The Former Royal Women’s Hospital
In the tradition of Kubik Melbourne in 2011, 2012’s Where?House, The Residence in 2013 and 2014’s QVM, Melbourne Music Week is set to transform an unlikely space and immerse you with live music and art once more. The location for the 2015 flagship venue, 150 years after the building first opened, will be the disused basement and adjoining rooms of the Former Royal Women’s Hospital on Swanston St. Throughout the week it will stage local and international headliners, art on show, a vivid daily lineup of events, and offer quality food and drink throughout this year’s eight day program. It will also be MMW’s first ever carbon neutral flagship venue. Meanwhile, Swell, an evocative, multi-sensory and immersive soundscape journey through live music, art and design will also take over 12 of the Former Royal Women’s Hospital’s forgotten spaces, and will feature an array of secret one-off performances throughout the week.
Opening Night Party
For the always-stellar opening night for MMW, the Former Royal Women’s Hospital welcomes an all-Melbourne lineup of Gypsy & The Cat, The Harpoons and Dorsal Fins to the stage. This year, the opening night foray will be held on Friday November 13, and will see Gypsy & The Cat emerge from a mini-hiatus to showcase tracks from their latest, and rather unexpected release, Hearts a Gun. Meanwhile, Melbourne’s connoisseurs of R&B and pop-inflected grooves, The Harpoons will return to the Melbourne stage after their recent venture across the world, while ten-piece alt-pop collective Dorsal Fins bring the house down with tracks off their latest release, Mind Renovation. The MMW opening bash will go down at The Former Royal Women’s Hospital from 7pm – 1am.
Robert Henke and Monolake
Berlin’s sound-art mastermind Robert Henke (of Monolake fame) will perform the Australian premiere and exclusive MMW performance of Lumière II. A presentation on the edge of concert and visual arts, Lumière II explores the limits of what lasers can do, pushing the medium to an extreme in an ecstatic performance for both performer and audience. In a separate event, he will go behind the scenes to examine the history of his laser works, starting with his Fragile Territories installation, which will point a lens at the aesthetic challenges of the Lumière II project and include details of the code developed by Henke to drive the lasers and the interaction between the sound and the visual elements. Both of these events take place over Thursday November 19 and Friday November 20 at the Melbourne Recital Centre. Before all of this, however, Henke will be performing under his Monolake moniker for an evening of pulsing techno productions at the Former Royal Women’s Hospital on Wednesday November 18.
Dr Dunks and Secret Circuit
Animals Dancing are throwing one of their infamous parties at the flagship venue with two of the most reverred names in dance music. Eric Duncan AKA Dr Dunks is the undisputed disco-edit king of New York. Case in point: his phenomenal How We Do In NYC mix from 2009 still holds up as one of the greatest ever. Aside from that, for the past 20 years he’s been slinging his ridiculously good C.O.M.B.i. edit series, worked alongside Thomas Bullock as Rub-N-Tug, and also produces house records as one-half of Still Going. Joining Dunks on the bill will be the live debut of Secret Circuit. When he’s not releasing records on the likes of B.I.S, RVNG, Emotional Response and ESP Institute, or working alongside Lovefingers, Willie Burns, Torn Hawk and DJ Harvey, the prolific producer has been touring the globe with his revered analogue approach to the dance floor. Don’t miss your chance to see one of the finest live acts in the electronic game. It’s going down at the Former Royal Women’s Hospital on Saturday November 14.
Mathew Jonson and Cobblestone Jazz
Get ready for a master class in live electronic music, featuring Mathew Jonson in solo mode and also as Cobblestone Jazz with bandmates Danuel Tate and Tyger Dhula. Jonson is revered as one of the finest solo live electronic on the planet, and with Cobblestone Jazz he’s also released two seminal albums (23 Seconds and The Modern Deep Left Quartet). They’ll be supported veteran Melbourne DJs T-Rek and Mike Callander at the Former Royal Women’s Hospital on the closing night of Melbourne Music Week, Friday November 20.
Lunchbox Series
By no means are we encouraging you to extend your lunchbreaks out a wee bit during Melbourne Music Week, but we highly recommend you check out FasterLouder’s Lunchbox series; a collection of free lunchtime performances at the MMW flagship venue, the Former Royal Women’s Hospital. These gigs have been a staple of Melbourne Music Week since 2010, and for their five year anniversary, the team have pulled together some fabulous artists to interrupt your working days. This year’s Lunchbox Series will see artists Jim Lawrie, Ella Thompson Luke Howard, Woodes and Zone Out take over the venue for a string of performances. Each show is free and kicks off at 1pm.
Live Music Safari
The ever-popular Live Music Safari will return once more for a city-wide extravaganza of free gigs, featuring over 50 local artists including Mesa Cosa, Oddisee, Quarter Street, Terrible Truths, Sleep D, Dan White, Kylie Auldist and more over 14 local venues. There will be some killer laneway parties, with Wax’o Paradiso’s Simon TK, Edd Fisher and Andy Hart taking over and transforming Westwood Pl, Boney and Magic Mountain Saloon, Section 8 and Ferdydurke collaborating once again to bring the masses in Tattersalls Ln a menagerie of extravagant proportions in ZOO, alongside Loop hosting an audio visual showdown with friendships, ALTA, Wabz, Jonny Faith and local DJs for a party that will extend into Meyers Place to bring Loop’s interiors to the exterior through music and good times. We’ll have a comprehensive run-down on each venue’s offering in next week’s issue of Beat. It’s going down on Thursday November 19, proudly presented by Jack Daniel’s Future Legends.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
San Franciscan psych-rock royalty The Brian Jonestown Massacre will celebrate their 25-year anniversary at MMW with a phenomenal, one-off show on Sunday November 15. The band will bring the Melbourne Town Hall to life with two hours of BJM bliss, melding their mind-expanding, hypnotic psych rock with the venue’s historic Grand Organ – harnessing 90,000 cubic feet of air every minute to manipulate the sounds of almost 10,000 pipes across three Town Hall floors. Expect the band to perform a selection of tracks from their swelling back-catalogue, while also hearing some brand new tracks they’ve never played live. To coincide with the show, The Brian Jonestown Massacre will release a limited edition numbered vinyl (double gatefold) 10″ EP of all new songs, called The BJM Mini Album.
Roller Jam and Rizky’s Block Party
Foreign Brothers return to MMW with an afternoon of killer live music and roller skating at the Former Royal Women’s Hospital on Saturday November 14. The Public Opinion Six and the 30/70 collective will roll on into the venue for a live music showdown, followed by a colossal live jam session with the Foreign Brothers Core-Tet, 1/6, N’fa Jones, Average Rap Band, Silentjay, Jace XL, Mya Wallace, Zii, Pataphysics, Cazeaux O.S.L.O, Mouad Old Boy and many more. Meanwhile, Section 8 favourite MzRizk will take over the MMW flagship outdoor area with her Block Party. A day of dancing and eating featuring an all-women lineup of DJs including JNETT, Mamacita Bonnita and Miss Goldie, Rizky’s Block Party is a testament to the original NYC block parties. With Triple R and Northside Records’ Chris Gill taking part in the party, and the Victorian Roller Derby League girls on board, too, there’s no doubt the Roller Jam and Rizky’s Block Party will be a highlight in your MMW calendar of events. All the action kicks off at 12pm, and tickets are $30.
Deep Leads: The Orbweavers
Berlin-based Australian artist Lucy Dyson has joined forces with local duo The Orbweavers to create Deep Leads. Using her own vivid, technicolour collage based imagery alongside historic archival footage of Melbourne from the ACMI collections, Dyson is set to create a visual spectacular to accompany a suite of songs by The Orbweavers, drawing on stories from the city’s natural and industrial history. It’s taking place on Thursday November 19 at ACMI.
Good Manners Showcase
Our current cover star Banoffee will headline a Good Manners showcase featuring some Melbourne’s most exciting emerging artists, alongside a constantly evolving audiovisual and lighting show from local creatives John Fish and Sangkhar. Banoffee’s thoughtful and provocative synth pop will be joined by I’lls (two-piece) combination of analogue and digital instrumentation, electronic duo Kllo’s textured production, multi-instrumentalist LUCIANBLOMKAMP and the ambient wunderkind Planète. It’s happening on Tuesday November 17 at the Former Royal Women’s Hospital.
Morning Gloryville
Forget an early morning trip to the gym, welcome to Morning Gloryville. From 7am on Thursday November 19 at the Former Royal Women’s Hospital PBS’s CC Disco, Post Percy, Rockerobics and Blunderbuss are going to be serving up a concoction of dance-floor friendly tunes for an early-morning party. Free yoga and massages, fresh coffee, juices, laughter clinic, ’80s aerobics-inspiration, roaming performers and other surprises.
Self-Made
Self-Made returns in 2015 with a fresh program of fun, unexpected and musically inspired events delivered by emerging Victorian creatives. Presented by Levi’s, Self-Made takes audiences to unique places, including a North Melbourne warehouse, an interactive sculpture installation at a city church, a party at the Old Melbourne Gaol and an immersive sensory experience from behind 3D glasses, to name a few. The full program features 10 independently curated events supported by MMW, here are some of our favourites:
Gamer Self-Made 3D
Journey back into a dark neon world with Gamer 3D, the one-of-a-kind, immersive sensory experience held on Friday November 20 at The Croft Institute. Grab yourself a pair of 3D glasses and step into a distorted world overflowing with analogue synths coupled with state of the art pixel VJ animation. Expect a moody, atmospheric affair, filled with eye-popping pixel art imagery and synth tunes. The inimitable ’80s maestro Beat Ratio and the impeccable DJ Zerotonine will provide support on the night. Tickets are only $10.
Lost Children Found
Tucked away in North Melbourne’s iconic Meat Market, you’ll find Lost Children Found; a special fundraising initiative co-presented by The Lost Children’s Project that helps to raise funds in developing a sustainable feeding program in Nakuru, Kenya, while also presenting a fine selection of Melbourne bands. Held on Saturday November 14, Lost Children Found will present World’s End Press, Tiny Little Houses, Foreign/National, Neighbourhood Youth, Little Shock and The Hounds Homebound will all grace the stage for this one-off occasion. Drinks will be supplied by Thunder Road Brewing Company and Starward Whisky, and a pop-up dining will be available on the night, too. It all kicks off from 3pm at the Meat Market in North Melbourne. Tickets are $25, which will go a long way in helping children in need.
New Orleans Street Party
Get ready for an all-day bash celebrating the food of music of N’Orleans. A shindig that matches our city’s vibrant culture of restaurants, laneways, and music, with the nightlife, food and culture of New Orleans, party-goers will be treated to the best southern music Melbourne has to offer while enjoying cuisine from America’s south with. It’s happening from 4.30pm on Friday November 20 at Dodds St, Southbank.
The Great MMW Bike Ride
Here’s your chance to participate in a scenic, sustainable and family-friendly exploration of your city while experiencing some great music along the way. Co-presented by Bedroom Suck Records, the Great MMW Bike Ride will be a music lovers paradise – both fans and musicians will jump on their bikes and venture through the winding back alleys and byways for which Melbourne is renowned, before putting on the brakes and experiencing some quality live music from the cycling musicians themselves. Mick Turner, Ela Stiles, Free Time, Superstar and Chloe Alison Escott will perform in this roving based event. The Great MMW Bike Ride will take place regardless of weather, so keep your eye on BOM, and head on over to Royal Park Station in Parkville from 1.30pm to take part. Tickets are $15.
