Delta VI

The final MusicACT Delta Session was Genesis Owusu and Citizen Kay presented by UC Live.  Genesis opened with nice steady, driving grooves with rap above.  Unison lines with some lyrics and those sung not spoken.  Music moving in and out, suddenly, voice moving through  "Wait / Could this be true / I don't need you, don't need you / Aaah / could this be true / I don't like you / don't like you"  Then stop.  Into another music groove, another performer, Citizen Kay, slipping winds, "Yeah" into deep bass groove and rap.  Nice stuff, strong, firm, steady, rhythmic.  Spoken word verses then sung choruses, four steady chords, varied dynamics, as is this style, some unison bass and something higher pitched, flute or whatever, then space, rest, decay.  "I'm saying who are you / who are you to tell me what to do / I'm saying, I'm pulling through / I'm looking through the bullshit that you say" (did I get it all?)  And wow, a wonderful jazz sax solo, perhaps sampled?  I liked this performance.

Genesis Owusu (vocals, production?) and Citizen Kay (vocals, production?) appeared on the final Delta Session of UC Live.

Delta V

This week, Smiths Alternative and MusicACT presents Rebecca Mann and Small Town Alien, introduced by out host, Nigel.  Again, Rebecca is a singer-songwriter with strummy steel-strung guitar and nice voice and personal stories.  First up, Operate, from her recent live EP.  "I told them, that I'll not operate that way / I told them / I may change another day".  Then Faith, from the EP and also released before as a single.  It's one of her faves.  "I play cards with the Devil as he reached over my head /// You're so full of sorrow / we've both been suffering / Don't you tell me, darling / that you are losing faith / I'll tell you that / I believe in something / but it's not written down / anyway."  Personal stuff.  Then Small Town Alien, from his upcoming album.  First up, the King of Canberra; totally fictional!  About a public servant concerned about the "listening agency".  "I work in Woden / at the Dept of Expression / I'm not Ed Snowden / nor ... / 'cos the agency is listening / always listening ... Call me the King of Canberra / call me the King / it don't mean a thing".  Then into a little rap; funny. "I don't know if this song is anthemic / but I need it to distract from the pandemic".  Cool line and a interesting structure!  Then Heartbreak forever for the hopeless romantics, perhaps entitled Love kills.  "Too ... / Let's walk into heartbreak together / forever and ever / too rich, too poor / too...".  This guy is strummy and purposely nasal (I can talk?) but interesting in music and themes.  The name alone suggests a performance and a character and we get it.  I'm enjoying this.  Short snippets from a series of performers that I've mostly heard of but not heard.  Not always my scene, but always good to be aware of what's around.

Rebecca Mann (guitar, vocals) and Small Town Alien (guitar, vocals) performed for the Delta series.

Delta IV

Tonight's selections are from the Old Canberra Inn.  Kim Yang first up, singer-songwriter playing live but with some background harmonies (maybe digital but I don't think so).  The guitar is strums.  The voice has echoes of Joni Mitchell, a great hero of mine and many.  First up, Fantasy, then Brave, themed good to be brave, but also OK to say no to people at times.  As her FB page says, balanced "delicately between vulnerability and power".  Sounds about right.  Then Moondog.  Ah, the blues!  Dirty guitar, 12-bars, moving beats, blues harp, percussion under every foot, dense reverb.  "I love the way you walk / I love the way you talk / got my eyes on you" ... "Early in the morning / can't remember one thing that I said / [but] got my eyes on you"  Great stuff.  Love it.  Takes me back to the Blues Club ... and, of course, the OCI over various incarnations.  And that slow blues "I'm a moondog, baby, can't you hear me when I howl /[rpt] / I can't wait any longer baby, I've got to have your love right now".  Is " vulnerability and power" the theme of the night?  If so these are two very difference expressions of it!

Kim Yang (vocals, guitar) and Moondog (vocals, guitar, blues harp, percussion) streamed for MusicACT's Delta sessions.

Delta III

Tonight was Gang Gang's turn to invite some performers.  First up was Apricot Ink. Well known through TripleJ Unearthed and their single.  I looked up their site but couldn't track down names.  "Gus, Sara and Willo make up the 3-piece Alt-Pop project.  A motley crew of Canberrans who got together during ISO to make music."  They were a duo tonight: female vocals with guitar and male harmonies (mostly).  Nice harmony 5th below if I hear right.  The first song was Make believe; the second was Is it OK.  "Many made me mushroom pot / Take another tote, blow it out the window / It's a madhouse, it's a share house on the corner ...  Euphoria just around the corner / Is it OK, to be not OK".  Ah the memories!  Listening later on Spotify and it's very  nicely done in the recorded version.  Then Matty Ellis, a solo guitar singer, presumably song-writer.  He sang two songs, Indian Ocean and So far (I think I caught the track title).  Both songs of lost love (again, if I heard it right).  " I can't stay here in this place / I can't travel alone / There's a space in my heart ... forever / There's a space like the Indian Ocean".   Strums and an obvious Aussie-voice.  Then a second lockdown song: occasional falsetto; another love song?  "How could I know you'd let all this go".

Apricot Ink (female vocals, male vocals, guitar) and Matty Ellis (guitar, vocals) performed for Gang Gang Cafe on MusicACT's Delta streaming series.

Delta II

Tonight a few faves from The Basement.   Alec Randles with support from James Briguglio. He sang two original songs, singer songwriter on steel strung acoustic guitar with mate James on the Cajon.  Varied rhythms, nice, US-styled, perhaps Zep-lilted voice.  Nice.  Interesting lyrics with purpose (inequality, on the way down...?) then into different fills.  The songs were Judas and Peter.  Peter had got some air time on TripleJ.  Alec and James play together in Kopasetic, a local roots/folk band, but this was form Alec's solo project.  Then Jen Broadbent, another singer-songwriter, vocals and steel strung guitar.  She sang her two originals.  Disappear was her first ("Someday I'll disappear, don't know where, running barefoot, sure to meet you").  Nicely rich on reverb and steel strung guitar, then a new one, Driving with my blues ("I don't like to remember, the night I cried and cried...  I knew I'd be alone again....driving with my blues.")  Blues as we expect.  Nice piercing voice, sharp steely sounding guitar and solid strumming.  Effective!

Alec Randles (vocals, guitar) sang with James Briguglio (cahon).  Jen Broadbent (vocals, guitar) sang solo.  Both appeared for The Basement on MusicACT's Delta streaming series.

Delta I

Son no.1 told me of another series of streaming music concerts, this time of local bands around Canberra in various styles, playing at places as diverse as Blackbird, Smiths and The Basement.  Not sure what to expect, but it's a nicely broad education in local music.  Day 1 was JEP and MissM.  JEP are locals, jazz trained, playing Blackbird, Molly and the like.  Even Lake Burley Griffin, at least for this outing.  Very nice, very smooth, Herbie Hancock-ian deep groove, jazz funk.  Capable melodic playing all around, tight and nicely internally responsive, minimalist structures with perhaps with unexpected twists or inserted odd bars.  Plenty of piano lines and synth pads out front but everyone gets a solo.  I loved this one.  And I'd love to know where the power came, down there by the lake near the Museum.  We might hear them collaborating with some Canberra vocalists next year: I can't wait for that.  The stream continued with two songs from MissM, presumably self-penned.  Piano, vocals, immediate and touching, alto voice and accompanying piano.  I should have listened to words to really make a judgment, but again nice and well presented.  Both these artists perform are Blackbird.  The Delta sessions are organised by MusicACT and streamed free at 6pm Mondays until 15 Nov.  Find links at MusicACT on Facebook.

JEP and MissM performed for the streamed Delta Sessions.  From ACT each Monday to 15 Nov.  JEP comprises Jamie Rea (keyboards), Evan Marshalsey (bass) and Peter Campion (drums).

This is CJBlog post no. 2,400.