Latest Entries »

Interview with Stonefield

Stonefield (formerly known as Iotah) are four sisters from Victoria who have gained all sorts of critical acclaim for their special brand of rock and roll. Tomatrax caught up with drummer and lead singer Amy Findlay and asked her about the sisters’ music.

Where did the name come from?

Band names are such a difficult thing.. up there with one of the hardest parts of being in a band I think! It came from reading a very old sayings book our pop gave us. One of them was the old saying “couldn’t give one iota.” We thought it was pretty cool and added a ‘h’ on the end. I wish we had a good reason for the h, but no.. just thought it looked better in writing!

Note: The band has since changed their name from Iotah to Stonefield to avoid confusion with solo artist iOTA.

When was your first gig?

Our first gig was at a jam session at a local country pub in Fowerdale. We had such an awesome time, meeting other musicians who have been playing for years and had so much encouragement from them, we’re still going to the Jam sessions as much as we can.

What’s it like to all be playing with your sisters?

It has it’s pros and cons, but mostly pros. As sisters you can say what you think and not worry about hurting their feelings too much. They’ll get over it pretty quickly. We all live together, so finding time to practice is easy. We live on a farm too and can make as much noise in our shed as we like. I think we have a bond that connects us as musicians. We of course fight, but not as much as other sisters. We’re pretty tight knit.

How did you decide who played which instrument?

Luckily enough, we all kind of had an interest in our individual instrument. It worked out to be no double ups. Perfect for forming a band!

Is it hard to play drums and sing at the same time?

No. It’s what I’ve done from the start.. I’m used to it. Plus, I’m a rock drummer. Straight 4 4 haha. I don’t do anything too fancy, just keep time.

You’ve recently been announced as a finalist for Unearthed High 2010, has that had much of an impact on your music’s exposure?

It’s had a huge impact. A lot more people are showing interest in our music from across Australia which is fantastic.

How did you pick which songs would be featured on Unearthed?

‘Foreign Lover,’ the song that’s currently being played on Triple J was recorded the day before the competition closed. We recorded it as part of my course (I’m studying a music degree and majoring in song writing.) We had it produced by Greg Arnold from ‘Things Of Stone and Wood.’ We whacked it up when we got home from the studio and low and behold, a week later it was on Triple J and got us into the finals.

From the songs on Unearthed there’s been some solid keyboard and guitar solos, is there any chance of a drum solo in any upcoming tunes?

A new song we are currently writing has a potential drum solo, so perhaps!

You’ve had all manner of people raving about you already; do you feel any pressure from here on as a result of all the early praise?

I guess we probably should, but no not really. Our songwriting so far has grown into something we feel is better each time. Hopefully we can block out outside pressures and keep working with our own pressure.

When you began playing together did you think you’d come this far this soon?

Being played on Triple J? Gosh no!

Did you really play a concert in the back of a truck? If so what was it like?

We’re from a rural area so there’s no shortage of concerts in the back of trucks. We’ve played quite a few of them at festivals and other community events.

When writing songs does the music come first or the lyrics?

Almost all of the time the music comes first. I’m better of getting a feel for the music before writing lyrics. I’ve written lyrics first a few times but end up scrapping them for something else once the music is done.

You music mixed various elements of rock, early metal and psychedelic rock, do you think about the style and sound you’re going for when putting songs together?

Yeah we do, particularly when we first started song writing. It’s easy to stray from the direction you want to head and write something that doesn’t sound like your band.

In the vein of your influences, will you be putting out any 10+ minute epics?

We would love to. I guess we’ve always been encouraged to keep it around the three minute mark, but epic and big is fun so hopefully we’ll be able to do that in the future.

Will you be releasing a CD in the near future? If so how will it compare to what’s being put out so far?

Yes, we’re releasing an EP this year. It will be the same kind of stuff that’s up on Unearthed. Each song has it’s different sort of influences from the 70s era. Some songs are more bluesy than others and some are more psychedelic rock.

Do you listen to your own music?

When we have a fresh recording yes, but other than that no. We hear it enough when we practice.

Is there any question you’ve always wanted to be asked?

Not that we can think of..

Is there any question you hate being asked?

Holly: “Do you think you’re good?” & “Are you famous?”
Amy: I don’t like it when people ask me to sing in a really awkward place..
To hear more from Iotah check out their Unearthed page or their myspace page!

Interview with Circle’s Radi Safi

Circle are a 4 piece from Sydney who mix experimental prog rock and simple pop together and pull it off with colourful flair.Circle is led by Radi Safi, who previously was flying solo. “You might know that our original incarnation was Opanoni (then Opanoni and The Raindrops)” said Radi. “I’m a little embarrassed to say that the first reason I put a band together was because my publicist Lou told me to. I was happy making my tunes and running my company DPM Creative Group and thought music would take off on its own. No such luck and of course I feel very differently about the band situation now. It’s very much a collaborative effort especially with long standing partner in crime Dan Shaw. We’ve had a few line ups since Dan joined the band but I’m very glad there is a respect appreciation and solidarity between us.

In choosing the band’s name Radi explained that “Everything goes in a Circle including time. Just ask Gabriel Garcia Marquez! But seriously it was motivated by some of my more philosophical meanderings at the time and it stuck.”A few years ago Circle made the pledge to release a new song every week until they were famous. “I’m very prolific as a songwriter,” explained Radi. “It got a little boring and it made our music feels like a product so we took a break. The best of the best in that project we re-worked and are being released very soon on an album called Molasses Sandwiches.”Radi is hoping for this album to be released in June. “There’s a lot to do between now and then and my graphic design business DPM Creative Group as well as the new label Monday Records keeps me very busy as well.”In describing how the next album will compare to their previous work Radi said “We’re forever evolving. The tracks are now mastered and posted on our www.myspace.com/ilovecircle page so check them out and let us know. Actually you might already be familiar with a few of them.”In addition to his work with Circle, Radi has also begun a side project with Sarah Bird titled Girl is the new Boy! “Circle auditioned for a Girl singer. That’s when we hooked up with Iny and recorded Xmas Omas. Sarah was one of the people we met during that process and although we both knew she wasn’t right for the band, I desperately wanted to record her. I wrote a few songs including Lost Greyhound and we got together and did some recording. Amazing stuff I think.”

Circle and Opanoni have had their fair share of critical acclaim including being featured on Triple J’s Unearthed. “Triple J is great and that comp has been amazing” said Radi. “We were the third feature artist and I think we came very close to winning something back then that would have been very helpful in exposing the band.”

CD Review: Sophia Marie – Twisted


Sophia Marie is a hard rock singer and bass player. This is her debut full length release and shows off some powerful metal riffs, ballads and hard hitting rock anthems!

The intro sets the tone of darkness and despair showing what’s to come over the next 12 tracks. The music is heavy and rocking with some chilling Gothic undertones. There is a lot of power and passion forced into each track all of them having a certain bleak atmospheric vibe to them. Sophia Marie has a solid voice that at times sound sweet and poppy like Kylie Minogue and other times sounds more dark and menacing like Siouxsie Sioux.

On offer are some fast paced rock anthems like Voodoo and Under your spell, some slow metal tunes like Losing control and With you and some softer ballad-like moments such as Run to you and Get Free.

A major highlight is the single Mr Big Shot, sounding like the Fear Factory with Kylie on vocals. The mix of the popish vocals and the heavy metal soundtrack work well together creating an interesting and engaging contrast. The music has a lot of depth with a smooth flow from heavy to soft moments.

This is a great offering of hard hitting metal moments that go from soft to heavy and quiet to loud with seamless precision. The musicianship here is fantastic with some mighty rocking guitars and thumping drums all of which form an apt soundtrack to Sophia Marie’s vocal delivery. Overall a solid debut that is well worth checking out if you like gothic-metal acts like Nightwish or Lacuna Coil.

To hear Sophia Marie’s music check out her pages on Myspace or on Triple J Unearthed.

CD Review: Royal Chant – Right on / Write off


Royal Chant, the band formerly known as Sickboy, are back with the debut EP. On offer are two tracks that were previously available as an double A-side MP3 download in Somedays and Coughing Fits and two previously unreleased tracks in Shatters Alright and Sea Chanty.

The EP opens with Shatters alright. The first half of this track is much smoother and laid back track compared to the other Royal Chant tracks of late. Mark Spence has a much calmer vocal tone here. The song gathers speed at around the half way mark as the band start to rock out in a chaotic grunge style.
Somedays is a fast paced, energetic and raw punk rock tune. This is topped with some witty lyrics delivered with Mark Spence’s great growling voice. This track is a lot of fun and works as a great rocking anthem, especially with the sing-a-long chorus.
Coughing Fits shows a good use of echoing vocals and dark atmospheric textures. There is a lot of energy throughout the song as well as all sorts of interesting background sounds.
Sea Chanty is quite a clever piece going from what sounds like a drunken sailor sing-a-long to then being a fast full on punk rock tune. The two fit together well and amount to something that is a lot of fun to listen to!

This is another impressive offering that a good mix of loud grungy rock and catchy pop moments. These work well together keeping the song interesting the whole way and showing the band can go from one vibe to another quite seamlessly.

To hear Royal Chant’s music check out their pages on Myspace or on Triple J Unearthed.

Tomatrax Top 100 songs of 2009

To finish off the list of music that has stood out over the last year here is the Tomatrax Top 100 of 2009. This was yet another strong year for music making it very hard to narrow songs down to 100 and even harder to work out the order. Over the 100 songs just under 90 artists are featured with no artist making it into the list more than twice.

The top 100 are listed here.

Tomatrax Top 10 albums of 2009

The time of the year has come for the best albums of the last 12 months  to be argued about, so to get things started here are the Tomatrax Top 10!

NUMBER TEN

Gomez – A new tide

Gomez continue to develop and build on their unique folk/indie rock sound in their latest album. The tracks mostly led by acoustic guitars exert a lot of charm and life. Highlights include the stripped back opening Mix, the double bass led If you ask nicely and the fast and catchy  Airstream Driver. This is yet another brilliant release that is a must for fans of Gomez or indie rock in general.
;

NUMBER NINE

Paradise Lost – Faith Divides Us Death Unites Us

The British veterans of metal are back with album number twelve which is as heavy and hard hitting as they’ve ever been. The instrumentation here is brilliant with a buffet of powerful rock jams and solos. There are a lot of twists and turns as the album progresses however the energy levels remain at a constant high level with a big of loud and soft moments. This is yet another epic offering from this legendary outfit and  is a must for all fans of Heavy Metal.


NUMBER EIGHT

The Doves – Kingdom of Rust

Album number four sees the Doves continue to build on their dark indie sounds, this time with a broader scope, more punchy self contained songs but with just as much atmosphere and emotion as their past releases.

The album covers a fair bit of musical ground but at the same time has the strong soundscapes throughout that are unmistakeably Dove-esq. There’s some almost toe tapping sing a long  moments such as on the title tack. There’s some fast racing heavy rock sounds such as The Outsiders and then there’s the striped back mellow sounds such as Birds flew backwards.

This is yet another great collection of tunes that is full of life with a giid mix of light and dark moments.

NUMBER SEVEN

Alice In Chains – Black Gives Way to Blue

After a long hiatus Alice In Chains are back with a new album. The result is without a doubt one of the best grunge/metal albums from the past decade. They managed to pick up where they left off with a ton of passion and emotion. On offer are the slow mellow moments such as Your decision and Black gives way to blue as well as heavy metal moments such as All Secrets known and Last of my kind. This is a great example of a big return to form from a classic artist, only without the collection of crappy albums in-between.

NUMBER SIX

Eels – Hombre Lobo

E and his gang have taken off in yet another new and different musical direction with album number seven. Unlike the epic double album four years ago this album consists of 12 self contain tracks all with a country rock feel to them. On offer is the mellow In my dreams, the creepy and edgy Fresh Blood and the upbeat poppy Beginners Luck.

While the styles are quite different to their past offerings it once again has that certain charm that only the Eels can pull off. Once again this shows E’s amazing ability to turn his unconventional ideas into colourful musical experiences.

NUMBER FIVE

Sugar Army – The Parallels Amongst Ourselves

The Sugar Army are an up and coming Perth outfit that are sure to be turning heads in the not to distant future. This, their debut full length, shows their ability to take on various styles and sounds and pull them off with originality and flair. On offer is the dark yet racing  Tongues in Check, the infectiously poppy ’80s influenced Acute and the stroner rock influenced Maybe the boy who cried wolf was just paranoid.

Across the eleven tracks the band put together sounds that can be dark and menacing, fast and energetic or simple and poppy. Across these different styles they have created a sound that is undoubtedly their own. Think of the Talking Heads, Joy Division and Kyuss all combined and you’ll come some of the way to describing the Sugar Army’s sound!

NUMBER FOUR

Dinosaur Jr – Farm

The original trio are back for album number two since the bands hiatus. On offer is an album as good as any of their past releases. The members all work well together to create the vintage feedback driven grungy sound that many have tried to replicate but none have quite matched. Highlights include the heavy rocking Pieces and the melancholy epic Said the People. J Masis’s voice is at its growling best while Lou Barlow also puts forward two solid tracks in Your Weather and Imagination Blind.

This is without a doubt Dinosaur Jr at their best. If you were blown away by their music in the lat 80′s/early 90s then this is an absolute must have!

NUMBER THREE

Men Without Pants – Naturally

The duo of Russell Simins and Dan The Automator manage to put out some interesting tunes. With influences from Beck to the Pixies, this release contains all sorts of sounds and styles. This includes full on rock like Double Life, twisted indie sounds like Super fine, and the mellow sound of If you’re Thinking of me. This album is a lot of fun, while the mix of electro, grunge, pop, rock and everything in between ensures it wont get tried any time soon. Rather it’s something you want to listen to again and again!

NUMBER TWO

The Antlers – Hospice

The concept album tells the story of a man watching a loved one gradually die from cancer with memories and flashbacks popping up throughout the narrative. The emotional power that is poured into this album is utterly amazing as the story travels with the slow and sad music.  The music is generally of a quiet and soft nature with occasional loud rock outbursts. On the whole it sounds like a softer cross between Jeff Buckley and Sigor Ros.

The band members put together some quite amazing  experimental soundscapes joining the different pieces of this puzzle. Peter Silberman’s soft feminine vocals fit in perfectly with the soundtrack and sets the tone with precision.

This is an amazing release full of breathtaking beauty that will move even the most emotionless listener! If you needed proof that concept albums still had a place in music then this is where you should look!

NUMBER ONE

Porcupine Tree – The Incident

The progressive rock veterans took out the top place in this years album list. The incident is a 55 minute piece (broken down into 14 parts). The album works as one continuous piece but covers all sorts of styles such as the heavy metal sounds of The Blind House, the Trip-hop-like beats of The Incident and the soft folky sounds of The Seance.

In addition to the epic marathon that is the Incident an additional EP size CD is includes featuring four solid self contained tracks. The major highlight of which is the seven and a half minute epic Remember me lover.

This is an amazing collection of sounds, styles and textures which all work together seamlessly!

TUPV3

Yet another year is coming to an end. So to start the various lists of highlights for the past twelve months here is the latest volume of Tomatrax Unearthed Picks covering 41 of the best songs from 2009. Best of all you can listen to them all for FREE!

To listen to the compilation simply click here!

Be sure to check out Unearthed for some of the best new Australian music, and to keep up to date with new music check out the Tomatrax reviews page!

The tracks are as follows:

1. Stremer Bendy – Boy oh boy
2. The Mimps – La La La
3. Royal Chant – Somedays
4. Super Massive – All the things I’ve done
5. Circle – Just pretend
6. Suzie Stampleton – 6 ft away
7. Black Seas – Second guess the asleep
8. The Horse Darkly – Getaway Car
9. Wind & Brackets – Tiny actions smaller hands
10. TV Nations – R.A.T.S.
11. Bird Automatic – About the money
12. Tara Simmonds – When you say that I don’t care
13. Canvas Kites – Wayside
14. Dave Jacobs & The Prodigal Sons – Walkabout
15. Sophia Marie – Mr Big Shot
16. Perpetual End – Sin for beliefs
17. Washington – Clementime
18. Azlock – Sun
19. Aronora – Taken away
20. Brilling – The Old Captian
21. The Reefs – The King and I
22. galactic empire – greenwichmeantime
23. Domini Forster – Puppet Strings
24. Pimpin’ Horus – No shame
25. Fergus Brown – hot kisses, cold tiles
26. The Painkillers – Gypsy Davey
27. The Parking Lot Experiments – Forest fire
28. Kasha – Let a storm
29. Harlequin League – all your wars are won
30. Breach – Such a rush
31. Ivy St – There’s a whole lot more that waits
32. The Owls – In the middle
33. Hawks of Alba – Look what you’ve become
34. The Ocean Party – Winter
35. Simone and Girlfunkle – Sailing
36. Sarah Monahan – Coming Home
37. SOLID LIGHT – Gloss
38. Give or Take – Mr. Beaumont
39. The Battery Kids – Ghost Town
40. The Ride – Blow My Mind
41.  Old Kent Road – The Salt, the sand, the sea

Tomatrax Unearthed picks Volume 2 can still be listened to by clicking here!

Interview with Streamer Bendy




You’ve said that Streamer Bendy was your imaginary friend, what inspired you to use that as your band’s name?

I write all the lyrics in the band, the songs came from the same place in my head that Streamer Bendy did!  I dreamt her up like I dream up the songs, and I thought it was appropriate.
Can you tell us about Streamer Bendy (the imaginary friend)?
I think she looked a bit like Punky Bruster.  She had lots of coloured ribbons in her hair and I think she looked a bit like me.  No idea how that name eventuated, perhaps I wasn’t such a normal child…hehe….

You have entered songs on Unearthed, has that had much of an impact on your music’s exposure?

Triple J picked up our song ‘Boy Oh Boy’ and gave it medium rotation.  That was fantastic for us, we really appreciated Dom Alessio (presenter) and all his support.  Otherwise Unearthed doesn’t help too much I don’t think.  There are so many bands on there it must be near impossible to get through them all.

You’ve traveled around the world to write your music, does being in a different location prompt different styles of music?

Definitely!  Traveling is so inspirational; meeting new people is a huge inspiration to me.  There’s something special about being away and writing your music.  You have a fresh perspective on the world, and some breathing space to really think about what you want to say.  We got to work with some pretty amazing producers who had worked with people like Britney and Akon and my favourite Robyn…..

Where was the best place for you to write music?

….Stockholm.., ..Sweden………

Where was the worst place for you to write music?

I really don’t know?  It’s not always a place, more a frame of mind I think…..

When writing songs does the music come first or the lyrics?

Both.  I’ve always got a bank of lyrics to draw on but definitely it happens slightly differently every time.  Always though, it comes from some truth.  If it doesn’t come from truth, it isn’t honest, and it’s always gotta be honest or no one will believe you.

The songs you’ve posted go in quite different directions from being poppy and clean (….Minnesota….) to raw funk rock (boy oh boy) are the other songs on your upcoming EP as diverse?

We just released an EP which was recorded and written in 3 days.  It was very raw, and ingredients for the recording included vodkha and friends, which is always a fantastic combination.  So those songs came out quote raw.  We just love hooks, whether the song is dirty and rocked out, or a bit pop, if it’s a good hook we’re into it.  The album is probably headed in a bit more of a pop direction, but we will never let go of the rock he he.  We like to rock out on stage and we could never let that go.

Your song Boy oh boy had written about it “I need to have a cold shower every time I listen to this song.” Were you aiming for that kind of reaction when you wrote the song?

Yes this is a triple J song.  I guess it is the reaction I wanted.  The song is about girls taking control, and if just by listening to a song a boy needs to have a cold shower, then I think I’m probably in control

Was there an actual incident behind a tractor?

Certainly not!

You recently played a gig with Vincent and Arctic, was that your first gig as a band?

Yes it was.  We’ve all played in many bands and have a lot of live experience but this was the first collective gig with all five of us.

What’s it like to play a concert after a long period of recording and not playing live?

Fucking excellent.

You’ve had a few video clips on myspace and youtube, is this done as an alternative to playing live?

No, it’s not.  We like to keep in touch with our fans, and quite often they ask for insights into songs, or just ourselves, so they can see more of us.  They are particularly effective in getting to our overseas fans, as they miss out on our Aussie shows :(

Do you ever listen to your own music?

All the time, constantly listening for new ideas and ways to improve them.


What other music do you listen to?

A lot!  I love strong female voices, I love most styles of music, and I love great hooks.  I listen as far back as The Carpenters and the Beatles, and as far forward as Paramore, No Doubt.  And of course lots of local Aussie music.

Is there any question you’ve always wanted to be asked?

I like it when people ask about lyrics and speculate on what they mean.  I love it when people come up and tell me they really related to something I was trying to convey through an experience of their own, even if it’s nowhere near what I was trying to say.  Because I can keep finding new meanings in the words I write.

Is there any question you hate being asked?

I like being asked questions.  I’d hate NOT to be asked questions.  I didn’t answer the question…did I?

To hear more from Streamer Bendy check out their myspace page!