Interview: Yuck

Yuck have been one of the most exciting bands to emerge in 2011. Consisting of members from three different continents all in their early 20s, they released their debut record ealrier this year to both critical and fan acclaim. Playing a sometimes screaming, sometime's soothing, always melody-driven style of rock and roll, they've drawn a lot of comparisons with early '90s rock bands.

We talked to the band's front man, Daniel Blumberg, about his previous band, Cajun Dance Party, how he is surprisingly influenced by Nashville alt country band Lambchop and what it's like to be signed to the respected indie label Fat Possum.


You guys released a fantastic debut album this year and you’ve started to pop up on a lot of ‘Best Of’ album lists – is that a gratifying feeling?

It’s weird – I don’t know if I’m meant to but no.

It is weird because I like a lot of those albums and I do look at those lists sometimes at the end of the year and see albums that I might of missed. And sometimes I’ve had experiences where I’ve looked at those lists and seen albums that I really love, so it’s kind of weird but in terms of a “gratifying” feeling – I normally feel graitified closer to the time that I’ve written a song or something.

It’s a bit... I don’t know. Maybe I’m meant to feel something really good? But...

No, no no, you feel however you feel. I was just interested about what you thought of it. But yeah, I remember hearing you guys for the first time earlier this year and thinking, “Shit, that dude sounds a lot like the guy from Cajun Dance Party (Daniel's previous band),” and of course low and behold!

I’m sure it’s a question you get all the time but how has your experience in Yuck compared with your last band?

It doesn’t really get asked. Maybe in Australia people get Cajun Dance Party more but we didn’t really didn’t do many shows or press when the album came out. Sometimes in London we got asked at the start. But... Yeah, they’re completely different – they’re utterly different.

Cajun Dance Party was when we were at school. We started it when we were 15 and then the record came out three years later, which was really frustrating. I think we recorded it two and a half years after we wrote it. I mean to me, that’s like a stupid thing that I never want to do again.

We didn’t do that here, we were adding tracks to our album the day of mastering the Yuck album. So, yeah... everything is different.

You guys have had a pretty whirlwind year of touring – what would you say are some of the more interesting places you’ve played this year?

Ahhh... It’s all a bit of mush at the moment.

Well I just read on your tour page that before you head to Australia for the Laneway shows you’re heading off on the Weezer cruise – that sounds fucking rad! How did that come about?

Yeah, that’s so weird. It’s gonna be really strange but fun.

I was reading on your blog that Lambchop are a massive influence on Yuck, which I found really surprising.

Oh, yeah, yeah. I’m a massive Lambchop fan. They’re one of the most brilliant bands.

How would you say they’ve influenced your music?

Well, I went to Nashville – I dropped out of school and went to record in Nashville with Mark Levin and he was in Lambchop and has recorded a lot of their albums. And Kurt (Wagner - Lambchop lead singer) was around the whole time and I stayed in contact with him and he’s sort of quite a big part of Yuck really, in the background – well for me – and helping with... You know, it’s nice to have someone who’s experienced to vent to if touring is getting difficult. And then I guess I love their music.

I guess ‘Suicide Policeman’ was the first time I acknowledged a direct influence and I was like, “Shit, I’ve been listening to too much Lambchop.” (Laughs). But no one really says that and you picked up on that which is quite funny.

I also just read that Fat Possum has also released a book of your drawings – that’s a pretty fantastic project. Has visual art been something you’ve always done as well as music? Because I know you drew all the cover art for the Yuck releases.

Yeah, I’d been making these books since we started playing, out of the drawings I was doing. And yeah, when I started this type of drawing it was directly I when we started writing Yuck songs. And working on lyrics I’d always be drawing, or if I couldn’t think of lyrics, there’d be a drawing instead.

Those drawings that they’ve released in the book, we’ve used them for single covers and record covers. And I stopped drawing them when we mastered the record, and they sort of put it out as a complete thing next to the album, like every single drawing I did during that period of making and writing.

Obviously, after being in Cajun Dance Party, you’ve got a bit of experience being on different labels – how is dealing with Fat Possum as compared to other labels you’ve been involved with? They have a pretty impressive roster of artists like A.A. Bondy, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and of course you guys.

I think they’re amazing. We didn’t really know them, like – they hadn’t seen us when we signed to them. We hadn’t really spoken much before we signed. They were only people like”We want to give you money to tour and release your record in shops.”

So, we just signed and ... When I mentioned the book and that I had all these drawings, that was because when we did the Unknown Mortal Orchestra tour they kept emailing me and calling me and saying “We really want to make a screen poster for this tour because it’s going to be amazing,” and they kept hassling me and then they ended up printing it so beautifully! I had no idea that it would look so good.

Yeah they’re quite crazy – they do stuff that they like and they don’t really give a fuck.

I actually heard Oupa for the first time yesterday. It’s really lovely. Was that something you just did yourself?

Yeah, because we’re doing so many interviews and shows around the Yuck record I decided I just wanted to put out some music without a structure and just do it on a smaller scale because I find it quite rewarding. So yeah I set up a label for releasing that stuff.

Cool – have you had much positive feedback from that?

Yeah people have seemed to like it. It’s really nice that they can order it and that I can send it to them.


Nathan Wood


Originally published at www.vmusic.com.au

Interview: Adalita

Adalita Srsen is a towering figure in Australian rock music. For two decades she's fronted the iconic rock band Magic Dirt, who have toured tens of thousands of kilometres across the country, supported some of the greatest international musicians ever to tour down under and have released several acclaimed albums - including two that made Triple J's 100 Greatest Australian Albums of All Time list.

Earlier this year she released her debut solo record, Adalita, an album that has received vast critical acclaim, including being nominated for four Jagermeister Australian Independent Music Awards. We caught up with Adalita to talk about her growing confidence as a solo artist, what music she's into at the moment and what she thinks about the future of the live music industry in Australia.

You’ve said in a few of interviews that you really needed to be pushed into doing this solo record, and now that you’ve toured it and are up for a swag of Independent Music Awards - do you feel like you’ve got more confidence in yourself as a solo artist?

Definitely. I feel heaps better about it. I think being in a loud rock band for such a long time, you know I love playing loud. You sort of used to that wall of sound. I’ve never played solo before. Never, ever. So it was a real shock to the system to just shake of those nerves and just get used to the silence and the space. It was pretty full on, so I just had to get over that first and that took me a couple of years but I feel a lot better about it. I feel like it was definitely worth pursuing and I’m really glad I took Dean’s (Dean Turner, the former Magic Dirt bassist who passed away in 2009 from cancer) advice and was inspired by his belief in my work.

So do you think then that you’ve been able to craft your own style and your own voice away from Magic Dirt?

I don’t know about that. I still feel like the same person but I guess there’s no band around me and those big sounds have all been stripped away. I’m still playing electric guitar, I’m still singing about similar stuff and it’s all pretty moody like I normally write. So, I actually don’t feel any different in that way.

But I think crafting the album in the studio was definitely a different experience. I don’t know, I don’t make a conscious effort to do anything, I just sort of do it and it comes out. I haven’t made a conscious effort to evolve a certain sound or anything.

You’re also going to be performing live at the awards ceremony – are you excited for that? Sometimes that’s recognition from the organisers that your music had enough of a significant influence or impact that year that it warranted a performance at the award ceremony.

Oh definitely. I’m completely bowled over. It feels really nice – I feel totally honoured.

Have there been any other Australian records you’ve been particularly fond of this year?

Yes, there’s a Sydney band called The Laurels who have just released an EP called Mesozoic and they’re my favourite band at the moment. They’re sort of like - loud guitars, psychedelic, old grungy kind of shoegazey... Yeah, really awesome sounds and I love that Mesozoic EP. It’s just an album that I love and I listen to a lot. Yeah, definitely one of my favourites.

You’d started writing material for the next record before you started touring the current record, have you got much material ready to go?

No, I’ve only got a couple of new songs I’ve written and I’m not sure they’ll make the record. I’ve started writing in dribs and drabs now and I’ll hopefully go in and lock myself away in a couple of months.

So do you have any set plans to head back into the studio or are you just going to keep demoing for a while?

I haven’t started demoing yet, so I’ll do that first and then hopefully get in the studio next year.

You’re going to be supporting the upcoming Drones tour, are you psyched for that?

Mmmmmmmm (like she’s just bitten into a chocolate cake...). Oh, ho yeah, very! I’m going nuts, I can’t wait.

Obviously Dean was a significant force behind this first solo record. What are you perceiving for the next record in terms of sound, and in terms of arrangement without his influence – have you had any ideas about that?

I think the songwriting process will dictate that. I’m just waiting for that to kind of happen and then I’ll know at the end of the demo stage where that’s gonna go.

You’ve made some pretty gorgeous videos with Adam Harding for the album, how integral have those videos been to record and your solo project as a whole?

Oh very. A lot of the videos were done in my hometown of Geelong. So we visited a lot of those old haunts - Breamlea and the Shell Factory and just some old spots there. They bring back a lot of memories but they also visually look great. I have a real connection to that place and just wanted to film a natural environment and be outside and have a lot of nature in the videos.

Adalita - 'The Repairer'



We shot ‘Hot Air’ first and Adam had a very strong vision of what he wanted and it all just flowed from there. I’m really happy with the videos; I think they’re a great visual accompaniment to the album.

Adalita - 'Hot Air'



You’re someone that is really renowned and revered in the Australian music industry – you’ve been a major figure in the last 20 years and you’ve played a shit load of shows with some pretty fucking epic bands, a couple of albums in the Triple J greatest Aussie list - is a memoir or an autobiography something you see yourself writing in the future?

Oh man, I don’t know. I don’t think for myself, but who can say? I think definitely there should be a Magic Dirt memoir, I think either as a film or as a book or both. Or as a photo book, but I’d definitely love to do that and that’s a dream of mine.

You’ve also been a stalwart in the live music industry in Australia and the future of live music in Oz is obviously a really big issue at the moment – have you seen much of a change in you time performing live and do you have any thoughts on the future of the industry?

Yeah, it’s definitely changed. It feels like it’s a little bit harder for bands to play live. I mean there’re a lot of great venues in Melbourne, but a lot of venues have been shutting down. I know new ones open, but I guess sometimes I worry if it will stick it through. Will people still go and see bands live and will venues still have bands? Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic in my own head but it just seems a bit harder.

Touring regionally is just really, really hard and not viable for so many bands now, which is really unfortunate because the country kids miss out on music whereas before it was still hard but much easier [than] now to go to those country areas. But it’s definitely changed.

It’s a question that I’m sure sick of hearing but I’m kind of obliged to ask, any news on the future of Magic Dirt or are you guys still happy having a rest?

Yeah, we’re just on hiatus I guess. We don’t really have any plans, no. Not at the moment.

What are you current plans post The Drones shows?

I’m doing the Triple J tribute to Nick Cave tour, called straight to you, which is going up the East Coast, which is gonna be awesome. That’s in November with people like Dan Sultan, Lisa Mitchell, Tim Rogers, Bertie Blackman, Muscles – it’s gonna be great. And then I’m doing Meredith Music Festival in December here in Victoria, which is near my hometown, so that will be good fun. And then take the summer off and just write.


Nathan Wood

Originally published at www.vmusic.com.au

Song: Mr. Little Jeans – The Suburbs (Arcade Fire Cover)

Mr. Little Jeans is actually a female, Norwegian singer named Monica Birkenes and she is turning some ears with her remake of one of last year's hit tracks from the AF's giant album of the same name.

Based outta London, UK, Birkenes also steals her name from the small indian guy that pops up in Wes Andreson flicks. “You know the Indian guy?” she asks. “The one who does all the Wes Anderson movies? It’s him—that’s his name in the film. He makes me smile every time.”

Wherever she steals her name or her songs from, what she does with them is fucking sick and this track is a fabulous reinterpretation of the original.

News: New Bon Iver Album due out June 21

It's been four years since Justin Vernon spent a lonely winter in his father's cabin in the Wisconsin wilderness, where he passed the time by watching Northern Exposure DVDs, chopped fire wood and recorded one of the most beautiful and intimate records of all time.

And finally, after stints in several other projects and slummin' it with Yeezy, Bon Iver is back with a new album this June.

AltConDel will keep you posted as more info comes to light but for now check out this short clip which features a snippet from the album and footage of the record's artwork, which was created by Minnesota artist, Gregory Euclide.

Videos: Guadalupe Plata

Blues rock groups are a dime a dozen these days, but these guys are something ripped from the gates of hell.

Hailing from Spain, Guadalupe Plata play a mix of blues and spaghetti western style tunes while smoking a pipe packed with a suicidal mix of sex, heat and eternal damnation.

They've made some extremely badass video clips, including one incredibly NSFW where they play a live show at a strip joint, while a young lady entertains the crowd with some seriously impressive acrobatics and a very long string of beads. I can only imagine she makes her dad very proud.

They're heading to SXSW this year where hopefully someone will dig their vibe and get them touring more extensively outside of Europe, so we can go see them rip the house down (and maybe get in on some of that bead action too).

Pollo Podrio:

Guadalupe Plata - Pollo Podrío from NYSUfilms on Vimeo.

Como Una Surpiente! (NSFW!!!!!!)

Song: Dum Dum Girls – Wrong Feels Right

Dum Dum Girls have released a new amazing EP and are showing us yet again that there is much more to them than just fuzzy production and a couple of catchy hooks.

The 'He Gets Me High' EP shows off the band's maturing song writing skills and how they are honing their sound as a musical unit.

This fantastic song is the opener on the EP, but the record also has a fucking gorgeous cover of The Smiths 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.'

We recommend you buy it now!

Video: Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Thought Ballune

I was gonna skip the opening band for the Smith Westerns for their Toronto gig the other night 'cos I was feelin' tired/shitty.

Fucking luckily I didn't 'cos I would have missed these dudes tear the stage up.

Hailing from Portland/Auckland they play a funky, psycho-chillwave kinda rock that almost blew the headliners off the stage.

This song is from their debut EP: