Monthly Archives: October 2011
Media Arts 1+2
This week, Wednesday 2nd November: Come party with the RMIT Media Arts crew.
From 7pm, we shall inhabit a specially-chosen and almost purpose-built venue to strut our collective self on the big screen. We‘ll have a few drinks, feel the beat, and settle down for an hour-long feast of video and filmic works by 1st and 2nd year Fine Arts students. Following the screening, the DJs will come to the fore: featuring Utopian Swagger‘s Faggot Swagger tunes accompanied the visuals of the Bearded Ladiezz (A.K.A. Permian La Cube), a VJ set by Andy Turland (our supremo host), yours truly spinning Autobox DJ styles and the main man, Rob McDougall kicking out the tech later in the piece; spinning ‘til stumps.
So get your Art on and groove on. Get your travel down on up into this bitch, and jig along to 14 Hardy Street, Brunswick (just off Albion St). Nearest Station is Anstey. Check it.
‘Monk Ey
This is one of the fresh, hip-to-the-game, young tings runnin‘ tings in Mexico City. ‘Monk Ey recently featured in Mexico‘s Street: Active Lifestyle magazine, mapping out his musical and contemporary cultural endeavours. He has achieved notoriety as the founder of Square Root Of Pi, known officially as √π and along with the Pi posse, they‘re lording it over the underground scene in Mexico.
I caught up with the mad monk in between his DJ gigs and the cutting edge live band, hip-hop and electronic music ensembles that √π is renowned for:
INFX: What kind of tunes are you working into your DJ sets at the moment?
‘Monk Ey: Old Chicago House, House, Disco, Acid And Techno, Basically.
INFX: What do you make of the club scene in Mexico City, And how do you fit in?
‘Monk Ey: It‘s Kinda Bizarre. It‘s Not Merged, It‘s Not United, It‘s Not Going Anywhere. Most Of It Are Playing The Same Tracks (Psycho Dubstep @ 160 BPM), It Sucks. It‘s Difficult To Push The People To Other Style Of Music. Some People Love My Sets, Others Hate Them. 120-130 BPM That, For Me, It‘s The Best.
INFX: Seems like they prefer the Happy Hardcore - When was the last time you dropped Acid in a club?
‘Monk Ey: Actually, A Month Ago. The Results… Everybody Loves It, Nobody Knows It For Real. When I Play Acid It‘s When The People Go Nuts Dancing And Screaming Like There Is No Tomorrow, But They Aren‘t Aware Of It. It‘s Like Acid Is A Party-Only Music.
INFX: It‘s a fucken party alright. Finally, though, tell me: Do you know of any mad real cocktail recipes?
‘Monk Ey: Indeed, I Do! A Friend Told Me About “Mascara De Gas“, Or In English, “Gas Mask“. It‘s A Drink With Vodka, Whiskey, Tequila And Fire. They Mix Up All, Put Flames On It And, Keep The Gas In A Glass Upside Down, You Take The Shot And Then, You Breathe All The Gas On The Glass, Then… You‘re All Dizzy. Ha!
Well, no doubt my man ‘Monk Ey will be busy gettin‘ dizzy all weekend. Big Up‘s to the monk, and stayed tuned for an upcoming exposé on the √π crew. Meanwhile, here‘s a sneak peek of ‘Monk Ey and the team in action:
The Long March
Below I have included a video display that documents an A2-sized glossy poster I published a couple of weeks back.
The poster itself is a depiction of the historical circumstances surrounding Mao Zedong‘s The Long March -an event that consolidated the strength of the Chinese Communist Party in the face of its‘ complete annihilation. After the march, Mao consolidated and strengthened the party. He then went on to stage a successful revolution that defined the socio-political structures of modern China.
Communist: Chinese
Nationalist: Chinese (now Taiwan)
Imperialist: Japanese
Tom Tom Crew
The Tom Tom Crew present a tour-de-force of hip hop culture, acrobatics, beatboxing and contortionist curiousities that leave you gripping your seat and chanting for more!
I‘d only just got the chance to see them at The Forum the other night; and the show has been running since the 4th October. It winds up on the 23rd too so there are only a couple of shows left. The crew is headed up by Tom (beat-boxer extraordinaire and established graffiti artist). They formed at the 2006 Woodford Folk Festival and became an instant hit. You get the impression that there was a hip-hop & breaks crew warming up alongside an acrobatics and trapeze troupe; and they suddenly realised “let‘s mix both acts together“. Since their inaugural show, the crew have toured globally, from the Adelaide Fringe to Edinburgh, London, New York, Berlin, Taipei, NZ, Belgium, and the Netherlands; as they‘ve criss-crossed the world in the last 5 years. This is a truly epic performance show, and a lot of fun. If you get the chance, they‘re well worth seeing.
Stendhal Syndrome
Come and view ground-breaking and exciting works from RMIT Media Arts students exhibiting amazing new artwork Installations.
Opening Night: Tuesday 25th October from 6pm - 9pm
Stendhal Syndrome:
Tuesday 25th October – Monday 30th October
@ Open Space Gallery
97 Franklin St (entry via Eckersley‘s)
Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=276904858996625
Gallery Opening Hours: 9-6 Wed-Fri, 10-4 Sat, 12-4 Sun
Fundraiser For Familia
For Familia is a music gig coming up at the end of the month. It is in aid of the Familia Moja Children‘s Home in Kenya. The benefit features music from the Tantrums, Lowtide, Baptism of Uzi, and Sydney‘s Melodie Nelson. DJs are also on the scene, with Shags (Lost Animal) and Chris (New War) dropping tunes on the night. The gig starts at 8pm on Friday, 28th October. It will be held at The Worker‘s Club in Fitzroy. For a mere $15 you will be happy in the knowledge that all funds will go directly to the Familia Home in Kenya; where Westerners have volunteered to help the locals build a permanent structure & facilities. The project is aimed at helping children that are affected & displaced by diseases including AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The project provides a nutrituous diet, shelter, and clothing to suffering poor of the country; with a view to educate and improve the overall well-being of the local community. The home itself is also being built with sustainable technologies and the Familia certainly needs all the help they can get!___________________________________Event On Facebook
Michael Shannon
Take the best acting qualities ever displayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and marry them with Joaquin Phoenix. Then mash both together with a mallet, and you will have some semblence of Michael Shannon‘s acting dynamic.
Shannon grew up in Kentucky and performed in stage productions in Chicago. He then left the U.S. to live in London; working in various West End productions. Arriving back in the U.S., he began to perform generic roles in both Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay blockbuster films (somewhat perverting his talents). However, he soon moved toward semi-indie productions in Vanilla Sky and Tigerland (albeit in minor roles). It wasn‘t until he embarked upon a supporting role in Sam Mendes‘ Revolutionary Road that he began to mark his filmic maturity. Earlier this year, Shannon steeled himself for the starring role in the crudely ominous and infatuating Werner Herzog film My Son What Have Ye Done? Following this amazing onscreen performance, comes the release of spellbinding film Take Shelter. Shannon again plays the lead, in which he grips you by his performance; the audience bracing for his every facial expression and emotion. This is an excellent film and another best for Michael Shannon so be sure to check it out!
King Of The Gypsies (Shane Meadows)
Shane Meadows follows in the tradition of film-makers Ken Loach and Mike Leigh in his exposé of England‘s working class humility. He is renowned for such films as the 1999 tale that is inspired by his childhood; A Room For Romeo Brass, the stunning 2006 This Is England, and its‘ 5-part television series follow-up This Is England ’86. Paddy Considine features in a lot of his film work; the pair have been close friends since they met at Art School in the Midlands. In Meadow‘s most recent film Considine is again in the starring role, as the manic Arctic Monkeys roadie in Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee; a parody of documentary that he filmed in just 5 days. The film was made in the vein of This Is Spinal Tap and harks back to the quasi-guerilla film-making style of his collegiate years. King Of The Gypsies is the epitome of this early documentary-style work, and it also lends a lot of understanding into Meadow‘s creative and formulaic perspective. Enjoy.
Intolerance (Austen Tayshus)
Born in New York as Alexander Jacob Gutman, Austen Tayshus is a comedian from New South Wales. Well known for his dry, black humour riddled with local colloquialisms; he achieved success in 1983 with his Australiana video/music single/sketch piece. Although an advocate for the Jewish religion (his family are Hasidic Jews), and the state of Israel throughout his youth, his comedic career satirises this culture and often includes bizarre, anti-semitic tirades. He ran for the House of Representatives in Sydney during the 2010 Federal Election as a candidate for The Sex Party, and also in the 2011 NSW State Election with the Outdoor Recreation Party.
Intolerance is an engrossing, witty, and ultimately brilliant comedy short film. It was the winner of Tropfest in 1998 and I‘d still classify it as Austen Tayshus‘ best work (even compared with Australiana). The short was directed by Paul Fenech (creator of Fat Pizza) under the pseudonym Laura Fienstein, and was edited by David Rudd. Austen Tayshus also appears in the films Holy Smoke and Strange Planet.
George Tipton
Hopefully, the weather has shed its tumultuous start to Spring; and as we warm-up into the summer; this is the man you want on heavy rotation!
George Tipton is a funky folk-soul composer; know for his music production, film and television scores (including The Golden Girls and The Love Boat). However, this musical great didn‘t just meander around TV studios cheesing it up. He also worked extensively with Harry Nilsson during the 70s and produced hits including Nilsson‘s Everybody’s Talkin’ and, earlier, the skewed pop music by Star Trek‘s Mr. Spock: Leonard Nimoy. Tipton went on throughout the 70s belting out funkadelic tracks such as Cotton Comes to Harlem (from the film of the same name) and other greats including his composition of Renaissance lute piece Gassenhauer (from the 1973 film Badlands). Also noteworthy is his arrangement of the Light My Fire cover version by José Feliciano. He‘s also the man you want to be tracking down for some excellent breaks: many of which can be cut from the album Nilsson by Tipton. Definitely one cool cat for the hawt summer.
