STACK #130 Aug 2016

MUSIC

NEWS

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the basics are back W hen Kris Schroeder,Tim Heath and Wally De Backer (that's Gotye, pals) came together to formThe Basics in the early '00s, they decided that having a cohesive sound wasn't at the top of their priority list – a sentiment which has served them grandly all the way up to their latest and arguably greatest album, this month's The Age of Entitlement . "I think we've had so much freedom by not being signed, by being un-managed and by being three stubborn individuals," Heath tells us. "We often wonder to ourselves, 'Will people understand this?' but then we go, 'Well, who cares?'" The Age of Entitlement contains several tracks which comment on sociopolitical issues, but this trio never take themselves deadly seriously. Heath says delivering the messages with humour fits with their personalities and sound. "There are enough earnest and serious songs that ably address these sentiments and we wanted to try a different approach, and you

STUART COUPE AUTHOR OF 'GUDINSKI'

can't compete with the Kev Carmodys and Billy Braggs of this world: they are the masters," he says.The band found the environment at Abbey Road Studios most stimulating for all components of the creative process – they wrote and recorded entirely inside the studio. "It was fantastic," Heath enthuses. "I think at first it was daunting and exciting because of its history, but that soon wore off and it felt more like an amazingly well equipped and well designed recording space. It's very inspiring being there; there is a strong work ethic in the place and when you have time restraints you work very quickly and make good decisions."

Q1/ Were you personally acquainted with Michael Gudinski before you began this project? I first met Michael in the early '80s when I became manager of Paul Kelly and negotiated his re-signing with Mushroom Records... [Michael] really took me under [his] wing and taught me how things worked in the American music business. Q2/ Did you have to work hard to convince him to be your subject? I tried to convince Michael about a book for over a decade – and he says he’s turned down dozens of offers and proposals. [He] spent at least a year hoping that I and the book project would just disappear, but eventually he agreed to a few interview sessions and gave his blessing to people in his world talking to me. Q3/ You've worked with some stellar acts in your time – how was your approach to Michael different from the way you'd normally work with bands and performing artists? I treated Michael with the same respect I’d treat an artist who invited me into their world. I told him very early that I didn’t want to write another sex, drugs and rock’n’roll book and that I not only knew how to spell defamation, but I was aware of what it meant. I wanted to write a book about an inspired entrepreneur, a great lover of Australian music, and extremely astute businessman. Q4/ How did you go about collating all your material and ordering it in a meaningful way? I was very clear that I didn’t want to write a history of Mushroom Records or Frontier Touring Company – it is a book about Michael and his world. Everyone – and I mean EVERYONE – has a Michael story. I had to work out which ones were true, and then if and how they related to my story. Q5/ What was your major takeaway from putting this incredible story together? It was a saga from start to finish and I think I’ve learnt a new calmness and philosophical quietness from the past 18 months. You just have to learn to operate on Gudinski Time and assume that 9 out 10 meetings or conversations will either not happen

Read our full interview with Tim Heath online at stack.net.au

The Age of Entitlement by The Basics is out August 14, through MGM.

T his month, Oxfam launch their awesome Australia-wide live music festival named Oxjam (the person who came up with that deserves a Maxibon). In addition to a pile of partner shows, you can get involved by registering your own event and helping to raise money to end global poverty.There are a bevy of splendid gigs already organised, such as an I OHYOU showcase at Shadow Electric in Melbourne, a line-up presented by Noisey atThe Vault in Brisbane, and the Heaps Gay-hosted Heaps Good party at GoodGod in Sydney. Party for good! party for good with oxfam

Oxjam runs throughout August; you can check out the gig guide at www.oxjam.org.au

josh pyke on the mic

J ust because something is demanding doesn't mean it's problematic, believes Josh Pyke. "I kind of regret describing this album as the most creatively challenging," he says of But For AllThese Shrinking Hearts , out this month (see our review on page 94). "People have been bringing that up in interviews and sort of assuming I meant it in a negative way, and I didn’t at all. I meant it in a really positive way; I felt like I was deliberately challenging myself." In writing and recording the album, the artist utilised a method of which he'd heardWilco's Jeff Tweedy was a fan: the mumble track. Pyke would record "jibberish" over the top of his

melodies, and then reinterpret or refine it afterwards, which resulted in some surreal lines. "Im slowly building up different techniques where I get the same result, which is lyrics that I can actually fully connect with emotionally," he explains. "The absolute ultimate experience for me is when I sit down and pick up the guitar, and lyrics and music just kind of fall out of my body.The integrity within the lyrics and the song has to be there, and I can only really describe that as something that I recognise through instincts." As a result, But For AllThese Shrinking Hearts contains moments of incredibly lucid clarity alongside dreamy and evocative ideas.

or be rescheduled. It’s a sorta joke but over the writing time I frequently said, “It’s Michael’s world – we just live in it.”

Read the full interview with Josh online at stack.net.au

But For All These Shrinking Hearts is out now through Sony .

Gudinski by Stuart Coupe is out now through Hachette, for $32.99.

AUGUST 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au

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