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The baroque period music left musicians everywhere with a parting gift of classic instruments – everything from the strings of viola, cello and double bass, to the organ or harpsichord, and wind instruments, the oboe to the flute. However, for all these instruments that lived on into the 21st century, there are lesser known instruments that died, left to haunt the halls of musical history.

Though time has made these instruments obsolete, they are no less legitimate, and no less capable of creating beautiful music.

Metropolis New Music Festival is resurrecting these classic instruments, breathing new life into the timbre of old, with a contemporary twist for these forgotten tools.

For more than twenty years the Metropolis New Music Festival has been bringing the best in Australian and International contemporary music to Melbourne music lovers. For the 2017 season, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Recital Centre are combining their musical forces to expand the musical palettes of Melburnians, through this intriguing marriage of contemporary and baroque influences.

Examining the innate differences between the old and new, and the harmony and balance of when they come together, the festival boasts a rich array of music and a vast lineup of exciting talent, incorporating the instruments of old into modern arrangements and a new generation of composers.

Kicking off the festivities, Katapult, a trio of acclaimed classical soloists, are coming to Melbourne for the first time for the festival, presenting their show Between Strings. The three focus on the classic, timbral sound of period instruments, and will be joined by two of the best from Melbourne’s continuo scene, Laura Moore and Peter de Jager, to perform compositions by Australian and New Zealand artists.

Anchoring the festivities is Metropolis #1 and Metropolis #2, each featuring the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra alongside a hugely impressive group of musicians showcasing the oud (a pear-shaped stringed instrument similar to the lute), harpsichord (a Baroque and Renaissance era piano-like instrument) and recorder (a wind instrument with a whistle mouthpiece).

Metropolis #1 will showcase the premiere of Ancient Letters – the work of the festival’s 2017 composer in residence, and one of Australia’s best, Elena Kats-Chernin. The composition is a truly ancient and personal works. While researching her Uzbekistan heritage, Kats-Chernin became inspired to write it by letters written in fourth century A.D. by the Sogdian people in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The night will also see the world premiere of Metropolis oud player Joseph Tawadros’s Oud Concerto.

In their final show of the festival, Metropolis #2, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and their ancient accompaniments will showcase the Australian premiere of Anna Meredith’s Origami Songs, and a range of exciting performances direct from the Cybec 21st Century Composers Program. The night will exhibit the Australian premiere of Jeth’s Recorder Concerto, alongside the works of Bach, and Vivaldi.

For the first time, Resonant Bodies Festival will come to Melbourne, a night encouraging vocalists to challenge and transform their role as a vocalist. Since conception in 2013 in New York, Resonant Bodies has rapidly grown, with a hugely talented catalogue of participants and a huge fan base. Odeya Nini (US/Israel) will make her Australian debut for the show, alongside Melbourne’s own Carolyn Connors and range of vocalists seeking to expose and expand their talents, selected by Australian sopranos Jane Sheldon and Jessica Aszodi.

Baroque trio Latitude 37, were brought together by their passion for 16th, 17th, and 18th century music, and in The Things that Blind Us, they take this passion to the stage. Running with the festival’s theme of old and new, the show focuses on the passage of time. The three-piece will tackle works by Maria Huld Markan Sigfusdottir, David Chisholm and more, exploring that which they believe brings all humans together: music.

Acclaimed musician Alicia Crossley will showcase highlights of her two albums Addicted to Bass and Alchemy for Fragments, a demonstration of her talent as a recorder virtuoso. Far from the shrill squeak of a primary school music class, pieces from Debussy, Bach, and Mark Oliveiro to name a few, combine recorder with electronica for a fiery, unique experience to wrap up the festival for another year, and usher in excitement for what 2018 will bring.
 

Originally published in Beat Magazine.

Dappled Cities long awaited fifth record, released five years since predecessor Lake Air, marks a fifth of a century that the band of five has spent together.

Five – stylised as IIIII – represents not just those milestones, but the simplicity and contentment the band has found with the advent of age.

“The name was born from not over complicating the creative process. You can get very lost in naming a record, particularly between five band members. So there was some kind of elegance in its simplicity. The look and feel of the concept represents that creative mindset that we find ourselves in,” frontman Dave Rennick says.

More than just a name, that creative mindset manifests in the sound of the album, something Rennick attributes to taking time off.

The past five years is the longest the Sydney band has gone between releases, a period which saw the band part ways with their previous record label, manager and booking agent. But the lapsing time never indicated a potential split, rather it was a time for personal growth.

“It was an interesting transition, the first time we were really on our own since the beginning of our career, which lends itself to that feeling of self-satisfaction we have about the project.

“To be honest, when we decided to make the record, we were in the best headspace that we’ve been in for, I guess, our entire career. We were so happy and content and chilled, and it was good to wait for that moment before going back into the studio.”

Five was recorded in the now defunct 301 studio in Byron Bay, a venue chosen not just for its relaxed atmosphere, but the size of the studio itself. Their approach to the album was the most collaborative that it’s ever been, which saw them step entirely away from synth and drum tracks, and highly produced music, and into playing and recording live.

“It was so large to accommodate all of us playing at the same time. Everything is being played live. It added to that freedom we tried to get through to the set of songs, and allowed us to not put too much on there, just five sets of hands.”

For any band that has been together for as long as Dappled Cities – the five-piece began playing together before they were 18 – self-reflection is bound to happen, and the long wait between albums, and the changes in their situations led them to assess and establish what it is they wanted to create.

“We’ve learned to revel in musicianship, let the musicians play their instruments. Which I know sounds weird, but the rise of uber-produced, laptop music makes us question who we are. And the answer is we’re five musicians who play in a band, so let’s pick up our instruments and play.”

The pared back sound on the album is a departure from their hook heavy previous works. Rather than feeling pressure to fill the songs with texture and beats, Rennick says the songs came together in a relaxed manner.

“The songs have breathing space. They’re longer and have natural ebbs and flows. A lot of full-bodied sounds of single instruments, instead of a lot of relaxed sounds. ”

Part of the change in approach was the desire to create an album to be listened through entirely. Though proud of their more grown up approach, the flow is slightly broken up by frenetic and fast paced first single That Sound. 

“We did go into this record wanting to make a complete piece of work out of the record, a journey from beginning to end, so when it comes to that end game, we didn’t really nail it with That Sound. That cowbell is really quite a thing

“When it came around to putting the album together, to doing the sequence, we almost left That Sound off, because we thought ‘Wow, it doesn’t fit in anywhere.’ And it’s kind of tucked at the back, a rude shock at the end of the album. But the reason it was picked as the first single was that it’s our favourite song, it’s one of my favourite songs I’ve ever written.”

Originally published in Beat Magazine.

This year, Victoria’s vibrant music industry gained a new ally, in the form of The Victorian Music Development Office (VMDO).

Launched in April 2018 and beginning operation in July, the organisation is the newest part of the Victorian Government’s $22.2 million Music Works strategy to ensure a thriving music community well into the future.

I had the pleasure of writing the copy for the site, which you can check out, and learn more about the good works of the VMDO, here.