Art As Catharsis newsletter

Lachlan has got a shit load of stuff going on at the moment - all of it good.

Do yourself a favour and check these items out.

Hey there progpals, dronebloods and grindchaps alike,

We've been really, really freaking busy here at Art As Catharsis, so I just wanted to share with you some of the cool stuff that's been going on -- as well as a whole heap of awesome (and free!) Australian music.

Oh and if you aren't already, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. x

Battle Pope 'Rapture Cominatchya' music video

Check out the new single from Battle Pope: the dick-slinging, soul-winning, heathen-killing Paladins of pussy and party.

These guys describe their sound like: "Little Richard wildly fucking Blood Duster, Captain Cleanoff and Elvis at a hedonist coke orgy". Serious party music.

Watch it now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob4j_O92JUY

Battle Pope vs. Jesus Christ Posse 12" LP

Two awesome Sydney bands go head to head on this incredibly sexy LP. Spin a few tracks and pre-order yours today.

Battle Pope blending elements of sludge, swing, rock, grind and doom. Jesus Christ Posseare the saviours of Sydney City Hardcore. Their music recalls early 90’s hardcore punk rock, with an aggressive edge forged through religious purity, strict abstinence and straight-edge lifestyle.

Check it out: http://artascatharsis.bandcamp.com/album/battle-pope-vs-jesus-christ-posse

Devils Kitchen music festival 2013: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane

After a four year hiatus, the legendary good time stoner-punk-death-boogie-sex-rock showcase of Devils Kitchen back, taking in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in January 2013. 

The three shows all boast awesome line-ups. Check out the details and get your ticket today! https://www.facebook.com/events/339822236114494/

Donate today and help save Black Wire Records

Black Wire Records is a not-for-profit record-store-come-performance-space that has found it's way into the hearts of countless musicians and members of the music-going public.

As a musician, promoter and avid music-fan, I really cannot express my respect-for and endorsement-of Black Wire Records highly enough. The venue is facing some difficult challenges for the immediate future, so I have taken it upon myself to help raise donations for the longevity of Black Wire, and the good of the Australian music scene. 

If you would like to donate to Black Wire Records, please send a donation via Paypal to mail(at)artascatharsis.com, and clearly mark "Black Wire Records" in the comments field.

More details here: http://artascatharsiscom.fatcow.com/?p=393

Awesome HD Serious Beak live clip

Here's a Serious Beak performing Godel !Xun and Tui/Tuo from their last live show. Awesome video and audio quality.

Watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf2vtcL8lgY

Adrift for Days sell their souls with a new live album

A special gift from those psychedelic droning doomers Adrift for Days: a live recording of their set supporting Rosetta. Awesome stuff for fans of Neurosis, Earth, Pink Floyd and Boris.

Listen and download: http://artascatharsis.bandcamp.com/album/we-sold-our-souls-on-28-07-12

Stargazing under Southern Skies

Our specially curated selection of our favourite Australian ambient, post and shoegaze artists - and it's absolutely free to download.

Features tracks from sleepmakeswaves, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, Dumbsaint, Mushroom Giant, We Lost the Sea and many more. Discover some awesome new Australia music!

Check it: http://artascatharsis.bandcamp.com/album/stargazing-under-southern-skies

Art As Catharsis - free doom & post-rock

Lachlan, the hardest working man in Australia, has

just given you the chance to get some more free music

from his label Art As Catharsis.

Dear Art As Catharsis pals, I come bearing gifts of new Australian music.

'Stargazing under Southern Skies' is a new, curated collection of Australian post, ambient and shoegaze music.

With sleepmakeswaves being nominated for an ARIA, you might think we've all been transported to Bizarro World. Or perhaps the movers and shakers are catching onto the fact that we've got more than our fair share of incredible bands here in Australia; and not all of them are soulless Indie cut-outs disinterestedly muttering lyrical abstractions.

Well, we Art As Catharsis have long known this. This year has seen a plethora of incredible releases from Australian groups; many of which have outperformed and out-delivered their international counterparts.

That's why we're very pleased to bring you our new compilation: Stargazing under Southern Skies; a specially curated selection of our favourite post, ambient and shoegaze artists.

Be dazzled by the virtuosity of Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, drift away on a wave of elation provided by sleepmakeswaves, survey the cinematic soundscapes of Dumbsaint, bask in the gorgeous melodies of Brian Campeau, and let Pirate do your physics homework. 

'Stargazing under Southern Skies' also features splendid sounds from We Lost The Sea (who are soon to release the best post-metal record of 2012), Melbourne post/prog veterans Mushroom Giant, Squat Club, Nuclear Summer, Solkyri, The Matador, Adrift for Days, Lander Configurations, race to your face, and Captain Kickass and the Awesomes.

It's a regular gangbang of underground Australian talent! And have we mentioned that it's absolutely FREE?! Go check it out, why don’t ya?

'Stargazing under Southern Skies' is our gift to you, because we love you almost as much as we love Australian music.

Please listen, share and enjoy. The future for Australian music is bright.

A re-release of Space Bong's droning doom epic 'The Death of Utopia'

Australia can boast some of the best doom bands in the world - and the South Australian sextet of Space Bong are no exception.

Infact, I make no qualms with saying that Space Bong are one of the rawest, heaviest, and above all believable doom bands on earth -- as every bit as dark as Sunn O))), Corruptedand Kharnate, and as aggressive as EyeHateGod and Corrupted.

Space Bong effectively triggered my love of droning, down-tempo music when I caught them at a live show in 2007. Here was a band that had completely mastered the art of the doom metal epic; and had the technical ability to back it up. Their aesthetic isn't for show, either; these guys truly feel the nihilistic despair and misanthropy so evident in their weighty sludge metal sounds.

I'd like to take the chance to share with you one of my favourite heavy albums of all time: Space Bong's droning doom epic 'The Death of Utopia'. Please download, share and enjoy.

Space are currently in the final stages of recording their new album 'Deadwood to Worms', which should be out on Art As Catharsis in early 2013.

Before we are all crushed by the inevitable awesomeness of that new album, be sure to acquaint yourself with 'The Death of Utopia': it is definitely a doom metal classic.

I hope you enjoy.

Long live Australian music

Art As Catharsis - Lachlan R Dale interview

Lachlan R Dale runs the label Art As Catharsis, which as everyone who reads this blog should know by now features the best underground Australian stoner, sludge, doom and drone bands.

Lachlan has kindly agreed to take time out from his frantic schedule to give this interview.

Just before we get onto Art As Catharsis, I have to talk about the bands you are involved in - 4 or 5 at my last count! The Serious Beak album "Huxwhukw" blew me away - I think it should be mentioned in the same breath as Intronaut - due to the incredible complexity of the music, how hard was it to replicate live?

Thanks for the kind words man, I really appreciate it. 

As you might guess, it's pretty difficult to actually play some of those songs or sections on"Huxwhukw", but yeah, we can definitely do it. It's been done in the past.

While we've got some good muscle memory going on for a lot of that album, the material still demands a lot of practice and rehearsal to be consistent. It's challenging stuff, and it takes a lot of time to stay on top of. There's always a constant tension for us between writing new material and rehearsing for shows. Our latest new song has been in production for over 12 months... it's pretty demanding music!

Name your price at Bandcamp

Your psychedelic drone/doom band, Adrift For Days came out last month and I don't think that I have seen any reviews that have been less than glowing, it will certainly be in my albums of the year list - have you been surprised by the reaction?

I guess. As a musician you're not really allowed to expect or anticipate a reaction from critics, but I'm glad they like the album. I like it too! It was really fun to put together. There isn't too much I'd change if I got another go at it.

Name your price at Bandcamp

Art As Catharsis has introduced me to so many new bands from down under - what is your criteria for collaboration with these artists?

Nothing, really, aside from that I have to like the band -- and I'd like to focus on Australian music that I feel doesn't really get the attention or praise it deserves.

Obviously they have to like what I do in terms of promotion, too. We've got to be pretty like-minded -- we're not about to start pissing gold and buying Benzo's or anything -- but maybe we can get your tunes to a few extra people.

Hydromedusa, In Trenches, Space Bong, No Anchor, Houdini are all bands I found on your compilation "Drone from the Underside of the Earth".... there is obviously a healthy underground scene in Australia, how important do you think your label and others like it are for these bands exposure - you make full use of Bandcamp, has this helped spread the music?

Well, I think all 'scenes' require support - not only from labels, but from bands, media and promoters.

The Australian stoner, doom and sludge isn't healthy because of me - that would be a ridiculous claim. It's because I'm able to build off the work of many immensely talented and dedicated individuals; bands who have worked their asses off building up their name, and all the promoters who really help that 'scene' thrive.

Nathan from 666 Entertainment has run the awesome Doomsday Festival series for many years. Skye did an awesome job with building up Devils Kitchen. Rob from Heathen Skulls is really taking the international tours to a new level. 

A 'scene' really can't thrive without all of those elements.

Name your price at Bandcamp

Fanzines and websites have embraced what you are doing - do you think the underground scene will ever filter into the mainstream? I personally think that a bigger public awareness is not going to happen ...... I selfishly like my hidden world of music and worry that the purity and spirit of "do what the fuck you want" would somehow get diluted with major record label involvement!

I don't even care man. I like the music that I play, and that I promote. It just totally isn't the goal at all!

I'm sure it will if it becomes cool enough -- just look at how grindcore and death metal has been distilled in metalcore and all this modern weird pop metal bullshit. Who cares though?

And finally ...... how the fuck do you find time to do all this!

You know, I play in 3 bands, do this label/promoter thing, work full time, study full time and live with my long term girlfriend -- it's definitely a balancing act to a degree, but I think the big secret is that I don't watch any TV. It's amazing how much time that gives you!

And I guess I'd rather be run off my feet (and broke) than bored (and slightly less broke).

Thanks again for your time Lachlan - I have just realised that like a 

fucking idiot I have neglected to ask what future plans you have 

lined up! ........ but worry not my faithful download monkeys, 

more new releases from Art As Catharsis are bound to be on here soon.

Adrift For Days - Album now as free download

Lachlan has now put up the magnificent album by
Adrift For Days up as a Pay What You Want on Bandcamp.

You now have no excuse not to have this beast of prog/sludge/post-metal.

Whatcha fucking waiting for?

Hey guys, just letting you know that the acclaimed new album from Sydney's psychedelic droners Adrift for Days is now available for FREE DOWNLOAD!

 

"Come Midnight..." is an ambitious 71-minute concept album that spans doom, drone, sludge, stoner metal, 70’s psychedelic rock, post-metal and post-rock influences. Fans of Yob, Earth, Rosetta, Neurosis, Space Bong, Pink Floyd and Boris are sure to dig it.

 

Go and download it. Consider it our gift to you.

Oh, and if you're in Melbourne or Adelaide, be sure to catch them on tour this weekend!

• Friday 13 July at the John Curtin Hotel, Melbourne: Mushroom Giant, Adrift for Days (NSW), Spider Goat Canyon, Roussemoff.
   
• Saturday 14 July at Enigma Bar, Adelaide: Space Bong, Adrift for Days (NSW), Hydromedusa, Leather Messiah. 

 

"For the uninitiated, the diSEMBOWELMENT/Bad Seeds hybrid Adrift for Days has conceived may prove to be incomprehensible, but for those who know, it is a masterpiece. 92/100"

 

- Brian Giffin, Loud Magazine
 

 

"Adrift For Days have delivered another masterpiece of modern sludge/stoner Metal... this is about as close to perfection as you can possibly get to."

 

- Steve Howe, Sludgelord

 

 

"If drone, doom, and anything noisy takes your fancy, then Come Midnight... is what you have been waiting for. 9.8/10."

 

- Mitch Booth, Metal Obsession.

 

 

"Adrift for Days is one of the most unique and original bands that have given the metal and rock in a long time... they have created a work that could be easily the best album of 2012. It's that simple. It's that scary. It's that beautiful."

 

- Ecos de R'Lyeh

 

 

"Take The Doors, Pink Floyd and Jimmy Hendrix, put them in a paint mixer and leave it running on over night on the lowest setting. When you get back the next day what will you find? The result will most likely be Adrift For Days, a group of droners, mental drifters rocking out to their post-metal brand of self-discovery."

 

- Johnny Sixstring, We Love Rock and Pop

Adrift For Days - Come Midnight

Lachian from Art As Catharsis Records sent me a link with
another fantastic band he is involved with.

Don't waste time reading my fucking senile ramblings, follow
the links and listen/buy a shit-hot album.

You can now listen to Adrift for Days "Come Midnight..." in full! Click here to stream and pre-order the album.

About Come Midnight...

Australia’s smoked-out, psychedelic doom-droners Adrift for Days are back! 

Two years after the release of their acclaimed debut album "The Lunar Maria", comes Adrift for Days’ latest meditation; "Come Midnight...", an ambitious, 71-minute concept album that draws influence from Earth, Jimi Hendrix, YOB, The Doors, Neurosis, Pink Floyd, Rosetta and Boris.

On "Come Midnight...", Adrift for Days have retained the smoky, psychedelic, heaviness that they’ve become known for, while also ambitiously expanding their sound. This sprawling album incorporates elements of doom, drone, stoner, sludge, blues, ambience, psychedelic rock, and post-metal. As a result, the album as a whole is hard to pin down to a single style or genre.

For best results, listen while in the throes of a mescalin binge and lost in the pitiless freeze of the desert night air.

About Adrift for Days:

Adrift for Days formed in late 2008 in Sydney, Australia. Their debut album “The Lunar Maria” was released in August 2010 to widespread critical acclaim, gaining attention from Metal Hammer, Heavy Magazine, Unbelievably Bad Magazine, Metal Obsession, Pop-Rock.com, Drum Media, Mind Over Metal, Metal Rules, Music Feeds, Doommantia and many more publications.

The band have further distinguished themselves on Australia’s live circuit, having played with a huge variety of bands including Cough, Rosetta, Acid King, sleepmakeswaves, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, Whitehorse, Meniscus, Breaking Orbit, Helm, Lo!, Space Bong, Five Star Prison Cell, Sydonia, Jericco, and Electric Horse.

Adrift for Days tour dates

13 July at the John Curtin Hotel, Melbourne with Mushroom Giant, Spider Goat Canyon, Roussemoff.

14 July at Enigma Bar, Adelaide with Space Bong, Hydromedusa, Leather Messiah. 

10 August at The Lansdowne Hotel with Space Bong (SA), Summonus, and We Lost the Sea.

What are you waiting for!

Art As Catharsis - Compilation (2012)

Received this from Lachlan at Art As Catharsis records.

Want over 3 hours of sludge/doom/stoner tracks, all from
the seemingly fertile breeding grounds of the underground scene
in Australia? Well, your wish just came true ..... this comp
is full of heavy hitters that want to hurt your ear drums. There
is an abundance of great tracks and bands here - I have just
played it and am already searching out albums from these bands.

Highly recommended!

Here is their blurb:

A new FREE compilation of the best stoner rock and doom Australia has to offer

Dearest dronepals,

I present you with Drone from the Underside of the Earth -- a FREE digital compilation featuring Australia's best stoner, sludge, doom and drone bands, featuring the likes of Space Bong, Hydromedusa, Adrift for Days, Looking Glass, In Trenches, No Anchor, Drowing Horse, Sons of the Ionian Sea, Summonus, DEAD, Futility, Clagg and many more.

Download Drone from the Underside of the Earth for FREE, now.

I've spent a lot of hours on this project this year. I really wanted to draw attention to some our country's awesome fuzzy, droney, drug-addled groups, that perhaps don't get the attention they deserve - especially outside of Australia - because the reality is we can boast some of the most unique and varied slow music of any country. 

So I set off with intent to pull together some of my favourite artists in Australia's stoner, sludge, doom and drone scenes in order to get more people to discover great Australian underground music. But I was a little naive of quite how long it would take me!

The hard work paid off in the end. Drone form the Underside of the Earth features a selection of 26 tracks. This is a rare, eye-opening peek into Australia's rich underground music scene. At 3-and-a-half hours in length it's quite a ride, but I sincerely hope that you at least discover a few new bands as a result of this work.

Roll up a joint, download the compilation and enjoy.

Coming soon...

• Adrift for Days - new single, album details, pre-sale packs
• IDYLLS Sydney album launch gig announcement

Love and drone,

- Lachlan.

   Art As Catharsis Records  

   (e) mail@artascatharsis.com

   (w) www.artascatharsis.com

   (w) www.lachlanrdale.tumblr.com

AVAILABLE NOW: Anklepants - live at sameheads: incredible, unique IDM breakcore dubstep electronica.
AVAILABLE NOW: Battle Pope - The Holy Trinity: hypersexual stoner funk grind rock.

AVAILABLE NOW: Serious Beak - Huxwhukw: psychedelic, poly-rhythmic, discordant metal.

Upcoming Shows:

30/06 - Black Wire Records: Serious Beak, IDYLLS (QLD), Thorax, Jesus Christ Posse, Snakes Get Bad Press.

13/07 - John Curtin Hotel, Melbourne: Adrift for Days 'Come Midnight' album launch tour.
14/07 - Enigma Bar, Adelaide: Space Bong, Adrift for Days (NSW), Hydromedusa, Leather Messiah. 

10/08 - The Lansdowne Hotel: Adrift for Days, Space Bong (SA), Summonus, We Lost the Sea.

11/08 - The Pot Belly, Canberra: Space Bong (SA), Rev. Jesse Custer, Battle Pope, Law of the Tongue.

31/08 - Black Wire Records: DEAD (VIC), Battle Pope + TBA.
29/09 - Black Wire Records: Nous (VIC) + TBA.

Serious Beak - Huxwhukw remixes (2012)

Band request from Art As Catharsis records.

It's gonna make more sense just to let you read their press release
but there are some radical and interesting interpretations of the
tracks taken from last years "Huxwhukw"

Instrumental prog-metal reinvented as ambient/industrial/electronica?

Give it a go - it is a pay what you want from Bandcamp.

Serious Beak’s Huxwhukw and the Crooked Beak of Heaven remixes are out now!
 

Dearest pals, we have just released Serious Beak’s Huxwhukw and the Crooked Beak of Heaven remixes, a FREE collection of reinterpretations and transformations of Serious Beak's debut album "Huxwhukw", featuring submissions from Alex Wilson (sleepmakeswaves,Enkidu), Nick Soole (Slimey Things), Dylan Mitrovich (Breaking Orbit), Hinterlandt,Godswounds, Moz Troniquz, Brendan Gloag (Face Command), Redbatman, AM Frequencies and The Artists Formally Known As Gene And Tim. 

Check out the "Huxwhukw and the Crooked Beak of Heaven remixes" - available now for free download through Art As Catharsis Records.
 

In November 2011, Serious Beak released their debut album 'Huxwhukw' to critical acclaim. It received delightful reviews from the likes of Loud Mag, Music Feeds, Sea of Tranquility, Metal Sucks, Metal Obsession, Invisible Oranges, Kill Hipsters, and Metal As Fuck amongst others. 

 

The reception by Australia's underground musicians must have been similar, because when the band made the raw stems from 'Huxwhukw' available online and asked people to remix, rework and transform their debut album there was no shortage of interest.

 

After receiving dozens of submissions from Australia and beyond, the band have pieced together their favourite ten tracks into a special digital-only release: ‘Huxwhukw and the Crooked Beak of Heaven remixes’. The album spans genres as diverse as glitchy electronica, ambient shoegaze, classical film score, German industrial metal and an acoustic country hoedown.

Check out the tracks blood, they're available for FREE DOWNLOAD!
 

The submissions which didn't make the final album have been made available as b-sides on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/KVzBZR 

Helpful links:

• Art As Catharsis Records: http://bit.ly/JanbTe
• Serious Beak on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/tODYZx
• Art As Catharsis on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/Jq5VpT