CHILDREN COLLIDE GET PASSPORT STAMPS

The Passport Label began in November 2005 in order to raise the profile of Australian music in the UK . The label was created by Zoe White, a native Melbournian currently living in London , with experience working with independent record labels in both countries. Borne out of frustration at the amount of quality Australian music overlooked internationally, The Passport Label aims to give Australian acts greater access and exposure to one of the biggest and most influential music markets in the world.

The Passport Label ’s initial release was a limited 7” heavyweight vinyl pressing of “No Way Out”, by Melbourne-based Love of Diagrams. The single gained radio play from Radio 1/6Music’s influential Steve Lamacq and XFM’s John Kennedy. Having supported the 7” release with a week of well-received London shows, Love of Diagrams headed off to Chicago to record a new album with Bob Weston. The band recently appeared at SXSW in Austin, and established themselves as a band to watch in 2006.

Following the success of Love of Diagrams’ killer single, The Passport Label is more than a little excited about the impending release of its next newly uncovered gem, Children Collide.

Also from Melbourne, this trio is creating somewhat of a quiet commotion in their homeland, after releasing their debut EP, We Three, Brave and True in Australia last year. The Passport single, “Frozen Armies”, is taken from this EP, as are the equally impressive B-sides “Amphibious” and “Look Good On Paper”.

Having gained rotation on Triple J, Fbi and 3RRR, the band have amassed a load of loyal enthusiasts within Australia, and are now set to find a whole new legion of fans in the UK. In fact, there’s no doubt they will be clamouring to see the band live when they hope to make it over to the UK for their debut British gigs later this year.

With caterwauling guitars here, immense rumbling bass there, and percussion relentlessly holding it all together, the most exciting feature of Children Collide’s music is actually what lurks beneath the noise. The swirling “Frozen Armies” sees guitarist and lead singer Johnny Mackay’s rasping vocals complemented by their female drummer’s sweet harmonies.

Meanwhile, both B sides more than challenge the lead track for pole position. “Amphibious” not only contains one hell of a catchy chorus, but also the most tremendous use of stop-start rhythmic patterns. Not to mention the strangest of influences in Sir David Attenborough’s Life on Earth.

You’re strongly advised to come to your own conclusions about the band’s sound, but in music, comparisons are inevitable. Children Collide have had some pretty big names such as Nirvana, Sonic Youth and Fugazi thrown around, but ultimately, that’s just like one of your mum’s friends telling you how much you look like your grandmother.

The Passport Label releases “Frozen Armies” on limited 7” (VISA002) in the UK on July 24.

TV ON THE RADIO IN PERSON

White hot New Yorker’s TV on the Radio will perform two special club shows in Melbourne and Sydney respectively, when they tour Australia for the first time this July Splendour In The Grass.

A band who don’t look or sound like anybody else, TV on the radio are a spellbinding act, which makes seeing them live a compelling experience. Admittedly, they’ve got style in abundance, but it’s their hypnotically charged, organic, shape-shifting tunes that can’t be pigeonholed. Praise can often be dished out for looking cool or being in the right place at the right time - but in TV’s case, it’s the music that does the talking.

TV on the Radio’s story is one of synchronicity, and serendipity. TV began with Tunde Adebimpe (vocals) and David Sitek (multi-instrumentalist and production kingpin behind the Grammy nominated Yeah Yeah Yeahs LP Fever To Tell) being roommates and making art. They started trading tapes of each other’s four track recordings and thought it’d be fun to try to make ‘a real record’. Their stunning EP Young Liars released July 2003 immediately marked them as one of the most musically innovative bands to have emerged in years.

Their debut full-length LP Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes set 2004 off to a dramatically positive start. With new member Kyp Malone sharing songwriting, guitar and vocal duties, TV was quickly on the path to being one of the most talked-about new groups in America. After touring as a trio, Jaleel Bunton (drums) and Gerard Smith (bass) joined the band. After a year of critical acclaim and non-stop activity, TV’s debut won the Shortlist Music Prize, which was founded ‘to honour the most creative and adventurous albums of the year across all genres of music’.

Enter 2006. With a stellar second album under their belts titled Return To Cookie Mountain, set for release in July, TV on the Radio draw on post-rock, gospel, New York new wave and the deepest dub, but they mark everything they use with their own unique signature, and an instinctive use of melody lightens even the darkest passages. Don’t miss TV when they touch down in Australia this winter.

Dates:
Sunday July 23 – The Forum, Melbourne
Tuesday July 25 - Gaelic Club, Sydney