With Nullarbor local experimental/concept/dance duo friendships have released one of the boldest musical statements since Preset’s Blow-Up EP.
While due to the deeply fragmented and cashless local industry, friendships’ Nic Brown and Misha Grace will never rise to the same ARIA-laden stratosphere as Kim Moyes and Julian Hamilton, yet both acts abilities to appropriate and reinterpret classic electronic sub genres to a modern context is formidable.
Purebred Dogs, their collaboration with thelovelyme, juxtaposes a disconcertingly beautiful female vocal with the authoritative yet achingly sardonic fire spit of Yaw Faso, “I think we’ve all grown accustomed to the shit and the mustard.” This songs draws parallels to late ‘90s British DrumNBass artist Roni Size, head of the Reprazent Collective.
With album cover art and title eluding to Mad Max like post apocalyptic Australia where contractarianism has devolved back to the state of nature, where existence is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. When I Feel Like Killing, I Murder captures the essence of such a brutal reality through deep rolling beats and deep dub vocals.
Nullarbor 1988-1989 is the most interesting thing to come out of Melbourne in 2016.
By Dan Watt
