The Very Good Agency

YaHeard? Paris Wells interview

If you haven’t heard the name Paris Wells yet, then prepare to be blown away. Having just released her brilliant debut album, Keep it, as well as already building a strong following for her powerful live shows, this hugely talented Melbourne local is getting ready to take the world by storm. The album is a fantastic array of infectious pop anthems laced with everything from jazz, funk, disco and soul, highlighting her sublime versatility. We here at Very Good were lucky enough to have Paris lend us some of her time to answer a few questions, check it out.

Hi Paris, thanks for taking the time to do this for us. First things first, tell us a little about your background; who is Paris Wells and what influences her?
Well I’m actually half mermaid and half human. My childhood was in Maroubra NSW and my teens in Melbourne Bayside. Aside from my continuing emotional journey with relationships both romantic and platonic, my influences are 60 folk, 70’s disco, 90’s hip hop and great rock bands like Razorlight, Zombies etc.

The new album is sensational, how has the response been so far?
Why thankyou! Critically I am greatful for the reviews, Dan from Rolling Stone gave it a real honest review an I agreed with everything he said. Fans have picked up on it on all different levels which is great. To have girls approach me with what each song meant to them and how it helps them is an amazingly rewarding feeling! The whole response gives me so much encouragement to back this record up with an even better second album!!!

The album is really dynamic mix of genre’s; from the disco-inspired “Firetruck Man” to the soulful and jazzy “Tender”, is there any style that you particularly prefer? Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Sonically we were aiming for a modern/vintage fusion of sounds. Ryan and I choose my musicians carefully along with microphones and synths etc. We both have a strong relationship with beat culture and I wanted to keep that consistent in the songs. Lyrically it speaks for itself and for myself, my heart is on that album for the world to see.

The versatility on Keep it indicates that you would be likely to gel with a wide range of artists across a handful of different genres; are there any artists or groups in particular that you would like to work with?
Dream Collaborations 101:

Damon Albarn
Jamie Lidell
Cassius
Mike Patton
Goyte

Recently your live shows have gained quite a reputation, what do fans get when you’re on stage?

All of me with clothes on but sometimes no shoes. And a huge sound!

Any plans for more shows soon? Coming into summertime, you’d be looking at a festival or two perhaps?

Shhhhhh you will have to wait my friend…..

Your sound has been compared to the likes of Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones and Alice Russell, how does this sit with you? Are these artists that you respect musically?

They are three of the most amazingly gifted vocalists in contemporary popular music, just to buy them a coffee would make my day let alone be compared to the likes of them. Amazing!

RHyNo of True Live has obviously been a factor in your success, what does he bring to your sound? Does he produce the whole album?

Yes Ryan and I are a team. My sound that the public now know is a hybrid of our tastes combined. I think he expressed himself in KEEP IT just as much as I did, he is super proud.

How was the experience of supporting Justin Timberlake on his Australian and New Zealand tour? Did he teach you how to bring sexy back?

No we were already dead sexy excuse me….Justin is the greatest, there is no stopping him.

Any final thoughts?

Fat kids are really hard to kidnapp and crabs shouldn’t be tied up in restaurants, tasty but they should at least get to swim before hand.

Thanks for your time Paris

“I’d step out of the rush for you”- Fat Freddy!
Peace. x

Paris Wells – Dat Du Dat
Keep it is out now, support local talent and pick it up from your local music store. And keep an eye out for Paris live somewhere near you over summer, we’ll do our best to keep you informed, you do not want to miss out.

You can check out more of Paris Wells at:

www.myspace.com/pariswells

…cracked

Tags: Australian Artists, Funk, Gospel, hip hop, Soul

Jackson Jackson – The Fire is on The Bird

Australia has produced another quirky, innovative, laid back bunch of performers in the new form of Jackson Jackson. Based in Melbourne, Jackson Jackson began as a side project of Harry Angus, who is best known for his role in The Cat Empire, and producer Jan Skubiszewski, who Angus met through working together with The Cat Empire. Thankfully, this side project album ‘The Fire is on The Bird’ avoids the common situation where artists simply reproduce a familiar sound under a new name. The only similarity between these two groups really… is how unique they are.

Jackson Jackson manage to deliver a type of cheeky music that is very representative of the relaxed Australian humour, most obvious in the songs that they use very limited instrumentals, and yet carry your interest with random tales over downbeat old school drum tracks. The fusion of electronica, folk, hip hop and fun also reminiscent of many of the genres you would have been hearing in any major Australian city over the last ten years, just not usually played together.

Surprised by the initial positivity to the album Angus told “When we finished the album we realised that it was a lot more acceptable to our peers than we thought it was going to be. We thought it was really out there, but everyone seems to think it’s not too strange.”

Well I think it’s kinda strange, but that’s a good thing yeah?

Jackson Jackson – Cats, Rats and Pigeons

With some funky beats, a nice mixture of instruments blending (especially the accoustic guitar), and plenty of smooth beat doctoring, the album is extremely varied and appears to cover a lot of ground for just one album. Its nice to have lyricism which manages to touch on issues… but all the while not taking them too seriously taking the time to make fun tracks or one’s which are thought provoking  like “A hairy man in a waxed man’s world”. An album for chilling, driving, in the office, on the tram, and i’m sure pretty soon, in summer backyard BBQs all around Australia where it belongs.

Jackson Jackson Track by Track

You can check out more of Jackson Jackson at:

www.myspace.com/jacksonjacksonmusic

and for anyone who has missed them, it’s well worth checking out The Cat Empire:

www.myspace.com/thecatempire

…bs

Tags: Australian Artists, folk, hip hop

Pataphysics

With few Australian artists entering the scene in underground hip hop as of late (at least of any quality), it’s all good when you happen to come across a group as interesting and talented as Pataphysics. Based in Melbourne, Patrick Marks, a.k.a. Brother Pat, The Brown Militant, Pat Malone is self described as an “Australian/Sri Lankan(Tamil/Singhalese). MC/Trumpet player, rhythmic soundshapa, revolutionary poet, multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, arranger, teacher” – and I’m glad that he has put this together as it would be hard to describe what you experience when you are lucky enough to stumble across he, and his collective of musicians that are Pataphysics.

Finding a vocalist who can sound this good while delivering his own unique conscious thoughts is rare which was made pretty obvious by the crowds acceptance and involvement in the performance.

All too often when you are lucky enough to find a vocalist compelling, you find the musicians and P.A. aren’t up to the challenge… in this case, the P.A. was the only thing lacking with an incredible group of musicians in support. Pataphysics Avanipaala as a collective, deal with issues from local/international politics, Indigenous resistance, dreaming, eastern philosophy, life, existence and even spirituality, and the live show draws on elements of Sri Lankan Culture that bring a certain energy.

While The group are ever-changing they are currently based around the present line up of Rhymes, Beats, Percussion, Double Bass, Flute, and Guitar (with what I think was an electronic tabla) plus guest vocalists and a host of other friends from the Melbourne music community. The performance is captivating in a way that is not often seen live, on this particular night especially with a puppet show, random soliloquys, and freestyles incorporating all sorts of funky props. Tie these all in together and you have a truly enjoyable evening of awakening music, tie these all in together and you have… Pataphysics

You can check out more of Pataphysics at:

www.myspace.com/brotherpataphysics

www.pataphysics.com.au

be sure to check him out during his residency at ‘The Evelyn’ in Melbourne, Australia in September…

Tags: Australian Artists, Funk, hip hop, Jazz

Paris Wells

Thursday nights in Melbourne just got interesting thanks to Jam Packed Entertainment and Paris Wells.

In a city filled with artists and musicians it is unusual to stumble across one that stands out in the way Paris does, it seems however, that this kind of discovery is nothing new to her. Plucked from obscurity while working full time, Paris was chosen by Justin Timberlake in a public audition for his FutureSex/LoveSounds tour of Australasia towards the end of 2007, having previously played underground clubs in Melbourne to hundreds rather than thousands.

Paris Wells Dat Du Dat

Mashing up such an array of genres makes pigeon holing an artist like Paris Wells extremely difficult, especially when you consider the explanations of 1st single Dat Du Dat thus far “It’s very raw, an infectious collision of funk, soul and primal pop. It’s the musical equivalent of walking into a late night party just firing up for a second wind – sly funk grooves with clanging percussion and a squelching, ferocious bassline with Paris’ voice dragging through the seedy scenario.”

Paris plays at Roxanne in July on Thursdays with alternating special guests, integrating styles as if she were a walking, breathing best of compilation. If your lucky enough to be around in July it is sure to be an enjoyable evening, if your not, go to www.virginblue.com.au

You can check out more of Paris at:

www.myspace.com/pariswells

“Roxannes” 2 Coverlid Place, Melbourne Thursday nights in July.

…bs

Tags: Australian Artists, Funk, Jazz, Soul

True Live Interview

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Hey guys, thanks for taking the time to catch up… for those who have just heard you recently, who’s in True Live, and where did you all hook up?

True Live started as a loose pool of players involved in a regular jam night in melbourne, which progressed to become the core 6 piece unit you see these days. The band is made up of MC Rhyno, Thomas Butt (double bass), Tamil Rogeon (violin), Tim Blake (cello), Joel Mammone (drums) and Thai Mattus (keys). We cut our teeth playing our fingers off at shows around Melbourne every week for about years, as the profile slowly grew around us.

New single “Damn Right” dropped recently, when can we expect a second album?

The new album is in the final stages of production at the moment, and we are hoping for a mid-year release for it.

What’s the plan for the next couple years? Any countries you are interested to work in?

We’re talking to a label in Japan about a tour over there, and we have a few gigs penciled in across Europe and America that we’re working towards at present. It’s early days still for our international presence, as we’ve been really focusing on our presence in Australia and the new record.

You guys really shine in your live performance… Does that have anything to do with your name?

I guess that with a name like ours, which was actually merely a way to describe the original weekly gig we were playing, we have to put on a good show. We are all working musicians who make a living doing what we love, and in this industry if you don’t perform then you don’t get any gigs, so we’ve all learned these lessons the hard way. You have to play every single note as if your life depends on it, cos in a way, it does. And in my opinion it’s this attitude that makes a real performer great.

In the Australian Hip Hop scene you stand out from most other groups as conscious lyrically, and organic musically. Have you got any love for other Australian Hip Hop groups?

We don’t really see ourselves as a hip hop band so much as simply a band, which stops us from getting too bogged down playing a genre and frees us up to think about the music we write and play in a fresh way. Of course we draw from hip hop, but we also listen to a lot of soul, electronica, metal and jazz. We are good friends with many Australian hop hop artists, and plan on working with many more in the future. The upcoming Uni-fied tour is a testament to the universal appeal of what we are trying to do.

What about current international artists… who’s got True Live’s Attention in the Live / Jazz or Hip Hop scene?

I’ve been listening to a lot of J Dilla lately, as well as Gnarls Barkley’s latest release, Pete Philly en Perquisite and the new album by Autechre. They’re all great, strong albums.

Jazz seems to be neglected these days, at least as far as touring goes. How do you find audiences react to your full live instrument performances and solo’s?

The jazz element of a true live show is often a great release, as we place the moments throughout the set to help the whole performance breathe. We find this is much more effective than overkill, where too much of a good thing loses impact. The audience seems to really engage with the soloist, and from the volume of the cheers after a good solo, it appears to be very well received.

I know some of the group members have little side projects outside of True Live. Anything we should look out for that you guys are working on?

Rhyno and Tamil are at working on The Raah Project, where they wrote for and recorded an orchestra, then took the result and chopped and screwed it and added electronic beats, vocals, synths and all sorts of other things. Joel is involved with the Bad Boys Batucada and CMW, a hard edged hip hop project that I’ll be contributing some beats to, and Thai is always busy with his crazy jazzish band the 12 Tone Diamonds.

Were Black Eyed Peas better with or without Fergie?

I wouldn’t like to gossip, but I will say that when I saw them support Roni Size in 1998 (pre- Fergie) they were pretty damn good.

Will True Live ever bring a girl to the group? Who would it be if you did???

We do have female guest and backing vocals on our current album, and the new album will also have girls adding to the sound. generally it has all been to the end of creating a good solid bed to support Rhyno’s vocals, as opposed to an attempt to sex up an all-boy band. We have been touring with Bec Ari recently, who has been great.

Cool, thanks for taking the time… looking forward to the new album… what’s it called?

Now that would be telling…

Peace

Thanks for having me.
Tom.

You can check out more from True Live at:

www.myspace.com/truelive

Tags: Australian Artists, hip hop, Interviews, Jazz