It has been far too long since we've had a true Missy Elliott one time exclusive on our hands. Far. Too. Long. The wait has been worth it... to see Missy work it, put her thing down, flip it and reverse it. Yes, Christmas has come early for fans of Misdemeanor in the form of your new favourite dance jam, 'WTF'. "I'm a Big Mac, make you wanna eat that." All that and so much more, Missy. Snappy lyrics, beats that will get those feet moving and a much more motivated Pharrell than what we've been getting lately all feature on the return of the Queen. If I haven't made it clear yet, the song is amazing. Just as much of a treat is the music video for 'WTF', which finds itself a more than suitable addition to an artist who has established herself as THE artist when it comes to clips. 'The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly), 'She's a Bitch', Get Ur Freak On', 'Work It', 'Pass That Dutch', 'Lose Control'. You can't read those track titles without picturing their legendary videos. 'WTF' is definitely in league with what has come before.
Collaborating with director Dave Meyers was the first sign this clip would be one to remember. Meyers is of course the man responsible for the previously mentioned 'Get Ur Freak On' and 'Pass That Dutch', as well as 'One Minute Man' and 'Gossip Folks'. When it comes to Missy, Meyers knows how to bring out the best in hip-hop's First Lady. 'WTF' is a song you're going to want to dance to and the video makes sure you know it. Elliott breaks it down in a disco-ball inspired tracksuit (complete with silver disco ball lipstick) before showing she's still more than capable of shaking it with the best of them in her Biggie beanie. Segway dancing, puppets and a beautiful closing shot of futuristic dolls in their boxes. This is everything we could have wanted from new Missy Elliott. Welcome back, Missy. 'WTF' is showing just how much you've been missed.
Matt Bond gives the video for 'WTF (Where They From' four and a half
After a decade of releasing music that has won him fans all over the world, U.S. singer-songwriter William Fitzsimmons is coming to Australia for the first time in February 2016. As long time listeners of his work, we were stoked to be able to ask William some questions ahead of his trip over. It's a Wednesday night interview surprise... enjoy!
WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS
Interview by Matt Bond
Hi William, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions from us. Where in the world are you and what have you been getting up to lately?
William: My pleasure. I'm actually at home at the moment, taking some time off from touring to spend time with the family and record some new songs. It's been a pretty busy year, which is great, but I start to feel really disconnected with my family after a while and it's not healthy to keep going in that state. I'm going to stay home through the holidays and into the beginning of next year.
You'll be performing in Australia for the first time in February, with shows booked for Sydney and Melbourne. Have you been to Australia before? Other than the gigs, what have you got on your list of things to do while you're here?
William: It's funny, Australia is one of the first places I wanted to go to whenever I started traveling to play music, but it's taken me 10 years to make it happen. I've never been there and honestly I don't have much of a "list" per se. I mean I am definitely going to go and explore the cities as much as possible. But for me places are usually best experienced through people. This might sound overly sentimental, but honestly I most look forward to getting to meet the people who have been carrying my music with them for a decade so I can say thank you.
Music must have played an important part in your life right from the start, with your parents both musicians. What are some of your favourite childhood musical memories?
William: My dad used to get home kind of late from work some nights, but he loved playing his organ. So he would fire it up, even after 9 or 10 at night, and blow the shit out of that thing. He's a great player, and man was that thing loud. Our neighbors hated it, but there was something so comforting about hearing that sound reverberate up the walls as we went to sleep. I still miss that.
After completing your studies and working in mental health, you released your first album in 2005, "Until When We Are Ghosts". They're two vastly different fields. What inspired you to work in mental health? Did you always know that music was something you wanted to pursue as a career?
William: You know on the surface of course they do seem very different, but what I found over time is that the mental health component in music, at least in some of it, is incredibly strong and incredibly important. Sometimes I think the very thing that connects us to our favorite songs or favorite artists is that they're touching on things we ourselves are trying to work out. Once I realized how powerful that connection is I figured I was given the opportunity to write and play in order to make songs that could operate well on a mental health level.
As far as pursuing music, I knew I would always play and sing, but I never thought of it as something that would pay the bills. That didn't come about until after my divorce, when my world kind of went to shit and I had to figure my life out again. I wanted to physically get away from where I was and I thought I could play some shows that would pay the way. That was 10 years ago.
Speaking of "Until When We Are Ghosts", the first song of yours I heard (way back when) was 'Funeral Dress', which can be found on your debut. I'm going to be totally selfish and take the opportunity to ask you for the story behind the song...
William: I wrote that song after seeing a picture of my mother as a little girl for the first time. She was wearing this beautiful confirmation dress and I was young enough to have my mind blown by thinking that my mom was once a young person. I thought of how she must still think of herself in that way from time to time, and that one day she might wear a similar dress when she died. I didn't mean it as a morbid thought, it's just about the reality of time passing and how quickly it goes. Now I think about how I'm getting near the same age she was when I first saw that picture and the song has a little more weight to it than it even did back then.
This year saw the release of your seventh record "Pittsburgh", your most personal collection of songs yet, not only because it's paying homage to your hometown but for the touching way it pays tribute to your Grandmother who passed away last year. How did your Grandmother and Pittsburgh shape you as a person and performer?
William: I think the culture of Pittsburgh is one of toughness and honesty. And I think of my grandmother as having those in spades. She was terribly kind as well, but never without an element of truth in it. I aspire to those qualities, though I know I don't have them yet in the ways that she did. But I want my music to hopefully offer that to people. A little bit of honesty in a pretty bleak world. I like writing about shit some people don't want to talk or think about. I like that sometimes it makes people uncomfortable. I don't get off on that, but it makes me feel like I'm on the right path.
You've got seven records to your name, which means there's plenty of tracks to draw from for your Australian setlists. Since they'll be your first shows in the country, can fans expect more of a 'greatest hits' experience?
William: Haha, it's good that you put "greatest hits" in quotes, cause I'm pretty sure I don't have anything you could call a "hit" ;)
Yes, when I play places I've never played before, I like to kind of go back to some of the old stuff, as those people have never had a chance to hear any of the songs in person. I'm not precious about that stuff like other artists sometimes are. I'm a writer, yes. But I'm also an entertainer. There'll be some of the new stuff too for sure. But it'll be balanced.
I don't know. I consider any song that's been on Grey's Anatomy a hit and you've had two. So you're not even a one-hit wonder. Well done! Who are some of your favourite Australian musicians? I've got a feeling I know who one of them will be, since you recorded with her on your track 'Let You Break'...
William: I was very happy to be able to sing with Julia Stone. I love her voice and she's such a beautiful AND unique singer, something that's increasingly rare anymore. One of my other favorites has to be Colin Hay. I got to open a few shows for him several years ago and his live, solo show blew me away. He was so connected and present. I learned a lot from that and, beyond being a fan, I've tried to incorporate that element of being super present when I preform.
With over a decade of experience learned, what advice can you offer to emerging artists who would like to enjoy a long career in the music industry?
William: Well there are no silver bullets. There's no magic pills. And it's a son-of-a-bitch business. Writing songs is hard. It can be painful, and lonely, and alienating. I just recently found out that the guy who was running my merch business screwed me out of a lot of money. But if you love writing and playing, then you find a way to do it. What's kept me going is the feeling I get when I write a song that means something to me, and when I see the face of the person that it means something to as well. That, and all the women.
Of course... the women. When it comes to related artists, you appear amongst the likes of Ingrid Michaelson, Greg Laswell, Sara Bareilles and Cary Brothers (among others). What you all have in common is your wonderful songwriting and storytelling abilities. What do you personally think makes an effective songwriter?
William: Telling the truth. Most music doesn't do that. I didn't invent doing that, far from it. But if you want to make people feel something, you have to do it.
QUICK HITS:
The first album you ever bought was...
William: "Bad" by Michael Jackson. I LOVED that record. But my grandmother threw it away when she found it a few days later. She thought rock and roll was the devil's music. Seriously.
A song you wish you had written is...
William: "If I Needed You" by Townes Van Zandt. That is a fucking masterpiece of a song.
The best gig you've ever been to was...
William: Bon Iver in Haldern, Germany several years ago. We were playing the same festival and they had us on different stages at roughly the same time. I might have rushed through my last few songs so I could see his show. Maybe.
Your music guilty pleasures include...
William: Katy Perry. She's a really good singer. And she's beautiful. Just saying.
When they air the William Fitzsimmons edition of MTV's Behind The Music in thirty four years time, what will they say about you?
William: "Who the fuck is William Fitzsimmons?"
Brilliant. Massive thanks to William for stopping by! If you're lucky enough to be in Sydney/Melbourne in February, make sure you head along to one of William Fitzsimmons' shows. Details below...
We've been big fans of Sydney's sister-brother combo, Winters End since we heard their track 'Walls' last year. Now they're out touring the most excellent follow-up single 'Mayfair', with a stop in Brisbane at Rics Bar planned for this coming Saturday, November 14! Tonight, Winters End (aka Marissa and Christopher Pinto) drop by to chat about 'Mayfair', life on the road and a whole lot more. Enjoy!
WINTERS END'S
MARISSA and CHRISTOPHER PINTO
Interview by Matt Bond
Hey hey, Winters End! Thanks for stopping by for a chat. How are you on this fine day and what have you been getting up to?
Marissa: Hey guys! We are well and very excited to be speaking to you! Currently we're on tour in Melbourne for our Mayfair Single Tour.
As an emerging band, you're going to have a lot of people trying to define your sound. So tell us a little bit about Winters End. You're a sister/brother combo, but when did you decide to start making music together and how would you define your own music?
Christopher: We started Winters End in 2011, both coming from vastly different tastes in music, with a common tendency towards music of the 80s. Due to our differing backgrounds, our music is really a combination of dance grooves, and highly emotive melodies and soaring vocals.
'Mayfair' is your latest single and the follow-up to 2014's 'Walls'. Opening with rolling drums from Chris and highlighted by Marissa's striking vocals, it's easy to understand why it's been winning you so many new fans. What's the story behind the song?
Marissa: The story behind Mayfair is that it is a song for all the people who feel trapped, and feel as though what they want is constantly just out of their reach, like Mayfair in monopoly.
You're touring 'Mayfair' through the end of the year, with upcoming stops in Brisbane (woo!) and Adelaide. For unfamiliar punters, what is the Winters End live experience like?
Christopher: During a Winters End live set we aim to take our listeners on a journey, where the only place they need to be at that moment is in the room with us. So that the outside world becomes completely irrelevant at least for the duration of the show that is.
What's on the agenda once the tour has finished? Will you be recording more music for release in 2016? Maybe a debut album or EP?
Marissa: The agenda for future recording is to get back into the studio early 2016 to record some more music. At this stage we're deciding on whether we will do another EP or record another single. We'll keep you posted!
How do you approach your songwriting? Do you find inspiration in the world around you, the make believe or your own life? Who are some of your favourite songwriters?
Christopher: The process of our songwriting is that Marissa will compose a melody/idea and then bring it to our rehearsal studio where we will work on it and that is where the magic happens. I think there are many influences on our songwriting and it really does often reflect what is happening in our lives at that point in time. We actually have a very special song we play live which was written after we lost a very close friend. Favourite songwriters of ours would be: Beach House, The Jezabels, Paul Kelly, Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac.
THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE HAS HAPPENED! Don't freak out too much, you survived. Before you were forced to evacuate to... Tasmania... you had enough time to pick out five CD's that are incredibly important to you (and they'll possibly be the only five CD's remaining in... Tasmania). Which CD's did you grab and why?
Marissa: Beach House's Devotion, because it takes you away to the cobwebs and creaks of a haunted house.
Tame Impala's Lonerism, because it lifts me up and mellows me out at the same time.
Radiohead's OK Computer, because the tracks opened my mind to what music could be
HAIM's Days are Gone, as it is an 80s revival that keeps my feet tapping,
Beach House's Depression Cherry, their best album, and an album that didn't let me down in 2015.
A question I'm asking in all our interviews now, stolen from "Almost Famous", that's been getting some amazing responses is something that might seem simple, but it's really not. So... what do you love about music?
Christopher: For me I love that music can do so many things. It can cheer you up, relax you, make you cry, make you dance and the list could go on. I know that we are so thankful to be able to create music that makes people feel a range of ways and playing it live really is something so special.
Quick Hits:
The first album you ever bought was...
Marissa: Spandau Ballet's Greatest Hits.
If you could collaborate with any artist it would be...
Marissa: Stevie Nicks.
Your music guilty pleasures include...
Marissa: Miguel, Madonna.
When you're not making music, you could be found doing...
Marissa: Surfing.
It's been a huge year for Australian music and people are going to have to start getting ready to vote for the next triple J Hottest 100. If I was to ask you today what songs you'll be voting for, what would you say?
Christopher: For me I would have to vote for Rufus' 'You Were Right'. I saw these guys in a small nightclub in Toronto last year and was just blown away. As for a couple of internationals I can’t go past 'Criminals' by MSMR as it is just so full of power. The second would be 'Mountain at my Gates' by Foals. Hell of a song.
When they air the MTV Behind The Music Winter's End special in forty-five years time, what will they say about you?
Marissa: The thing you could be guaranteed of when dealing with Winters End was that while their musical success was huge on a global scale, they maintained the utmost respect for everyone that they worked with. They were just so stoked about their music reaching so many different people and allowing them to travel to play for people worldwide, that they developed quite a reputation for professionalism and gratitude, and I think that this was integral to the extent of their success.
Professionalism and gratitude. I knew there was a reason we liked these two. A big thanks to Marissa and Christopher for the chat! If you're in the Valley on Saturday night, Brisbane friends, make sure you head to Rics to check out Winters End. They'll be hitting up Mt Victoria and Adelaide next, details below...
At this point, a new album from Sarah Blasko is like catching up with that friend you just don't get to see as much as you'd like. The visits might be few and far between, once every couple of years or so, but you know you're going to have the best time while they're around. And you're going to have memories of the experiences you've shared forever. Yep, five studio albums in and Sarah Blasko is pretty much your musical BFF (at least she should be, get on board already why don't 'cha?). Widely regarded as one of the most intriguing and emotionally engaging artists in the world, Blasko shows there's still so many sides of her we've yet to see on Eternal Return. Those that she reveals throughout this ten track collection could prove to be her most endearing yet as she steps away from the cinematic orchestrations of I Awake and into dreamy, synth-heavy soundscapes. You'll want to dance. You'll sigh those sighs that can only come with the words of one of Australia's finest songwriters, who's approaching her music from a place far more content with life than what has come before. And you might even find your heart broken and put back together several times on a song or two. Ok, obviously. No matter how happy she is, this is still Sarah Blasko we're talking about. May she never completely change.
"I never know what to say, but I heard that you were talking when I, turned my back that day... it hurt, but the truth is I asked for it." When it comes to first tracks, Sarah Blasko knows how to make a powerful entrance. Much like 'I Awake', Eternal Return opens with what feels like a declaration of intent, an announcement of the arrival of a chanteuse reborn. This time it's 'I Am Ready' declaring Blasko's arrival. Driving the point home, the synths almost emulate the sounds of blaring horns. She wants us to know she won't be holding back, she's ready to believe in herself and you'll be believing too as the music soars out into the atmosphere towards the finish. Oh, Sarah... it's good to have you back. 'I Wanna Be Your Man' is like the glorious 80s-prom throwback you didn't even realise you needed in your life. Just listen, you'll understand. Anyone afraid of how this foray into the world of the electronic would pan out can sleep easy tonight. The music is all kinds of beautiful.
Quirky and cute in all the right ways, 'Better With You' is just one not-so-subtle indication on Eternal Return that our leading lady might just be in luuurve. Woo-woo etc. "You could say I waited for you all this time, I won't deny the change I'm feeling I cannot hide... it's better with you." Sarah Blasko will make you believe in love again. Especially as the lines, "oh look at what we have it's getting better all the time," repeat at the end of the track. Hopefully you've already heard 'I'd Be Lost'. It's been getting a ton of deserved airplay on our national youth(ish?) broadcaster, alleviating my fears that Sarah would be relegated to the 2x j's as opposed to the 3x. How could they resist a song like 'I'd Be Lost' though? As close to a runaway pop smash as we're likely to ever experience from an artist who might never cross over into the Top 40, this is so different from what we've come to know about Sarah Blasko. Which is possibly why I wasn't enamored with it upon first listen. Like all great pop gems, 'I'd Be Lost' has a way of working its way into your brain and refusing to let go. Crafted expertly with coos in all the right places and finding Blasko falling deeper and deeper in love, this is a stand out moment on Eternal Return and shoots towards the top of a stellar catalogue of music.
Just as ready for radio is the following number, 'Maybe This Time'. Blasko's soulful, jazz-influenced vocals find the perfect partner in fantastic, dreamy atmosphere created on another song that's, you guessed it, about love. All the good songs are though, right? "It's beautiful now we reached the top, my love for you will never stop." What should seem so wrong is somehow so, so very right. I don't think Sarah's voice has ever sounded better than on 'Luxurious' and that's not something I'm just saying to exaggerate how wonderful her voice sounds on the song. I really don't think it's ever sounded better. Her control over her voice has always been a great strength, but with 'Luxurious' it's on another level. It's on another planet, because the song feels like it takes you into space on a beautiful journey of the cosmos. Sure, it's another song about love. But it's one of the most genuine depictions of love in song form you're likely to ever hear. With sparse electronic touches and a lone guitar, the weight of the emotional impact is left for Blasko's voice to deliver and she delivers in spades. Stunning isn't a strong enough word..
'Only One' and 'Say What You Want' power Eternal Return through towards its end. The former was released as a double single with 'I'd Be Lost' and has a video shot by Wilk due for release sometime soon. Another track destined for some radio love, its effortless and heartwarming nature make it more than deserving of the full-blown single treatment. 'Say What You Want' is a gorgeous addition, taking the woman from 'I Am Ready' and showing her dreams fulfilled. "It's hard to resist what is bathed in white, you lose part of yourself in all the shine so bright." What's this? Is the final track 'Without' closing Eternal Return on a darker note? "If you have not love, you have nothing at all." This is definitely more a 'classic' Blasko sound. Leaning on those flat notes, the return of the piano. It creates a stark difference to the bouncy tracks that have come before. While I'm not up to date on the goings on of Sarah Blasko's personal life, I'd say 'Without' isn't a sign that things haven't ended the best. Instead, it's simply a reminder that life is nothing without love. So suck it, singles. Wait, that's probably not what she's going for there. Probably.
You can count on Sarah Blasko to deliver an album you won't soon forget. On Eternal Return she puts her best feet forward and strives to bring you up with her. Undoubtedly romantic without succumbing to sappy lines about two becoming one (viva forever, I'll be waiting) this will go down as one of the finest tributes to the very best things about l-o-v-e. I never thought I'd be saying that about a Sarah Blasko album and yet here we are. How unexpected. How utterly brilliant.
Matt Bond gives Eternal Return five dancing lady emoji out of five...
