Taste Test: Holy Other

FIRST ALBUM I BOUGHT WITH MY OWN MONEY
Mariah Carey, Daydream. It was one of the few records that I'd bought when I was super young that survived the charity store trip when I left home. Most of the records I'd amassed are totally regrettable, unlistenable things that have no shelf-life beyond the year of pressing. This is the only pre-high school record that I return to, despite those formative shifts in taste. This was the soundtrack to an infinite number of backseat car journeys. I still stand by the fact that Fantasy is one of the greatest songs ever written.

THE ALBUM I'M LOVING RIGHT NOW
I'm going to have to pick two: Autre Ne Veut, Anxiety, and Grouper, The Man Who Died In His Boat. That Autre Ne Veut album is a total mindfuck. I love how he began as a solitary, weirdo R&B bedroom producer and created this raucous pop record that sounds so wholly modern. I had the pleasure of playing with him in NYC last year and it was one of the best shows I saw in 2012. Anxiety deserves to elevate ANV into the mainstream. Grouper meanwhile has a sound that is super restrained and unique to her. I used to be obsessed with Low when I was younger and developed an obsession for slow-paced guitar pop. Grouper has these beautiful meandering pop sounds drenched in thick reverb that evoke the same emotions I'd experience when listening to Low years ago. Ever since she appeared on the scene I've been hooked by every release.

MY FAVOURITE PARTY ALBUM
Basic Channel, BCD. Basic Channel were one of the reasons why I was naturally drawn to Berlin, and were one of the main reasons why I stuck around for so long. They created an idealised Berlin that I rarely managed to grasp. Instead of experiencing the hypnotic techno that BC were releasing in the '90s, I'd find a lot of clubs playing neutered electro-house that most of the UK had already grown tired of. The techno scene I experienced in 2009-'10 seemed more self-indulgent than I'd led myself to expect – but maybe I was hanging with the wrong crowds. This record is the encapsulation of my ideal party.

THE FIRST GIG I EVER ATTENDED
Blink-182. Okay, so maybe this is a little exposing. Pop-punk was the first genre 'misstep' of many I made growing up. In all honestly though, I have absolutely no regrets. I grew my hair out; I flirted with skateboarding; I got into graffiti art. All these were shortlived experiments of youth. I now occasionally get drunk, load YouTube and slip into some Blink-182 nostalgic stupor, but it is only a temporary thing. Some things only serve to take you somewhere else, rather than necessarily having any long-lasting internal merit. Without Blink, I may have never listened to Arvo Part.

THE WEIRDEST GIG EXPERIENCE I'VE HAD
Probably watching Justice Yeldham play live. Definitely the most visceral thing I've seen on stage, Justice is more performance artist than musician. I caught one performance a few years back where he had attached contact mics to sheet glass. He used a serrated edge to cut open his flesh and was smearing blood all over the stage while screaming at the glass, creating a super piercing wall of noise. He obviously looked totally fucked by the end of it.

MY BIGGEST NON-MUSICAL INFLUENCES
Vladimir Nabokov. Probably my favourite writer ever, but also probably the reason why I stopped writing literature to focus on something else entirely. It has pretty much become a common warning that if you want to inspire yourself to write anything, do not do so by reading any of his prose. If you're trying to make some beats though it's probably not a hindrance. JG Ballard's dystopic visions are some of the finest depictions of the banality of most aspects of modern society, and particularly relevant to a British guy living in a high-rise apartment. Mark Z Danielewski's House Of Leaves practically created Holy Other.

THE COOLEST PERSON I'VE EVER MET
Amon Tobin. I toured with the man over last summer in America. I totally expected him to be insular and aloof, being such a high-profile producer. Instead he was super chill and supportive. Bonding highlight was probably watching The Master in a dine-in cinema in Disneyworld. I really miss hanging out with him.

THE BIGGEST CELEBRITY CRUSH I'VE EVER HAD
Katie Holmes. I was a Dawson's Creek addict when I was younger and totally fell in love with Katie Holmes. It was terrifying to watch her disappear into the abyss of Tom Cruise, but I was so relieved to see that she managed to survive.

IF I COULD HANG OUT IN ANY TIME AND PLACE IN HISTORY
If it was a temporary thing, I'd love to hang out in 1920s Paris but even that Woody Allen Midnight In Paris film seems to suggest that a long hang-out is probably not a good idea (the myth of the golden age and all that). If it was a permanent hang-out, I'd probably opt for my bedroom because it's pretty comfortable.

IF I WASN'T MAKING MUSIC
Having eternal existential crises in some customer-service role for a major corporation. Performing unpaid labour in exchange for a bowl of rice and a woven mat to sleep on. Collecting unemployment benefits from the state. Mopping the floor that you're walking on. Interning at an advertisement agency...

Holy Other will be playing the following dates:

Friday 1 February - Laneway Festival, Fortitude Valley QLD
Saturday 2 February - Laneway Festival, Sydney NSW
Sunday 3 February - Laneway Festival, Footscray VIC
Tuesday 5 February - Laneway Festival, Workers Club, Melbourne VIC
Wednesday 6 February - Laneway Festival, GoodGod Small Club, Sydney NSW
Friday 8 February - Laneway Festival, Adelaide SA
Saturday 9 February - Laneway Festival, Perth WA