Pilerats, Journalist

When Planet Earth meets porn..

Jesse Kanda turns out another video winner for brain-melting producer Arca.. 24 year-old, Venezuelan-born, London-residing music producer/mixing engineer Arca’s forthcoming full length studio release, Xen, comes out tomorrow, a year on from Arca’s stunning mixtape &&&, and EP Stretch 2. Prior to its release, he’s just put out a video for title track Now You Know, directed/created by Jesse Kanda.  Given Kanda’s work for Arca so far has been mostly confronting, his video for Now You Know, seems a lot more tame in comparison, but hugely captivating, all the same. Dalston-based, Japanese born video artist Jesse Kanda has been friends with Arca for ten years (they met on the internet at age 14) and is currently touring the UK with Arca, providing visuals for all of his shows, is behind the camera for the track’s video. Kanda has collaborated with Arca previously on a video for Arca’s track Thievery, and on a film project called Trauma (which played at the Museum of Modern Art) where the two

Perth Festival 2015 has some epic and inspiring music, theatre and film in store. Check out our picks!. I can't imagine what summers in WA would be like without Perth Festival. The things I experience from around the world, at Perth Festival every year, are enough to keep me culturally inspired, and in love with the Arts, for the whole remaining year to come.  Having been to seven or eight Festivals now, my Festival memories exist less as thoughts and more as collections of really good feelings: like the time after the 2011 production of Out of Context: For Pina, where I just sat in my chair at the State Theatre for maybe ten minutes after the show finished, unable to get up and exit, so floored by what I'd just seen - a dance piece that blew out of the water everything I thought I knew (/hated) about contemporary dance. I'll likewise never forget the exhilaration of being under the stars with an icy cider in my hand as a music angel I've loved since forever, How To Dress Well, sent hi

Loston returns with another stellar rework, this time for London Grammar.. WA-based producer Loston continues a stellar run of remix/reworks with the follow up to his original tune a few months back (Drown), this time taking to London Grammar's Strong with his signature brand of dark yet uplifting soundscapes. With the track premiering on Ear Milk last night, London Grammer (themselves just announcing a return to Australia next year as part of the Perth International Arts Festival) and Loston are a perfect match, both dabbling in an emotive brand of music that tugs at the heartstrings, although the beatmaker does apply just the right amount of oomph to toughen things up a bit. It's also available as a free download from Loston's FACEBOOK.

Some thoughts on the terminally ill brain cancer patient and the right to euthanasia.. By Hannah Valmadre Earlier this week, 29-year-old terminal brain cancer patient Brittany Maynard ended her life on her own terms. She moved with her family from California to Oregon where she could legally access The Death With Dignity Act, which is only available in certain states of the USA. Maynard’s story went viral, and she decided to share her story with the world in the hope that all Americans would one day be able to access the same public policy she was able to. In a video recorded not long before November 1, Maynard expressed that, “my goal of course is to influence this policy for positive change and I would like to see all Americans to have access to the same healthcare rights.”  It is my personal hope that Maynard’s story and her bravery will help influence other countries to embrace compassion and legalise regulated voluntary euthanasia and/or physician assisted suicide for terminally i

AKA SHENANIGANS: The Movie.. A couple of months back Dune Rats went around the country for a bunch of shows celebrating their latest single Superman, from their debut album released earlier this year (buy HERE). Part of that tour saw them go on a jaunt to the south west of our neck of the woods with the good lads at Hooch, and the video below documents those times. And times they most definitely were. Before the end of the year you can catch them at the Festival Of The Sun Festival alongside the likes of Violent Soho and The Jezabels (details HERE), before they join the ever-on-point St Jerome's Laneway Festval in February next year (details HERE). In the meantime please enjoy the very approprately titled Dune Rats South West Rampage Tour video. I could try and summise what you're about to see, but if you've ever been to a Dunies show, or watched a Dunies video clip, you know what you're in for:

A sublime collection of beats from the Melbourne producer.. We've been feverishly anticipating Thrupence's Lessons Mixtape 4 since he dropped his first tune with Future Classic last August in Don't You Mind. And he hasn't disappointed. I could lazily apply an Avalanches-esque descriptor to his sound (and I just did), but there's also a lot more to it that makes Thrupence one of the most interesting and unique producers in a very busy Australian scene. You can stream Lessons below, or buy it for the paltry sum of $7 via Thrupence's BANDCAMP. Money well spent:

Before she appears at this weekend's WAM Festival conference, meet Abbe May.. This weekend sees the WAM Festival take over Perth for a series of conference panels, awards nights and free shows celebrating all things WA Music. For a brief rundown of the nominees (including our own Sable and CIRCO Festivals) and events click HERE, and today please enjoy a video interview with one of the conference's guest speakers - Abbe May. A popular figure round these parts for a number of years, recent times have seen Abbe tackling her solo career with the ferosity that has always been a focus of her music. Last year's album Kiss My Apocalypse was an absolute winner, seeing the artist branching into more electronic realms with a heap of success. She's also one of the most open and honest acts you'll ever come across, making this one of our favourite interviews we've ever had the pleasure of conducting.

Prepare yourself for some lush electronica out of Brisbane.. Following its premiere over with the good blokes at Acid Stag, it's time for the wider world to get around Brisbane-based producer Motion Picture Actress and his new single Hider's Waltz. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Nicolas Jaar and Taylor McFerrin, Hider's Waltz is layer upon layer of delicate electronic instrumentation and thumping percussion, with a warbling bass that holds on tight and never lets go for track's three-and-a-half minutes. The track is available over at Motion Picture Actress's BANDCAMP, and you can stream it below:

Tei Shi is making fast time becoming an exciting name in electronic music.. Brooklyn-via-Columbia-via Vancouver singer Tei Shi is very quickly becoming an artist you need to be around. Her most recent single Bassically went straight to #1 on Hype Machine, and this new single See Me has very quickly followed suite. The track was co-produced by long-term collaborator Luca Buccellati, Tei Shi and Glass Animal's Dave Bayley, and is the congruence of all these collective talents combined. Sparse and an almost bluesy bassline oozes sex appeal, with Tei Shi's delicate coo wafting over the beat, it's pretty easy to see why people are getting excited about her.