| Vivid Sydney

THE RADIATORS

CROOKED FIDDLE BAND

Mick Thomas

“Mick Thomas has some secret magic to his writing… he surely can write great songs that make you say “Why didn’t I think of that?” but of course we never do. He writes about mates, ratbags, races, places, weddings, parties, funny stuff—anything—but they are really good stories and great songs. Mick is truly a legend around the best of fair-dinkum roots venues and festivals around the country. He is a character! He is funny! He can roll up to any crappy stage and make it the centre of the universe to any audience. He will talk the leg off an old chair and play the arse off a guitar, sweat the shirt of his back and lay you in the aisles. Mick Thomas and his bands, notably ‘The Weddos’ or ‘The Sure Thing’ or MT himself are all something to behold and have been huge favourites at Port Fairy and many other festivals.

At the end of 2012 when Mick announced that Weddings, Parties, Anything would be using the Melbourne Age Hall of Fame induction as a farewell platform there was an understandingly large outpouring of emotion on his facebook page as the fans struggled to come to grips with the finality of the occasion. And amongst this litany of loss and professed loyalty came one solid voice of reason (and acerbic wit) from Melbourne percussionist Ray Pereira telling Mick to ‘get over it and to stop living in the past’. It was brutally funny and somehow appropriate in terms of the gravity which many attached to the situation.

And when the dust had settled from the awards night ultimately all that was left was the knowledge that there are new projects to go to, tours to plan and songs to write. Music to be made. The awards were fantastic and it was great to have so many people wish the band members well but the real accomplishments of a career such as Mick’s are often less documented but just as important: the regional tour to obscure country halls in late 2012, the regular tours of Europe in the years prior to this. The album Last of the Tourists recorded in Portland Oregon and released to great acclaim early 2012. The Monthly Music Club—his own subscriber based monthly web broadcast—showcasing his prolific and multifaceted talents and formidable work ethic. The constantly evolving, but always effective line-up of the Roving Commission is testament in itself to the respect commanded within the industry and forms an intriguing and refreshing distraction for the ardent long time supporters of Mick’s music.

His ever evolving talents as a writer and performer and racontuer continue to define a career as intruiging as it is enduring.

20th Century Dog

“A triumph of inventive rhythmic exploration.” - J. McBeath, The Australian

“Funk, Afro-beat, Jazz: all booty-shaking but mind-bending at the same time.” - J Hardaker, Words About Music

“‘Bone’ conjure’s the same skull-grinning space-griots as Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi band.” - J Hardaker, Words About Music

“A very 21st-century take on groove... irresistible while also being brilliantly unpredictable. Mighty!” - J. Shand, Music & Other Spheres

20th Century Dog’s new album ‘Bone’ presents a set of musical ideas that have been gnawed on for over a decade. Buried in the yard, dug up, buried in the yard, dug up again. Like any good bone, these have stood the test of time.

Bassist, composer and producer Cameron Undy has spent the past 10 years, putting his energy into building the world- renowned ‘Venue 505’ in Surry Hills, Sydney, and working as a sideman with a diverse range of artists from Jazz legend Pharaoh Sanders to Nu dance floor producers Bugz in the Attic to the number-one selling singer-songwriter Passenger.

Meanwhile, Undy has been steadily developing material for this new album, a collection of uplifting Jazz, Funk, Afro-Beat and Broken-Beat material, delivered by his stellar band, 20th Century Dog, whose 2004 release Mad Stream was described as “something approaching improvised perfection” (John Shand, SMH).

The rhythmic and melodic components on ‘Bone’ are layered among the double drum, percussion, bass, guitar and piano setting, delivering odd-metered grooves in an African hocket style, appealing equally to the body and the mind. The saxophone and bass clarinet melodies capture a folk-like, singable essence while the collective experience opens into areas of group improvisation.

Recorded live at Venue 505 over two days and one evening concert, Bone captures the band’s energy in front of a live audience, coupled with a studio like performance quality.

Jeremy Rose - tenor sax & bass clarinet
Greg Coffin - piano & keys
Ben Hauptmann - guitar
Cameron Undy - bass
Simon Barker - drums & Log
Jamie Cameron - drums
Ben Kidson - percussion

Recorded September 29 & 30, 2016. Composed, arranged and produced by Cameron Undy. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Richard Belkner. Design by Alasdair Nicol.
Available on Earshift Music / MGM December 16th – www.earshift.com

CUMBIAMUFFIN

Cumbiamuffin’s wall of sound is unstoppable on the dance floor and with the collective energy of authentic Colombian singers, this orchestra is conquering the local music scene. Put together by Colombian and Australian musicians, this project has the common vision of introducing the purest sounds of traditional Cumbia to the Australian audiences, blended with contemporary Caribbean rhythms like ragga and reggae, playing the classics that made this genre the most popular rhythm in Latin America during the '80s, and that now is taking over the world. Since its inception in December 2010, Cumbiamuffin has sold out many well known Sydney venues – including Club 505; The Metro; Paddington Eastside Arts and Club Marconi. Cumbiamuffin has also stretched its considerable musical talents to share stages with Sidestepper (Colombia), Mucho Mambo (AUS), and Watussi (AUS) amongst others.

A BIT ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

Cumbiamuffin musicians are drawn from a diverse pool of Sydney and Colombian elite professional musicians with a great array of qualifications between them, who have devoted their lives to play the best music possible and bring together a fusion of different and unique sounds. It’s impossible at the moment to show the biographies of the 15-member orchestra due to its rich content. But we will give you an insight of some of them.

Trombonist Michael Raper musically leads Cumbiamuffin. Mike has spent his professional career playing between Australia, Europe, Asia and the Americas with such acts as Son Veneno (AUS), Osvaldo Chacon (Bamboleo), Wilson Saoko (CLO), Enrique Pla (Irakere), Watussi (AUS), Mucho Mambo (AUS), Batucada Sound Machine (NZL) and Kenny Wheeler (ENG) amongst many others. Mike Studied a Bachelor of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Cumbiamuffin was put together by Mike Raper and Colombian born guitarist Carlos Arango, who graduated from the Australian Institute of Music with a Bachelor of Music majoring in Audio Technology and currently works as a sound engineer for the Sydney Opera House.

Carlo’s original Idea was to join forces with musicians from both countries to introduce in Australia one of the most addictive and fast growing rhythms from Latin America. Since its first concert, Cumbiamuffin has gained lots of interest in the local scene due to its originality and big brass orchestra feel.

The Colombian contingency consists of:

Angela Rosero, (born in Bogota, Colombia) is a passionate performer who arrived in Australia four years ago. She has been delighting her audience around the country not only with her soulful voice but also with her acting. She has performed in different music festivals, such as Darling Harbour Fiesta in Sydney and Blues Fest in Byron Bay. Angela also manages a performance space in Rozelle (La Sala) with regular theatre performances, music and dance lessons. In 2009, Angela received the Viva Fiesta award, due to her contribution to the festival as a new emerging talent. With her powerful presence on stage, she will take you to live the authentic Latin American party with the rhythm of Cumbia.

MC Altafari, (born in Cali, Colombia) specializes in Afro-Caribbean rhythms, reggae and dancehall. He has collaborated with bands like Third World, Luciano Lee’s Scratch, Perry, O- Yaba, Arrested Development, Bo Jah, Jay Ja, Roberts, Ras Rony, Jah Baya Jah Baya Sound of Revolution, Basslines Crew, Bump Crew DJ Johna, 4:20 productions, Rebel Soul Sistem and more local acts.

Francisco Castillo, (born in Bogota, Colombia) is a passionate percussionist who graduated from the Faculty of Arts with a Diploma in Music with an emphasis on folkloric music. He has spent a great deal of his musical career studying the native Colombian rhythms and other traditional styles with the objective of interpreting and representing them to different audiences. He currently plays a combination of tambora (big drum mic), alegre (jembe similar a drum with animal skin) and maracones (large shakers).