Thursday, November 25, 2010

The Hummingbird Dream review on Ambientblog.net



The Ghost of 29 Megacycles (Australia) recently released a beautiful new EP-album called "The Hummingbird Dream".

Though this is the second release under this name (following up "Love Via Paper Planes" from 2009), the main part of this new album is a long drone solo recording by Greg Thaw on guitar, organ and field recording.

Part 1 of this "delicate two song cycle born from sleepless nights, morning silence and sadness" starts with a guitar based drone, slowly deconstructing - until the morning breaks.

Hidden begind the guitar overtones in the first half of part 1, I hear a subtle reference to Brian Eno's classic masterpiece "An Ending".

I doubt this is intentionally, because it may also be a resemblance based on the chosen chords and the overall atmosphere, but it is as if this piece is echoing a memory of the original En/Lanois track, though more abstract and almost faded.

Celer is another reference that comes to mind when trying to describe what this music sounds like.

In spite of the references to 'sleepless nights' and 'sadness', there is a strong sense of hope embedded in the music, and especially in the sound of the hummingbird singing in the 'morning silence'.

Part 2, also featuring Jessyca Hutchins and Rebecca Orchard (vocals) and Rupert Thomas (organ), is a much shorter piece concluding the album in a different - shoegaze-like - style.

http://www.vancooten.com/blog/?e=343

Monday, November 22, 2010

Live photos and video from Refraction, Sydney 27 October 2010

The Ghost of 29 Megacycles @ October REFRACTION from refraction sound on Vimeo.





http://refractionsound.wordpress.com/

These Streets. - Short Documentary by Tom Neal

These Streets. - Short Documentary from Tom Neal on Vimeo.

These Streets is a short story that explores the thoughts and experiences of three Ambulance Paramedics that have numerous years in the job individually. From the beginnings of a career to what hasbeen seen and encountered in such a high discipline job, a short insight is given into the demanding job of Ambulance Paramedics in Melbourne. - Tom Neal.

The Hummingbird Dream is featured in These Streets.

analogue monologues vol. 1.5




From analogue monologues vol. 1.5:

ever since my discovery of 80s bands with names like SPK or Scattered Order and the likes years ago i was aware of the fact that this remote land commonly known as australia must have deeper secrets than the ones we are made aware of growing up elsewhere on planet earth. of course, in this day and age setting your feet on foreign soils wouldn’t make it all too difficult bumping into every stereotype and cliché you expected given you’re carrying expectations at all. but, generally speaking, how many people do you know not getting informed about the latest tourist highlights prior departure just to make sure seeing what different places are all about in times of mass tourism and short attention spans? seriously, did you ever wonder then on how much we would be missing out approaching life merely this way relying on filtered information and lack of interest or curiosity? it might be the easiest way checking ourselves into some high-rise clusters being drawn on the very canvas which makes up for the horizon right next to a beach resort wrapping our bodies in thinly sliced ham waiting packed like sardines until the sun frizzles our skin covered in grease. but might this be the most rewarding approach? well, looking around any corner exposes some shades of grey and even these hues differ as much as all our perceptions do but only illuminating these shades with bright colours gives me a glimpse of the very satisfaction i’m striving for. far from perfection, yet getting a few steps closer when the soundtrack makes my feelings run high leaving the impression i just need to stretch my arms a little further to be able to eventually hold onto the stars compressing the vast landscapes surrounding me.

this compilation features 11 songs of people creating an outstandingly vivid music scene far from mainstream activities and i’m glad i could witness at least glimpses of it while living in sydney. there are many more projects out there at least as moving as the featured artists here which made it quite difficult choosing and compiling the tracks for this volume but isn’t the best and most intense way listening to music, and above all feeling it, when it is performed live? so, give a look around the corners into the dark alleyways and you’ll find spots being illuminated in brighter colours than you could have ever imagined. many of the dozens of shows i’ve seen were blistering and full of energy and i’m sure that’s still the case. thanks everyone involved, you know who you are – i’ll be around again sometime!

this compilation is made on this planet from local and imported ingredients. thanks for tuning in and please enjoy!

Download here:
http://analoguemonologues.wordpress.com/

Monday, November 15, 2010

SOUNDINGS II




SOUNDINGS II
(Brave No Wave)

Sunday 28th November
LOOP Bar / Gallery
23 Meyers Pl, City.
Doors 5pm / $12

Second installment of the SOUNDINGS music series presents Melbourne town's BRAVE NO WAVE and a few kindred spirits from North, South & West O' the border!

Experimental, Jetset, Trash and No Star sounds from the blessed depths of the musical underground, this installment of SOUNDINGS is all about experimentation
and the bands actively driven by an exploratory musical impulse be it sonic, rhythmic, structural or compositional.

If you missed the UFO club circa '66, THE EXPLOADING PLASTIC INEVITABLE circa '67, or THEE MIGHTY HOTEL2TANGO circa '98 - be sure not to miss this installment of SOUNDINGS!!

Featuring PAINT YOUR GOLDEN FACE from Van Dieman's Land, Sydney town's dark melodic moodists NO ART and the textured ambience of Perth's GHOST of 29 MEGACYCLES playing alongside the
crème de la crème of Melbourne's experimental musical community, SOUNDINGS II is assured to be some kinda wonderful!!

Doors 5pm / $12

The Spheres
Great Earthquake
Paint Your Golden Face (Hobart)
Amplifier Machine
Battlesnake
No Art (Sydney)
Light Lions
The Carolinas
Ghost of 29 Megacycles (Perth)
Radiant City

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Sunday, November 7, 2010

The Hummingbird Dream review on Life is Noise




Melbourne-via-Perth droneniks Ghost of 29 Megacycles have followed up the moaning gauze of last year’s Love Via Paper Planes (which approximated Loveless by way of Kranky, sans rhythm section) with a dusky, Janus-like two-track release. While texturally unified, the two pieces seem wildly divergent in terms of ambition and purpose. The twenty-four minute Pt.1 is reminiscent of the group’s other drone explorations, on a more epic scale; however, the tones are a deal more sonorous and hi-res, shifting in delicate, shimmering swells. Ultimately, while being pleasant, luxuriant stuff, it struggles to justify its epic length.

The much briefer Pt.2 plays out like a more ambitious extension of the drone-based songcraft only previously skirted by the band. Featuring Erasers and Jane Harris, it’s an elliptical, sunken duet which demonstrates how fecund the pairing of Greg Taw’s sonics and female vocals can be, as well as reaffirming how adept he is at choosing his collaborators. Faintly resembling Low under a layer of static, Pt.2 aches towards a glacial breakdown which reaches a level of emotional depth and and clarity hitherto only hinted at by the project, somewhat reducing Pt.1 to an overlong prelude. Taken together, The Hummingbird Dream is a consolidation of what Taw has already proven he can achieve with traditional drone forms, as well as a taste of what he can achieve by transcending it.

By Alex Griffin

http://lifeisnoise.com/2010/11/02/review-ghost-of-29-megacycles-the-hummingbird-dream/

Sonic Array Festival




Dreamland Recordings Presents: SONIC ARRAY
Saturday Nov 20th @ Irene’s Warehouse. 5 Pitt St. Brunswick East.
$10.00. From 3pm – 10:30pm. First act performs 3:15pm SHARP.

Sonic Array is the epic warehouse show we have always wanted to host, with a truly diverse mix of local music and experimental sound that has something for everyone.

featuring:

DEAD ANTS RAINBOW
THE GHOST OF 29 MEGACYCLES
ZAC KEILLER BAND
INFINITE DECIMALS
MYSTIC EYES
BUDD
LITTLE KILLING
ROTTEUR
CONSTANT LIGHT
PIONEERS OF GOOD SCIENCE