The electro-jazz lords headline Day by the Bay.
Massive in size and semi-enclosed, Port Phillip Bay is a unique and special part of Australia’s coastline. Surrounded by some of the country’s most popular and beautiful beaches, almost every Victorian has some connection to the Bay that the state’s capital city rests upon.
One of those individuals is Adam Halliwell, one-quarter of electronic, jazz-funk band Mildlife, whose hypotonic live act swept the nation and beyond in 2018.
“For me personally, Port Phillip represents a lot of childhood memories: going to the beach around Rosebud area, riding my bike around the local parks and down the road, exploring and finding trails, that type of thing,” Halliwell says.
“Chasing those small, silvery fish in the Bay there. Those small little schools of sardine things. That’s my connection to it.”
The sense of childlike wonder associated with the coast is something many relate to, though Halliwell admits that as the years wear on his connection with the Bay, his understanding of it hasn’t progressed since the nostalgic years, and that’s the case for many Victorians.
“I do [take the coast for granted] for sure, so this is a good chance to appreciate it,” Halliwell says.
The chance he’s talking about is the Day by the Bay Festival, running over two dates in February and March, the former of which Mildlife is headlining.
The festival is a part of a larger project, the Connected to Port Phillip initiative, headed up by Remember The Wild, Australia’s first nature connection charity.
Taking place in two iconic Bayside locations, Mornington and Point Cook, the festival aims to increase awareness of the extraordinary ecosystem that exists within the Bay, and how all Victorians can better appreciate and protect them, and the coastline itself.
Alongside two fantastic music lineups at the centre of the show, with Mojo Juju headlining the March date, the festival features a huge array of opportunities for attendees to connect with the Bay, and learn more about its vast history, complex ecosystems, and the hundreds of marine species that inhabit it.
The event will also focus on educating festival-goers on the rich cultural history of the First Peoples whose land the Bay rests upon.
“It’s such a heavy topic, one that is so important and has been neglected for so long. And it’s so good that it’s happening now, but it’s taken too long. So of course, we’re excited by any opportunity to promote that message and acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we perform on,” Halliwell says.
Mildlife seem a perfect act to front up the event, with their unique, eclectic style reflecting the intricate beauty of the Bay they’re performing in honour of.
Their highly-anticipated debut album Phase and follow up Phase II, both released in 2018, were lauded for their originality, and the quartet have received rave reviews for their captivating live shows that harness exploration, improvisation, and an eclectic range of both analogue and electronic instrumentation.
“The band was always kind of jam based,” Halliwell says of the band’s fusion style.
“About five years ago we didn’t even think of improvisation, but it just came up through our own music listening. If we all got into something, like some jazz-funk album, and think it’s cool, it inspires the idea of soloing and exploration in that way.”
Though they spent a large portion of 2018 touring their releases, Mildlife, whom alongside Halliwell is comprised of James Donald, Kevin McDowell and Tom Shanahan, have never felt tied to a schedule, with much of their early days as a band dedicated to establishing their sound.
“Early on it was just that, trying to get the sound. And even now, the sound is always evolving and there’s months where we’re trying to figure out what we’re going for, and then we’ll get onto something and it will all come out at once,” Halliwell says.
“We’d be writing, rehearsing, just trying to create a song we were happy with. And that takes a lot of time as we don’t have a lead songwriter, all of the workload is split evenly, 25 per cent each, so our work has to filter through everyone. So ideas take a while to clarify, and everyone has to be happy with it.”
And though they’ve toured extensively over the past year, Halliwell notes that Day by the Bay marks the band’s first all-ages show, apt considering their colourful outfits saw them compared to The Wiggles at Meredith last year.
And though they’re not planning on trading in their current transport for a Big Red Car, it’s a special thought to consider that Mildlife’s music will be the soundtrack of so many children and adults alike connecting with Port Phillip Bay during the festival. Making new memories and connections along the coast, just like the ones Halliwell treasures.
Mildlife headline the first leg of Day by the Bay festival in Mornington on Saturday February 23. The second leg goes down in Point Cook on Saturday March 23 where Mojo Juju will headline.
