WE HAVE MOVED!

The time has come for Bobbysix.com to move onwards and upwards. From now on, this blog will stop publishing new material and, instead, you should head over to our totally amazing BRAND NEW SITE for your daily fix of music and culture. Yes, Bobbysix has become Something You Said, a bigger, better, prettier and more user-friendly site with loads more features and a team of contributors based all over the world.

So bookmark our new site, and also follow us on Twitter and Facey. 

Bobby, founder/editor of this and the new site, said. "Over the past six years, Bobbysix has turned from a personal blog into a widely-read music/culture site. I would like to thank my brilliant team of contributors and everyone who has visited Bobbysix for helping it to completely outgrow itself. I'm so excited about the next chapter and I hope all Bobbysix's readers will make the move with me to Something You Said."

Circle named ambassadors for Fender Music Foundation

Sydney-based indie-pop connoisseurs Circle have been announced as band ambassadors for the upcoming Fender Music Foundation campaign.

Circle’s film clip for their upcoming single All The People is set to become a showcase piece for the next phase of the organisations campaign to run later this year. Humanitarian undertones in the song echo the nature of the charity’s work, striking a chord with The Fender Music Foundation’s Executive Director, Moriah Scoble.

“Circle’s video is a beautiful story about the universal power that music has over people,” said Scoble. “The teachers who have received instruments from our organisation often report back to me of this, how music has given their students a place to belong and a way for their students to learn to better communicate with their peers.”

The purpose of the initiative is to support programs that uphold the integrity of music education, primarily in schools, by providing them with musical instruments.

The Fender Music Foundation has reached over 150,000 people since 2005. The guitars used in OK Go’s recent music video, which went viral, raised a significant sum for the charity. Circle is hoping their efforts will do the same.

Liz Green - O Devotion

It seems fitting that singer/songwriter Liz Green recorded her debut album O Devotion within the urban confines of East London's Hackney, a gritty borough notorious for housing some of London's moodier bands. Hailing from Northern UK, Green should be no stranger to this, for Manchester is a city championed for creating pop music's finest broodier moments.

However musically similar these environments though, I suspect moodiness is not entirely what Green should be seeking. O Devotion carries quite a heavy burden. To listen to it in its entirety requires a sturdy spirit, or perhaps an aged whiskey will get you through, as it is laden with saddened characters and tales of woe. None so evident as in closing track Gallows, "They'll take you to the gallows at nine o'clock sharp... I always knew you'd bring me down".

As well as lyrically, a lot of the tension is surely provided by the instrumentation, french horns and tubulars drag their heavy feet underneath an already grim soundtrack without always needing to be there. For this reason, part of me can't help but feel slightly misled. See, I don't at all doubt the authenticity of Liz Green as an artist. Her live performances are rumoured to be full of fairytales and puppetry, her personality, apparently, intriguing enough to rival that of folk magician Joanna Newsom, but the issue really is that I just don't think the songs themselves are as strong as her identity. Her voice, which has been likened to that of legend Billie Holliday, does bare some resemblance, but really, only in that it permanently floats in a lower register. There isn't nearly enough versatility to carry you through an entire album.

Unlike folk/blues contemporaries Allela Diane or Cat Power, who manage to craft albums which effortlessly weave inspired lyrics and melodies, Liz Green's O Devotion is an album strong on ideas, yet weak on melodies and song structures. Save for a sullen day with that aged bottle of Macallan.

Review by Golden Lady

The xx at The Metro Theatre, Sydney

The XX returned to Australia last week and treated those lucky enough to snap up a ticket to a performance at the Metro theatre in Sydney. Support act, Flume started the show and, despite having quite a bit of airplay and gaining popularity with awesome mixes of Hilltop Hoods and Ta-Ku, did not seem to draw in a crowd, as people seemed unable to tear themselves away from the lure of vodka Red Bulls at the foyer bar.

The headlining trio, Romy Madley-Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith, took to stage (twenty minutes late) in a haze of smoke, and began the set with Angels, the first single from the soon-to-be-released album, Coexist. Usually I generally dislike bands showcasing new material at gigs, due to unfamiliarity, but Angels, despite only being released to the world a fortnight ago, still had the majority of the audience joining in and singing the chorus. The band took songs from their solid self-titled debut which excited fans, including Heart Skipped a Beat and Basic Space. These slower-paced numbers were pleasing singalong tunes, but the faster, more textural, pulsating tracks induced more of a reaction. Midway through the set the band played new material from the forthcoming album, this instrumental number had a club dance-floor vibe and seemed as though it were influenced by the steel-drum driven Far Nearer taken from Jamie’s solo album. It was an attack on the senses, blasting beats and smoke machines, with lazer beams scattering over the crowd as a projected psychedelic visual danced across the screen and spilled onto the band as they worked harmoniously to make the sounds. Another standout track was Infinity, a duet that reeked of passion and sex, with the transition of each singer, the pace fastened, the lights projected over the stage as Romy sang, “I can’t give it up to someone else’s touch” finishing with a climatic ending of blaring noise and light flooding the stage.

For an electronic driven outfit, the sensuality and the organic nature of the vocals of both Romy and Oliver is bound effortlessly with the precise drum machine beats and computer samples. Both strong vocalists project lyrics with delicacy and softness and often have a haunting effect that is woven through the tracks. But, they in no way overshadow the percussion and sounds created live on stage by Jamie, who makes clean, precise accompaniment with various computerised instruments.

I eagerly await the new album Coexist after hearing snippets at their gig. It is set to be released on 11 September.

Review by Carol Bowditch

DJ Vadim to hit up the hip hop party of the summer

The fine folk at Soundcrash are putting on the hip hop party of the season at London's KOKO on the 18th of August. This event will feature some of the UK’s biggest and baddest acts; cats who have made history on the wheels of steel and who leave audiences slack jawed, sore and wanting more with nothing but  two turntables, a mixer, and a total mastery of that boom bap thang.

DJ Vadim is amongst the heralded few who can count themselves as true innovators and one of the hardest working men in show business. Never predictable, he rips the rule-book to pieces, unleashing a barrage of killer grooves from genres as varied as hip hop, soul, funk, grime, reggae, trip hop and bass music; he never runs out of ideas. Vadim draws upon several lifetimes’ worth of experience: his project is now approaching its twentieth year and has seen him tour across more than sixty countries and perform over two and a half thousand times.

One of the most highly regarded DJs to ever come out of the UK, DJ Format offers bombastic grooves, catchy basslines and body rocking beats. Never one to rest on his laurels, he’ll brandish the hallmarks of his Simonsound audio-visual set  - a collaborative project between DJ Format and Simon James described by DJ Spinna as “a refreshing mesh of the past, present and the future. It's like Mort Garson rocking shell toe Adidas with fat laces blasting into the galaxy in a funky space ship.”

Joining them is fellow heavyweight and the former DMC Champion Mr Thing, who has established himself equally as an absolute virtuoso behind the wheels and as one of most consistent purveyors of infectious grooves in the UK.

Tickets available from: www.soundcrashmusic.com / www.ticketweb.co.uk

Velvet Two Stripes - Supernatural

So, we know very little about Velvet Two Stripes, except that they are three girls from Switzerland that make "a sort of Kills sounding Rock and Roll."

Things we like: Switzerland, girls, The Kills, rock n roll.

So, yeah, we thought we'd share it with you. If you like what you hear then you can follow the hell out of the band on their Facebook page.

White Arrows interview

Carol Bowditch chatted to lead singer and founder of White Arrows, Mickey Church, ahead of their new album release and upcoming Australian tour with Jinja Safari and Opossom (who she also recently interviewed):

Mickey Church is travelling through El Paso, Texas when we speak. He talks of excitement about his travel to Australia for the first time with his band, and speaks as if it were some distant, strange land, far, far away. “We have no plans,” he says. “We have no itinerary and we have no idea what to expect.”

White Arrows met Kody of Opossom when they toured with Unknown Mortal Orchestra. The band became acquainted with fellow tour-mates, Jinja Safari, they met at a hotel in London. Mickey says they “saw some dudes that looked like musicians and went up to talk to them and they happened to be Jinja Safari, who were coincidently playing the same tour there and were coming over to Australia together. It was a really funny that that happened.”

Dry Land is Not a Myth is their debut release after only a two year lifespan as White Arrows. Mickey said its creation was, “an interesting process, [there's] nothing really to compare it to since it's our first record, but it’s exciting that it's finally out. I’m thrilled at how it’s turned out. We just had one 7” and one EP before, so it’s nice to have something substantial out.” He continued, “We start with music with no lyrics in mind, sometimes we don’t ever use it. There can be a theme before the song exists, usually the lyrics come after the song.”

The White Arrows' sound had been described as psycho-tropical and borrows from many genres. For instance, Coming or Going has a dance vibe too it, whereas Roll Forever is dark and heavy with a grungier feel compared to other songs on the album. Mickey agrees that the White Arrows' sound is difficult to categorise, and encourages listeners to “come up with genres of what they think we sound like. I think that psycho-tropical is a really funny, cool name for a type of music.”

Mickey’s individual story is interesting and is reflected through the impressionistic, sensory nature of his music. He was born blind and only gained his sight at the age of 11. He says that White Arrows aim to create a, “visceral, overload experience. Different genres and different soundscapes. While working in conjunction with visual elements.”

The release of the video for Get Gone reflects just that. It features scenes of the band playing, with heavy filters and trippy visuals layered over the top. Mickey says that he finds the process of creating videos as "fun and easy within this day and age to put together footage of live shows and see how well that goes together with a song." The bands only official video is for the track, Get Gone. "The visuals came after but fit together so perfectly with the song."

I put Mickey on the spot to creatively describe his live show in three words only. "Shoot! That’s a tough question,” he replied. “How about crystallised, euphoric..." then he adds with a laugh.. "fish? [band-member] Ian says hallucination but, maybe: dreams, dreamscape, dreamlike?"

He continues to describe the experience of a White Arrows live show. “We like it to be a total sensory overload, a lot of projections, a lot of strobes, haze and fog. Like a complete sensory takeover. We like people, for that hour, to have a complete uninterrupted experience and whatever happens, happens. Just to be in the moment."

I ask him for any last words from the band. His reply is short and sweet and sums up the White Arrows mentality: “Everybody love everybody and that’s pretty much it."

Interview by Carol Bowditch

Tour dates here.

A Bobbysix mixtape

For The Sake Of The Song vol. I by Neil Martin on Mixcloud

Film/music reviewer Neil Martin came up with the idea of our contributors making a mixtape from time to time, and then sharing it with you guys. A fine idea, we all thought. So, here is the first in what we hope will be a regular thing, courtesy of Neil himself. Enjoy...

1929Indian at The Toff in Melbourne

Ebe Cassidy checked out a very mysterious gig from 1929Indian:

Having arrived at the Toff on a chilly Wednesday night knowing very little about 1929Indian, I left the gig knowing very little more. Mystery was the word of the night. Support Poco la Pax played a set so early I couldn’t say for certain if anyone managed to catch it, they then proceeded to disappear. We arrived to a very nearly empty room, the disco lights twinkling softly over the quiet, tiny audience when gradually bits and pieces 80’s inspired electro pop group 1929Indian began to materialise onstage until all five members were ready to play a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, six song set.

What recorded comes across as a jaunty, synth-driven sound with really fun nods to 80’s legends like The Cure, live was a somewhat more melancholy experience. Perhaps lacking enthusiasm due to the modest size of the audience - or could it have been the unfamiliar Melbourne chill, 1929Indian's lacklustre set conveyed less about their musical ability and more their desire to be somewhere else (notable exception: a cheerfully smiling keyboardist).

What 1929Indian may have - on this particular night - lacked in eagerness to perform, they certainly made up for in looking the part, all came dressed to impress in dangerously tight denim and a fitting air of dankness. It wasn’t solid moodiness though, Women In Cages, the lead single, proved to be an enjoyable moment, hinting at what the band can do when they… lighten up a bit?

Review by Ebe Cassidy