STACK #143 Sept 2016

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MUSIC NEWS

TOURING 03/09 - 29/10

S peaking to Sam Cromack, we learned two things – they aren't called Ball Park Music for the reason you might think (it’s like ‘ball park figure’, not stadium), and they’ve started “giving less f-cks” about the music they make. Both of these are good things. The band's latest release Every Night The Same Dream hit shelves last month, and punters are lapping up this new direction for the band. Sam offers that none of BPM’s releases really have a central ‘theme’: “I don’t think really any of our records have had anything that ties all the lyrics together,” he says. “I’m just someone who writes a lot and about a lot, and when it comes time to make an album, I guess INTERVIEW BALL PARK MUSIC Words: Alesha Kolbe

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TEETH & TONGUE INTERVIEW Teeth & Tongue, AKA Jess Cornelius, is about to release her gorgeous new album titled Give Up On Your Health .

TOURING 30/09 - 22/10

so grim compared to Nice to Be Alive ,” he explains. “We’ve talked about it too – they’re weirdly similar. Like, even though It’s Nice to Be Alive is called exactly that, that song’s kind of got a sad aspect to it too. It’s a bit of an angry song. It’s meant to be realistic. This is going to

we sort of put more of an analytical hat on and choose the songs that we think are the strongest.” A common comparison between BPM tracks involves one of their earliest singles, 2011’s It’s Nice To Be Alive , and the first single from this latest disc, Nihilist Party Anthem . “ Nihilist is kind of this grown-up, angry, much more rocky song, and it’s about kind of laughing at death, or with death, or embracing death – which sounds

sound lame, but they look death square in the eye. But, I guess musically, the new songs feel much more where we’re at.” Cromack is intrigued by what fans will think of the new direction. “We’re totally at that point where it’s like, have we made something good, or have we just totally kicked it?” Nevertheless, in our opinion this album is a must-have. “I think," Cromack attests, "it feels like our most sincere album.”

Read the full interview online at stack.net.au

Q1/ The Dianne clip is awesome, and I was trying to identify all the posters: I definitely saw Michael Hutchence, Vanilla Ice, Kylie, and the chicks from Twin Peaks . Where did you source this stuff? Thank you! There was also a really good one of Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson and the kid from Home Alone – Macaulay Culkin? – all standing together against a white studio background. The directors, Matt Cribb and Bree Carter, found all the posters, but I’m not sure where. Probably their own private stash. Q2/ Which track are you most proud of, in terms of what you achieved stylistically – perhaps the one whose feel turned out exactly as you envisioned? I’m kind of proud of Are You Satisfied because that one used entirely programmed drums and I layered it up pretty slowly, so it took a bit of work. And for a while it just didn’t really look like it was coming together. Me and Haima, the album’s co-producer, chipped away at it slowly and tried a bunch of stuff and then threw it out. I especially like the weird harpsichord run near the end. That took a lot of time to play because I’m not much of a keyboard player; I just mash the keys with my fists. Q3/ You mentioned Eileen Myles, who was just in Australia for the Sydney Biennale. Which essays of hers were you referring to as being inspirational for this album? When I left for Iceland last year my friend Amanda Roff gave me a book of Eileen Myles’ essays on travel and art, and it was called The Importance of Being Iceland. [It is] about art and about travel in general and just a whole range of topics. But it wasn’t the content that inspired me, it was her voice – her way of delivering her thoughts in this beautifully uncensored way, and I thought, I’d love to be able to describe exactly what I feel the way she does.

Every Night The Same Dream by Ball Park Music is out now via Inertia.

FACTOID: From seven ARIA nominations, Drapht has one statue – Best Urban Album in 2011, for The Life Of Riley .

DRAPHT

loving is Mexico , featuring the sultry sounds of the Dunies. “We sort of hit it off from the moment we met, and when we were recording and writing this tune I felt like I’d known those dudes for the last 15 years,” reflects Reid. The hip hop hero looks forward to building on their mateship. “A greater force was behind putting us together, and it’s going to be a long friendship after this song.” Of course, following their hell of a collab at Triple J’s Beat The Drum last year with Cosby Sweater , there was no way Reid was releasing this album without the input of the musician’s “good friends”, Hilltop Hoods. “They’ve got this bartering process where it’s like, ‘You do something for me, and I’ll do something for you’, and I think that’s really beautiful within our team,” Reid says. “There’s none of this, ‘OK, I’m filling out 16 thousand-capacity stadiums and you’re still doing two thousand-capped rooms’ or whatever; they’re just totally keen to help the people that have helped them.”

Words: Alesha Kolbe

I f you had any doubts about the dinky-di roots of Paul Reid – AKA Drapht – all you need to know is his moniker is derived from the infamous Western Australian Swan Draught. A rapper and hip hop artist that’s kicked it with the best of them, Drapht has been AWOL for a while, most recently relaxin’ with latest collab mates Dune Rats over in Mexico – but now he’s back with Seven Mirrors . The record’s title is based on an existential concept: “The story behind [it] is that the seven specific ‘mirrors’ relate to seven specific relationships within your life, mirroring a certain part of yourself that you want to learn more about,” Reid explains. He was fascinated by the notion, and chose to explore it more over the course of an entire album. “Initially I had enough content just to write three albums about my ex- girlfriend, but then I thought, ‘How can I make this a little bit more digestible to a listener, I suppose, and not just come from a selfish standpoint?” Besides, ol’ mate Swift’s done that already. Seven Mirrors is Drapht’s most guest-heavy release to date. One of the singles we’re already

TOURING 06/10 - 22/10

Give Up On Your Health

Seven Mirrors by Drapht

by Teeth & Tongue is out September 2 via Dot Dash/ Remote Control.

is out now via Sony.

SEPTEMBER 2016

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