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Sydney stubbers will be pleased to hear that UMLAUT, RUINS – ALONE, and DARTH VEGAS will be playing on the  same bill next month, when Tone hosts Feather Fest 2011!

The official word:

Feather Fest is the Bird’s Robe Collective’s annual one-day showcase of progressive and experimental rock. This year sees their most impressive lineup to date, with legendary Japanese drummer TATSUYA YOSHIDA performing for the first time in Australia as RUINS-ALONE.

Yoshida is best-known for his work with avant-garde duo RUINS. Formed in 1985, the band have inspired countless musicians and have released over 30 albums during their career. Yoshida is the group’s driving force, described by Tzadik.com as “the indisputable master drummer of the Japanese underground.” He is also noted for his work with notable experimental acts Zeni Geva and Koenji Hyakkei. Since 2004, he has performed internationally as Ruins-alone, including at the 2010 All Tomorrow’s Parties festival curated by Matt Groening. His performance at Feather Fest 2011 is a treat for long time fans and follows a stream of legendary Japanese experimental acts to have toured Australia recently including Boris, The Boredoms, Vampillia and Melt Banana. This bootleg performance footage should give you a taste of what’s to come http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp5XqUxxe94

The second headliners for Feather Fest 2011 are Melbourne-based UMLAUT. Featuring Mr. Bungle’s Bär McKinnon along with a stellar local cast, they will be closing the night’s festivities. Umlaut play like a storybook told by a kid who never grew up, with “meticulous melodies and asinine vocals through the lens of a whacked-out lounge group” (The Dwarf). This is the band’s only planned Sydney performance before touring South America with Secret Chiefs 3 later this year. Watch them jamming it out live with Mike Patton here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j2grqavOg8

DARTH VEGAS are well known as one of Sydney’s most colourful and scarily entertaining underground acts. The masked troupe is led by Monsieur Camembert alumnus Michael Lira and they have devastated festival audiences as far afield as Woodford and Peats Ridge with their mix of lounge-rock with jazz-metal. They rejoin Feather Fest after a long-awaited return to live shows in 2010. View their video for ‘Spook House’ at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzG8TZ5QAf4

SLIMEY THINGS are Australia’s greatest sci-fi rock band. Their latest album ‘Quantum Reality TV’ spawned universally positive reviews and saw them tour the east coast as part of the 2010 ‘Menagerie’ festival. With kudos from the likes of FBi radio, JayKatz, Dannii Minogue and more, they are the progenitors of the annual ‘Space Prom’ event and one of Bird’s Robe Records’ most beloved acts. See their video for ‘Space Toast’ at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvY6J_hK9G8

SHANGHAI are staunch supporters of the experimental music scene. Their curiously-constructed cabaret-esque oddball pop has earned them JJJ airplay and supports with the likes of Dead Letter Circus and Japan’s Vampillia. Following last year’s curiously-packaged cassette tape release ‘The Battle of Mount Analogue’, they have been at work on their debut album ‘The UltraViolent’ due to hit this year. See the album teaser here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v8zMIzFCPw

CAPTAIN KICKARSE AND THE AWESOMES awake from a brief hiatus to anchor the festival lineup. Famous for their energetic live performances and pushing the boundaries of psychedelic-groove-rock, they have been quietly working on a follow up to 2009’s acclaimed ‘Falsimiles from the Facts Machine’ and will showcase a mixture of new and old at this year’s event. The band have also been hand-picked as tour support for Ruins-alone’s dates in Adelaide and Hobart. Fans know their set is sure to be a festival highlight. Watch them play to a sold-out Excelsior Hotel herehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXp10Tz1ZBc

GODSWOUNDS – recently returned from recording their debut album in the US, the band are in fine form. Godswounds’ performances maintain a healthy respect for the spirit of experimentalism amongst their prog-pop-jams. Band leader Lachlan Kerr is also the creator of Sydney’s John Zorn inspired game piece troupe Violence in Action. The band are seasoned tourists, having graced stages as far afield as Japan and Taiwan. Listen to their multi-lingual efforts herewww.myspace.com/godswounds

THE BZNZZ are perhaps the most mind-bendingly complex group we have come across. Each performance is a competition between drummer and bassist, for ultimate mastery of their intimately constructed musical language. Not for the closed-minded, this is a set for those interested in tech-prog and avowing vowels. Fans of Ruins will rejoice at the duo’s whimsical approach to even the most technically compelling passages. Listen here www.myspace.com/thebznzz

SERIOUS BEAK are a local-core supergroup, featuring members of Adrift For Days, Squat Club, Slimey Things and Ebolie. This proud collision of talent will please fans of the heavy variety – they will gladly destroy the ambience of one’s afternoon with a brutal assault of riffery and math-metal. Listen here www.myspace.com/seriousbeak

THREE WISE MONKEYS are fast becoming one of the most respected prog-fusion trios in Sydney. Fresh from supporting Perth heavyweights Injured Ninja, the band open the show with their melodic yet jammy funk-inflected prog, compounded by the slick drumming of Liam Chandler. In surely a first for the underground scene, they also sport their very own iPhone and Android apps! Clips like this should encourage you to get involved http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vheIRE4kQn0&feature=related

FEATHER FEST 2011 will be held at one of Sydney’s newest venues:

TONE (16 Wentworth Avenue, Surry Hills).

Doors open 2pm.

Presale tickets will be available shortly – details to be announced.

For more info visit www.birdsrobe.com

So following on from the recent Secret Chiefs 3, MadLove, Umlaut South American tour announcement, Umlaut have recently announced the creation of an Umlaut South American street team.

If you want to join the street team head on over to the facebook page and register your interest or if you are interested in becoming a street team leader, contact Umlaut and express your desire to lead the charge at umlautinfo@gmail.com.

“Sporadic bursts of circus-themed noise.” – Check it out

Umlaut’s first gig of 2011 is happening at the Evelyn this Friday (Feb 04). Joining them will be Mandek Penha, and Pivixki. Get yr arse down there if you can! Official word:

Umlaut are delighted to kick off 2011 with a killer show at the Evelyn in Melbourne Feburary 4th, supporting pseudo-cult jerks Mandek Penha, and Pivixki, the piano grind project from Anthony Pateras and Max Kohane.

Umlaut are looking forward to 2011 after a year of finding their feet.

“Much of 2010 was spent re-grouping. After our distributor went under we were at a loss. We have dedicated a lot of time to simplifying things: getting back in control of our music and hooking up with people who get where we are coming from.” – Jean Lizza, Mother Hubbard.

Umlaut are working on new material and plan to release a follow up to the 2009 debut album:

“I’m really pumped. Umlaut are planning to hook up with friends and do some touring this year. If everything goes to plan, it will be a really exciting time for the band” – Bar McKinnon.

Good news everyone! (If you live in South America). Jean (Umlaut’s manager) tweeted a very interesting “Big announcement”……. a Secret Chiefs 3, Umlaut and Madlove tour through South America to take place August of this year.

Details are few at best, but check out the tweet for the hard evidence and I’ll do my best to keep you all updated with any news.

Full credit to Silvina Stemberger for making this thing happen.

Oh Hai JEAN!

Pinchy pinchy

Umlaut manager/mother hen Jean “Umlaut Lady” Lizza has just announced a Christmas miracle on facebook, the news that Umlaut will for the first time venture forth off Australian shores for tours through South America and possibly France and Norway in 2011, along with a full Aussie tour.

She also mentioned that they will be hitting the studio in the New Year to record some of the loads of music Bar has up his sleeve. Good news all round!

“Hey Umlaut fans!

Everyone here at camp Umlaut would like to extend our humble gratitude for all your support over the last 12 months!

Some cool stuff coming up for Umlaut in the new year: Looks as though some promoters are going to take this motley crew overseas in 2011. Expect a three country South American tour next year sometime and I am hoping to get the guys to France, Norway (fingers crossed) and national touring within Australia.

Bar is keen to get back into the studio and record some of the VAULT of music he has hidden away all these years. Some of it is starting to surface. Check out this live track from the most recent show:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGc_DgRYxM8

Just recently I was walking down a street here in Melbourne and I saw a dude wearing an Umlaut hoodie and it made my heart sing! We’d love to see some pics of y’all wearing hoodies and such. We are not so big time not to appreciate it. Each week I post shit all over the world and it spins me out.

Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah or Giftmas, we’d like to wish all of you a great festive season and we’ll see you in the new year!”

New song from Umlaut, performed live at the Toff last week, to appear on their next album hopefully released next year:

“Umlaut perform Spaghet! live at The Toff 01/12/10. Spaghet! is a new song, taking it’s title from the character of the same name, featured in Tim and Eric, Awesome Show, Great Job! Spaghet! will feature in Umlaut’s next album, recording early 2011. Plus an intro drum solo by Umlaut’s Gareth Thomson.”

Last Umlaut gig of the year! And of course…..it’s in Melbourne

The Toff, Wednesday 1st of December. Support: Fabio Umberto. Oh, and the flyer rules:

Those crazy kids over in the Umlaut camp have pulled some awesome together and just released an online store filled with such Umlaut-ey goodness as hoodies, shirts and CDs.

I know there have been lots of you asking me where to get Umlaut gear, so go get some……….

http://umlautshop.bigcartel.com/

Angus Leslie is the eclectic and eccentric axe wielder in Bär McKinnon’s Melbourne based band Umlaut.

I managed to “pin him down” for an interestingly brief interview recently and the following is the result:

1. You seem to know your way around a guitar fairly well, at least enough to impress Bar which is no mean feat, how long have you been playing, and are you self taught?

First of all, thanks! It appears I have fooled some people into thinking I can play… Now to answer your question, I have been playing guitar for a little over eight years now, but only had lessons for the first three years. A lot of what I do on the guitar I have learned from listening to lots of different music and attempting to emulate the sounds I hear, so I guess I am kinda self-taught in a way. It isn’t THAT hard to impress Bär I mean, first of all he likes ponies and I’m NOT kidding! (There is no second of all.)

2. Speaking of knowing your way around stuff, does being in a band with Bar help you pull the ladies?

Aside from the odd pair of soiled panties thrown directly into mine or Shane’s face during shows, I wouldn’t say it has made much of a difference. A large percentage of the audience for this kinda music are dudes, so I’d say those panties would probably have been thrown by a pimply, male Mr. Bungle fan anyway…

3. What gear helps you create the Umlaut sound?

Well I play a Paul Reed Smith, and try to use as few pedals as possible, although I should probably invest in a tremolo for some of the tunes… My pride and joy is my Fender Deluxe amp, for it’s clean tone and spring reverb. I try and get a real heavy surf tone for the clean parts, plus the Fender distortion and the occasional brutal stomp-box. I think a band like Umlaut demands the kind of dream-like quality that you can only get from a tonne of reverb, so I like to coat my sound with it…

4. Tell us the story of how you became Umlaut’s main axe-man?

Well I approached Bär to play a show with a couple of my bands in late 2007. It just so happened that his guitar player was about to head over to Europe for a while, so he was in need of a replacement. After he left in disgust during our brief line-check in front of the audience, the aforementioned guitar player and Bär’s soon to be manager watched our set and thoroughly enjoyed it. A few weeks later I got the call to join, and the rest is history…

5. You’re also the creative mind behind Melbourne band Sex on Toast, tell us a bit about them?

Sex on Toast has been around since I was 16 years old and has been my main compositional outlet since then. We try and play a wide variety of music, including soundtrack-influenced instrumental stuff, vocal-harmony drenched pop tunes, and really crazy, high energy jump cut compositions. We try not to limit what we do in terms of genre, but we are also becoming more interested in focusing each individual direction into separate bodies of work. We hope to record an album in the next year, so stay tuned!

6. How did the first Aussie Umlaut tour treat you? Will it happen again in the near future?

Umlaut’s first Australian tour treated us to the white hot excitement of Hindley st. in Adelaide, the sexually charged debauchery of Syrup Nightclub in Hobart and the violent and murderous streets of Newcastle. We hope to tour again in future as we had a blast on the road!

7. I noticed you guys played a couple of new songs, is there a new album in the works?

We have had a few vague plans for an EP and a full-length album in the future. One of these projects may involve a remix by a certain guitar player from a certain HEAVY band… that is all I will say!

Angus’ alternate musical outlet, Sex on Toast take up residencey for the month of August at The Empress, Fitzroy. Check out the FB event for more info.

Chantel Bann recently upped some very nice piccies of Umlaut’s recent show at The Factory in Sydney (26 June 2010).

Check em out at the flickrz