Melbourne Mix #18

As I was compiling this week’s mix, I noticed that I was using a number of Melbourne artists. Seeing it as a good excuse to look for more, I decided to do an all Melbourne feature. In no way is this list exhaustive or comprehensive. If anything, it represents my need (and desire) to get to know Australia’s ‘other’ music scene a lot better.

The Laughter Across The Street – Ned Collette
Once upon a time, my underage self stumbled into a seemingly uninhabited building, climbed a few sets of dodgy staircases and entered a room occupied by no more than 15 people. I was then treated to music by three artists, all of which were then unknown to me. Their names were Dave Rennick, Jack Ladder and Ned Collette. It was a special experience to say the least.

Hush Puppy – Summer Cats
If I was an unsigned Australian artist and I had a track reviewed on Pitchfork, you can bet I’d be bragging about it too. This Summer Cats song certainly has me craving more. Apologies about the poor quality, but it was taken from Myspace. If you want better, I guess you’ll have to buy it. Perhaps there is method in their madness.

Backwards – The Motifs
I almost considered having two Motifs songs just to fill the time. Their (or should I say, her) music is renowned for being incredibly short (we’re talking 1 minute short) and incredibly cute. These bite-sized pop gems are right up my alley.

Kicks – Telecom
Telecom were the first band to ever send me something in the mail. It was the day I knew starting this blog was the right thing to do. It’s about time I gave them something in return. Their EP, especially this song, was quite impressive (almost as impressive as the stickers).

Appetite For Destruction – Julian Nation
Here’s some more twee-ish indie-pop that Melbourne is so famous for creating. While I’ve only heard two of his songs, Julian Nation has really grabbed me and I hope to hear more of him soon.

Honourable mentions go to Oh Mercy and Eddy Current Suppresion Ring who just missed the cut.

Also, as thanks for helping me compile this post, I’d like to give a shout out to the kids over at Off The Record. While only one of these songs came from them, they had a number of other artists I was after. In terms of quality, quantity and frequency of mp3s, you can’t get much better.