I really had a great night. The show just connected on so many levels, and I’m in awe of this review. If you get a chance, come and see me play at the same venue this Friday night. Thank you.
The Troubadour – 24 Jan
The Australia Day long weekend has well and truly arrived and after wading through hordes of inebriated Valley revellers, The Troubadour’s cosy, red velvet-adorned stage is a welcome sight. With firm knowledge that fantastic support acts are a Troub tradition, tonight’s independent music extravaganza kicks off in fine style as local laptop guru-cum-Thom Yorke’s spiritual compadre Hunz assumes control. Augmented by spiralling 5-string bass runs and tasty, trigger-assisted drums, the facial hair-sporting, keyboard-ambushing artist unleashes a number of thoroughly convincing, melodically complex numbers with twice the fire that Pivot usually allow for, gaining a number of new disciples (including this writer) in the process.
Next on, fellow Brisbanites Gladstone & Lochaber should have probably learned that sheer earnestness does not compensate for near-total absence of crowd interaction, no matter how heroic their stage antics or guitar workouts are. Despite drawing a considerable number of people to the stage, the majority of G&L’s reverb/echo-heavy set collapses into a sludgy, predictable indie-rock stew which is only somewhat spiced up by a pulsing, airy U2 detour (which is still hardly The Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition) and a French song in open E that manages to successfully marry The Stranglers’ La Folie to Logic Will Break Your Heart-era Stills.
Freddy Mercury circa Bohemian Rhapsody? For real? Sure, why not – stuff The Darkness! The mighty Queen could not perhaps ever thought of better heirs than Melbourne’s [ME], and the immediate general consensus among the packed venue is that the fresh-faced quarted are !@%$ excellent musicians who could give The Fleet Foxes a run for their money with their harmonic vocal interplay (no joke). Whether it’s the histrionic soaring crescendos, juicy Brian May-style hammer-ons and fretboard fireworks or the grandiose, Muse-reminiscent piano breaks, the kids are simply more than alright – they are on fire. Working the heavily perspiring crowd into fervour with their own, exquisite brand of theatrical rock, [ME] apply a killer final touch by executing a tribal triple drum assault. Get back to Brissy soon boys – you !%$# rock!
This was for the night that I played with kid confucius. Was a great night, got to hang with the great guys from the hungry kids of hungary ..
Valley Studios – Thu Dec 18
Armed with an eclectic sound palate, Brisbane midi-maestro Hunz plies his post-rock meanderings with a bass and drum ensemble to an audience who prefer to populate corners and couches rather than the gaping space near the front of the stage.
Buoyed by winning the coveted Unearthed slot on the upcoming Big Day Out, local indie rockers Hungry Kids Of Hungary demonstrate the songwriting maturity of a band twice their age, with the musicianship to boot. Their three part harmonies contrast nicely with Kane Mazlin’s staccato keyboard rhythms to achieve a sound somewhere between the ‘70s pop-rock icons Chicago and today’s hippest indie producer Ben Folds.
It’s tough to see past the disappointed faces of Sydney’s kick-ass funk/soul-cum-indie rock act Kid Confucius, here to promote their latest release The Let Go, although the powerhouse octet deliver an amazing set despite the poor turnout. After an opening passage of super-charged rockier newbies including Play A Part, Morning J and Good Luck, singer Rob Hezkial defiantly jumps down from the stage to pull chairs, couches and bodies closer to the stage to instant effect. With the vibe in check, they return to the funk with Stripes’ cruising tune Better Be On Soon and their self-titled debut’s Mister, before peaking with the festival blockbuster Moment.
A live review of the yeo and the fresh goods show. A big thanks to everyone for shifting venues with us due to flooding in bar soma. I had such a wonderful night and watching yeo perform was the highlight for me. Rave did a review of the show and they liked me .. yay! You can read it here.
The Press Club – Thu Nov 20
A last-minute venue change finds a redirected crowd gathering at a crowded Press Club instead of a flooded BarSoma. The night’s set times are shortened and the artists are forced onstage with minimal soundcheck time, but Game Boy instrumentalist and Guitar Hero extraordinaire Dot.AY cares not. Audio technician duties are ably handled by a chilled guy perched atop a milk crate side-of-stage, while the man onstage thrashes away amid his clever handheld creations. Our inner video game nerd collectively smiles and applauds.
Hunz augments electronic samples with his unique voice and live drum and bass to produce an enchanting sound. Why haven’t we heard him earlier? Blame ineffective promotion, blame infrequent performances; it doesn’t matter, as there’s several dozen new fans appreciating the trio’s thoughtful, restrained pieces. The frontman graciously accepts our hastily-spent cash in exchange for his remarkable debut, When Victims Fight.
The show’s relocation proves somewhat of a blessing in disguise, as regular club patrons are introduced to music they’d otherwise not have heard. The vast majority are enjoying the unexpected entertainment, which is best exemplified several songs into Yeo & The Freshgoods’ album launch: shoeless girls are dancing on tables and others are scaling couches to better observe the five-piece induce incessant movement and enthusiasm. Prolific multi-instrumentalist Yeo Choong and his talented band fuse elements of a dozen genres across a highly engaging performance. Storms, water damage and frowning men in suits be damned: tonight’s show is submerged in success.
The other great news is! We are in rocking horse so if you live in brisbane and havn’t been able to pick up the album you can go into the rocking horse and pick up a copy.
The people down at Cyclic Defrost did a review of my album and it’s real nice. Thank you very much.
Cyclic Defrost
Australian born Hunz, releasing his debut solo album on Canadian label Apegenine, might be known to some of you, in the early nineties as a member of Five Musicians, and later with rock/rap group Beanbag. He has since returned to what he loves, producing and singing his own music.
The press release puts this album somewhere between Radiohead, Telefon Tel Aviv and Kate Bush, but this is quite a generalization that may deter some listeners from giving it a go… Vocally, Hunz could be compared to Thom Yorke from Radiohead, and the fragility yet uplifting tones of his voice could also be compared with Coldplay, where Kate Bush comes in I’m not sure… Not instantly appealing to me, his voice does slowly win you over, having quite a calming effect, slowly drawing you in, not dominating the music, a subtle approach that works well.
Hunz has a distinctive production sound, using disparate sounds that complement, a thread of warm keys underpins the whole album, with intricate glitch melodies, abrasive sounds and inventive beats. The warm keyboards remind me of some of Prefuse73’s other projects, managing to offset the abrasiveness with a feeling of being wrapped in cotton wool. No matter how dark the music may become, a lightness remains, and even the feeling of sorrow in some of the songs leaves room for an optimism, which makes this quite an emotive album from start to finish.
Worth a listen if you like you’re pop inventive and emotive. To find out more info on Hunz, his music, video production and surrealist art, go to www.hunz.com.au.
Sometimes big things start quite small and after a few years when something has developed into something big it is nice to look back and think about the small blossom that it came from. It is also nice to say that you have known that big thing when it was still small. The best feeling of all, though, is to look at something small and have the impression that something big is already inside there, waiting to get out. Just don’t make the mistake of judging what is now by what might be coming in the future, because of three reasons: you might misjudge and nothing ever comes off it and then you would be disappointed. Secondly, you might misjudge and this little thing does not want to be big and then you would be disappointed. And finally, your judgement, especially when spoken out loud, might influence the development of this little thing into something it might never would have been or wanted to become. So shame on you if you do. This little thing could be anything, a book, a movie, any artform, but it is usually most openly with music albums.
How do I get to all this theoretical ramblings whose usability is probably below a knife without a grip where the blade has broken off? Because listening to “when victims fight” I suddenly had this idea in my head that if Depeche Mode would have started today instead of sevenhundred years ago, their music probably would have sounded something like that of Hunz. The modernist usage of electronic beats, synths and ingredients in connection with a perfect feeling for pop melodies and harmonies that stick in your mind is definitely comparable to that of early Depeche Mode. The overall sound of course isn’t. Hunz is onehundred percent rooted in the present plus a little in the future. There are noisy breakbeats in the back, influences by Notwist and Radiohead (do I have you nerds drooling yet?) and the setting and production is very good as well. Like the young Depeche Mode these songs are also not aimed at the stadium like later works but meant to work in small clubs and homes. The epic size may or may not come, I don’t want to predict the future for several reasons (see above.) The singing voice of Hunz aka Hans Van Vilet is somewhere between the very young Sting in nasal, high tone quality and some singer of an alternative rock band I regularly see on music television but can’t remember the name of. On “almost there” it sometimes gets a little like Justin Timberland’s falsetto.
Hunz probably never wants to strike it big. That is my guess, because he does a lot to work against becoming overly popular. Let’s not talk about the weird cover illustration, which looks to me like the rendition of a weird dream Hunz had about himself. But also doing all music by himself makes for a musical recluse who has a hard time getting his music “out there”. And taking two or more years to complete an album in solitude is not the most prolific strategy. But it has turned out great and “when victims fight” has found its place close to my cd player and in my mp3-library (not connected to the internet!) for some time now. The melodic and pop-qualities of Hunz on the other hand should enable him to the same kind of fortune that e.g. Badly Drawn Boy or Travis have experienced some years hence. The melancholy mixed with upbeat harmonies is another shared characteristic. Though what has made these two stand out is one or two popsongs so great they have become timeless classics within half a decade. This is one thing that I haven’t yet found on “when victims fight”, but probably I should take another listen, because some songs are definitely working their way up.
And then someone youtubed the opening of thier hunz album. Very cool and I totally dig the one hand opening approuch .. lol. You made my night! Thank you Valet2
Have to mention a glowing review from the local street mag here in Australia – Time Off. Pick it up this week if you want to read it OR just click the link here [search for hunz on the page]. Thanks Time off ..
When Victims Fight
Hunz is a Brisbane musician who has been playing with demos and electronic music for 20 years. Let’s use life as a metaphor to describe his musical journey – born alongside the birth of computer music, he and the genre both strongly influenced each other as impressionable toddlers do. Next came the teenage angst years (which many of us can identify with) when Hunz’s musical life took a turn; he formed the hard rock band Beanbag and toured around the States. Then, things began got heavy and Hunz began to outgrow this emo phase, so he returned home to settle down and get back to his roots. When Victims Fight is a combination of all his influences and musical life experiences, somewhat like a midlife crisis (a point meant in a purely positive manner).
When Victims Fight is slightly uncomfortable, yet strangely moving – full of deep and dark electronic tunes that make your skin crawl. Hunz was one of the pioneers of mixing vocals with tracking and has perfected this talent with this album. He uses demos from a range of tracks and his captivating vocals give each song a tone which is distinctly his own. It seems to be a very personal album; both the style and the lyrics indicate Hunz’s self-searching and experimenting. ‘Rise’ is a highlight, tapping into both rock and techno beats and using vocal layering throughout the mystical chorus “You reap what you know”.
Influenced by Kate Bush, Teflon Tele Aviv, Bjork and the general sounds of any computer musician, this album sits somewhere between Radiohead and Aphex Twin. Hunz’s style is edgy and progressive and the album is ultimately both interesting and moving.
