Posted by Audrey Lee on August 27, 2010
Last week we took a breather from the daily grind for a much-needed creative boost at the Museum of Contemporary Art Spring season preview, an annual spring event featuring talents from around the globe. This year, MCA will be hosting three eye-opening exhibitions. Here’s how the calendar is shaping up:
As we previously announced, Primavera makes its 19th comeback, ensuring the work of new young artists from across the country can be seen by an audience. Seven exciting talents have been taken under the wing of this year’s Guest Curator, Katie Dyer. Through a diverse and an inventive approach in the form of painting, sculpture, photography and performance, the works explore themes such as social relationship, natural environment and the re-interpretation of past precedents. Happening now to 21st November.
Levels 1 and 2 of the gallery feature series of works including Alasdair McLuckie’s The highest mountain peaks, right before dawn, Agatha Gothe-Snape’s Wrong Solo and Akira Akira’s Spillberg (black) No. 1.More...
museum of contemporary art, mca, primavera, agatha gothe-snape, akira akira, alasdair mcluckie, catherine rogers, lauren berkowitz, joni taylor, runa islam
Posted by Audrey Lee on August 25, 2010
Here’s what’s been on high-rotation in the Kluster offices as of late: six synth-alternative pop gems from Mushu’s self-titled second EP. Hailing from Sydney, the quintet humbly cited Bob Dylan and Neil Young as their musical muses. Mushu create a lush and charismatic alternative sound with harmonies, reverb, synths and subtle distortion falling perfectly in place.
The first serving off the EP is ‘Neap Tide’, its graceful acoustic intro slowly builds to a synchronized harmony, accompanied by the catchy highs and lows of distorted guitars. The soothing voice of lead vocalist, Simone Macarounas really shine through in ‘Carousel’, while Soldiers’ adopts a different style with snare drums making it a satiating track to close.
Already hotly tipped, the band is polishing their good name to shine. Currently on an acoustic tour of the US and Canada, there is an LP in pre-production and heaps of shows to follow suit.
mushu, self-titled ep, neap tide, carousel, soldiers
Posted by kluster on August 24, 2010
Things have gotten dull, predictable, so normal these days. Sun rises, sun sets. Winter comes, spring follows. When did it all become so static?
Enter Madame Claude, the brothel-cum-bar and self-proclaimed ‘bar for common people’ with a difference. The difference is things here have been turned upside down here. Literally. Inspired by Twin Peaks, Madame Claude is designed to look like the inside of your art school friend’s small creative-district studio apartment - the one who had a penchant for classic literature and card games and was always able to make a fake flower jammed into the neck of an old medicine jar somehow look so super now - if you were to enter said apartment all Lionel Richie-esque, dancing on the ceiling. That’s where all the good stuff is here, stuck to the roof. Tables, chairs, rugs, bookstands and even the letterbox, they’re all up there.
It’s the attention to detail that makes Madame Claude, the brainchild of three French expats, especially muse-worthy. The ceiling-stuck items appear perfectly placed with pre-thought. The classics are book marked as if placed down mid-read, a deck of cards sits atop a table, dealt out and waiting to be played.More...
madame claude, twin peaks, lionel richie-esque, berlin, deutschland
Posted by kluster on August 24, 2010
Last September we ventured down to Allen & Unwin’s Sydney headquarters for the announcement of the 2009 Australian Vogel Literary Award. Much to our surprise, two burgeoning writers were declared joint winners of the illustrious prize – Lisa Lang for her Utopian Man manuscript and Kristel Thornell for Night Street. Yes, literature is still alive and kicking (hard) in Australia.
A few weeks ago we spied a copy of Lang’s winning manuscript – converted as it was to novel form – atop a pile of books awaiting eyes. We unhesitatingly selected it for visual consumption post haste, interested as we were to find out what exactly it was about this particular offering that set it apart from the 200 other entries received for last year’s award.
Utopian Man, set in 19th Century Melbourne, fictionalises the life story of Melbourne entrepreneur, Edward Cole and the successes and failures that surrounded the world-renowned Coles Book Arcade. It’s a deftly written, humanistic tale of grand ideas and courageous vision. Lang is no stranger to Cole’s ambitions, having previously penned the non-fiction work E W Cole: Chasing the Rainbow (2007), and in this her newest offering she skilfully interweaves this terrific true story with presumedly fictional accounts of life behind the Coles family’s closed front doors. The resulting novel is deserving of the prestigious award bestowed on Lang late last year.
Utopia Man is published by Allen & Unwin.
allen & unwin, australian vogel literary award, utopian man, lisa lang, night street, kristel thornell, coles book arcade, e r cole: chasing the rainbow
Posted by Petra Zlatevska on August 24, 2010
The darling of the Prenzlauerberg coffee scene, Bonanza Coffee Heroes pays the ultimate homage to the humble flat white. Buying a decent cup of coffee is like a game of Russian roulette in this country (and city) but Bonanza owners Kiduk Reus and Yumi Choi are leading a major caffeine coup to overthrow the rule of the drip coffee filter. More espresso bar than café, Bonanza offers only seven styles of coffee (ranging in price from €1.70 for an espresso to €3.30 for a doppio), with the flat white taking pride of place. There are also freshly baked goodies such as New York cheesecake or Oma’s berry cake. So seriously do the owners take their coffee that adorning the wall is a manifesto of sorts explaining the process from bean to cup. According to Choi, “coffee is like wine”. The coffee beans – sourced from Ethiopia, Sumatra and Brazil- take centre stage.
As though in a twenty-first-century apothecary’s lab, almost all of the Bonanza floorspace is occupied by the roasting and grinding machines, large vats of beans and a bean roasting quality chart. Produced with a Synesso Cyncra - the Rolls Royce of coffee machines - the coffee here is excellent, perhaps not surprisingly given there are only three of these machines on the continent. The interior design is minimalist chic with unpainted walls, vintage furniture pieces and light bulbs dangling from their cables. In its prime position on the creative pilgrim’s route from Mauerpark to Kastanienallee, Bonanza Coffee Heroes will delight Aussies in dire need of a flat white fix and will ensure that devotees from all over the world are never far from a quality cuppa.
Bonanza Coffee Heroes
Oderberger Straße 35
10435 Berlin Germany
Mon – Fri 8:30am – 7pm and Sat & Sun 10am – 7pm
Transport: Train U2 Eberswalder Straße; Tram M1 Eberswalder Straße or M10
Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark
preziauerberg, bonanza coffee heroes, kiduk reus, yumi choi, synesso cyncra
Posted by KB on August 10, 2010
I may have been assaulted on my way into the venue. I mean, I can’t tell. I feel like I was assaulted. The memories of early that night come infrequently; a glazed, dream-like translucence when they do. I lay out on the floor – feet facing away from the stage. My eyes mostly closed. It was 1980-ish. A jaded Cyndi Lauper tribute show working through tired attempts at Fleetwood Mac. The feet around my head stood unmoving, planted. The most familiar hand, reaching down – recognition, pulling me up to comparatively fresh air, standing. It was over. Praise be to anything.
She lived in another city when Antidotes came out. In a Zach Braff pitch that almost was, the album became part of the soundtrack of that time; the first choice weeknight jacket hung on the coat hanger of drinking until you forget how much you miss her. In truth, the soundtrack fit better than most jackets of the time. Tension mounting all week – the strummed, yelping definition of a crescendo – to places seemingly beyond where you imagined tension was capable of being mounted.
Then suddenly, arrival.More...
foals, manning bar
Posted by KB on August 9, 2010
Long has the badge of “art” been bandied around the music festival site, sometimes resulting in extraordinary experiences, other times leaving us feeling a little lack lustre… Too many inflatable gnomes, not enough excellent art… (Not that that we don’t love an inflatable gnome here or there!). With the Splendid program we see a real investment, drive and development of the possibilities of this cross-disciplinary, site-specific opportunity for art bumping right up into the music festival world.
Splendid is a creative development partnership between Splendour in the Grass, Australia Council for the Arts, Lismore Regional Gallery, NORPA, and Arts Northern Rivers. The program is developing emerging artists in creating new experiences for festival audiences. Originally, 10 artists were selected for an intensive professional development and creative brainstorming program. Over the course of a year the artists generated ideas, challenged perceptions (including their own) and worked with industry protagonists, festival producers, technical and legal restrictions, budget possibilities. From the 10 artists, three final works were developed and installed at the festival. These were Carl Scrase, The Generative Power of Opposites; Lauren Brincat and Mish Grigor, Where the Party Is; and Lauren Brincat and Dominic Finlay-Jones, The Best Time Ever.More...
splendid, splendour in the grass, arts
Posted by Miss Kat Jade on August 8, 2010
Surfer Blood are some sweet looking Californian boys, who sound like a mix of Weezer blended with the Beach Boys, with a dash of falsetto camp added for jazz.
The boys played their last Australian show at the Manning Bar after some hectic touring with Splendor. Manning Bar, slap bang in the middle of Sydney Uni, was teeming with indie kids, students and bad haircuts, throwing me back to the days of beer in plastic cups and hangovers on Tuesdays. A fitting location for this campus-driven rock music.
They seemed a little worse for wear; even ‘Swim’ one of Pitchfork's 100 Best Songs of 2009 sounded a little dull. Regardless, the set was punctuated with great power-cord guitar riffs and hooks that kept you swaying and your foot tapping along. The wild-haired percussion player was the most enthusiastic of the lot, bouncing and belting his cow bell with enthusiasm.
Lyrics about girls, confusion, Twin Peaks and youth make up these simple, catchy songs of summer. With a little more studio time it feels like their music may get another layer of complexity to it, but at the moment it’s unashamedly fist pumping and hook riddled. The future of Surfer Blood shall remain to be seen with a new album and a few years under their belt. It’s not brain surgery, but for indie, heavy, guitar-laden pop songs it fits the bill to a T.
surfer blood, manning bar, splendour, sydney
Posted by KB on August 6, 2010
Fresh-faced and freckled, Two Door Cinema Club’s ginger-haired lead singer Alex Trimble has a look and elegant sonority that sets you up for the full pop experience. Standing up there in angelic purity, you imagine how proud his grandma is of how far he’s come since his days as the church’s head choirboy. So it’s somewhat of a shock to be blasted with the wall of sound that starts their Splendour sideshow at Melbourne venue Billboard. Far from poppy and light, it’s the heavier dance beat that comes through. The balance is good, the sound mix is right. It’s just not that melodious vibe that gets you craving an orange mocha frappuccino.
The Northern Irish trio – plus one with the addition of drum kit on tour – is one of those bands that seems to have appeared out of the ether and, with the help of MySpace and the ever-expanding global festival circuit, blossomed rapidly into a tight, respected outfit with a solid fan base. They fall under that broad, vague category of electro/indie/rock/pop, a term which encompasses a lot of bands these days and rarely expounds much about their sound other than the presence of synthesisers.
Expectations for the live performance are based on radio hits such as the catchy and vocally lithe Something Good Can Work, a pop tune that sparks comparisons with Vampire Weekend; and I Can Talk, with its edgy repetitive vocal percussion adding a dash of Presets flavour. More...
two door cinema club, billboard, alex trimble
Posted by Kristen D on July 27, 2010
Set in a bleak and unforgiving winter in the second century AD, Centurion makes you appreciate the fact that it’s the 21st century and you’re in a warm cinema cramming fistfuls of popcorn into your mouth. You wouldn’t be a Roman soldier for quids!
It's directed by Neil Marshall, who gave us The Descent, a terrifying and compelling horror flick a couple of years back, so we were pumped for his latest offering. Centurion is an epic action adventure, which is essentially a classic chase film. But instead of cars and guns, you have horses and swords.
Basically, the Romans are on a mission to wipe out the head of a tribe called the Picts, and therefore open themselves up to a bloody and vicious revenge attack. Their leader, General Virilus (The Wire’s Dominic West), is captured during the attack, but seven men manage to escape, and a relentless chase ensues.More...
centurion, film, neil marshall, olga kurylenko
Posted by KB on July 27, 2010
There is something you should know about New Shanghai: it’s in a food court. But please, oh please don’t let that put you off. I’m not going to say that the food makes up for the location, because it doesn’t need to.
New Shanghai has taken a corner of Chatswood Chase, put some walls around it and created a glossy vision of 1930s Shanghai last seen in Hollywood. It’s a sea of red and black that evokes an (albeit clean) authentic Shanghai street, right down to the cobblestone floor and the pushbike resting against the front door.
The menu (a large paper number which doubles as our placemat for the evening) is divided up into cold dishes, dim sim, noodles & rice, and main dishes. A friend has told us we must try the New Shanghai pan-fried pork bun (the restaurant’s specialty), but the waitress is so persuasive in her suggestions that we end up ordering the pan-fried pork dumplings.More...
new shanghai, chatswood chase, chinese, dumplings, restaurant
Posted by Miss Kat Jade on July 4, 2010
On a recent trip to Melbourne this Kluster writer happily indulged in a meal at the Good Food Guide hatted restaurant (two to be exact), Cutler and Co.
Located in the bohemian suburb of Fitzroy, Cutler and Co's dining room combines comfort with familiarity and understated sophistication. Inside the long, gently lit room a semi-open wine store holds more than 1300 bottles. Considering the breadth of their selection it stands to reason that the role of sommelier at Cutler & Co would be filled by an individual who is suitably confident across a range of vino. The aforementioned individual, Sally Humble, was appropriately knowledgeable and accommodating in helping us choose a bottle of Alsace Riesling to accompany our eight course Chef's degustation.
The combination of flavours was generally quite traditional (think: duck with plum), it is the execution that makes this dining experience exciting. Executive chef Andrew McConnell combines high-quality produce to create a multitude of textures in his dishes. Layering taste-upon-taste to create a range of delicately balanced dishes. More...
Melbourne, Cutler and Co, Food, Fine dining, Bars, Eat, Drink