visuals and everything was theatrical – it was beautiful. That is my ultimate live goal for sure, but it’s just a cost factor. Touring is a really expensive thing to do and I’m not exactly making a lot of money, but I feel like we’ve done it pretty well so far. I’ve recorded this whole album in my home studio in Brunswick. I produced the whole thing myself, and I tracked the whole thing myself. But the dream would be to have a full brass section at a stadium show.

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INTERVIEW

ALICE IVY

A background in blues guitar has given Annika Schmarsel's electronic project – Alice Ivy – the kind of dynamic soul you can’t fake. Lively, dreamy, engrossing, and full of emphatic beats, put your hands together one time for I'm Dreaming .

That takes proper faith in your own ability – to trust that your gut will get you there. The good thing with producing – and Ableton, the software I use – is that you have the ability to easily chop and change things all the time. When I’m onto something – when I write a lead line or I find a patch that I really like, or I play something and I understand that that’s what it needs to be – I get really excited. My gut thing with everything that I do with writing… [is] listen to it over and over and over again. I feel like when you write something that you’re really happy with, you should not be able to get sick of it. Some producers want to be left alone and others want to work with all of the people. Do you think that your experience in soul bands, and the way an

Apparently your NewYear's resolution is to pat more dogs.What was your favourite dog-patting experience of ’17? That’s the best question I’ve ever received in my life. The best dog that I patted in 2017, was this famous dog in Melbourne called Tofu. Tofu is a shiba. I think it lives in Abbotsford but it’s always just hanging around. It’s the fluffiest dog ever, and when you pat the dog the owner gives you a sticker and it says, “I patted Tofu.” The sticker is now on my phone and every time I look at my phone I think of Tofu. That’s next level dog- patting game, isn’t it? The first single from the album is Touch , featuring GeorgiaVan Etten, and its ideas seem really considered – from the sliced Alice InWonderland samples to the half- time, thickened beat shift near the end. Do you make these decisions by feel or make a careful draft? Totally feel. I honestly never go with a plan into anything that I write – only when I’m writing for other people. When I write my own music and when I remix I don’t really go with an aim of trying to create something. I just stick with a blank canvas and start painting. I just feel as I go.

I feel like when you write something that you’re really happy with, you should not be able to get sick of it

You’ve two interludes on the album – both with these fantastic, chilled breakbeats – and they’re both named St. Germain . Fitting! Do you have a personal admiration for the French producer of the same name? Totally! I have memories of my

ensemble chart is structured with circular improvisations and what have you, buoyed your love of collaborating? Totally. One hundred percent. I love playing in bands. I love collaborating with other people. I haven’t even been producing for that long, only two years, and I’d been playing in a band before for ten years. Playing

parents blasting that album, Tourist, outside. It’s an amazing record. That kind of music is a total inspiration. I really like the idea of interludes as well on a record. I just wanted to choose sounds and samples that I have a history with, and I guess that’s what it’s all about. It’s a giant collaboration. ZKR

I'm Dreaming by Alice Ivy is out February 2 via Dew Process.

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FEBRUARY 2018

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