Have you ever been inside one of those hideously cumbrous Kennards Self Storage facilities unsubtly tucked into various little corners around Sydney? Stop whatever you’re doing, go right now and we’ll meet you there. Because apparently they’re not just huge and obstinately orange metal boxes bastardising the skyline and terrorising the aesthetes; apparently when you walk into them, your favourite band have curated an art show and are launching an album and playing it live and NOBODY FRICKEN’ KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

Throw Shapes was lucky enough to attend the super-secret, super-exclusive, maybe-one-of-us-had-to-sneak-in launch of Dappled Cities’ upcoming LP, Zounds – out on September 8 through Speak N Spell. And yep, sure wasn’t just a listening party.

Dappled had publicised a call-out way back in May, asking “young and emerging artists to be involved in a collaborative art project” spanning Melbourne and Sydney. For the Sydney one, 12 local artists/collectives got given one song each, a couple of months to put an installation together responding to the track, and free reign over an industrial storage unit in Waterloo. During the evening, each song was played on loop in its relevant unit, sharing the space with the art it inspired. Huge, more-than-lifesize interactive puppets (Melissa White & Alex Clapham), a floor of eyeballs (Julie Doyle), and a couple behind a screen and in front of a voyeuristic audience, playing out the excruciatingly watchable mundanity of a relationship (Tiyan Baker). Art made of lollies and toys (Little Gonzales), an abstract game of chess (Ferris McQuinty), and lots of invitations to draw on the walls. A labyrinthine adventure of original art and spectacular music, culminating in the band playing yet another “this is like seriously I think the best I’ve seen them play” live set showcasing the album, in their own little box.

And on a shouldn’t-be-a sidenote, yes the upcoming album Zounds sounds incredible. I dunno you guys, call us a music blog if you must, but we’re thinking these Dappled guys are on to something.

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Posted by steph in Music, Your Face

Tags: Adam Turnbull, Alex Clapham, An Optimism of Youth, Bec Young, Dappled Cities, Emma Sanderson, Ferris McQuinty, Julie Doyle, Little Gonzales, Melissa White, Patricia Ward, Sandra Veljanovski, Tiyan Baker, Tom Gardiner, Wall of Zounds, way to do a, Zounds