The Culling Songs of Ambrose Chapel

Your Skulls

2011-07-19T20:45:00.001-07:00

Been a bit quiet around here lately. Real life has gotten so loud of late. Lately I've been concentrating on a new project I've been calling YOUR SKULLS. It's still in the Ambrose Chapel ballpark, just a lot more beat oriented and with different gear.

Check it out:

The Out of Sight OST

2011-03-10T20:46:00.001-08:00

One of my favourite films is Steven Soderbergh's adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel 'Out of Sight'. It is, by a long margin, J-Lo's best film and one of Clooney's too.

Just remembered today, for some reason, how good David Holmes' original score for this film is. It's a weird mix of gazed out ambient, trip hop beats and 70s exploitation film cheese. And killer bass.

Practicing on the kitchen table.

2011-02-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

AXXONN Remix

2011-01-20T17:33:00.000-08:00

Late last year I remixed an AXXONN track for a compilation. That comp is now available here. The full track-lisiting is:

1. Let’s Get It Straight – Monster Monster & Saint Surly

2. Let’s Get It Straight – Little Scout

3. Perfekt Acieed – Scott Arford

4. Perfect For Placid – Jonathan Boulet

5. Mash – REStream

6. Let’s Get It Straight – Toy Balloon

7. If I Had A Heart, Fever Ray [AXXONN Remix]

8. Perfect For Acid – The Sea Shall Not Have Them

9. Let’s Get It Straight – Tape/Off

10. Let’s Get It Straight – Ambrose Chapel

My contribution is a bit more musical than some of my other work. I dunno why. It's still pretty long a dense though. It's also the first recording of mine that utilities the drone/doom synth I built for Ableton Live; something I'm still working on but also something I'm not totally in love with at the moment.

2011-01-20T03:17:00.001-08:00

Ambrose Chapel from Records: Experimental Sydney on Vimeo.

2011-01-19T18:33:00.000-08:00

Wailing Danny Ford's Cassette Project | News

2011-01-17T17:57:00.000-08:00

Been a bit quiet on here lately. Spent most of the summer working on new stuff. Gotta bake while the oven's hot. Gotta get while the getting's good. Gotta record shit into Ableton and listen to it over and over again while I still think it's a good/acceptable idea. I'm all about Redwirez impulse responses at the moment.

Doom-hell > Fender Bassman > Ableton > Redwirez Marshall Cab sims = total silence on the out side and total apocalypse rad in the headphones. My neighbours and I have never been so happy with each other.

In other news I just bought this on LP:

NativeKontrol LPC-Live: Launchpad Control to OO

2010-12-07T22:01:00.001-08:00

Lately, I've been getting a bit of keyboard RSI type arm ache.

So while something like this looks complex and confusing, I'm definitely interested:

2010-12-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

Currently Hearing:

I played a show with Blake Freele from Syndey a few weeks back and liked what I heard. His latest record is available via New Weird Australia's 'New Editions' series and it's pretty great. You can download it via Bandcamp for free/donation.

Currently Reading:

Summer Death Rays

2010-12-05T17:39:00.000-08:00

2threads.com put a call out for summer mix tapes and it's been ages since I've put something together. Just be warned regular listeners: this is maximum UNBLEAK and not very metal. This is for BBQing. And Sunday afternoon stocktake.

Summer Death Rays by Ambrose Chapel

Tracklisting:

1. Blood Rainbow by Tim Hecker

2. Happiness Burns by Two Hours Traffic

3. Bright Paper Werewolves (Ambrose Chapel mix)/Lords of Overstock by Guided By Voices (recorded live for John Peel)

4. Hash Pipe by Weezer VS Sun Bear by My Disco

5. Intoxicated Hands (Demo, Ambrose Chapel mix) by Damien Jurado

6. Desire Lines by Deerhunter

7. Fuck Addict by Torche

8. Don't Know About You by Bardo Pond (their new track!)

Thanks to the Altec Lansing folks for the free swag/vibes:

2010-12-01T03:42:00.000-08:00

The world will someday get me on some ludicrous pretext; I simply await the day that they drag me to some air-conditioned dungeon and leave me there beneath the florescent lights and sound-proofed ceiling to pay the price for scorning all that they hold dear within their little latex hearts.

–Ignatius J. Reilly

2010-11-30T16:35:00.000-08:00

Hell Yes!

2010-11-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones is easily one of my favourite songs of all time. It is, as Greil Marcus points out, one of those songs you feel like you hear for the first time every time it plays.

And just when I thought I couldn't be more obsessed by it, someone posted the multi-tracks on the internet. Oh man, it's crazy: everyone is AAA+ wailing on it; especially Watts and Wyman.

Check it out: http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/deconstructing_gimme_shelter_listen/

Refractions Nov 2010

2010-11-29T16:14:00.000-08:00

Photo by Lucien. Thanks to Emily, UTS and all at Refractions. All of the other acts that played this night were amazing; check out Loopsnake, Blake Freele and Luke Bacon.

2010-11-21T15:06:00.000-08:00

2010-10-19T04:27:00.000-07:00

Great Photos From The Worst Set I Ever Attempted To Perform

2010-10-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

TINA

2010-09-29T16:31:00.001-07:00

I'm going to the This Is Not Art Festival this weekend in Newcastle. Pretty excited. I've never been before.

Here's my stuff:

Around The World In 18 Dates 12pm - 1.30pm: Panel, TPI Auditorium.

Facilitator: Chris Hearn (Sound Summit) Participants: Adam Gauci (Curse Ov Dialect), Emily Hasselhoof (Baaddd, Hoofkake), Ian Rogers (No Anchor, Ambrose Chapel), Millie Millgate (Sounds Australia), Shoeb Ahmad (hellosQuare recordings, Spartak)

The increasing globalisation of the music industry, and the current affordability of long distance travel have made it easier for Australian musicians to export their sounds to an international audience. A well-traveled panel of experts discuss various approaches, the possibilities and the realities of international touring.

---

Instant Expert: Ableton Undead Exploring the Aesthetics of Drone/Doom Metal 4.00pm - 5.00pm: Artist Presentation, Renew Newcastle HQ. Facilitator: Ian Rogers (No Anchor, Ambrose Chapel).

The affective power and popularity of doom/drone metal can be partly attributed to it’s accessibility. Over the past year Ambrose Chapel (aka Ian Rogers of No Anchor) has explored this aspect of doom/drone, experimenting with and building a variety of software patches to be presented and released at this demonstration.

---
TINA Showcase Gig 7.30pm - 2.00am: Performance, Cambridge Hotel.
Performers: Jason Forrest (USA), Tantrums (Vic), Scattered Order, No Anchor (Qld - that's my band), Geodesic Domes, PA, Chris Cerrito, Cock Safari, Black Math
Premier local, national and international acts from Sound Summit and Electrofringe programs showcased over two nights.
Tickets each night $12 +BF presale / $15 on the door $20 +BF two night festival pass (presale only) from www.moshtix.com, The Cambridge Hotel and 1300 GET TIX.

---

Outside The Square 12pm - 1.30pm: Panel, TPI Auditorium.

Facilitator: Andrew Tuttle (Sound Summit) Participants: Ian Rogers (No Anchor, Ambrose Chapel), Emily Hasselhoof (Baaddd, Hoofkake), Jason Forrest (Cock Rock Disco, Nightshifters, DJ Donna Summer; USA), Stuart Buchanan (New Weird Australia)

The path to success as a rock star/superstar DJ/internationally acclaimed troubadour is littered with contradictory messages as to what and what not to do. Both “old” (write + record + tour +... so on) and “new” (facespace + iTwit + annoy all and sundry) methods of spreading the word about your creative talents seem to be the best way to be heard; however a select group of people manage to forge their own niche by distinctly playing ‘outside the rules’.

2010-09-26T18:23:00.001-07:00

Dogs On Swings

2010-09-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

The internet is pretty good, yes?

Update:

2010-09-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

There's a few things on the boil worth mentioning:

I'll be giving an artist presentation at this year's This Is Not Art festival in Newcastle as part of Sound Summit. My workshop will be at 4pm @ Renew Newcastle HQ (3 Thorn St). I'll be mainly talking about doom/drone and Ableton. It's going to be fun and easy-going; you don't need to be a druid or a computer person. I'll also be floating around the festival and popping up on a few panels.
My band No Anchor will playing that night as well at The Cambridge Hotel for the TINA showcase. (We're also supporting Zeni Geva on Sept 24th up here in Brisbane = MAXIMUM HELL YES!)
I'm working on some new stuff. I think I might put something out soon, something small and easy.
I'm going on tour again in November.

That is all.

Thank god.

And satan. And any other associated occult/spiritual forces that guide my hands across the midi-controller.

Currently Reading:

2010-09-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

AXXONN Signs!

2010-08-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

My friend/ally Tom Hall just signed AXXONN to local Brisbane label Useless Artists. This makes me pretty happy for a few reasons, let me list them:

(a) I used to play in AXXONN and when I decided I couldn't do it anymore, I didn't want the project to end. I just couldn't do it anymore. I haven't heard the completed album but some of it is taken from a sessions Tom and I did on tour in Rotterdam at WORM studios and some of it may even hark back to pre-tour session we did at his house. I've been trying to stay out of it; partly because I like surprises; partly because I think when you leave a band it's important to not be a fucking douche about it. You just gotta get on and let other people get on. Glad Tom got on.

(b) Useless Artists is partially run by Jesse from Fans and I like the guy. I would have signed up with him too. I now think of him as the foster dad of my child, the one I abandoned.

(c) Got pretty loose when the contract was signed:

Currently Reading:

2010-08-05T19:03:00.001-07:00

2010-08-03T00:14:00.000-07:00

I think my contribution to this is pretty self-evident.

Sodium-Vapour 24.7.2010 from Richard Byers on Vimeo.

2010-08-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

2010-08-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

Tourism #3 (The End)

2010-07-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

# SYDNEY

Oh Sydney, you wretched drab weirdo, we meet again. It's been a good long while but I love you and I hate you and you love and hate me back don't you. Thankfully, I'm in the sheltered workshop of New Weird Australia. They treat me well, better than I play this night where unexpected (but not all together unwelcome) carnage visits my laptop and the PA. Stu tells me he likes it.

The Red Rattler is beautiful. And as I stroll down the rainy streets of Marrickville trying to find it, as the planes fly close overhead and the holes in my shoes let the damp in, I think it's been a good time this tour. Thank god/satan for Sound Travellers (RIP).

PS: In a room in Sydney city is me. There is - strangely - free internet access and a computer terminal in my room. Free pirated movies too. I check the internet history, I have to. It's a bad idea. The guy two nights back probably fucked a prostitute in my bed. That's what it says right there on the screen.

# DOCUMENTATION

Live At The Red Rattler (SYD)

2010-07-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

Source: This guy.

Currently Hearing: 'Things We Lost In The Fire' by Low

2010-07-28T01:30:00.000-07:00

This album really hots up on Side B.

2010-07-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

2010-07-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

2010-07-14T05:40:00.000-07:00

Currently hearing: Numb by Nadja

2010-07-14T00:44:00.000-07:00

There's a point in this 20+ minute epic where the drums start to morph and I feel like parts of my brain are sheering loose. It's a great feeling - not at all unpleasant. Nadja are a band that brutalise you in full colour.

This Sunday:

2010-07-12T17:57:00.001-07:00

From the Facebook page:

SUNDAY ICE CREAM SOCIALIST / BASTARD THEATRE OF BRISBANE

SUNDAY JULY 18

A FESTIVAL OF THE BRISBANE UNDERGROUND, ALL AFTERNOON BEERS + BBQ IN THE TROPICAL WINTER SUNSHINE.

with

CURED PINK (SABBATICAL RECORDS TAPE LAUNCH)
CRAFT BANDITS
HEART FLEW
YOUT DIEM
KITTEN PARTY
SKY NEEDLE
6MAJIK9
PSY ANTS
AMBROSE CHAPEL
GERALD KEANEY + THE GERALD KEANEYS

SLUG GUTS SPINNING TUNES ALL NIGHT

and appearances from

OTHERFILM
THE NEGATIVE GUEST LIST
BEDROOM SUCK RECORDS
UNIQUE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS
REAL BAD MUSIC
BATS MAGAZINE

2 STAGES, MUSIC, ART, STUFF, SKATEBOARDING, BEERS, BEERS, BRING THEM.

2PM ONWARDS, $6 ENTRY. PUBLIC WELCOME.

Afterwards my band No Anchor is supporting Om from San Fran over at the Hi Fi Bar. It's gonna be a good day.

What Would Trent Do?

2010-07-09T00:22:00.001-07:00

Interesting article over at Wired on Trent Reznor's work flow for How To Destroy angels. It's a step-by-step for a track and includes snippets of the work in progress. I thought the inital step was really great: Reznor and his producer work on two totally different projects then see what happens when they chop and change between then. Nuts. But you can totally hear how it ends up in the song.

I also read somewhere about KTL doing something very similar, with much less song-like results.

Ten Years of Bardo Pond

2010-07-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

Dan Cohoon has been photographing Bardo Pond for almost ten years and has blogged about it here. Not only is the site a major Bardo-Dorkfest (that's a good thing), it's fun to watch Cohoon get better and better at his craft. His early work starts off fairly plain; the latest batch are tripped out and beautiful.

Favourite Records of 2010 So Far...

2010-07-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

Amazon posted their Top 50 albums of the year so far here. I have listened to exactly none of these records. Are any of them any good?

Mess & Noise asked all the contributors to compile a list of what they liked this year. Here's mine:

Document 250407 by Whitehorse (Cassette on Sweat Lung / Sabbatical): Recored live back in 2007 but released earlier this year for the band's national tour, this tape destroys. I bought it on a whim but it hasn't left my stereo all year. My skull actually glows a little when I have it on.

The Witch Must Be Destroyed by Black Boned Angel (LP/Download on Conspiracy Records): This is a world of tar black, slow moving molasses but I can still listen to it on the bus. I'd like to think that says more about Campbell Kneale's ability to make drone/doom as exciting as it is monolithic but maybe I just listen to too much of this stuff and now have an unnaturally high tolerance for it.

Liars by Firewitch (CD on We Empty Rooms): A reissue but who doesn't wouldn't want to listen to dual bass stoner jams from Melbourne's yesteryear when they're as nicely presented as they are in this package.

Mid-Centuary by Do The Robot (Cassette on RR Records): Brisbane duo Do The Robot are a band perfectly suited to cassette. In the past their recorded output has lagged behind them, often documenting already obsolescent ideas and lineups. Here, they present almost exactly where they are and just as well, as their unique brand of dubbed out shoegaze has never sounded better.

We Have Secrets by Nobody Cares (CD/Download on Rice Is Nice) by Seja: This is the type of sunny afternoon synth pop I always imagined Seja played at home by herself for herself. Now we all get to hear it and thank god, it's beautiful.

Uhm?

2010-07-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

Facebook made some interesting recommendations today:

If only all political decisions were directly dependent on someone liking Bill Murray. We should all follow Bill Murray. We should do as Bill Murray says. I've always said that.

Sydney Show:

2010-07-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

My first ever Ambrose Chapel show in Sydney! Details are here and there's a Facebook page here. Should be a good night.

2010-07-04T01:13:00.000-07:00

2010-06-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Lori? Is that you hanging out with Ringo?

2010-06-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

Is this a photo of a future Melvins bass player? This person thinks so. So do I.

In 1989, Lori Black aka Lorax aka the daughter of Shirley Temple (yes, you read that right) joined the Melvins. To date, she is the only woman to have joined the band and she played on two of my favourite Melvins albums: Ozma and Bullhead. The little girl above - next to Shirley - does bare a resemblance to Lorax pictured here:

He's The Uncle

2010-06-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when you hear a song, you kinda hear more than what's there. You hear the sound but - sometimes - you sense more than that; you feel some way about the people who recorded it, you have ideas about where it was recorded and how, you tap into a history and thus you get the feeling that a particular song might just be a pinpoint on a map of something a lot bigger than the song itself. You want to explore that map.

That's how I felt about this record when I first heard it:

Released by Australian label Fellaheen to coincide with a joint tour by both bands, it's a pretty killer 6 track EP. I bought it for the Superchunk songs (GBV didn't even make the tour in the end) but it was a track called 'He's The Uncle' off the split that really caught my ear.

In Guided By Voices folklore, 'He's The Uncle' is a bit of mythological song. Apparently recorded for an aborted concept album (gloriously titled The Power of Suck) but later scrapped and reconfigured into 1996's Under The Bushes Under The Stars. It's the Guided By Voices b-side that everyone knows is a stone cold classic. The band know it too, I noticed they played it at their final show.

To me, it's a song that captures everything I like about GBV: a big chorus, noise, melody, tape compression and hiss all recorded by one of my favourite GBV line-ups. It's somehow BIG and lo-fi at the same time.

What I didn't know then was this: (1) 'He's The Uncle' would be my gate-way drug into the spiral of GBV fandom, something I'm happily floating around in a decade later (2) the song sounds so fucking good because it sits at a bizarre intersection of so many things I like about music. For instance:

Steve Albini recorded it at home. On the CD sleeve it says Tobin Sprout recorded it on 4-track but bass player of the time Jim Greer seems to remember it otherwise.
Jim O'Rourke performed the noise interlude in the middle-8 that I've always thought was just mildly too far-out for GBV.
Later Bob Pollard messed around the mult-tracks at home and added the guitar solo and some delay.

That's a perfect storm of everything I like about music made in the 90s.

That's what I heard but didn't really comprehend.

But it was all there all this time.

Music is awesome like that sometimes don't you think?

mumble(speak) at Almost Invisible #4

2010-06-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

New Weird Australia Vol. 6

2010-06-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

I've got a new track on the most recent New Weird Australia compilation.

The whole thing is free to stream and download here.

Here's the track listing:

1. AMBROSE CHAPEL, Black Lava (7:47) previously unreleased
2. JONNY TELAFONE, Stardate 2012.1221 (3:33) from ‘Rainbow Genesis’ (self-released)
3. CHROME DOME, She Said (1:13) from ‘Chrome Dome’ (Lexicon Devil)
4. WIGWAM, Ancient Path (3:31) from ‘Sweat Lodge’ (Badminton Bandit)
5. J NEWMAN & R SQUIRES, The Church Of Our Lady Of Pompeii (Excerpt) (3:50) from ‘Our Lady Of Pompeii’ (Gift Project Audio)
6. KYNAN TAN, Melt (4:44) from ‘Two Clouds’ (self-released)
7. TRJAEU, Hull (4:56) from ‘Home EP’ (self-released)
8. EASTERN GREY, 24-5 (9:23) previously unreleased
9. PANEYE, Staircases Under the Sea (3:20) from ‘Lying Under Moribund Waves’ (Secret Station Records / Butter People Records)
10. ISLE ADORE, Keep A Lid On (4:53) from ‘Perfect Dust’ (OWLS)
11. UNDERLAPPER, Elephant Shoe (2:51) previously unreleased, from forthcoming album ‘ Softly Harboured’
12. DANGER BEACH, Milky Way (2:02) previously unreleased
13. PHILIP SULIDAE, Dead Horse Gap (6:07) from ‘An High Land’ (dontcaresulidae)
14. ANNA CHASE, Lines (3:42) previously unreleased
Compiled by Stuart Buchanan.
Artwork by David Egan, www.badmintonbandit.com
Click artist title for background information and links.
All music licenced via Creative Commons (Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives), except track 9, all rights reserved.

2010-06-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

2010-06-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

Seven New Songs of Mt Eerie

2010-06-17T23:55:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favourite records:

A few years back my then room mate - now next door neighbour - Ben Thompson went to see Mt Eerie perform at Rics (no you didn't read that wrong - can you imagine it now?). He actually bought a copy of this CDr and we played it to death around the flat. I think it even came for a ride in the Iron On tour van as well. I have memories of listening to it in regional QLD where Wooly Mammoth's Absence's steady strumming seemed to roll along like the dry countryside.

I don't think anyone knew back then that it would become a rare and collectible item.

Anyway, it's legally available free-of-charge here.

2010-06-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

One Instance Of Deftones Liking Experimental Sound...

2010-06-17T00:46:00.000-07:00

Following on from this post, in a recent Deftones interview for Quietus, vocalist Chino Moreno talks about the influence of experimental sound on the band's work:

"Well, we love drone and stuff like that. The majority of the music I listen to is purely instrumental. Not that I don't like singing or singers, it's just that I feel that there's so much optimism in wordless music. The idea that it can take you wherever you want and not confine you to these thoughts or words... It's just music as a feeling, you know? Bringing different soundscapes into our music is always something that we've tried to do. I mean, that was Frank's whole role in the band when we brought him in. At that time, he was just a DJ and his only instrument was a turntable. White Pony was when we really started to experiment with sound more. We were trying to create this disgusting sound with the instruments on that record."

Omissions

2010-06-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

I've written about this academically but it came up again on the weekend at Unconvention where I shared a panel with Andrew Stafford, author of Pig City.

My critical stance is this: I love the book but I don't like some of the uses it's been put to; none of which are Stafford's fault, mind you.

My problem?

To me, the historical lineage of Brisbane music is very, very clear. The Saints put out an independent record and played in houses when they couldn't find venues. Thirty years later Brisbane bands put out their own records and play in houses/warehouses when they can't find venues. Why? Because the city can still be violent and culturally parochial (something Stafford himself has taken to pointing out lately).

So with all that in mind...

I argue that you can't acknowledge the story of Brisbane's professional development in the music sector without also acknowledging that other group of musicians - the majority of musicians - for whom the actual week-to-week practice of music has gone largely unchanged. The ingenuity of the city, its humour, its good-natured wretchedness and slothfulness, the way it sweats and throws up and sings out of tune, off mic, all that has to be there alongside the story of The Veronicas or the story of our city isn't history, it's a press release.

Both stories are true. They speak directly to the other.

We need to celebrate both.

I can't taste this gin, put some more in...

2010-06-14T00:58:00.000-07:00

Five weird things that happened to me on the weekend:

I went to the Down Under Bar. Worse still, I dimly remember being pretty excited about it.
Unconvention Brisbane took place for the first time. I chaired a panel on Music As Culture and during which Andrew Stafford, the author of Pig City: The Saints To Savage Garden, broke into song. Fellow panelist Everett True had decided that if we were asked a question we didn't wish to answer, we had to sing. What did I ask Andrew? Oh just something light and breezy: 'So what was the worst thing that happened to you because you wrote Pig City?' (I made Everett sing as well).
I walked around Highgate Hill at 3am with a cocktail.
A taxi driver told me that we should just shoot people who wish to immigrate to our country. 'Just shoot them, it doesn't cost a lot to shoot people.' And I tipped him. This morning I couldn't remember why. Then I did. I tipped him because I was scared he was going to kill me and dump my severed body parts in the river.
Walking up Merthyr Road last night, not 15 minutes after Ted Bundy the taxi-driver, a car pulled up next to me as I walked along. The driver said 'You want a lift.' I told the driver I lived closeby so it was cool. I was eating a packet of crisps. Then the driver said 'Do you want me to suck your cock?' and I said 'Nah man, I'm good' and he drove off.

Conference Paper

2010-06-12T00:27:00.000-07:00

I'm presenting at this year's International Association for the Study of Popular Music conference at Monash University, Melbourne in November:

# ABSTRACT:

We’re All Doomed: The Democratising Potential of Drone Doom Metal.

In recent years, the rise in popularity of arcane heavy metal sub-genre Drone Doom has attracted a passionate chorus of detractors. Within metal and avant-garde circles, this music – typified by bands such as Sunn O))), Earth, Monarch and Grey Daturas – has been criticized for appearing simplistic, monochromatic and camp. Yet much of this negative commentary overlooks the exciting potentialities inherent in Drone Doom’s aesthetic palatte. As a music that can be easily accessed, composed and performed, it presents a remarkably democratic opening into heavy metal. As a body of established sound, Drone Doom is a popular form in which a range of experimental practices have found a wider audience. Drawing upon a range of secondary resources and the author’s own creative practice within the sub-genre, this paper strives to map and explore the democratising aspects of this emergent form of heavy metal. I argue that within Drone Doom resides a homological and broad-reaching set of tools and ideas that encourage participation from a range of listeners and musicians and thus a greater understanding of this framework speaks directly to the popularity of an otherwise difficult music.

2010-06-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

Bass & Nadja

2010-06-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

Brief but pretty interesting interview with Aidan Baker of Nadja over here. I quite like a lot of his solo stuff and his band work and thus I'm especially interested in how he gets things sounding as he does without an amp. As the interview indicates, his effects are solid choices - not fancy ones.

I think the secret to Nadja's sound is the bass guitar. A DI'd bass tone is not such a stretch, it's pretty standard practice at almost all live shows and it's certainly in the mix on a lot of my solo stuff and with No Anchor. We're all used to hearing it.

And this is the great thing about the bass guitar: it's not such a tone war. Bass can sound warm and full straight in if you record and mix it right. So instantly, before all the drama of effects and antique amps, the bass guitar is already sounding pretty good. I love that about it. I feel like it's an instrument that works with you.

Why doesn't everyone want to play one?

2010-06-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

2010-05-31T00:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday/Today

2010-05-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

# THEN

Yesterday was a long day in the studio finishing off my track for the next New Weird Australia compilation. I think it's out soon. Pretty sure I'm holding up the works.

# NOW

You know, I still love Guided By Voices as much as I used to when I was first discovering them. They're so evergreen it's crazy. I was thinking of them last night when I watched a few songs from Royal Headache; that band surprised me, they could write song songs.

2010-05-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

Three Instances of Sound Artists Liking Deftones

2010-05-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

From a recent interview with Ben Frost:

"At that time, that sort of 2000-2004 period, Melbourne had become engulfed in this fender twin, reverberated post Mogwai shoegaze thing that I, along with everyone else was drowning in. I walked into a record store one day around 2003-04 I guess, which at that time was owned by Oren Ambarchi and I recall mentioning how I had found my way back to the Swans, Big Black and a lot of metal because for me that was kind of an antithesis to everything around me then, but how also I was actually fascinated by some of these nu-metal records, the texture of them; so hi-fi, so clinical and so brutally cold. It was fascinating to me; Slipknot, Korn, The Deftones… I couldn’t put my finger on what I meant exactly, I mean, the music itself was mostly irrelevant, but I remember at one point I said, “what is there that sounds like this, but works like this” and I held up two records: (The Deftones’) White Pony, and Arvo Pärt ‘s Tabula Rasa. He couldn’t name anything, and in a very crude and simplified way, I knew there and then there was a record that needed to be made that could feed on that space."

My review of new Deftones album 'Diamond Eyes' over at The Vine.

2010-05-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

I let those feelings haunt me, they control me, but tonight I'm letting go.
You're more then just a photo album, you're more than what some people let you know.
And if we ever make it home, I'll tell you all the things that shaped me thus:
Something forged in a phonebox but lost in a restaurant...

EQUALS

Pretty much my favourite lyric ever. It's from the Arab Strap song 'The Shy Retirer':

In a world almost choked half to death by pop songs about relationships, those lines are all of it in clear, brutal simplicity. Overlaid over the song's thumping/cheesy beat, it's what I remember. How many people have I met out and at night's end there's just the same sad stories: I'm only here because things went wrong. A relationship reduced down to a starting event (a call from a phonebox) to the final one (a scene in a restaurant), this is Adian Moffat at his most bleak and reductive.

It's fucking genius. And strangely reassuring.

God Hates Toowoomba too...

2010-05-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

Tourism #2

2010-05-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

# ADELAIDE

Something I've forgotten to mention thus far is that I've been experimenting with being soft on tour and it's been going great. After a decade of couch surfing and floor-coring across the music landscape I just got tired and decided I want to sleep in a bed. So I rented some beds. For around $100 a night I slept well (thanks global economic crisis + last minute accommodation booking online) and two of my best bourgeois adventures happened on this leg of the tour.

In Adelaide I stayed in a special room they keep at The Mercure for assholes and travelling musicians. This room looks EXACTLY like a run down motel I stayed in once in regional NSW. Who knew this netherworld of 4 star accommodation existed? Exciting.

In the afternoon, Tristan Louth-Robins, Jason Sweeney and myself spoke to students at ANU about the comparable joys of making and performing arcane music. It was a surprisingly good time. That night we played in the same performance space and Tom Hall entered the city and after a small dispute about the size of our names on the promotional materials...

...we played a show together. To be honest, this was the worst show I gave on the tour thus far. The ANU's sub was a gigantic military grade device (I think this model was actually used to pipe Billy Ray Cyrus songs at the WACO compound) and my set turned said device into a rumbling washing machine that featured way too prominently in the mix. I chalked it up to a special section of my brain called 'The Fuck It Quadrant' and celebrated everyone else's music with some beers afterward. Maximum props to Jason Sweeney for putting me on.

# CANBERRA

I used to think 'Let Canberra have as much decriminalised marijuana and fireworks and photos of yawning vaginas as they need for they live in Canberra!' but now I've changed my mind. Maybe I missed the city centre last time (probably) but it's incredibly beautiful at night and the people are very lovely and very relaxed and friendly. As I stood on the balcony of my six story apartment and surveyed our national capital, I thought 'Hell yes, this was a good idea' and it was.

Moments later I thought 'Where are the fireworks at?' and 'Surely someone will bring them to the show tonight, surely.' But no one did. I like to think that everyone thought to but forgot because they were too high.

The show was the best of the tour so far. Unbelievably good sound from an unbelievably cool sound engineer at The Street Theatre. I was actually louder during my set than at sound check, there's one for the books. I also met and saw Pimmon, Jeff Burch and Alister Spence play + rad locals (Luke and Austin) and promoter Shoeb even took me to Canberra's late night McDonalds afterwards. I would also like to point out that it was a frosty near-zero degree night in Canberra and Shoeb was wearing thongs and flat out didn't give a fuck. Tough.

I retired to my room and drank the beer that I was randomly smart enough to buy and stow earlier. Then I laid back, just me, alone in my room and happily watched Rage until I fell asleep.

(Yes, I was an only child).

# DOCUMENTATION

2010-05-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

All The Nation's Airports

2010-05-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

'Dear Passengers for Virgin Flight 666 who hauled their asses out of bed at 5:05 am to make our scheduled departure of 6:30 am, your flight has now been cancelled. Maybe you should have just flown Qantas from the get-go at a reasonable hour? Wouldn't that have been better? Yes? Oh but that's right, you're a bit cheap and stupid aren't you.'

I wonder if Fennesz flies by chartered plane.

I hope so.

Unpopular Mechanics:

2010-05-19T04:28:00.000-07:00

Harmony In Ultraviolet

- Tim Hecker -

Everything on this record sounds like it's backwards looping.

But at the same time it completely make sense.

Also, it's very pretty. Beauty and brains.

PLUS +

Black Ram (Disc 2 in Sojourner Box Set)

- Magnolia Electric Co. -

This is my favourite Magnolia Electric Co. album.

I have no idea why it's hiding in this box set.

That said the whole thing is pretty great.

Anyway this is pretty much the saddest music ever made and yet I like it.

A lot.

EQUALS =

A perfect album squared.

You wouldn't know how to feel when you listened to it.

You'd forget how to feel permanently, it'd be that good.

2010-05-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

Upcoming Shows Coming Up

2010-05-16T17:20:00.001-07:00

Here is a link to this Thursday night's show in Adelaide:

http://aeaf.org.au/events/soundsitesaeaf.html

tom hall "..explorations into place, space and time.." with ambrose chapel, jason sweeney and tristan louth-robins
when: thursday 20 may 8.00pm sharp
where:The EMU SPACE, Electronic Music Unit 5th Floor, Schulz Building, University of Adelaide
(enter via the Scott Theatre lifts behind the Schulz building, Kintore Avenue, Gate 15) Map: http://emu.adelaide.edu.au/contact/

Here is a poster I made for my new night here in Brisbane:

Tourism #1

2010-05-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

# MELBOURNE

First show of the tour is opening up for Melbourne's Whitehorse, an intimidating prospect at the best of times with a full-band behind me. Tonight it's me, Page Hamilton (my laptop) and a bunch of bearded doom fans. It works somehow. The Old Bar PA helps.

Whitehorse are an unrelenting fucking beast of a thing. I am WELL attuned to the bleakness of this music, I love it, but Whitehorse never fail to bum me out. I've seen them twice now and I've never made the distance either time; I need a break and take one. They've got to be one of the best doom bands this country has ever produced, got to be.

The rest of the weekend is a house show, Coopers, Nadia, Steph, Jem and everything in between.

# PERTH

First impressions of Perth: street toughs, Toowoomba vibes and fucking cold. First show is at The Velvet Lounge under the auspices of Greg Taw. Accompanying Ambrose Chapel is Jane Harris, Mystic Eyes and Erasers (none of these names are our real names). Mystic Eyes is a total Perth-bogan annihilating drone fuck you and it happens before I play and so I just relax and let the doom out. It's sharp and short. Afterwards I go to The Moon.

Show two is at 'Whopper' (always my favourite Hungry Jacks option when I ate meat), spelt WAAPA and home to a lot of diligent and awesome performing arts student. I play their Sound Unbound festival and it's a good, loud time. After, I meet up with new friends and see a bad band and at night's end I accidentally order two gin and tonics when I only wanted one and then I drink them both and stagger towards the hotel.

My merch is sold, my shows are gone and my brain is a liquid so I fall blissfuly asleep in my hotel room. The tour can be a beautiful thing.

# DOCUMENTATION

2010-05-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

ACT Show Poster

2010-05-02T02:20:00.001-07:00

New Recording

2010-04-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

Two weeks back I was in the final stages of finishing off a new Ambrose Chapel recording when my hard-drive failed and I lost the lot. It was going to be a cassette. That's the bad news. The good news is that this crash made me pretty angry and thus I went into the studio a few days later and smashed out an entirely new recording which is probably much better. Ahhh, the joys of creative practice.

Full update/release news as soon as I get it done.

(And yes, the new record is backed up)

New Website | New Release | Tour

2010-04-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

Guess who spent Easter on his computer? Welcome to my new webpage.

#

I've been working on a new record. Two longer tracks: both a bit nastier than the last two, both a lot longer than the last two. At this stage I'm pretty sure it's going to end up on cassette in time for my May/June tour. Speaking of which...

#

House Party March 2010

2010-04-06T03:40:00.000-07:00

I played a show...

2009-12-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

...and I was really happy with it.

But really, who could be unhappy playing in this room:

Influences: Rosemary's Baby

2009-11-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

2009-10-17T19:55:00.000-07:00

From There To Who Knows Where...

2009-10-03T17:23:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Melbourne City the other night. Great show at Stutter / Horse Bazaar. Thanks so much to all the paying punters, Annalee, Tom Hall and Matt/Ducktails.

Horse Bazaar's nice PA gave me ample headroom to try out new 'double big muff' processing techniques. One is never enough with distortion pedals.

Now I'm tried and bored.

That Stutter show was the end of an era for this project. I like my current set: a piece that evolved and devolved during the AXXONN/Ambrose Chapel/ Tom Hall European Tour earlier this year BUT it's time to document and move on. I found some nice sounds with that set but I want to go to different places with them. What I have is very Berlin August 2009 but for the moment/forever I'm in Brisbane 1976-Present.