Posted by Danni Le Toullec on October 24, 2011
The inaugural música /TUMBALONG festival took a line-up gamble which paid off in Sydney last weekend, with a fresh crop of international and local electronic and indie acts.
With the one stage, limited capacity and most people keeping their clothes on, this boutique festival was a welcome change from what has become a stock standard festival package. A day spent running from stage to stage, crying over timetable clashes and losing your friends left, right and centre.
Bon Chat, Bon Rat, a Sydney-based trio, played tracks from their self-produced (and mixed) debut EP to a crowd that lazed on the grass in the hot afternoon sun. The trio’s hypnotic electronica complimented the atmosphere of the festival, with the lofty melody of tracks like ‘Blackbird’ carrying through the air.
Emerging artists Mitzi, a four piece hailing from Brisbane, Australia, brought their disco inspired beats and addictive grooves to the stage with stand-out tracks, “All I Heard” and “India”. More...
musica/tumbalong, sbtrkt, ghostpoet, mitzi, bon chat, bon rat, electric wire hustle, lunice, tiger and woods, sydney music festival, electronica
Posted by KB on October 21, 2011
It’s no secret that Sydney’s pub food has taken a distinct turn towards the Americas. It’s now a pretty rare thing that you don’t have the option of some kind of taco, hot dog or bite-sized burger to go with your beer. And while we’re massive fans of the fresh flavours (and pulled pork) on offer, we decided to re-explore the world of the original beer-drinking food: German.
We figured you can’t go too far wrong with a restaurant that means ‘eat’ in German, so we headed off to Essen on Broadway. You may know it as the place that used to be Una’s. It still has a connection to the old place by way of owner and executive chef Geert Elzinga, previously an owner at Una’s, who has moved the focus away from the simple schnitzel and expanded on the hearty European theme.More...
essen, german, beer, broadway, pork, restuarants
Posted by kluster on September 30, 2011
In October 2000 Bosnian-based peacekeeper, Kathryn Bolkovac risked her job, reputation and life to expose UN and international peacekeepers involvement in the country’s post-war human trafficking and sex trade.
The debut feature by Canadian born director, Larysa Kondracki, is based on the true story of American police officer, Kathryn Bolkovac’s (Rachel Weisz) time spent working as a part of the post-war peace effort in Bosnia. It certainly packs an emotional punch.
The Nebraskan police officer secures a high-paying job in Bosnia, working as a peacekeeper for a private firm, contracted by the USA State Department to work closely with the UN to restore order to war-ravaged Bosnia during the late ‘90s. After helping to facilitate a historic conviction and a promotion to head of the UN’s Gender Office, Bolkovac begins to gradually uncover a violent human trafficking and sex-trade industry populated by underage women – some as young as 12 - and frequented by peacekeepers, UN workers and international police.
Kondracki tackles this mammoth story with the sophistication of a seasoned director and deserves plenty of kudos for her efforts as writer/director. It’s a pretty impressive first-time offering.More...
the whistleblower, rachel weisz, film, movie, larysa kondracki
Posted by Danni Le Toullec on September 9, 2011
Smirnoff hosted an intimate event for Sydney's media and bloggers in a secret location in Darlinghurst tonight. The evening was to announce Australia's swap country for the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project 2011.
Following last years' eve of Brazilian themed festivities, this year Australia will be treated to a taste of Italy for one night of cultural swapsies. Junior Jack & Kid Créme and Alex Gaudino will be flown in to headline the event, while Nervo and Bang Gang Deejay’s will fly over to Italy to rep the Australian music scene.
The event is part of Smirnoff's ongoing global social experiment, which provides people all around the world with an opportunity to see how their foreign counterparts get down and dirty. Fourteen countries across the globe - including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Lebanon, Poland, South Africa, Thailand and Venezuela - exchange their local nightlife for one evening of debauchery on 12 November 2011. More...
smirnoff, eau de vie, behind bars, max greco, smirnoff nightlife exchange project
Posted by AndyRyan on August 22, 2011
Yearlings is the third release, following a previous EP and album, in the four-year existence of Sydney’s Dead Letter Chorus. It is an album that is confidently comes at you made by a band who have figured out what they are all about. They tackle the eternal quandary and elation of a newly evolving love across the ten precise songs within; with aware and insightful lyrics such as ‘you helped me lift my heart, it weighed a tonne/ because two is always better than one’ elevating it above the usual emotion blinded clichéd bluster the subject is capable of giving rise to.More...
dead letter chorus, yearlings, gabrielle huber, les cooper
Posted by KB on August 2, 2011
Somehow we seemed to have ended up with an Italian food mindset which equates authentic with traditional. Where the only ‘real’ Italian food comes from a home-style kitchen, just the way nonna used to make it. But unfortunately that leaves something of a gap between that and the modern Italian restaurants.
And that’s why we like Caffe Sicilia so much. A bold black and white outfit, with plenty of marble and gold trim, it seems to come straight out of 1940s Sicily and landed perfectly between our two extremes. It’s as authentic as it comes, but there’s nothing home-style about it.
As you’d expect from an island, Sicilian cuisine is heavy on the seafood, which is reflected in the menu here. There are other options (braised spatchcock, veal involtini) but it makes sense to stick with the waiter’s suggestion of fish; the staff really know what they’re doing. More...
caffe sicilia, italian, surry hills
Posted by Danni Le Toullec on August 2, 2011
For the second year running, Splendour in The Grass took over the humble town of Woodford, Queensland for a weekend of sun-soaked, dust-ingrained shenanigans against a stellar soundtrack of live music.
Whether your outfit of choice was a full blown cow, penguin, panda or dog outfit or just a furry animal beanie, you would have fitted right in with this years' peculiar theme of animal dress.
If you wanted to be a bit more stylish, there were some awesome pop up stores dotted around including Aje, Maurie and Eve, General Pants Co. as well as the Mo'rockin Wine Bar, Strongbow booze boat and some delicious food from Grill'd, Govindas, Hungarian Langos, dumplings, German Bratwurst, obligatory festival Gozleme, corn and about twenty million more.
But we're not here to talk about food, are we? We are here for the tunes, so here goes...
Day One
After lining up for twenty minutes to get into the main gates from the campsite (daily festival-fail), we took in the massive festival site as we bee-lined to the Amphitheatre for Jinja Safari. The Sydney band’s playful folk pop was the perfect accompaniment for the sunny Friday afternoon. Marcus Azon closed the set by crowd surfing to the back, jumping to the ground and leading the audience in a run around the valley. More...
illy, jinja safari, splendour in the grass, woodford, kanye west, james blake, the hives, pnau, thievery corporation, gomez, foster the people, friendly fires, pulp, coldplay, cloud control
Posted by KB on July 25, 2011
In the Sydney suburb of Centennial Park, an ex-socialite lies dying. Her adult son and daughter have flown to be with her, but even on her deathbed she remains a strong and destructive influence on those around her.
The Eye of the Storm is directed by Fred Schepisi (Six Degrees of Separation) and brings together stars Charlotte Rampling, Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis. It’s based on the novel of the same name by Patrick White, Australia’s only recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
We are offering ten Kluster readers the chance to win an in-season double pass to see The Eye of the Storm. To be in the running simply email us at info@kluster.com.au with the subject: Stormy Weather. Entries close 12.08.11
The Eye of the Storm is in cinemas from September 15.
the eye of the storm, fred schepisi, charlotte rampling, geoffrey rush, judy davis
Posted by Danni Le Toullec on July 20, 2011
A breath of fresh air is coming to the Sydney Spring festival scene in the form of the inaugural música /TUMBALONG festival.
The boutique event will be held in Sydney’s Tumbalong Park on Saturday 22nd October and will feature a carefully selected line up of nine artists, most of which will be performing in Australia for the first time.
Masked UK export SBTRKT has been tearing up the London dubstep scene for the last couple of years. Following the release of his addictive debut XL, which featured vocals from Sampha, Jessie Ware and Yukimi from Little Dragon, he is fast becoming one of the most watched artists of 2011.
Fellow Brit Ghostpoet has also exploded out of the UK underground scene with his unique beats and sleepy smooth lyrical style.
música /TUMBALONG festival will also host local talent with Mitzi, Simon Caldwell and Bon Chat, Bon Rat. The line up also includes Baths (US), Electric Wire Hustle (NZ), Lunice (CAN), and Tiger & Woods (ITA).
As we've come to expect from música, the focus will be on quality over quantity. The event will be hosted on one main stage for a smaller audience than Sydneysiders have come to expect from festivals.
Tickets are on sale on July 26th.
música, Baths, Bon Chat, Bon Rat, Electric Wire Hustle, Ghostpoet, LUNICE, Mitzi, SBTRKT, Simon Caldwell, Tiger & Woods, tumbalong park
Posted by KB on July 5, 2011
In line with their vision of providing Sydneysiders with a fresh take on culture, artist-run initiative Serial Space is presenting their inaugural mini-sound festival, Next Next, from July 7-9.
The festival kicks off on Thursday with a performance by The Splinter Orchestra, marking the end of their two week residency at the space. The 35 strong group are Sydney’s foremost improvisational ensemble, creating sound through creative use of traditional and experimental instruments.
If you’re still on the fence about the whole experimental music thing, then check out Friday’s Great Music Debate: That Experimental Music Is Boring - apparently based on “history’s most frequently though, but least uttered statements”.
The festival continues over the weekend with Boredom and Danger, a forum on the contemporary and historical practices in experimental music, and culminates in a live performance from electronic artist Ivan Lisyak, together with an installation from Emily Morandini.
For all the information on the program, check the Serial Space website.
Serial Space is at 33 Wellington St, Chippendale.
next next, serial space, splinter orchestra, ivan lisyak
Posted by kluster on June 27, 2011
A beautful little film by Adam Murfet & Jessie Oldfield for Melbourne-based label above. Jump one, jump two...
adam murfet, jessie oldfield, above, melbourne
Posted by kluster on June 27, 2011
I feel kind of ripped off that Who’s The Best at the Sydney Theatre Company was my first Post experience. I’m mean, seriously, this trio have been (allegedly) creating some of the funniest performance pieces to come out of this city for almost a decade now and Monday’s opening night show was the first time I’d ever laid eyes on them? It’s like discovering beer on a hot Saturday afternoon, at the age of 25, and then being told you could have been drinking it for seven years.
Who’s The Best is a hilarious tale of competition via deconstruction, consisting of the enacting of a measuring of all parts of the sum. Or, an equation written to decipher which of the trio that form Post - Mish Grigor, Zoe Coombs Marr, Natalie Rose (all played by themselves, except Natalie who is played by Eden Falk (Sleeping Beauty) - is, as the name implies, the best. In short, the members want to figure out which one of them is superior in almost all ways and have invited us along for the ride. More...
sydney theatre company, post, who's the best, mish grigor, zoe coombs marr, natalie rose, eden falk