Artists 2010
Main Stage
Eskimo Joe
msfest 2010 is ecstatic to welcome to the main stage for their first Tasmanian performance since 2007, West Australian Trio, Eskimo Joe.
Undoubtedly one of the most heralded and enduring rock bands around today, Eskimo Joe have once again stepped out of their comfort zone producing new infectious drum grooves, pulsing beneath emotive vocals to form an engaging dynamic which sees melodies soar.
Coming off the back of their most recent album, the immensely successful Inshalla, the band has a fresh outlook and channels it through new methods of songwriting and arranging. From the stand-to-attention upbeat rock stomp of new single “Foreign Land”, to the infectious carefree skewed pop of “Don’t Let Me Down”, the band’s lust for life is simply irresistible.
Youthful naivety can produce flashes of rock & roll excitement, but genuine experience and the passage of time can turn a good band into a truly great one. Now, more than a decade on from when the young Fremantle trio leapt onto the national stage, Eskimo Joe are taking a big, bold step towards musical greatness and they’re bringing it to our very own backyard in 2010.
Bliss N Eso
From an early stage in their career, Bliss N Eso primarily built their fan base from their compelling and energetic live performances. In 2010 msfest welcomes the boys back on the Tassie stage for what’s sure to be an exhilarating blend of fluid rhymes, banging beats teamed with beat boxing, impromptu freestyling and seamless turntablism.
Recently, in a fundraising effort for the Victorian bushfires, Melbourne hosted the biggest paid concert in Australian history in front of 92,000 punters at the MCG. Bliss N Eso were selected as the sole hip-hop act on a bill which included some of the biggest acts in Australian music history, and by all accounts, they held their own in, “what many are stating was the performance of the day” (Beat Magazine).
Freshly back from one final national tour celebrating their new album, Flying Colours Live, which incidentally became the highest selling local hip- hop tour of all time, Bliss N Eso are certain to deliver yet another sensational performance to a massive msfest crowd.
Evermore
After only recently finishing an epic national tour to promote their beautifully crafted 'Truth of the World' album, Evermore are heading straight back around the country with P!nk to be part of what’s literally the biggest tour in Australian history.
Truth Of The World: Welcome To The Show, is one of the most ambitious albums you’ll ever hear. A grandiose piece of music that plays out like a modern brave new world rock opera with lyrics and melodies threaded seamlessly between very different songs. Synth-rock stompers “Between The Lines” and “Hey Boys And Girls” showcase the band at their swaggering confident best and will be sure to get msfest party-goers revved up and rockin’ out.
Karnivool
When Perth five-piece heavy rock outfit Karnivool emerged in April 2005 with an album called Themata, two things were immediately obvious. One, here was a record that single-handedly set a new benchmark for heavy rock in this country and others for years to come. And two, Karnivool were going to be big. Really big.
Over the following years the band toured hard, selling out major venues wherever they played and attracting a hardcore cult of fans. Karnivool went on to earn three spots in the triple j ‘Hottest 100’ for the title track Themata, Roquefort (featuring The Cat Empire’s horn section) and their inspired reworking of electronic artist Gotye’s The Only Way. Suddenly, this little ol’ prog-rock band from Perth were one of Australia’s biggest acts.
Now, the challenge. Four long years had passed since their seminal debut and the fans were hungry for more ‘Vool. And when your first record is that damn good, the big question has got to be “where to from here?” It was something the band were all too aware of.
So, what the hell took so long? It took so long because the boys set the bar very high, very early on. Simply put, Sound Awake is a kaleidoscopic, multi-dimensional masterpiece. It’s a record that’s going to blow people away.
So, do the band have any advice for Karnivool fans wanting to wrap their heads around the new beast? According to the boys, "This album will keep on giving. A new album should challenge your listeners. Give them something new, different and inspirational, and I think if you’re delving into those sort of waters as a band, then you’re on the money.”
Leave it to bass player Jono for the final words: “Turn it up,” he drawls. “Loud.”
Karnivool fans agree, with Sound Awake recently certified GOLD by ARIA and nominated for Triple J radio's very prestigious annual J award. Welcome back and don't worry, we plan to play your music nice and loud at msfest 2010!
Parkway Drive
Blasting out of Byron Bay in 2003, an affront to the sun-soaked serenity of their surroundings, Parkway Drive has achieved milestones both here at home and overseas that hitherto seemed beyond the realms of imagination. The quiet confidence and lack of arrogance expressed by the band is what lies at the heart of Parkway Drive’s massive appeal. They have this ability to destroy an audience, to decimate a venue with complete and utter malice, yet at the same time show everyone in the place the time of their lives. This is the kind of relaxed, no-nonsense attitude you get growing up in Byron. Parkway are just five ordinary dudes who came together to create one extraordinary band.
2009 has been nothing but a blur for the Byron Bay quintet. Starting the year with a tour of SE Asia and Japan, followed by tours of the USA and Canada, Parkway Drive then embarked on an endless summer appearing at some of the largest heavy music festivals Europe and the UK has to offer including appearances at Download (UK), Greenfield (Switzerland), Hove Fest (Norway), Graspop (Belgium), West Coast Riot (Sweden) and many more.
Kisschasy
Now with the imminent release of their third album - the aptly titled “Seizures”, Kisschasy have ripened into one of Australia’s most important young rock bands.
In addition to the blossoming lyricism there’s also an obvious progression in the imposing musicality of a band that’s played well over 500 gigs together.
With the release of “Seizures” it’s clear that Kisschasy now boast a rock-solid rhythm section and off-the-leash guitar chops to rival any of their peers. On songs like the stomping title track and the frenzied “We All Need To Be Alone” these four young men inject new levels of intensity to their four-on-the-floor rock fare while also venturing off on some more angular pop tangents – sometimes all within the same song.
These powerfully personal songs played by a young band just as they hit their stride are certain to hit a cord with the 2010 msfest revellers.
Short Stack
Appearing on the msfest main stage on their first visit to Tasmania, Short Stack, is one the country’s hottest new young bands. With more energy than a box of frogs, Short Stack cranks out a blend of genres, including Punk, Glam and Indie. Their lyrics are honest, witty and tongue in cheek, all stitched together with teenage confessions. Ingeniously tapping into the power of the internet to showcase their musical abilities to astounding effect, they have taken the traditional Music Business establishment by surprise. With over four and a half a million plays on My Space and more than a one and a half million on You Tube, they have a global fan-base, their own TV show and their own merchandise range. Their three hit singles, Shimmy A Go Go, Princess and Sway, Sway Baby have all charted high and will defy any agile punter to refuse the pull of the mighty mosh pit.
Jessica Mauboy
Also on her first trip to Tassie, msfest welcomes sultry soulstress Jessica Mauboy.
Mauboy hasn't stopped since being proclaimed runner-up to Damien Leith on 2006's tightly contested fourth season of Australian Idol. Since then, years of hard work and dedication have culminated in Jessica's latest album, 'Been Waiting' in which Mauboy refashions contemporary urban, club and electro-pop sounds. “It's a little Rihanna, a little Beyonce, but a whole lotta Jessica Mauboy” she declares. The versatile singer with country roots is sure to deliver a repertoire of timeless songs when she graces the msfest stage in 2010.
Kate Miller Heidke
After an energetic tour of the US with Ben Folds, the next big stop over for Kate Miller Heidke is msfest 2010. Kate has enjoyed a tremendously successful 2009 with her single, 'Caught in the Crowd' being awarded the Grand Prize in the highly respected International Songwriting Competition. Experimental, hooky, and unashamedly pop, Kate’s most recent album, Curiouser, resulted in her first top 10 album. With, ‘Can't Shake It’, the first single from the album, nominated for an APRA Award in the prestigious Song of the Year category. More recently the critically acclaimed ‘Curiouser’ has hit the #1 spot on the itunes album chart, while the emotionally charged 'The Last Day On Earth' is also enjoying dominance, sitting at #3 on the itunes single chart. Kate is renowned for her live performances and expect nothing less than perfection when she hits our local stage in 2010.
Funkoars
I don’t know what they’re putting in the water in Adelaide but they continue to produce some extraordinarily talented hip hop acts and the Funkoars are no exception. Founded upon four very unique personalities coupled with prodigious talent the Funkoars are enjoying enormous success. The energetic and humorous nature of their lyrics is not something that can be emulated and while they may sometimes walk the thin line between disgusting and ludicrous, it's been this cutting edge mix that has brought their music so much attention. Not happy to rest on their past achievements or be pigeonholed by critics for their inimitable style, the Oars have evolved yet again and will bring a brand new sound to the table when they visit us in Tassie in 2010.
Dash & Will
Like all the great acts throughout the history pages of rock and pop, from the very first time Charlie Thorpe and Josie De Sousa-Reay, a.k.a. Dash & Will, started playing music together, whoever heard them knew they had something very special. Youthful, beautiful and multi-talented – when they sing, Charlie and Josie's very distinctive vocal styles magically blend into one and soar, producing the sort of tight, angelic harmonies you normally only hear from famous singing siblings.
Acoustically or backed by a full band, Dash & Will have already proven themselves to be a new natural musical force in the Australian music scene and will be an enriching edition to msfest's 2010 stellar line up.
The Sundance Kids
If it’s intricate guitar tones, fantastic pop hooks, piano flourishes, inventive rhythms and soaring atmospherics supported by a voice that’s as powerful and expressive as it is delicate and resonating. Then Adelaide melodic pop-rock quintet The Sundance Kids will be right down your alley. The refreshing honesty and sense of joy the band embraces is sure to resonate throughout the park long after their final song is over.
Regular John
Sydney foursome, Regular John's debut album, The Peaceful Atom Is A Bomb – which Rolling Stone magazine has already dubbed “the perfect distillation of everything good that’s happened since rock found a heavy, fuzzy imagination in the late Sixties” – is the culmination of two intense years of hard living, hard partying and – more than anything – f*%$ing hard work.
Entering Sydney for the first time, armed with nothing more than J Mascis’ songwriting smarts, Bill Hick’s sense of humour and a load of hallucinogenic drugs, the foursome spent the next few years carving themselves a psyched-out, punk-inspired niche in a Sydney rock scene sick from its own self-indulgence. Regular John brought an honesty and intensity back to venues that had endured shoegazers and sythns for too long, and the fans responded immediately – by the end of 2006 the band had bulldozed its way into the public imagination and onto bills like Homebake and Soundwave.
It’s been a very long time since the acid-fuelled apocalyptic fantasies of four smart guys have had so much primal punk rock appeal.
Festival goers get ready, Regular John are sure to kick start this party early!
Black Japan
Frontman Carl Fidler, originating from Sussex in the UK, teamed up with Launceston based guitarist Glenn Moorhouse, and drummer Randall Stafford and began making music in their early 20’s. They played in various bands together to form what is now known as BlackJapan.
Before starting Black Japan, the band members had experience playing in other bands including ‘The Dead Abigails’ who between 2001-2005 played alongside INXS, Incubus, Grinspoon, The Whitlams, Motor Ace and many more. They toured extensively throughout the UK playing well known festival ‘Party in the Park’ @ Ripley Castle in front of 30,000 people. In 2004 ’The Dead Abigails’ won Triple J’s UNEARTHED competition, received the OZ Music Ambassador award along with John Butler Trio and Motor Ace. Their music is continually played on Big Brother, McLeod’s Daughters, and Young Lions.
In 2009, three good mates come together again, with diverse musical tastes, individual track records of successful touring, and a love of upbeat melodic rock music to create Black Japan.
Clubber's Guide Stage
Sneaky Sound System
Headlining the ever-popular Ministry of Sound Clubbers Stage and back by popular request are our old friends Sneaky Sound System. This trio of three very different characters are bonded by a riotous sense of fun and together create their unique brand of music imbued with frolicking nightlife energy but also flecked with sing-along radio-friendly 1980s electro-pop.
In the past Sneaky has toured with the likes of Robbie Williams, Jamiroquai, The Scissor Sisters, Sam Sparro, Lady GaGa and played festivals as varied as the Glastonbury, Wireless, Big Day Out, Homebake, Good Vibrations, Live Earth and V Festival. Right now they’re flat out touring the U.S, Europe and the U.K but rest assured they’ll be back in time to fire up the Ministry of Sound Clubbers Stage.
The Potbelleez
Bolstering an already commanding line up, The Potbelleez stand as unquestionably one of the hottest dance acts on the circuit. With Dave and Jonny displaying breathtaking skills over four CDJS, two mixers and two FX units, while Blue and Kidron weave their magic up front.
Nominated for Best Dance Music Video at the 2009 MTV Awards and taking out the gong for the Dance Work Of The Year with ‘Dont Hold Back’ at 2009 APRA Awards, The Potbelleez will categorically raise the roof off the dance arena in 2010.
Muscles (dj set)
In 1994, an Australian scientist began what would become his most acknowledged experiment.
Successfully obtaining an orphan male in the Australian outback, he built a glass chamber and placed the child inside with four glistening objects; two keyboards and two strobe lights. He named the child Muscles.
Withdrawn from the outside world the scientist ensured Muscles tasted the glorious elements of life; 90s pop singles, trance compilations and SNES games glowing into his eyes, resonating through the glass.
Upon completing Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island the future arrived amidst a final keyboard solo, like it was destiny, the glass chamber shattered and Muscles bolted for Melbourne.
For the first time he saw the world for how it really was, learning life wasn't all Korg synths and 16 bit, his musical creation growing bizarre. Extraordinary party anthems manifested into a homemade bomb of vocal harmony, forced into hard techno, lo-fi house and soft trance synths.
Now this bomb has a name – GUNS BABES LEMONADE. The crystallization of the last 12 months of Muscles toiling away in a bedroom in Melbourne, a suite of songs set to jack dancefloors and hijack hearts.Already-anthems One Inch Badge Pin and Ice Cream are nestled amongst a forest of 11 of the most joyous moments of future pop likely to be heard this year.
Touring his emotionally charged live show to hysterical fans from Melbourne to Montreal it has been a busy year. And the best is yet to come.
Miami Horror
Poised to wreak havoc at msfest in 2010 is 22 year old Benjamin Vanguarde a.k.a Miami Horror.
Most of you will know Miami Horror from their killer remixes for the likes of Pnau, Bloc Party, Stardust, The Presets, Datarock and Midnight Juggernauts which sent the blogosphere into a frenzy during 2008. Quickly attracting a loyal fan base and industry following across the world and propelling the name and the music amongst some of the biggest names in the game right now. Many might be a little baffled by who or what Miami Horror actually is; a band? DJ? Production wizard? Well, the answer is actually all of the above, with a unique blend of electro, punk, funk, and disco fun, Miami Horror is sure to whip the dance floor into a frenzy.
Anna Lunoe
Turning Anna Lunoe's long list of achievements into a coherent opening sentence is no easy task. Neither is crafting a bangin' set out of thousands of electro, techno, disco, hip-hop, house, baltimore, party and dancehall tunes. But Anna Lunoe manages to make that sort of stage-magic happen every time she gets behind the decks. She has earnt herself a reputation as one of one of Sydney's, scratch that-, Australia's best female, nah scratch that-, ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S BEST AND RESPECTED GENDER NON-SPECIFIC DJ's!
It all started in 2006, where Anna found herself living in New York City on a mission to learn the precise science of 'getting the party started'.
Since returning home, she has made a career of doing just that and is regularly called upon to ready the stage for the likes of Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, Chromeo, M.I.A, A-Trak, Dizzee Rascal, Diplo, Switch, Armand Van Helden, Busy P. Spankrock, and Soulwax.
The Aston Shuffle
The Aston Shuffle are everywhere, their music is in the clubs and on the radio and features on the worlds’ biggest dance compilations including a multitude of Ministry of Sound Annuals and Ministry of Sound Clubbers guides , making them the poster boys for the Nu-Rave Generation. There are no chairs in the Aston Shuffle world because there is no need to sit down, you wouldn’t want to. They are the punters pied piper, princesses of progression and they have arrived. So listen and understand that The Aston Shuffle is out there. They can’t be bargained with. They can’t be reasoned with. They don’t feel pity, remorse or fear. They absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are all dancing.
Bass Kleph
International DJ, producer, label owner, mix engineer and occasional radio host, Bass Kleph has a finger in every music pie in town, including having one of the hottest, most in demand, individual sounds of now. It's an edgy take on jackin’ Tech / Electro House that everyone can connect with. It's somewhere between the underground and the pop, the melodic and the raw, but it always features a cool, sexy, ‘less is more’ approach. It's that… well it's that Bass Kleph sound.
In January 2009, Bass Kleph was approached by Ministry Of Sound to mix a CD for their famous “Clubbers Guide series. He then headed off on tour all over Australia, also playing Good Vibrations Festival in Sydney and the Gold Coast.
With a packed calendar including dates all around Australia and a world tour around the UK, EU (including Ibiza), Russia, Canada, Amsterdam and more, Bass Kleph is one to watch and there is no sign of things slowing down.
Goodwill
Not only does he produce several genres of music under several different pseudonyms, leaks his own white label bootleg mash-ups to fellow DJs and onto rocking dance floors, mixes Ministry of Sound compilation after Ministry of Sound compilation, remixes megastars, tours Australia and the world, has an alarming, thankfully rare, stage diving habit, fronts a national radio show, knows far too many people (far too well) and can drink drunks under the table, Goodwill has also been touted as one of Australia's finest DJs.
Recently returning form a European tour where he was invited to play in the main room of Pacha alongside Axwell and Sander Kleinenberg, we are honoured to welcome one of msfest's favourite Djs back again for 2010!
Hook N Sling
Sydney-born DJ and producer Hook N Sling, aka Anthony Maniscalco is recognised as one of the most exciting genre-blending house producers to come on the scene in recent years, a title which has lead him to places most only dream about. We are pleased to say that Tassie's very own msfest is top on the list!
Klaus Hill
If a DJ/Producer is measured by consistency then surely Klaus Hill is up there with the greatest. For over a decade Klaus has filled rooms with his trademark ball & wall tearing sound that has seen him become a firm favourite on the Australian and worldwide DJ circuit and a Producer whose sound is instantly recognisable.
Enter 2009 and Klaus Hill has honed a new sound that can only be described as fresh, wobbly and well, so Klaus it hurts! "Boombaclart" (featured on the Ministry of Sound Annual 2008) was a call to arms from a Producer who knows how to break stale formulas and create a party like no other. His "Dirt Diver" EP on ground breaking label, Potty Mouth, turned even more heads in the dance community, defying as many genres as it embraced. Support for his new sound has come from the international djing elite, including The Plump DJ’s, Micky Slim, Trevor Lovey’s, Jesse Rose and Switch.
Sam La More
Artist, record producer, remixer, DJ and a leading proponent of the electro house genre in Australia and beyond, Sam La More's achievements are as thick as a good novel. Sam writes and produces some of Australia’s biggest dance records including the PNAU "PNAU" album, the platinum selling Potbelleez record "Don’t Hold Back" and remixes for a who’s who of international artists. His remixes for Empire of The Sun, Pnau, Lovers Electric, The Freestylers, Princess Superstar and Arthur Baker, Kaskade, Gus Gus and many more, have a strong and loyal following.
After playing for 6 years in London and Hollywood, Sam’s Live / DJ shows are legendary. He plays his electro-house style in the biggest clubs around the world. Performing as Sam La More, Tonite Only and PNAU, he has played to crowds in excess of 12,000 people (Big Day Out, BBC Radio 1 (Miami WMC), Underwater at Pacha, Ibiza and The End London, stereosonic and Good Vibrations Festivals etc) playing with Fatboy Slim, Erick Morillo, Chemical Brothers, Bob Sinclar and Darren Emerson among others. We are flattered to be included in that list!
Tommy Trash
Producer slash DJ slash musician Tommy Trash is one of the biggest names in Australian dance music. Bursting onto the scene just three years ago, Tommy has seemingly risen from nowhere to dominate charts and dancefloors alike - and this is only the beginning. On the back of this success, it wasn't long before the Ministry Of Sound team recognised that Tommy deserved more than to simply feature on their compilation CDs – he should have his own. And so “Electro House Sessions” was born, an annual double disc monster whose debut release not only sat pretty at #1 on the Aria Compilations Chart for 3 weeks running, but also earned Gold record status.
In 2009 Tommy credits have grown to include OneLove’s “Mobile Disco” and Ministry of Sound’s “Sessions 6” both of which he toured extensively across Australia and New Zealand. The latter features hit single “Need Me To Stay” which smashed the ARIA Club Charts at Number #2 and entered the ARIA Top 40 charts at Number 14! In his debut performance at msfest 2010, msfest get your dancing shoes ready. We can expect only great things to come!
Minx
Sydney new comer DJ Minx is kind of like that firecracker you let off at school when no-one was watching: started out small and you didn't think much would come of it, but before long, things are out of control and you're hiding under your desk trying to work out your next move.
Plying her craft for the past four years in Adelaide, Minx is now letting loose on the national and international stage.
Recruited into the Onelove stable in 2006, Minx has held a weekly residency at Onelove/Electric Circus every friday night as well as serving it up for Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Byron Bay. Minx also stepped it up in Mykonos in summer of 07, supporting Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso at Paradise Club.
Minx also added the festival game into her repertoire, performing at Parklife festival in Adelaide,Future Music Festival in Adelaide, We Love Sounds in Adelaide, Stereosonic Festival in Melbourne and Adelaide and Good Vibrations Festival in Sydney and Gold Coast. Minx's DJ sets fuse elements of electro, indie and house, that results in a genre-bending journey helping to leave you a little hazy the morning after and not quite sure how you got home. Minx's talents have also seen her mixing it up for fashion shows by hot right now designers Liza Emanuele (It Girl) and Alex Perry.
Tim McGee
Tim McGee is one of the rare creatures of a time that cannot be synthesized, and a place that cannot be recreated; A major Australian proponent of dance music who contributed to the cultural dialogue as it happened and created a place in the Australian entertainment industry where other artists could grow, where he could remain creative, and where enthusiasts could appreciate an authenticity in club music. And damn it, just have a bit of fun.
It's a laudable story of commitment, good humour, creativity, and no small dose of business acumen. A musical sensibility steered Tim toward DJing as it did many young men in the late 80s. But unlike many of these young men McGee would go further than spinning tunes and promoting events with some international DJs. His career would see him invited to play with some of the biggest House names on the planet, both here and overseas. Danny Tenaglia, Roger Sanchez, Felix Da Housecat, and Derrick Carter have all shared deck space and forged ongoing relationships with McGee. They like him as a person, they respect him as a business man, and they play alongside him because he is a bloody good DJ. And we agree.
Trent Rackus
Trent Rackus, Rackus, Daddy Rack, whatever it is that you choose to call this DJ stalwart of the Australian Dance music scene, one thing is for sure, he always delivers.
From the beginnings way back in the early 90’s Trent has forged his way as a versatile DJ, whether it be electro, tech, disco, rave or house, or all of them thrown in together, stirred three times with a twist of madness, Trent is known for keeping it fun.
Rackus has played all over the country, some parts of the world, and alongside the crème of the international dance scene crop. With supporting roles to the likes of Sasha, Fatboy Slim, N.E.R.D, Basement Jaxx, Steve Aoki, Claude VonStroke, Trentemoller, Digweed, The Presets, PNAU, Chromeo, Sam Sparro, Steve Lawler, Josh Wink, Deadmau5, Green Velvet, Ettiene De Crecy, Digitalism, Booka Shade, Angello & Ingrosso, Morillo, Mark Ronson, Felix Da Housecat and Mike Monday to name a few.
Technically speaking, he smokes it on the decks. With a heritage that lists him as a DJ instructor at the legendary United DJ School, a radio host on a number of radio stations and a long term employee of the worlds mega dance label Ministry of Sound where he looks after his djing buddies on the Soapbox roster.
So, if you happen to be out this weekend and you haven’t yet had Rackus grace your ears with some of his musical candy, hunt him down, try and tackle him, steal his wallet, listen to his set, and then decide whether he can have his wallet back. He hasn’t yet had to go home without it.
Rackus can be heard smashing it up on a weekly basis at Moulin Rouge, Cargo, Ruby Rabbit, and Sugarmill, and monthly at Tank, Chinese Laundry, SOHO, Ruby Rabbit and Wham! He also is a regular around the country at family bbq’s and retirement home xmas parties.
