The Curse of 23 Skidoo

So I got booked for a show at the Espy (Esplanade Hotel in St. Kilda Melbourne, even though the Espy is quite a landmark and even ‘legendary’ venue the only name dropping reference I have when trying to describe it to people is that they film Rock Quiz there, and then you have to try and explain what Rock Quiz is etc.). The date of the gig was the 23^rd which added an ominous tone to the whole thing as I’ve been reading a lot of Burroughs and the number 23 signifies some sort of impending disaster or some such and there was even a band called 23 Skidoo (haven’t listened) in reference to one of his books.

I asked a friend of mine to do visuals and I’d split my paycheck and all was good when on the day he texted me he was ill. Damn is this the infamous 23 skidoo at work? Ah well my paycheck just got bigger and I can still do this, just requires a bit more effort and prep. So myself and girlfriend decide to go in earlier, hang sheets for the projector and then go home and chill. So we do this and about to head of when I get a call from my sis and she’s coming in earlier so maybe I should hangout and there are people here I know and a friend of mines playing. So we’ll stay at the Espy, I brought all my gear, all is good or so I think..

So I play ater Ennis Tola and they're getting ready to play, so I decide to be pedantic and start setting up my gear and maybe warm up a bit as well. And lo and behold I realise I’ve left my laptop at home. Fuck. 23 Skidoo? Godamn you Burroughs now you’ve messed with my head.  A creeping chill then bam I am of. Car is parked 15 minutes away so thankfully my jogging with german flatmate Cesar is going to pay off and I run all the way. Do about a 100 on the Kings way leg at one point much to the chagrin of V8 ute drivers that look upon my gay little blue car and wonder why a chick is driving so fast. I usually get lane jumped by fools in bigger cars that think I am some sort of meek Asian student that’s willing to give up space for their all powerful brogadaccio viehicles so it’s been my mission to prove that gay little ‘uni’ cars (their cheap inexpensive, small good for inner city A to B and handy when you’re studying I suppose) deserve respect, thusly I drive like a demon..

I get out of the car which has a kind of burnt rubber smell and arrive to the last song of the set. Phew. As I’m setting up each correct cable and bit of equipment is a god send as one more fuck up, missing bit of equipment and it’s all over. As you can imagine my state of mind is on the hyper side and I forego my start of Ocean which would have been dreamy and meditative and calming and launch straight into the gabber section of Atreyu Wandering which I jump around in with much glee missing all the notes. And so went the rest of the set. Now my girlfriend which I think is starting to turn into a tennis parent (my mom once told me my old man got nicotine poisoning from smoking too many cigarettes whilst watching me play junior tennis out of nerves) or could be soccer parent for that matter go little Johnny, I’m living my hopes and dreams through you..

Well she says to me when I ask what she thought of the show that my performance was not so good, the lighting was poor, mix was average, I missed a lot of notes (the stress of not knowing whether I’d be back in time got to her perhaps), but au contraire dear reader, I have come to the conclusion that music is art and therefore does not have to be perfect clean, well played or good even, it’s just an expression, energy force and how it comes out is what it should be is and was meant to be. But yes I did make a lots of mistakes haha

So was it 23 Skidoo? I did start just after midnight so technically my actual set was on the 24th, but the lead up of events hmmm..  cue twilight zone muzak. I will never know. However my next booked gig is on the 23^rd next month for the Chico Flash album launch! Not to sound dire or anything..  from now on I shall be making a list of all my equipment. And driving respectably until my road karma gets good again (well we shall see).
A clip from the gig..

Akh-naut live at The Empress - Oceans

Akh-naut live at Dirty Shirlows

The Akh-naut settled into the Sarcophagus cocoon of its craft. It would sleep for the duration of the space voyage, lasting both a nanosecond and an eternity. Its dreams were the bard’s tale, strummed in the theatre of mannequined harlequins ; reality = dream and vice versa.

In Days of Pollen, (stride the beach in search of Venus)

Navigating moons and asteroids towards point zero, eventual return to home sun the machine lights blinked as the Akh-naut lay buried in nocturne's chamber, tube fed and umbilical cord attached. And so the dreams began.
The archways of the dream were built by fractals, giant looming towers of infinity. In a shower of sparks, the stained glass window of the virtual void slowly opened. A shore corralled with coves lay skeletal bare.
A fine dust fell from the sky covering the Akh-naut’s amphibious suit.
Something always played at the corner of its eye, elusive to the grasp. A stray molecule of dreams haunted memory. Then it emerged.
From the ocean waters Venus like and holding a sceptre the Akh-naut glimpsed the other. A secretion of words formed at the apex as the other spoke,

“I seen you in the depth and I fell right down
Something in the wind that time won’t take
Fall on peaks, dashing bones
No one left, no home
Lifting wrecks, lifting smoke
Watch the skies let’s go
The entrails point north
All the sin’s stained sheets
Navigate the seas
Love go higher, cross the wire, home”

Who Got Horsie

Circles in the circus, a moustache bent like a tragedy on the Ring Master standing on show. The man (Ring Master) cracked a whip and he (horsie) was away running orbs within loops, leaping hoops like a monkey and grunting a neo cathartic whinny that stood hairs on end. With countless lashes he (horsie) despaired the meaningless dance towards distant onlookers. He (horsie) longed for freedom, to bury his metal hoof in earth soiled worms away from the bondage of the subjugated stares of the small minded clowns of this town. Belching dragon fire from nostril whim he (horsie) struck a canter fused with the harmonies of the dead and bolted the back gate. Hurdling fences and pedestrians he made for the Forests of Ash.
Typing a three part symphony in the theme of ‘control’ were the Terminal children, thusly named for they never left their terminals, small cubicles atop tree canopies inside the Forests of Ash. The children were the secret Government, the Apophrycal, for their superior wisdom in Electro Mantic arts allowed them to patch into the planet’s neural networks and guide numbers and rules to ways that would suit them. Their true purpose was unknown, be it good or evil though some said they themselves were under the spell of a God that strove for some haunted sequence of numbers, a task as futile as trying to manipulate the patterns of snowflakes into arranged submission.
Midgets and clowns gathered in a cloistered group plotting the return of the mechanical Horsie. It was the circus star performer, but there was another much more important reason for why the Horsie had to be returned. Only the Ring Master knew this, for he had purchased it under dubious circumstances from a small time dictator. The Horsie’s dark secret was that it was a killing machine. It was a nuclear weapon.
“Fuck that thing could go ballistic,” muttered the fat Ring Master smoking a Cuban and coughing while he accidentally inhaled.
The Circus began to move out, a scene of demented hunches, ex police squids, shady government types, and bearded ladies all mounting giant bulldozers with the fat Ring Master leading the charge.
Inside the Forests of Ash the Terminal Children looked on apprehensively. The circus was bad news and their forecasts had not prepared them for this. An anomalous freak had occurred, and the Horsie was the epicentre of the rippled pool. Attempting to patch into the mechanical Horsie was futile as some spark of consciousness, a spirit had entered its steely jaw and was playing havoc with the Terminal Children’s attempt of viral piracy. So for fear of their discovery by the circus and its ridiculous ring master, the Terminal Children hacked into any robotic units they could find and began to create a perimeter around the forest.

He (horsie) leaped in delight at his new found freedom. Cutting a dressage through the forest undergrowth he clipped a sigh and wondered whether this was all a dream. Wasn’t he just the Akh-naut deep in sleep aboard its ship in far flung galaxy dreaming that he (horsie) was a mechanical Horse bolting for freedom? Perhaps but it didn’t matter. He (horsie) chose to live in the moment proudly stalking the trees.
The bulldozers cut to a halt just outside the Forest. A ring of metal appliances, kitchen robots, picking machines, and robotic gardeners, all under the viral spell of the Terminal Children blocked their path.
“Bring us the Horsie,” the fat Ring Master yelled into a microphone fancying himself the next Elvis.
“We will not,” chirped the machines in chorus. “It has free will, it does as it wants. You will not enter the Forest.”
Pondering this briefly then hurling insults like dead flies at a window sill, the Ring Master called to arms his band of looters and clowns as they rushed the appliances. A mighty battle begun as foes traded blows and much blood and electricity came gushing forth from severed limbs and broken shafts.
He (horsie) heard the melee and went to take a look. Puzzled at the sight he whinnied in contemplation. What new fun is this? Perhaps I can join this new force of motley machines and fight the circus. “Yes I will”, he (horsie - the Akh-naut?) decided. Firing hydrogen filled nostrils the Horsie reared then bolted straight towards the scene.
“Oh fuck.”
From a distance a giant mushroom cloud could be seen as little Johnny picked his nose, examined it slowly and then ate it.

HORSIE FILM CLIP

Young God's - "Only Heaven" review

“Only Heaven” was released in1995 through Interscope. The Young Gods are pioneers of using samples combined with live drums and vocals. Unlike previous albums the Young God’s made all their own samples on this album.
Opening track “Outside” is a brief interlude of vocals over a synth loop. The track “Strangel” features a big rock drumbeat and pumping bass line that are the main driving forces throughout this song. The vocal tone is gritty throughout and the punchy chorus is comprised of sampled industrial guitars. Sucking reverse sounds are used for good effect throughout as well psychedelic styled synth loops in the ambient sections. The sound is quite 90’s overall though still sounds fresh by today’s standards.
The atmosphere of the verses in “Speed of night” is quite sparse and contains a lot of samples that pan in and out. Some of the samples were derived from domestic happenings and one possibly sounds like a pan frying with the oil crackling. These sounds are used quite ingeniously throughout and replace what normally would have been guitar and keyboard riffs. An ambient middle section brings to mind Pink Floyd’s lead guitar sound and the synth sound similar to that of the instrumental “On the Run” from “Dark Side of the Moon” album which would have been an influence.
“Donnez Les Spritz” brings things down to a slower groovy tempo. The samples are abundant and color the otherwise sparse sounds of drums and bass with aquatic swirls. Vocalist Franz Treichler has a register similar to Jim Morrison’s and croons similarly too, with his haunting and poetic lyrics. At first listen his Swiss accent is noticeable as he sings mainly in English, sometimes combining with French words, though this doesn’t detract from the music. After repeated listens his vocal sound almost becomes a style unto itself.
“Moon Revolutions” is the longest track on the album clocking in at around 16 minutes. In the space of the entire album it feels a little monotonous as it’s similarity to the previous track “Donnez Les Spritz” is obvious in terms of tempo and use of sounds. The effect is quite hypnotic and the atmospheric and psychedelic middle section climaxes towards the intense finale. This tracks feels rather long, though it’s ending can be quite rewarding.
“Kissing the Sun” is the highlight of the album with its crushing guitar riffs and eerie ambient samples. It is similar in pattern to the opening songs and continues the mood of up tempo tunes.
“The Dreamhouse” begins quite minimally with ambient textures made of synths, water sounds and chiming bell sounds. The poetic and hushed vocal ask the question, “What are they doing in the dream house?” The drums add color and intensity in these sections preparing for when the full band comes in on the last third of the song. By the song’s conclusion the question of what they were doing in the dream house remains unanswered.
“Lointaine” provides a welcome relief of melody and harmony in the chorus over a bed of ambient synths, and is sung in French or could that be Swiss French perhaps?
“Gardez les Esprits” is more downtempo and features Franz singing over a programmed electronic beat while “Child in a Tree” is the closer on the album and is comprised of effects driven acoustic guitar and vocals. Interestingly, the latest Young God’s album “Knock on Wood” is entirely acoustic as well.
Overall a terrific album that combines elements of rock, industrial, electronic and ambience. The synths and samples provide the eerie and atmospheric backdrop to the pounding drums, heavy guitar samples and the Doors-ish vocals. The songs are well balanced between the light and the dark with the only complaint being the track “Moon Revolutions” which feels overly long. What is most interesting is that the Young God deliver such a great and full sound in a non traditional manner closing the gap between rock and electronic music, definitely one of the most successful groups to do so. The Roger Federer’s of electronic rock music, the Young Gods.
Link below to Amazon.com
Only Heaven

Genghis Tron Board up the House Review

This is one of Aquanaut's fave albums of 2009 and 2010. Genghis Tron manage to blend programmed drum beats with hardcore metal, glitch drum sounds ala Aphex Twin and ambient music. While this is a feat in itself the songwriting is also quite masterful. The melodies and harmonies are quite contemporary and offer a different world of sound to metal as we know it circa 1980. Purists would argue this is not really metal though, who cares.

The modern age has seen rock and metal progress to more and more difficult territory rhythmically and hence has invited comparisons to the progressive rock of the 1970's, ala Yes with modern proponents being the Mars Volta and Mastodon. Genghis Tron tends to nod in this direction but more in a metal way as comparable to Meshuggah, the absolute Titans of complex math style metal. Genghis Tron are not as complex in their time signatures but they have some very clever and intricate rhythmic passages that could only be the work of practiced or studied musicians.

If you are not a fan of screamed metal vocals, or cookie monster vocals or in this case cookie monster after he's just found out he's been sodomised repeatedly, Genghis Tron may be a trifle hard to get into initially. Well get over it! The metal screamo vocal or whatever its called is just as difficult a technique as normal singing and one can separate the good people (was going to say guys but there's now more and more girls singing in the extreme metal style) from the average. Mookie, the singer is good but tends to be not as strong live, as witnessed in their live show in Melbourne earlier this year. Even if you don't dig this style of singing it soon gives way to some haunting and catchy vocal melodies.

Hamilton Jordan the guitar player is very tight throughout. There is no lead playing anywhere, instead he concentrates on accompanying the rhythm section. Kind of unobtrusive yet powerful in the same way Jim Martin was to Faith no more. Check the intro to opening track "Board up the house" where he uses finger tapping to double the synths. The song "Colony Collapse" features some interesting syncopated sections that would leave many a guitarist head scratching as to what that rhythm was.

The synth sounds are very warm and reminiscent of the 70's and are played by both Mookie Singerman and Michael Sochynsky, though Michael tends to be the main keyboard player live. Like the band Black Moth Super Rainbow, Genghis Tron use analog synths.

The drums are programmed via computer based drum machines, and as mentioned earlier utilize the type of glitch sounds that can be found on an Aphex Twin or Venetian Snares record. Blast beats and great rolling Tom fills give way to glitch style hi hats. It's the crossover drum sound of kids who played Atari games then later got into heavy metal.

The use of ambience throughout Board up the house is quite rewarding. It offers a good contrast and has a lulling hypnotic effect and serves to counter balance the more extreme sections. This may be quite unique for a metal band though saying that the Young Gods have been doing that sort of thing for years; also if you listen to NIN's most recent album The Slip it also tends towards long ambiance in the middle parts.

Overall this is one of the finest albums out at the moment, it manages to blend styles like hardcore metal, math metal, glitch, ambience and electro. The most obvious comparison would be to industrial music ala NIN but this is different. The harmonies and melodies are not what you would expect for an industrial band, and the mood changes and songwriting are quite unique. Genghis Tron is truly what one would call progressive music. They take the best elements of contemporary music and blend them to create a new sound. Whilst not to everybody's liking because of the harsh vocals and more extreme metal leanings this album should earn Genghis Tron a good following.

The only criticism of Genghis Tron, and this has nothing to do with the album so perhaps shouldn't be included here, was in their live set. Maybe they had some sound issues but their show didn't quite capture the marvelous intensity of their record until the last two songs. They are trail blazers though and they will only get better. So if you get a chance download this album then buy it! Squashed MP3 sound is good for a bit but it doesn't beat the sound of CD or lossless quality audio as it hits you in the chest.

Aquanaut - 'It's a Dragon, Fool'

Aquanaut FREE downloads on Bandcamp

We have uploaded our material to a site called Bandcamp.
Its a good site, well laid out and offers downloads in almost every format including high quality MP3 and FLAC.
You can download our first EP, the Taste Maker Suite here for FREE-

http://aquanaut.bandcamp.com/album/taste-maker-suite

The Psychonaut album is also available for $5 US -

http://aquanaut.bandcamp.com/album/the-psychonaut

Also, new solo project from Luc P, entitled Fkd Phoenix is available for FREE download -

http://aquanaut.bandcamp.com/album/a-petit-mort

If you wish to purchase the Psychonaut for $5 US you get a pretty good deal for two reasons,

1)its cheaper than iTunes and

2)it offers download of the tracks in just about any format you desire.

This means good news for those of you who appreciate good sound quality. For instance if you download in FLAC you get lossless quality, anotherwords CD quality. The files are much larger but well worth it if you have a decent sound system.

You can burn the FLAC files onto an audio CD and get exactly the same listening experience as a bought CD.
You can also get the same listening experience through your Ipod.

Here's how -
After you've burnt the FLAC files onto a CD go to your iTunes, select the Edit tab on the menu and go to preferences.
In the middle of the pop up locate where it says Import settings and click on it.
At the top where it says Import using: select Apple lossless encoder.
Now when you rip the CD it will rip it as a lossless file. You can then import the tracks onto your Ipod. Well worth a try, the difference may not be obvious initially but the psychological effect can be felt.

For those passionate about good sound this is a great thing to try. Also we recommend better headphones than the standard iPod earbuds.
Makes a big difference, even for MP3 listening, the iPod earbuds tend to have very little bass.

itunes link for 'the Psychonaut'

Serpentime - 'The Psychonaut' Aquanaut 2009

Skin
Walker

Night
Stalker

Soul
Reaper

Death
Beater

“Knowledge is power
Knowledge shared is power lost
That is why I trust no one”

“To know
To dare
To will
To keep silent”

Skin
Walker

Night
Stalker

Soul
Reaper

Death
Beater

Paint the Hippy Canvas Black - 'The Psychonaut' Aquanaut 2009

Sky drowns the
Circles that
Mind cannot
Paralyse
This moment
Dance in the
Halls of the
Serpentime

Deserts illusion
It’s a mirage
Travel this plane
Mind in space

Wheel turns the
Mouse spins the
Clock turns the
Skeins of time
Hold back the
Mouth speaks the
Truth of the
Mystic whine

“Paint the Hippy Canvas Black”

Ocean of Blood
Head in the Mud
Running for fear
Movement of sphere

Spatial Extremes - 'The Psychonaut' Aquanaut 2009

Extreme
No reason to need

I know what I want
I want what I don’t know

Believe
Inside my dreams

Here
There is no bound’ries

To have and to hold
The black hole in my soul

Cyclic revenge the earth’s lost its wisdom
The flower of life left terminal children
Weakness to all the tension is building
Earth in vibration with harmonic fielding

Time taking time humanity intact
Progress is made by taking a step back
The will of the world falls neatly within that
Aeons have passed since making a comeback

To be
A cog in the wheel

I know what I want
I want what I don’t know

To feel
Earths memories

To see
History’s speed

To have and to hold
The black hole in my soul

“Space, a vacuum void
Of infinite destiny”

Extreme
No reason to need

I know what I want
I want what I don’t know

Believe
Inside my dreams

Here
There is no bound’ries

(Radio static and systems failure warning)

“Is that you?”