Next week, Remote Control Records will release their first compilation, Bloom and Simmer. It’s a 21-track release of previously unreleased music by primarily Australian artists from across the Remote Control family of artists (which includes labels like Dot Dash, Barely Dressed and Part Time Records). Artists who will feature on the inaugural compilation include Methyl Ethel, HANDSOME, Carla Geneve, Sui Zhen, Obscura Hail, Jess Locke, Jeremy Neale and many more.
We’ve already heard two tracks from the compilation thus far – a cover of Christine and the Queens song ‘The Walker’ by HANDSOME and Essie Holt, and a new song from Sunbeam Sound Machine called ‘Worry Wart’.
Now, Remote Control have given another sneak peek of the compilation, releasing two more of its tracks.
First up, there’s a track from Melbourne singer-songwriter Jess Ribeiro titled ‘Ghost’. Of her contribution, Ribeiro says, “‘Ghost’ is about a friend who died a few years ago. A lifelong creative comrade and rascal, we met when we were 5. I thought we’d be together until we both grew really old.” Ribeiro wrote and recorded the track at Neil Finn’s studio in Auckland, during the 2019 APRANZ co-writing sessions.
“Neil’s wife has a lampshade shop next door so all the rooms at his studio (Roundhead) are full of weird and beautiful light fittings. I liked tinkering around the building playing their instruments and looking at all the cool trinkets they owned like life sized porcelain leopards and whacky outsider style paintings. It was inspiring, everyone was friendly. I love New Zealand, it’s a groovy vibe.”
In addition to Ribeiro, Melbourne audio/visual duo friendships have shared an edit of their 2016 single ‘Purebred Dogs’, which features Yaw Faso and thelovelyme.
“The original is so fast and maximalist, with the intent to feel rushed, rattling, overwhelming and intense. Yaw Faso and thelovelyme are rapid fire at 140bpm, so I wanted to slow it down by 50bpm and explore intonation and create groove – kind of like walking around their words (underneath and above) and let the backing sonics bloom and simmer,” explains the band’s Nic Brown.
“I finished the edit, played it out a couple of times and never released it. The beat now, seems timestamped to the producer I was in 2016. Aggressive EQ’s, exaggerated fx, intense saturation, seemingly archaic techniques which are equally engaging, periodical and perplexing. I thought this would never leave my hard drive, so I’m really happy it’s found a home on this compilation.”
Bloom and Simmer, which is scheduled for release Friday, 26th June, is “a celebration of community, connexion and creativity featuring 21 tracks you’ve never heard before”. The compilation features “the music [artists] make when they’re not making music; a dive beneath the waves, a journey off the beaten path, a glimpse behind the curtain.”
