You may not know much about Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells unless you’re really in to 70s experimental multi-instrumental arrangements. Which you just might be, hey, I shouldn’t generalise. That’s a lovely moustache you’ve got, sir, yes. You might however know The Maple Trail or Dan Leonard, two wonderful Sydney projects featuring musician/songwriters Aidan Roberts and Daniel Holdsworth respectively. Or at least you’ve probably heard them play more times than you’ve seen or listened to Tubular Bells, despite your lovely moustache, sir.

It’s the combination of Aidan and Daniel’s talent as well as the fantastic piece of music itself is going to make their second performance of Mike Oldfield’s famous Tubular Bells - ‘Tubular Bells for Two’ in this instance – at The Vanguard quite a treat. Having arranged, rehearsed, workshopped and even custom built their own tubular bells, Aidan and Daniel will perform their arrangement of the piece at The Vanguard this Saturday the 13^th of March. I spoke to them both about performing the piece for a second time (after their successful 2009 shows), their process of arrangement, building bells, multitasking and more. Read more for that more and more.

Posted by amelia in Features, Music

Tags: aidan roberts, dan leonard, daniel holdsworth, mike oldfield, the exorcist, the Maple Trail, the vanguard, tubular bells, tubular bells for two, war of the worlds

Did you know that a poodle and a pug crossbreed is called a puddle? How great is that? Turns out that an art show crossbred with a fashion show is called a 'Being Born Again', which is the name of the mixed breed child Emily Fitzgerald and Davina Reichman have given birth to - a collaboration of ten artists and ten designers, working together to create a beautiful and fascinating array of garments. Some unexpected traits in the breed include live music (Washington, Jack Colwell and the Owls, Guineafowl) and a beautiful venue (an old gaol building).

We spoke to Emily and Davina about being the proud parents of Being Born Again. Read more for the full interview.

Posted by amelia in Art, Features

Tags: bba, being born again, cell block theatre, d&em, davina reichman, emily fitzgerald, fashion, guineafowl, jack colwell and the owls, liverpool street gallery, MCA, NAS, national art school, roslyn oxley9, Washington

Who loves Sydney Buses? Who loves sweaty schoolkids and late to appointments and oh my god how can you take up that much of the seat honestly? Who loves rising fares and did I just sit on gum? Probably not everyone, hey. But let's stop with the whining for a second and remember that it's also a bit of a bitch to walk everywhere and you are probably pretty unfit and driving is certainly even harder and more stressful. Ahem.

Stories from the 428 is an innovative production out of Side Track Theatre in Marrickville that asked sixteen Sydney writers to get on the same bus - a 428, which runs through the Inner West - and somehow make a play out of their experiences. The concept combines a quirky conceit with a busload of talent and will open on the 24th of March. Throw Shapes spoke with Augusta Supple, the ideas lady behind the whole thing, about supporting local writers, the process of production, local and national values and how it's all shaping up. Read more to read the full interview.

Posted by amelia in Features, theatre

Tags: 428, artshub, atyp, augusta supple, aussietheatre, australian stage, brand spanking new, gemma-lark johnson, jasper marlow, jeremy silver, joanna erskine, lexi freiman, local theatre, matt edgerton, new matilda, new theatre, nida, off the shelf, patrick lenton, phil spencer, public transport, queen street studio, rebecca clarke, sidetrack theatre, sparkonline, stories from the 428, supporting local theatre, sydney buses, tahli corin, travel ten, uts, writers

Since our favourite new Sydney gallery form 2009 ma. gallery is shutting down, it's time for us to make some new friends with new galleries. It was lucky that we met Ida Lawrence, who has started Mils Gallery, an exciting space for emerging artists in Sydney. We did a quick Q&A with her about the gallery so you can start to get to know her and what Mils is all about. Read more for the interview.

Posted by amelia in Art, Features

Tags: adriano rosselli, alex pye, alexander jackson-wyatt, alison johnson, another artist, antoine aguilar, baggage, eva hesse, ida lawrence, ma. gallery, mils gallery, mim fluhrer, mirra whale, monet, national art school, neil tomkins, nympheas, paul greedy, paul wells, raffaello rosselli, randle st, tania leimbach, thomas guichard

Many moons ago, we spoke to the owners of ma. gallery in Chippendale just before they launched their gallery space. They were bright eyed and keen, ready to see what the world could through at them, and to throw some kick-ass art shows right back at the world's face. And boy, did they sure do some of that throwing of stuff over the year. Sadly though, ma. has had to close its doors, because it's hard to do this kind of thing as a young person, basically. It did have a good run. And now, they are closing off the season with a big exhibition of 33 artists as well as Afternoon Tease, a Mad Hatter's Tea Party featuring burlesque, cabaret, fashion, art and fun of other genres also. We spoke to Kee Kee about what it's been like running a gallery space in Sydney over the last year. Click "read more" to, uh, read more.

Posted by amelia in Art, Features

Tags: 33 artist, afternoon tease, ma. gallery, mad hatters tea party, warehouse space

Jaie Gonzales (bassist in super-famous Danimals and also I Like Cats) and James Domeyko make up Domekyo/Gonzales, a new(ish) experimental soundscape duo that have caught the attention of fBI pretty quickly, and have been playing gigs to audiences who seem to be quite ready and willing to accept their expansive, epic, non-pop-song style of jam.

With their gig coming up this week at Sedition's Difficult Music Festival we had a chat to them about their musical ambitions and direction. Make a jump to read it...

Posted by amelia in Features, Music

Tags: arkestra, blues control, Danimals, dead china doll, dead farmers, difficult music festival, domeyko/gonzales, excepter, fashion launches rocket launches, FBI, Flying Lotus, fuck buttons, fuji collective, ghosts of television, glenn branca, i like cats, jaie gonzales, james domeyko, justin zeltzer, kirin j callinan, Kyu, madlib, nhomea, piano is drunk, radio social, rockethead, sedition, Seekae, silver moon uprising, Squid, the bridge, the laurels, warhorse, whipped cream chargers, World Bar

Phil James enjoys painting explicit images of a hentai pornographic nature, that is, cartoons of young women covered in semen - with a twist. A bit of humour thrown in here and there, things taken to their hyperbolic limits, jokes pushed perhaps a little bit too far. It's not for the light-hearted or the queasy, but it's entertaining as all hell. With a mixture of skate imagery, street art, manga, Tokyo, design, pop art, and other things cropping up as influences, James employs an ironic and sophisticated black humour to carry his provocative and often disturbing work.

His latest show is being displayed at Ray Hughes Gallery in Surry Hills alongside Hiroshige's famous erotic Shunga woodcuts from Japan. Clementine Blackman spoke with him about the juxtaposition of the historical eroticism and the contemporary pornographic irony, among other things, including being discovered in a back alleyway. Read on.

Posted by amelia in Art, Features

Tags: angus young, anime, astroboy, banksy, battle of the planets, clementine blackman, design festa, don martin, evening glory, frank frazetta, hang gliding, hayao miyazaki, hiroshige, japan, jeff koons, jim phillips, kimba, looney tunes, manga, mort drucker, Newcastle, perry farrell, phil james, pornography, ray hughes gallery, search terms that probably will bring spam to our blog, sex, shepard fairey, shunga, takashi murakami, todd schorr, tokyo, walt disney