ED KUEPPER WITH JIM WHITE

Two of the hardest working men in show business Ed Kuepper & Jim White return for a short series of duo shows this summer.

Kuepper, having just completed a run of residency shows with his new instrumental project Asteroid Ekosystem and drummer White, taking a brief pause from international touring with Bill Callahan, Xylouris White and Marisa Anderson, will continue their journey of exploration via Kuepper’s extensive catalogue.

“We wanted songs that we could make unique to this performance – songs that in some cases were strongly identified with the Saints, Laughing Clowns or my solo stuff – but they needed to be taken out of their original context so that you wouldn’t really pick them as new or old. The Kid, Knife In The Head, The Year of the Bloated Goat, Everything I’ve Got Belongs To You, Honey Steels Gold and Pavane, amongst others.” – Ed Kuepper

“Extended crowd appreciation finally coaxes the two musicians back into the fray and we’re treated to a robust rendition of Kuepper’s solo track ‘Rue The Day’ to bring things home, both Kuepper and White standing by the end of the righteous and powerful performance and seemingly as engrossed in the music as the adoring, sold out throng before them.” – Steve Bell / Rhythms

Acoustic troubadour Darren Cross will join the duo opening on all six shows.

OSEES

“Thee Oh Sees are one of my happy place bands. I can listen to any one of their records and feel better.” – Henry Rollins

“No point in arguing. Best band in the world” – Marc Riley BBC 6 / The Fall

OSEES (aka Thee Oh Sees, Oh Sees, OCS, The Oh Sees, etc) return to Australia this February off the back of 26th (!) album A Foul Form and a reputation as one of the world’s greatest live acts.

“Compared to the grander constructs of their latter-day Oh Sees albums, A Foul Form is a hit and run job where the music jumps in, leaves everyone stunned, and splits before the cops can show up. It’s a manic blast of pure energy with lots of smarts if you’re looking for them, and demonstrates Osees are never short on daring, ideas, and the skills to make them work.” – All Music

OSEES have transmogrified over time to fit many a moment. Mainstay singer/ guitarist John Dwyer forming the band in 1997 to suit his omnivorous whims; from hushed druggy folk to groovy demonic pop chants to science fictional krautrock expanse and beyond. It’s a formula – or lack of – that has endured them a worldwide cult-following and the enduring love of critics and fans alike.

It is common knowledge however, that at their shows, you’re there asking for a beating. 20 years going and the shows keep getting more and more intense, as many a soupy swarm can attest.

“Describing the experience of a Thee Oh Sees show is an exercise in futility, like trying to explain the vastness of the Grand Canyon to someone who has only seen it in pictures.” – Denver Post

“Overall, witnessing Osees live for the first time in a few years felt like the aural/physical equivalent of taking a beer-soaked lightning-bolt-fueled rollercoaster ride for over an hour straight. If that sounds fun and intense, well, it sure as fuck was.” – Glider Magazine

It has been four years since the then Oh Sees visited our shores but it will be the first for Osees.

FOUR TET

An odyssey into the ether.

He may be Only Human, but Kieran Hebden works in mysterious ways. An outsider on the inside, two decades deep. Dance music’s DIY dissident, untethered from the machine and intent on capturing those elusive sonic threads.

Last time at Golden was pure magic.

Since, the Four Tet myth has only magnified. There’s been two albums, revered collabs, zig-zagging playlists, and KH bootlegs, sending both trainspotters and ravers into meltdown.

His DJ sets have a legacy of their own, masterfully weaving the Four Tet imprint through moments of intoxicating transcendence, gummy pop explosions and bass bin mayhem. Traversing the history of British dance music and anointing the future, while pulling in everything from Bollywood funk to DC hardcore.

It’s in this mode that KH returns to Listen Out with good friend Skrillex (amongst others). On-sale May 18

DAPHNI

Daphni aka Caribou aka Dan Snaith‘s new album Cherry, his first since 2017, will be released on 7 October via Snaith’s own Jiaolong label.

Arrow, the first single taken from the album, is refreshing in it’s slow-reveal. It takes it’s time,
choosing to luxuriate in lush simplicity and draw the listener in. Speaking of the track Snaith says:

“‘Arrow’ is one of those tracks that’s happy to sit still – a loop that is content to keep
looping and less happy the more fussy the arrangement becomes. There have been
some really special moments when I’ve played it out – it’s not ostentatiously showy, no
big builds or drops… but it has a way of building a febrile atmosphere in a club. When
repetition pays off, it’s like staring at a Magic Eye picture as everything clicks into
focus.”

Whether in the studio or the club, Daphni has always been a pursuit where Dan
Snaith lets the music find its own path. With Cherry this is more evident than ever,
this sense of the tracks as objects with life and desires outside of Snaith’s control has
now become a driving force in their creation. Recorded over a prolonged period,
Snaith let the music go where it wanted to go. It wasn’t until he put everything he’d
been tinkering with together that he realised what he had. “It’s weird that when the
tracks were put in what felt like the right order it took on a new coherence” he says,
“where it pings quickly from one idea to the next and, at least for me, hangs together
in way that feels unified. Maybe because it’s hard to avoid the musical fingerprints I
leave on the music I make, whether I want to or not.”

The component parts have this same sense of independence, the essence of Daphni
always present over music that is more free-wheeling than it’s ever been, almost
escaping Snaith’s grasp as it tumbles and spirals. New gear and ways of working
meant Snaith was able to sit at the centre of the music but let things get away from
him a bit more as equipment began to make its own decisions before reeling it back
in to suit his purposes, or as he puts it “getting the snake to eat its own tail”.

Listen to the previously shared title-track, which received rave reviews from Pitchfork
(“It’s a summer anthem with sunrise raving written all over it”) and Resident Advisor
(“beauty in simplicity”) here. Pre-order Cherry here.

SUNNYBOYS

“Many acts make comebacks, more now than ever in fact, but I can’t remember feeling so much love in a room for an Australian band that, like its audience, was reliving its glorious youth. It was a fantastic experience.” – The Australian, Sydney Opera House 2013

Ten years on from their glorious live return following a 21 year hiatus Sunnyboys announce The Last Dance; a final summer tour and the last ever live shows. No animosity, no musical differences, just the satisfaction of a job well done and knowing that it’s time.

In the ten year period since their return Sunnyboys arguably achieved as much if not more as their original life-span. They co-headlined a sold-out A Day On The Green (with Hoodoo Gurus and Violent Femmes), set a venue record at Coolangatta Hotel (previously held by Noiseworks) sold-out multiple nights at Sydney’s Enmore and Factory Theatres and Brisbane’s The Tivoli, sold out shows at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Melbourne’s The Forum, Corner and Croxton Hotels, Perth Festival plus Thirroul, Byron Bay, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast; re-released all three studio albums, released a live DVD and a live album, recorded and released four new tracks and sold countless t-shirts, beanies, caps, hoodies and badges and watched their eponymous debut reach double platinum sales. A remarkable achievement for a band still largely ignored by the mainstream.

The tour will run in conjunction with the release of Sunnyboys ’81-’84 a double vinyl band curated best-of featuring all the hits, the equally-as-good b-sides, fan faves, rarities and live material – many appearing on vinyl for the first time – and all drawn from their years as Mushroom Records recording artists. Sunnyboys ’81-’84 will be released in a limited edition of blue vinyl and is released on Nov 11th.

“Of the hundreds of bands, and thousand of people that we knew at the time, we’re one of the few that can stand up and say “We were really good at what we did, and we’re really proud of what we did” and we’re lucky enough to still be able to get up and say to people ‘We’re really proud to be able to present this to you now”. Richard Burgman / Sunnyboys guitarist

The Last Dance… grab your partner and witness the magic one more time.

There will never be another Sunnyboys.

ASTEROID EKOSYSTEM

It’s not jazz, it’s not rock…Whatever you want to call it, this is one mighty sonic trip that paints colourful pictures in the mind.’ – Noel Mengel.

The Mothership has landed! Asteroid Ekosystem; the interplanetary sound craft featuring keyboardist Alister Spence (ASteroid) the legendary Ed Kuepper (EKosystem) plus Necks bassist Lloyd Swanton and drummer Toby Hall land in Marrickville this November for three Sydney only shows.

The mini-residency counts as shows 2, 3 & 4 for the largely improvisational quartet having made their debut in March this year off the back of their debut self-titled double CD release.“If you had to pin this album down, you might say it’s what could happen if Pink Floyd (circa 1969, in their experimental ‘scrabbling around looking for a post-Syd direction’ phase) collided with an unfeasibly muscular version of the Bill Evans Trio. Glorious stuff.” – Jazzwise

“.. there is so much to take in here, so many different images and moods. Hard to describe, but Asteroid Ekosystem is both powerful musical statement and the kind of musical gift that keeps on giving.” – Musictrust

Two sets each night and no support.

Strap in and prepare yourself for the ride when tickets go on-sale 9.00am Wednesday 21st September.