QandA with ... EGO

The best part about seeing your favourite DJ live is hearing for yourself their take on mixes and their interpretation of songs and beats - there's nothing like live exposure to these audio magicians who bless our ears with their skills and talent.  But why should the entertainment stop at one sense?

Ego takes this challenge head on, creating visual - audio treats for music and pop-culture lovers alike.  Having worked and performed as one half of the duo ' Nice and Ego, ' Ego is now working on his craft solo.  With a  video mixtape scheduled to drop very soon, EGO talks influences, methods and the crazy amount of time that goes into preparing for a live show.



RTM: What is the first thing you want people to know about DJ Ego?

E: That I'm not just a DJ, I perform with video too, some people call it AV DJing, some call it video DJing. But i basically play videos and music at the same time.

RTM: What can people expect at one of your live shows?

E: A good time. Plus something really different to anything they've seen before, I splice movie samples, film clips, youtube memes and other visuals together with party tunes - it's

RTM: You've just wrapped up doing live shows as one half of Nice and Ego -including a visual audio spot at Splendour in a the Grass in July - how has it been?  Are you exhausted?*

E: Yeah touring was rad, every show was a blast but yeah Splendour was off the map, that's the first time I've played a stage like that, it was a total trip and the response was awesome. But yeah I've been knackered, though I've just taken a month off performing and been in the studio putting together a video mixtape and some fresh content for the solo shows so feeling refreshed and ready to hit it again.

RTM: How did you first get into doing Visual Audio projects?

E: Mr Nice introduced me to it, I've been DJing for years but I'm also a video producer so it was a perfect fit. We ran a couple of AV nights here in Melbourne for a while which were consistently awesome parties so we decided to take the show on the road.

Check out more of Ego's track on Soundcloud

RTM: Audio Visual DJing seems very much like the "chicken and the egg" conundrum; i.e. which comes first - ideas for the videos or ideas for the music?

E: Yeah totally, basically I get my ideas any way they come - if its a song that conjures up a solid visual then I go hunting for that visual sample, or if its a movie or other that I want to sample then I try and find a song that fits with the sample. But its most often music first, video second. Sometimes the connections are quite literal, sometimes they're contextual, sometimes it's just the vibe. But I make an effort now of sitting on an idea for a bit before barrelling into it, often a lot of good ideas don't really work on the dancefloor, so I stand back and assess how it might work into my whole DJ set.

RTM: How long does it take to prepare for a live show?

E: Forever. Seriously. Every song needs to have a visual treatment, sometimes that can take a few hours to whip up but more often it takes me weeks of digging for the right sample and playing around with ideas before then editing it together. There are bits of my set which are only say 2 minutes long but it took me seriously two to three weeks of work to put together. It's kind of dumb.

EGO's video mix tape is just around the corner

RTM: When mixing, is there a certain method or formula you follow?

E: I have a lot of favourite mixes, tracks which just sit really well together so I always have them up my sleeve but just try and bounce to whatever the crowd are vibing, though like I say, when every track takes forever to make visuals for it's harder to be impromptu doing an AV show than it is doing just an audio set.

RTM: Dance, Electric, D&B and Dubsteb have been very popular in mainstream markets recently - which DJs stand out to you?

E: There is so much awesome music being made, it's almost impossible to keep up with who is doing what anymore, there are rad producers popping up from everywhere. I guess for me guys like Diplo and A-trak who have stood the test of time and continued to be at the cutting edge of music and continually redefine dance music easily top my list. I love DJs who add their own spin to things, it's one thing to play all those popular bass genres and play them well but its another thing to sound original.

RTM: What genres and/or artists do you draw inspiration from?

E: I get a lot of my inspiration from local, Australian, guys who are pushing the envelope, guys like Cutloose, Sampology and the Surecut Kids. I try and listen to everything though, be on top of all genres and styles, I listen to a lot of podcasts to find out what's getting played in clubs overseas, as well as local radio to stay up with what's getting played here.

RTM: This year Nice and Ego mixed up Triple J's Hottest 100 which the people loved and ended up being aired on Triple J - do you have any picks for who might make the Hottest 100 in 2013?

E: It's often tough to pick, a lot of the songs I'd like to make it don't and songs which are huge at the start of the year lose popularity by the time the poll comes around. I imagine Flume will be well placed, he's just blown up which is awesome. Major Lazer's Get Free has been a huge anthem too. Grimes, Alt-J, Frank Ocean hopefully, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, The Presets are home town heroes. It's funny, before doing that mashup we kind of mapped out what we thought would be in it to be ready to get busy on it once it got announced, and we were pretty far off with some of our predictions!

RTM: When can we catch next catch Ego?

E: Hopefully I'll be hitting the road again soon. Once I release my video mixtape I'll no doubt be ready to get the hell away from my studio and back out performing.

Check out Ego on Facebook  or connect on Twitter

www.watchyourego.com

Gig Review: The Beautiful Girls

The Beautiful Girls

Thursday August 23, 2012

Last night as part of their 10 year anniversary tour, The Beautiful Girls took to the stage at the famous Adelaide venue "The Gov," giving fans, old and young alike a night to remember.

Seasoned professionals, the band was flawless, reminiscent of their recent set at Splendour in the Grass at Byron Bay.  It was a more relaxed environment, initially, despite the boys opting to not perform any tracks acoustically, admitting they had tried half and half in a previous gig and it was "shit."

The concept of a "shit" gig by TBGs seemed laughable as the show progressed, and Mat McHugh was flawless in all his stomping glory.  The unique vocals that fans had grown to love over the airwaves were brought to life on stage complimented by funky instrumentals and beats.

The Beautiful Girls did everything to keep the crowd right where they were.  They didn't save the most popular songs 'til last and chucked in a few sneaky covers here and there - not all picked up on by the crowd but appreciated none-the-less.  To finish off the set the guys broke it down in a way they only they know how and you could tell by the chemistry between them that this wasn't just a band - these guys were, and always will be, bros.

Although there were some members of the audience that had me pulling a face a little like this: 

get. one. step. closer.

the atmosphere in the room was certainly alive and the entire performance felt like a bigger climax than even 50 Shades of Grey could ever produce, with girls absolutely swooning at the bottom of the stage.

Overall the night was a treat.

4 out of 5 surfer beanies!

To check out when you can catch The Beautiful Girls on tour, head to their website.

Upcoming Gigs - Keep your eyes and ears peeled!

There is no shortage of live gigs around Australia, and even the smaller towns are having some fantastic names knocking on their doors.

Here are a few gigs that have caught the eyes of Ran Type Music!  Remember to check out your local gig guide for something different to do on your weekend - or even for a bit of mid week mischief!

Click on the links to purchase tickets.

Nina Las Vegas and friends - Triple J House Party

The Beautiful Girls - 10 Year Anniversary Tour 

Dappled Cities - Lake Air Tour

[Check out Dappled Cities Like a Version Here]

Oh Mercy - Deep Heat Tour

Last Dinosaurs - Satellites Tour

"Last Dinosaurs provided an exciting set..with the Bloc Party tick of approval it seems these guys are only set for bigger stages in 2012," Fastlouder, Spin Off Festival

And don't forget to to catch good friends of the blog Hey Geronimo  on their "Special Best Tour"!

The Splendour Diaries: Nina Las Vegas Edition

So, it turns out i wasn't the only one to keep a diary at Splendour!

Nina Las Vegas partaying at Splendour in the Grass, 2012

Check out Nina Las Vegas' diary of her own, which she did for You Only Live Once, a blog dedicated to living life to the fullest, founded by the man half of Sneaky Sound System, Angus McDonald.

www.youonlyliveonce.com.au

*yes, i am aware this is the laziest blog post ever, but i also thought this was super cool and wanted to share it with ya'll.

Splendour Diaries: Day 2

Day 2: July 28th, 2012

As the weekend continued, day 2 was nothing short of incredible, taking Splendour in the Grass 2012 to the next level.

I would just like to take some time out though to say if you ever do come to Byron Bay, don't eat at Bo's. The kitchen, service and restaurant manager are inefficient and cold.  The only thing that was enjoyable was my banana smoothie, and even that took 20 minutes (and is supposed to be cold anyway).  Don't do it kids!

Coconut in hand we strolled back into the festival venue shortly after 2:00, just in time to catch Luke Million drop his smash hit "Arnie" at the Mix Up Stage, getting Splendourites churning up the bark chip covered mud once again.

The Last Dinosaurs were on the main stage for their set and did not disappoint.  Highlighting the set was the band's cover of "Lady (hear me tonight)", which cheekily sampled Groovejets "if this ain't love".

Also on the main stage was english rock group Band of Skulls, who opened up their set with "Sweet Sour" setting the dirty slow rock mood for the next 50 or so minutes at the big top stage.

After chilling out at the back of Jinja Safari we wriggled our way to the front of the stage for what would be one of the best sets I have ever seen in my life, by The Beautiful Girls.  If ever anyone could make you trade in your air guitar for an air bass, it would be these guys. With the off beat strumming on guitar and funky drumming the band turned the mosh into a bop and the massive smiles on the band's faces let you know they were having just as good a time as you were.  "Periscopes" was performed beautifully with die hard fans singing along every lyric and as if it was a day for covers, the boys dropped in a bit of "Tainted Love" in "We're in Love".  The Girls finishes with an epic instrumental jam showcasing their talents and exactly how they've been around for so long.

Next up was DJ / "singer" Muscles, who although at first I doubted, turned up the beats at the mix up tents. After working up a sweat we continued to dance our way over for a bit of Tame Impala for a few mellow tracks before heading to see the princess of the festival, Lana Del Rey - along with about 7,000 other people.  Lana, performing with a single pianist on a white grand and tuxed up string quartet, glided around the stage in a wedding dress, with her mic in one hand and cigarette in the other, hopping off the stage to sing with "her people".  Despite previous reviews, Lana Del Rey sang like an angel, performing each of her tracks as heart broken as the next. Admittedly, in all her sorrow Lana's music would have been suited for earlier in the day, but it was probably a well deserved rest for most people's feet.

After Lana we meandered to Miike Snow who ended their set with one of my favourite songs, "Animal", which we continued to sing until Bloc Part took the stage.

There are few things more enjoyable in life then being surrounded with a group of great mates while rocking it out to one of the best rock bands around that you all know and love. As the covers continued, Kele did a sneaky sneaky at one point by singing the smash hit by Rihanna and Calvin Harris "we found love" before launching into one of their own.  Banquet was incredible, and by no means the song the band chose to finish on. 

Day 2 was amazing and I both can and cannot see today being able to top it.  Today, The Kooks, Gossip, Gossling, Ball Park Music, Fun. and festival headliner The Smashing Pumpkins...

This weekend's going too fast!

Ran xo

Splendour Diaries: Day 1

Day one: JULY 27th, 2012.

Ahhh the time was finally upon us! Excitement filled our veins as we walked across the Gold Coast tarmac, with many other festival goers, and breathed in the humid Queensland air. We had arrived and Splendour was only a rental car trip away.

We hopped into our Micra (affectionately named Misty) ready to go! It was me in passenger, Nat in the drivers seat and the open road ahead of us..."um Nat, can you drive manual?"...it was Nat in the passenger seat, me in the drivers, and the road to Byron Bay ahead of us!

So far the city of Byron Bay has been nothing but welcoming to festival goers. Shop fronts have wellies on display, ponchos available and shuttle busses available to the festival from town in every form, including a bathtub on wheels behind a gentlemen on a push bike.  The love for music is in the air and everyone is here to have a good time.
Whilst no SLRs are allowed within the venue, we eventually made it through ( thanks to the lovely festival worker Joe Contin) - small cameras and iPhone with instagram handy. Who needs SLRs when you have old mates hefe and low fi in your pocket anyway.  The sun was shining and the bass of the acts within was all that we cared about at this point in time.

First act of the day was Australian hip hop act Platnium Pen catching the eyes and ears of festival goers walking past. The boys were using classic beats from hip hop acts such as Snoop Dogg, Hilltop Hoods, Jurassic 5 and Kelis putting a new flavour on it with their own lyrics and attitude.  The boys were nice enough to give us a copy of their album - I smell our next interview for the blog!!

After realising that we were at the wrong stage for Chet Faker, we shuffled out way to the other side of the festival to catch the second half of the set by the man with the furry furry beard.  Taking his tracks to the next level with extended instrumental breaks, Chet was charming, clearly humbled by the massive crowd and sang to perfection.  Finishing with his own (well known) interpretation of "No Diggity", if you weren't a fan of Chet Faker before, you definitely would have been afterwards.

A gap in the afternoon meant a while to check out the other side of things that Splendour had to offer.  This included getting involved with the drums workshop help by Samba Bellista, a spot of shopping and tarot cards. It was at about this time where the weather turned around, realised (almost) everyone was gum boots and took it as a cue to make it rain. - no wait - hail??? For about 20 minutes there was nothing but stormy weather turning Splendour into sight which could have been easily confused for Glastonbury.  And although the rain did cease eventually, it set a muddy muddy scene for the rest of the day and night.

Other acts we caught throughout the day were AV show DJs Nice and Ego, the incredible Bertie Blackman, Gypsy and the Cat,  Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Lanie Lane, which featured a surpise one off Nick Cave cover duet with Krum from Spiderbait (yes I have it recorded, stay tuned), The Shins, Kimbra and yes - Mr Jack White himself.

Kimbra was a particular highlight for me.  Freshly back in Australia after touring Europe with Foster the People, the little kiwi's performances and stage presence has come an incredibley long way since Falls Festival earlier this year.  Although having always been an amazing singer, Kimbra now has mastered crowd interaction, oozing confidence that was most noticeable in her band's new rendition of one of her first hits "settle down".

The entire festival was present for Jack White.  We perched ourselves up on the balcony of the festival's Strongbow Bar and listened to the seasoned rock star play hits from his latest album "Blunderbuss" before taking the crowd back in time.  It's safe to say pretty much everyone lost their shit when the bassline for 'Seven Nation Army' started up.

Today - Ball Park Music, Bloc Party, Last Dinosaurs and The Kooks to name a few.  I have some amazing photos and video footage which I cannot wait to share with you.  Here's to two more days of great music, beer and mud!

Ran xo

Fall In: Chet Faker

Album Review: Chet Faker

This week's blog post is two firsts; a post by a guest blogger and an album review. Natalie Brunoli, journalism graduate of Bond University, passionate writer and music fan, put aside a little of her time review the recent album release from one of the (and her own) most anticipated acts of the upcoming music festival Splendour in the Grass - Chet Faker.

Chet Faker: Thinking in Textures

Chet Faker - Thinking in Textures

There’s a raw quality to this music, this album. Chet Faker tells his stories with a sound that pulls you in. It’s like intense, whispery sex. It’s punchy, it’s hot, it’s clever, and it’s more than a little bit exciting.

From the EP Thinking in Textures, the lead song I’m Into You, kick starts an album laden with smooth undertones, heavy melodies and beats that lick your skin. (I still can’t quite make out what he says to the girl mid-song, but it’s super sexy nonetheless.)

Soulful and sensual, you’re led on a journey of electro-funk born from acoustic heritages and a talent that is unmistakeable in the structural brilliance of every track.

And if ever a cover was done well, it’s No Diggity. Chet Faker takes the Blackstreet original, adds some class and blends it with nonchalance and effortless cool that makes you slide your nodding head into each slinky beat. Success.

Cigarettes and Chocolate gains some speed, gives you time to breathe (or take a cold shower) and lets you fall into the music. The track bursts with energy and meaningful peaks and troughs of fullness and smallness that complement each other.

A definite flavour runs riot through the album, but somehow each song manages to stand on its own, unique in every sense of the word.

If Thinking in Textures were a day, it would be the haziest Sunday afternoon you could imagine.

You find Chet Faker on Soundcloud, Twitter and Facebook.  If you'd like to connect with this blog post's author Natalie you can follow her on twitter, or check out her tumblr to for more of her thoughts.