9 Things You Need To Do At Sugar Mountain

Evan Young takes us through The Music’s picks of the many ear-, eye- and taste bud-pleasing things on offer at Sugar Mountain.

Banoffee

Following a breakout 2014 under the Banoffee moniker, Martha Brown brings her combination of vintage synths and modern R&B to Sugar Mountain. Her self-titled debut EP and newest single Let’s Go To The Beach has people talking all over the world, helping to cement Melbourne as a thriving electronic community. It’s only appropriate that Banoffee is playing SM this year, as, much like the festival itself, she continues to make a name for itself with endearing eccentricity.

Terrible Love ft Kirin J Callinan

Exclusive to Sugar Mountain comes a highly anticipated collaboration between local darling Kirin J Callinan and Brooklyn label Terrible Records – the creation of Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor and Ethan Silverman – to present Terrible Love. Callinan’s last collaboration at Sugar Mountain in 2013 had everyone talking, so it’ll definitely be worth checking out what he’s got in store this year.

Nonotak

A stunning collision of light and sound, this multinational collective is the collaboration between illustrator Noemi Schipfer and architect/musician Takami Nakamoto. Producing wondrous, ethereal, large-scale installations, Nakamoto’s approach to space and sound combines perfectly with Schipfer’s experience in kinetic visual work, truly enveloping the viewer in all its grandeur.

Sean Morris

Perth-born Morris works across a multitude of mediums, and he’ll be bringing all his expertise to Sugar Mountain. Incongruous and striking at the same time, Morris has held solo exhibitions around the world as well as curating events as part of Black Canyon. His other clients include The New York Times, Grand Scheme, Addict Clothing, The Portland Mercury and Little White Lies, providing a snapshot of Morris’ many admirers.

NO ZU + Sal P

A body-music spectacular, NO ZU encapsulate the essence of Sugar Mountain to a tee: eclectic, eccentric and oh so enthralling. Percolating into the madcap monster which embodies their sound are otherworldly vocals, punctuating horn, deep synths, groovy bass lines and Latin percussion – a combination which creates a mood like nothing else around. They’ll be joined by Sal P of NYC post-punk, post-disco band Liquid Liquid: a band heavily entwined in the history of both NYC’s underground and the NO ZU family.

Horse Meat Disco

James Hillard, Jim Stanton, Luke Howard and Severino came together to form this DJ collective, which managed to invigorate the London club scene with their ‘queer party for everyone’ concept, established more than a decade ago in Britain. Since then they’ve created a label and soundtracked fashion shows, club nights and festivals worldwide. They now bring cuts both old and new to Melbourne, and we here at The Music will be front and centre for the ride.

Ike’s Rack Shack

Carlton’s finest dive bar operator, Dave Kerr, will build a replica of The Beaufort on site – complete with Ike’s Rack Shack lean-to, serving up all the grilled supplies you didn’t know you needed. There will also be plenty of boutique beers, quality spirits, cocktail specials and awesome mixers to accompany all the barbeque goodness too, so if you’re feeling like something smokey, you know where to go. Vegos and vegans, you’re not forgotten: they’ll have vegan ribs available, too.

Uncle

It’s only been open for little more than a year but St Kilda’s Uncle has attracted plenty of admirers, and obviously the Sugar Mountain organisers are big fans too. Their dishes are seemingly tailor-made for festivals – think delicious chicken tenderloin steamed bao with Vietnamese mint and spicy pickles, and everyone’s favourite, the traditional Vietnamese pork meatball banh mi. Delicious.

Leif Podhajsky & Hisham Bharoocha

You mightn’t know it, but chances are you are already very familiar with the work of Leif Podhajsky. Famous for creating the iconic psychedelic album artworks used by the likes of Tame Impala, Foals, Grimes and The Horrors, the Byron Bay-raised Podhajsky will be working at Sugar Mountain with Japanese-born artist Hisham Bharoocha (who’s done work for the likes of Sephora, Puma, Saint Heron and Nylon Magazine to name a few). Involving one solo piece each and a collaborative effort, we can’t wait to see what the two will serve up.

For more on Sugar Mountain, head to our dedicated festival page.