Honky Kong

Xmas Muppets in pictures

2012-01-13T03:20:00.000+11:00

there we are, down in the bottom corner (thanks to melbourne's pre-eminent tape artist)


xmas decoration lookin

Fun times at Melbourg High!

2011-12-31T17:48:00.000+11:00

Archie here. I was lucky enough to join Dan and the dream band boys in their straw bale and adobe practice room in East Brunswick a few days before their Tote Xmas gig. I wandered past at least two vegetable laden communal kitchens before I found them in the old warehouse space downstairs. The building they were in is something to behold! A former ladies 'intimate apparel' warehouse and offices smothered in graffiti and artwork. Wow! Gotta love Melbourg!

The fellas were in fine spirits with drummer Dave rapid firing his best jokes and bass player Indra and Dan chiming in. I got to hear some previously unperformed new songs including 'Escape to Alcatraz' which went down well at the gig.

Many I spoke to in Brisbourg (myself included) and New Hollywood (Sydney) thought The Tote had died, but happily it did not! The picture above is of the front door and the message is very clear!

The gig went well! Dan and the band were very happy with the tunes and we looked like a pair of xmas-decoration-looking-clowns in our kaftan shirts and xmas wreath head gear. The highlights of the night were singing along to the expletive laden 'Drunk on election night' and getting to play tracks from the fabulous re-issue of Japanese psych rock 'Ongaku 70' from Hiruko Records that we picked up from the excellent and always reliable Round and Round Records in Brunswick.

A big thanks to Dan for the great promo! We were described as "incredible" and "the weirdest DJ's" in the street press (both are compliments!). It was great to finally play in a place that I had heard so much about for so long!

A review of the gig from gandrews at fasterlouder in which we get no mention.

Dan Kelly has summoned us!

2011-12-06T18:15:00.000+11:00

Following on the success of the GoMA Hitchcock Lounge, Matisse: Drawing Life open events, a certain treehouse party in Northern NSW, and Vinyl Rotations with Kim Salmon... Archie Jacobson heads down to Melbourne for DAN KELLY'S DREAM BAND TOTE CHRISTMAS PARTY!!!!

Archie and The Corn Colonel are very excited about this one! A chance to play exactly what we would want to dance to ourselves (like muppets).

Back in Brisbane in the new year Archie will be playing 7 shows as part of Matisse: Drawing Life Uplate series finishing March 2 with Bonnie Prince Billy!

Vinyl Rotations 7 with Kim Salmon

2011-12-06T18:02:00.000+11:00

We had a great time at this one! Kim was very happy with the vintage Australian made Moody valve amp on loan from a local collector and fan. He sold a bunch of old and new vinyl and CD's after the show as well as signing old Scientists, Surrealists, and Beasts of Bourbon releases.

Kim was into the bluesy tunes DJ Scorpio, Archie, and guest DJ B. Radcliffe were playing.

Good crowd. A great afternoon!

Just in time for Omar! A Cornie Odyssey

2011-03-21T19:58:00.000+11:00

This the the cover of the latest HK mix. The brain child of the Corn Colonel, A Cornie Odyssey takes you on a twisting turning journey through the super-fusion and modern musics representing cultures from Korea, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and North Africa finishing in Ethiopia.

This mix has a bit of everything from the ultra rare and re-released. Styles like Choubi Choubi from Iraq, Rai from Algeria, Gypsy stylings from Bulgaria, and Ethio-Jazz from, you guessed it, Ethiopia.

Syrian Sensation! Free entry!

2011-02-25T15:02:00.000+11:00

I can't get enough of Omar Souleyman and his ensemble. Wild synth, bazouki, saz, and dabke drums make for up-tempo frenziness!

Consume presents OMAR east coast 2011 (be excited!)

2011-02-10T19:18:00.000+11:00

"Syrian street culture overdriven casio-craziness strained through the timeless folk world of the middle east. Desert sands cavorting to the rapid-fire keyboard mania of Dabke. Your world shifts around you as the dunes of Omar's musical genius sweep all before in a musical sandstorm. Worlds are compressed as the streets of Syria erupt under your feet in a infectious hyper-mesh that will leave you swirling." From the Consume media release.

Archie's new copy of Hitlist Egypt on sweet sealed vinyl

Yep that's right the greatest living artist on the Sublime Frequencies label Syrian superstar Omar Souleyman is coming to Australia and our mates at Consume are making it happen. Archie will be playing Dj support in Brisbane at The Hifi and the Corn Colonel will be handling things in Melbourne at the Northcote Social Club show.

Be excited! We will be laying on pop, rock, and home grown goodness from Egypt, Algeria, Bulgaria, Morocco, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and a bunch of other unexpected locations.

If you're lucky you could pick up a copy of The Giants of East Rock or the long awaited A Corny Oddysey.

WED 9 MAR - Brisbane HI-FI

plus special guests

Tickets from: www.thehifi.com.au, tel 1300‐THEHIFI (8434434), Rocking Horse Records, Butter Beats , Sunflower Pacific Fair, Disaster piece, Mosh Pit Music, Kill The Music, Gooble Warming, Rockaway Records and consume.oztix.com.au

Ultimate Mix-tape

2011-01-14T19:08:00.000+11:00

Music Youth Worker Michael Swifte has been picking our brains to create a workshop plan for making Mix-tapes with young people from 12 to 20. Of course anyone can use this simple plan with a little technical support to produce their Ultimate Mix-tape.

Your best tracks - the ones that make the party happen, the ones that move you

think about themes
choose some styles
remember favourites
tell a story

Resources - Pen and paper, white board

The cover art - the images you like, your art, your style

give it a title
your artist name
make some art
take a photo
print and attach to CD sleeve or tape case

Resources - wide selection of art and craft materials, computer, camera, printing, sleeves and cases

The playlist - the first track, the best order, building the mood

decide how you want to make people feel, party, chilled, a big journey
think about the tempo and the feel of each track
choose a track to start the mix
add tracks to build the feeling or journey
practice the 'play order' (be a DJ)

Resources - music CD's, tapes, vinyl, MP3's, DJ mixers, turntables, computers

Mixing the tracks - using technology, DJ skills, mixing skills

gather the tracks from, CD, online, records and tapes
choose which way you'll mix, computer software , record a live set
convert tracks to the correct 'file type', convert vinyl and tapes to computer
cross fade, remix, beat match, effects, levels, voice over, sound engineering

Resources - music CD's, tapes, vinyl, MP3's, DJ mixers, turntables, computer, music software, microphones, sound desk

Bringing it all together - production skills, quality control skills

choose your format, CD, tape
burn CD's, record tapes, and store/transfer your mix
print playlist and attach to back cover
write and print liner notes
assemble the finished product

Resources - blank CD's and tapes, computer, art and craft materials

The Giants of East Rock mix is ready!

2010-09-18T18:30:00.000+10:00

Istanbul is so hot right now! This mix represents 3 years of careful collecting and compiling of psych rock from Turkey and the Middle East. Archie now has the vinyl to play this mix live!

We're hoping this mix will interest the fellas at Good Records in New York who have quite a healthy mix CD culture.

Here's the playlist that you won't find on the back cover.

Flower of Love - Baris Manco and Kaygisizlar

Istemem – Erkin Koray

Inat - Erkin Koray

Bir Olasilik – Erkin Koray and Okay Temiz

Mesafeler – Erkin Koray

The oud and the fuzz – John Berberian and The Rock East Ensemble

Lambaya Puf De - Baris Manco

Ince Ince Bir Kar Yagar - Selda-Same

Hor Gorme Garibi – Erkin Koray and Ter

Saskin – Erkin Koray

Review: Sounds and Silence: interviews with Manfred Eicher

2010-08-03T23:42:00.000+10:00

Below is a review of the film Sounds and Silence, which screened as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

The movie begins in a church Talinn, with Manfred Eicher and a chin-stroking Arvo Pärt recording ‘In Principio’. Here we see the amazing interaction between the composer and the producer, allowing some insight into how it might be possible that so many amazing recordings could converge upon a single label. We are also witness to the intensity with which Herr Eicher approaches each recording. We also spend a few moments alone with Manfred, as he reflects on his feeling regarding the label he has created. Amongst many other profound insights, he declares that “like a streaking comet, music has no fixed abode”.

Manfred also recalls his decision that he could never perform bass and bass clarinet well enough to record music, so decided to position himself on the other side of the microphone. In order to excel at this, he realised that he needed to train his ear. And indeed, it is this amazing quality that makes ECM recordings so special. One of Manfred aims when recording is to bring the viewer into the musical experience - be it within a symphony orchestra or jazz trio.

Sounds and Silence transports the viewer between many destinations, from Talinn to Athens, Kopenhagen, Tunis, Bergamo, Frankfurt, Buenos Aires, Beirut regularly stopping at ECM’s home city of Munich. The performances, recordings and interviews take place in diverse settings, including the more typical concert halls and recording studios, but also to an ancient greek amphitheatre, a cathedral, personal music studios and a hotel lobby.

In order to travel between these destinations, the movie draws upon the planes, trains and automobiles….in a sense serving to transport the viewer between locations. Nor are these geographical shifts are no trivial matter to the ECM label. So many of the early recordings are inspired by combinations of musicians with diverse musical backgrounds, geographically, culturally and musically. Sadly, this historical aspect of the ECM story is missing - especially many of the ECM’s jazz greats, like Dave Holland, Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny and our personal hero, Don Cherry. Similarly, we don’t visit the Oslo and Ludwigsburg studios, where more than half of the label has been recorded.

While visiting Anouar Brahem in Beirut, he talks about his craving for both western and oriental instruments as well as admitting his constant fear of losing his precious oud - mostly because a good one is apparently so damned hard to come by. This discussion leads into a segment relating to the creation and preparation of musical instruments. And it is particularly during the tuning and repair of a piano for Nik Bärtsch that the eye is most generously rewarded in this film, watching the master craftsmanship of the piano tuner at work. Other visual highlights must be some of the luscious moving and still landscapes, which so often inspire the covers of ECM releases.

The film includes many musical highlights, from: Gianluigi Trovesi accompanying a symphony orchestra on saxophone, while singing like a wailing banshee; the soulful viola of Kim Kashkashian (yes, solo viola can actually sound beautiful!); Dino Saluzzi working up a tango on the bandoneón (like a piano accordian) whilst trying to convince the very German Anja Lechner to loosen up her cello playing and ‘play out of time’; Manfred and Arvo Pärt dancing a waltz, while the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra perform. Even the grating sound of slap-bass played with Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin doesn’t ruin the overall feeling of amazing aural experiences that one takes away from this film.

The Corn Colonel

A Cornie Odyssey

2010-03-14T21:55:00.001+11:00

So, here are the current tracks for A Cornie Odyssey

#1 Gold Sun (Grazing Dreams) - Don Cherry & Colin Walcott
Carolina - Taraf de Haidouiks
The Legendary Man of Bahn Phun - Molam:Thai Country Groove
Surfin UAE - Rick Tomlinson
Bella Ciao - Tonino Carotone & Manu Chao
Li Maandouche L'Auto - Bellemou & Benfissa (ProtoRai)
Ana Dellali - Cheb Zergui (ProtoRai)
Unknown Title - Choubi Choubi
Ondas - Nana Vasconcelos
Mal Galbi - Hourari Benchenet
Asmarena - Mulatu Astatke

in no particular order!

motherland influence

2010-03-14T20:35:00.000+11:00

A radio station in the US has been posting their weekly mixes online

they describe each mix as 'Two hours of African, Latin and Caribbean music'

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/series/The+Motherland+Influence

also, an amazing amount of details are posted with each downloadable mix....

cornie

jazzy jamming

2010-02-08T22:35:00.000+11:00

Robin Kenyatta vs Nana.

Muhal Richard Abrams vs Peter Walker.

John handy and Ali Akbar Khan vs Robin Kenyatta.

Joe Morello (from Countdown: Time in Outer Space) vs Pepe De La
Matrona(flamenco solo vocalist) and just about everyone else
.......including Norwegian Jazz-Folk artist Alf Cranner and Icelandic
folk ensemble Prju a Palli.

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Dj Ping Pong gets down with Archie

2010-01-22T22:45:00.000+11:00

image from Brisbane MX 22/01/2010

My housemate Akiko aka Dj Ping Pong joined me this evening at Bar GoMA playing an hour and a half sunset-set. Once again a healthy audience turned up to be wined and dined and treated to some fun, kooky, and adventurous tunes.

APT6 Bar GoMA 15.01.2010

2010-01-15T23:49:00.000+11:00

4 hours and so many 2 minute songs!

Spectacular GoMA building.

Riverside at sunset.

Starts this Friday! Bar GoMA sunsets!

2010-01-11T21:38:00.000+11:00

Archie Jacobson of Honky Kong will be joined by his friends the Corn Colonel, Dj Ping Pong, and Scorpio during this five week residency.
The best of Asian music is kooky, fun, experimental, and infectious. What better tunes for Friday evening drinkies?

New slew of vinyl from Bhu

2010-01-01T18:05:00.001+11:00

My good friend Bhu is an avid vinyl collector and recently had a purge from his collection keeping only the 'cream'. Luckily let me have a crack at his collection before sending his unwanted vinyl to his record store mate. Here are some of the titles I was able to get my hands one. Thanks Bhu!

A best of collection from one of our favourite fusioneers. The more I learn about Colin Walcott the more amazed I am at the sheer depth of talent possessed by this Western raised multi-instrumentalist.

I have passed over this album a couple of times and almost left it behind the other night at Bhu's but decided I had to give it another chance just because of who it is, and it's hard to resist the cover art.

Stomu Yamashta is a powerful force! I am reminded a little of Toru Takamitsu when I hear him. There is something about the timbres he uses and the controlled urgency in his percussion that is exhilarating but without aggression and confusion.

We are fans of the ECM label from Germany and though we've been warned that the ENJA label can throw up some unseemly new age dross we still have to check their releases out. This one is special. It has space, tone, Japanesiness, and plenty of inspired improvisation. It has the qualities that can only be found in a live performance.

I am extremely grateful to Bhu for this one. There is something very special about the Black Saint label out of 1970's Italy. Their live studio recordings have a warmth and immediacy about them. The reverbs aren't too big and the primarily Afro-American voices and expressions are articulate, witty, and philosophically astute.
I've only ever seen three Black Saint releases. I bought two, and wish I'd bought the other one.

Honky gets Asian

2009-12-26T11:39:00.000+11:00

I aint Asian and neither is The Corn Colonel and we don't pretend to be. Honky Kong doesn't have a reputation for Asian music. Not even in the jazz and fusion areas where we stake our claim, though there is a little Japanese stuff in there. But we do a lot of research and have looked into Asian music from folk and pop through to experimental, electronic, rock, and fusion.
So why do I think Honky Kong is ready to take on an Asian Pop themed cocktail session at APT6?

We know heaps of Japanaussies. My house mate Akiko (Dj Ping Pong) has lived in Australia for 15 years and her great affinity with the West is in pop, brit pop, shoe gazing pop, and post punk indie pop. She's a big fan of Orange Juice, Stereo Lab, and THE LUCKSMITHS. Kenji the drummer in my garage rock band played Jazz in Kyoto before coming here. Kenji can turn his hand to just about any instrument and demonstrates a full appreciation of Western music. I've gained a strong feeling for improvisation from Kenji over the last 7 years of writing and performing songs with him.

Our friend Paul Curtis releases Japanese and Chinese bands on his label Valve Records. He is promoter and tour manager for groups like Shonen Knife, Cornelius, and Dry and Heavy. He has been helped on occasion by our friend Tony Corbett(Scorpio}. Tony has driven the tour bus and been tour manager for a bunch of Japanese bands.

We have been following the growth of the re-issue movement which is uncovering some amazing folk and pop from Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia. We particularly like the Sublime Frequencies Thai release Thai Pop Spectacular and their Cambodian release Radio Phenom Pen.

We (all the above mentioned) are big fans of Cornelius. We were there at the opening of GoMA and the Cornelius concert that said so much about the hopes for the venue. If Akiko doesn't play some in her J-Pop set then Scorpio, The Corn Colonel, or I will be playing some for sure.

We are home grown. But we are able to reach out to the world and find the good stuff. We have been growing our relationship with QAG and GoMA over the last year and feel that we understand the sort of considered, tasteful, colourful, and entertaining content they like.

We appreciate the architecture. GoMA is a stunning building! It has a feature I saw in Copenhagen on their Opera house. The massive awning that stretches out toward the river. We will be nestled under that awning and under our feet will be the nostalgic crunch of decomposed granite which is to me a touch of design genius.

So that's why we think we're ready for Asian Pop at APT6. So come and join Archie Jacobson and The Corn Colonel (Honky Kong), Dj Ping Pong, and Scorpio for sunset drinkies at Bar GoMA Fridays in late Jan early Feb 2010.

Is Don...is Good

2009-12-01T11:02:00.001+11:00

a quote from our sensai:

people believe in boundaries, they become part of them ~ Don Cherry
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Video-score for Mixtape

2009-09-06T00:21:00.000+10:00

Honky Kong is proud to present the launch of Music for Spaces: video-score for mix-tape. For the last year we've been collecting, shooting, compiling, and editing video of small, fascinating moments from ordinary and extraordinary locations. We opportunistically found moments of beauty and simplicity. We chose and edited shots with the light colour, and movement that reflect the evocative and contemplative minimal spiritual music.
The atmosphere will be set by brilliantly coloured upcycled lamps, art, and installations thanks to the curatorial efforts of the people at Lamp it up! and the Scale Free Network. These supporting works truly demonstrate the value of wombling and skills, first principles that allow us to understand how to reuse and reverse engineering.
We are certain you will have moments of entrancement when you see our installation. We made it with a determination that it be as entrancing as the music.

Archie does family fun: Bubble Disco

2009-09-06T00:11:00.000+10:00

Uplate with Mr Grabowsky

2009-08-27T21:26:00.000+10:00

No pithy stories of exchanges with musicians this week. Unfortunately I didn't get to meet Mr Grabowsky. He arrived 10 minutes before going on stage. I did manage to get a quite healthy looking sandwich that I had been eye-ing off, thanks Paul.
It's a shame he didn't come earlier and hang out in the green room. He would have heard me play a bunch of tracks from 'Night Train' by Oscar Peterson, and 'Kamili' from the afro-centric super group Kwaida that featured Herbie Hancock, Don Cherry, Albert Heath, and Ed Blackwell.
Good night none the less. It was good to have ivory tinkling as the night's theme.

Uplate with J Walker

2009-08-15T20:39:00.000+10:00

A really nice guy and great at holding court! It was good to meet a conversationalist who is such a good sport. J Walker coped well with my Leonard Cohen rant which was good of him.
I offered to play Alice Coltrane's 'Blue Nile' which he had no problem with, he said he was happy with whatever I felt like playing. What a nice guy. I decided to give him a copy of our 'Music for Spaces' mix which I think will interest him, especially the free folk stuff.
The set went OK. The luxurious tracks toward the end of each set elicit a palpable response from the crowd. I get an intuitive sense that some tracks really enliven the gallery space which is great!

Uplate with Holly Throsby

2009-08-09T11:39:00.000+10:00

Friday night's Uplate at the Met went pretty well. Holly turned up in the green room with a broken foot but high spirits. When presented with Alice Coltrane's 'Journey to Satchinanda' and asked if she'd like to have 'Isis and Osiris' played just before her set she said "Of course!" "It's nice and psychedelic!".

Photo of Holly by Yanni Kronenberg, 2008

Once Alice Coltrane was locked in I had to find a way to build up to it. I decided that John Coltrane's 'Tunji' was the perfect prelude. And as a lead in to that I decided that I'd play two Verve titles of similar production values and styles of arrangement simultaneously. Those titles were 'The Best of Wes Montgomery' and 'Ella Swings brightly with Nelson Riddle'. The bright horn arrangements of extremely competant standards and covers played tit for tat three times developed the exitement in the room and included my two favourites 'Bumpin on Sunset' and 'Alone Together'.
I very much enjoyed playing one of my old favourites, Oscar Petersons 'Night Train'. The Verve production values fitted in nicely with the Impulse and the other Verve titles. Tracks like 'Honey Dripper' and 'Hymn to Freedom' had the bounce and warmth that really enliven a gallery space.
Just quietly The Corn Colonel and I have some ideas for a new mix of 'galleria' music. The Uplate series has given us the opportunity to try out some tracks in a gallery space. The tracks we are ambitious to try out are warm and luxurious. Alice and John Coltrane tracks typify this sound. We think this is due in part to the finesse and deft feathery stylings of Elvin Jones. A great contribution to this 'luxurious' sound is the restrained use of 'exotic' instruments,they add that element of 'psychedelia' that Holly mentioned.

Uplate with Kim and Dave

2009-08-03T23:13:00.000+10:00

One down and Seven to go! The Corn Colonel came up from Melbourne to DJ with me at the first night of the Queensland Art Gallery's American Impressionism and Realism exhibition's Uplate series.
We got some photo's taken by my mate Darran Childs-Brown around the QAG and GOMA grounds in both Ye Olde garb and Ye Worlde garb. In the Ye Olde photos I am wearing Queensland 'Khaki Cop' pants made in South Brisbane by Distinctive Garments between 1940 and 1960, a cloth collared casual polo shirt made by my mother, reconditoned 'old man shoes', and a New Era cloth cap. The Corn Colonel is wearing dark navy wool single pleat trousers made in Adelaide St Brisbane in 1953. In the Ye Worlde photos I am wearing my Klipper pure cotton kaftan shirt made in New Zealand for David Jones , aubergine flares, and reconditioned plaited Italian loafers. The Corn Colonel is wearing his Tam Tam Senegal kaftan shirt and pants ensemble he bought recently in Brazil.
We had a great time and the set seemed to fly by. When I met Dave Graney in the green room he started riffling through my vinyl bag and found my Wes Montgomery and said he liked Wes and George Benson and Grant Green. I asked if he'd like to hear my favourite Wes track 'Bumpin on Sunset' just before he came on. He said it might make his guitar sound bad but I explained that while it's true that Wes has the sweetest tone of all Jazz guitarists, 'Bumpin' would only serve to put everyone in the right mood, which it did.
I wasn't going to gush when I met Kim Salmon but I upon seeing him I immediately began to ramble about back in the day at Livid 94. He laughed at my use of "back in the day" which is understandable.
I'm looking forward to the next one with Holly Throsby who unlike Kim Salmon is not one of the musical heroes of my youth, but I'm sure I'll have something in the bag to make her happy.

Laters

Archie Jacobson

The Met Uplate at the Queensland Art gallery

2009-07-11T19:24:00.000+10:00

We begin our two month residency at the Queensland Art Gallery on Friday July 31st supporting Kim Salmon and Dave Graney in the beautiful Water Garden. The Corn Colonel will be in attendence at this one as well as the September 4 gig with Don Walker.
We will be playing accessible jazz (that's the brief) but of course we will be doing our darndest to play stuff that gets the headlining artists and their audience in the right mood (Alice Coltrane anyone?).
We are uber excited. Both Kim and Dave are faves from back in the day (the good old early 90's). You can also look forward to supports every Friday from August 7 to September 18 featuring artists such as Don Walker, Paul Grabowsky, Bob Evans, Holly Throsby, Kate Jacobson (Texas Tea), Ben Salter (Gin Club), and J Walker (Machine Translations). We know who the September 18 final night act is but we're not telling.
Check out the QAG website or our Myspace for details on the other 7 Uplate dates.

Archie

Archie’s reflections on learnings after DJing at a “Family Friendly Day Club”

2009-07-06T17:14:00.000+10:00

On the Easter weekend last year I went down to Northern NSW to DJ at a party with my mate Tony Scorpio. In a little hall, in one of the many hamlets in and around Bangalow and Mullumbimby I found that I had completely the wrong set of records. I was incapable of keeping the crowd interested but Tony’s happy and bouncy rhythm and blues, and soul tracks seemed to keep the kids, parents and friends going till the kids finally konked out as did I in the front seat of Tony's car.

Before that weekend I had never really contemplated the effect of musical feel on kids as my audience had always been adults. My failure as a DJ that night affected me and had me asking lots of questions about my collection. These questions were answered when I was invited to DJ with my mate The Corn Colonel in October in a little alley bar in Melbourne called Horse Bazaar. A couple who, due to parental responsibilities, are retired DJ’s, ran a monthly “family friendly day club” on a Sunday afternoon, called Jump Up.

It was at this jungle themed day club that I was able to test my new idea that it takes not only a great beat but a happy feel to span the age divide and get kids dancing with their parents and friends. The records and CD’s I had collected since Easter had made all the difference. My change of focus from earnest and hopeful to happy and hopeful had provided me with music to suite the occasion, which equals success in the DJ world.

What I really love about this change is that it has opened me up to so many more opportunities as a DJ. Children have an undiscriminating intuitive musicality and a desire to have fun with their parents. Kids don’t insist on any particular genre or style, and what brings out the child like joy in adults is something fresh, new, and fun, with great production. It is such a joy to see how immediate the effects of bouncy beats and happy keys are on kids and how much joy it brings to their parents to be together on the dance floor.

Archie Jacobson

Sunwrae ensemble, chamberlicious!

2009-05-23T16:50:00.000+10:00

Judith Wright Centre May 22 2009

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing the Sunwrae (Melbourne) ensemble and I pronounce them to be 'chamberlicious!'. Rae Howell the composer, vibist, pianist , and band leader has assembled quite an ensemble. Inspired by an independent vision of chamber music and the idea of 'the cinematic' she has managed to bring her mature vision and compositional strength to bear in drawing out wonderful improvisations. It was a joy to hear the alto flute of Belinda Wood blend seemlessly with the restrainted exuberance of the rythym section and Howells melodic motifs. Wood brought such a rich quality of tone and agility to each improvisation that I couldn't help but marvel at the synergy produced between her and Howell.

Sunwrae are true to their inspiration 'the cinematic' and their aspiration to make fresh and independent chamber music. The accompanying visuals were colourful, vibrant, positive and unintelectual which very much reflects the feel of the music. The evidence for the quality of Howells leadership is in the shared expression of restraint and the ability to straddle the idioms of jazz and chamber music. Almost each band member has an opportunity to solo and to the bands credit not one overindulged. Sunwrae are neither overly earnest nor self consciously hip which to me makes them very much able to express a vision of now.

Archie

Corny cut-out at Ratatat

2009-05-13T17:10:00.000+10:00

Ratatat have got their showmanship down! Hot licks in every track with Mike regularly dropping to his knees or tilting his head back with the sheer joy. Quan put on an energetic performance great breaks that showed just how prolific he's been at his home in Honkers. And Del Toro were powerful, more powerful than the tracks on their myspace page led me to believe.
At the end of the night Paul was happy, Ratatat didn't seem annoyed, I made no major fuck-ups, the corny cut-out got a few laughs, and my mates reckon the crowd enjoyed themselves so I guess the night went well. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy myself, it's just that I was really nervous. I didn't have a monitor so I couldn't hear the mix properly which means I didn't get the buzz from hearing the powerful stereo mix.
I'm happy that I got to play not only Taste of Teeth, Tibet2 Timbuk2, and Mr Laneous but also a good old Len-One colab 'Jacked' with Dj DCE and Lazy Grey(possibly Australia's most aggressive hip hop track) and 'Ladies Man' by Bias B.
The Corn Colonel cut-out was sans body due to an unfortunate courier situation but still had an impact. I've posted a video on youtube of the cut-out. I think it's funny especially with Corny pulling that serious expression.
I'd like to thank Hugh(Stiffy) and the other sound guy(sorry dude) for fixing up my sonic mistakes.

Archie

Honky Kong DJ support for Ratatat (NY) at The Hifi

2009-04-18T20:15:00.000+10:00

We have a very special gig coming up and special thanks go to Paul Curtis of Consume Management. He has lined us up to play DJ support for Brooklyn Indie-Electro unconventionalatos Ratatat at Brisbanes newest concert venue The Hifi in innercity West End.
Needless to say we're stoked! The Corn Colonel is stoked even though he can't be here on account of his carbon footprint expansion program. He will represented at the gig by a cardboard cutout form dressed in his new afro-kaftan-jumpsuit.
We're excited to be on the same bill as Quan and Del Toro (nice line up Paul!). We're planning a set loaded with East Rock from Turkey, Pakistan, and Germany as well as a mezzo-mix of art jazz, folktronica, electro-tribal excursions, and local kids Mr Laneous and Taste of Teeth.
The Hifi is a new purpose built concert venue in Brisbane's West End. Remember the old Pavillion building? It's been fitted out for good old fashioned rock n roll concerts by the owners of The Hifi in Melbourne who have brought their high standards to Brisbane.

Laters

Archie

Frangipani Fun

2009-01-13T20:59:00.000+11:00

We had the first of three Saturday Sunset Gigs at The Shire West End on Saturday night and we couldn't be happier with the turnout and the goings on. It all came together at the last minute as it usually does with us so apologies to all of you who didn't get the news. Thanks to all who came along, danced, and took advantage of the BYO arrangements ( $3 corkage with no need to purchase a big meal).
We would like to thank the host Chad Morro for his enthusiastic support. Chad has created one of the most delightfully tropical dance floor situations in Brisbane. With a full moon shining after a golden sunset revelers were able to groove away bare footed under the bows of a frangipani tree in full bloom. We were able play the most inspired and accessible of West African and African inspired tunes drawn from the post colonial era.
Fela Kuti got plenty of play to the delight of aging funksters and youngsters alike. All in all a civilised and joyful atmosphere prevailed. We could not be happier and look forward to digging up some fresh tunes for this weekend and laying on the same sort of hopeful and bright selections that kept things going well past the aloted finish time.
So come along early with the munchkins, dance, and play. We will endeavour to keep the keys happy and the beats bouncy.

Archie Jacobson

HK Saturday Sunsets Jan 09 - The Shire

2008-12-24T21:11:00.000+11:00

more to follow.... mixtape-as-art

Passi Jo Brunswick

2008-10-29T20:24:00.000+11:00

Today we met Passi Jo in Brunswick (Melbourne). Jo is a significant figure in the history of modern Soukous music from Congo/Kinshasa having worked closely with Tchico Tchicaya among many others.
Soukous is an electrified dance music which takes its cues from Rhumba, Samba, and Highlife finding a fusion that is at once African, latin, and western.
He said we should meet at Cafe Minimo on Sydney Rd but changed the location to a car park cafe at the front of what seemed to be a greek sports bar.
We asked Jo if he liked Franco and TPOK Jazz to which he said "Yes of course! The best!" and offered to track down any tracks we couldn't find. We also asked about his days in France with Tchico Tchicaya, Tabu Ley Rochereau. We told him how we wanted to get our hands on Africa Dance Machine the eighties Soukous hit with the astonishing dances moves in the film clip.
He showed us some photos from over the years of himself and Tchico Tchicaya and their band Warako Musica. We gave Jo some of our mixes which we assured him were perfectly illegal and he sold us four of his CD's, one of which he assured us had a good version of Africa Dance Machine and a little accapella number we had heard on the old Warako Musica website.
We got a photo of ourselves with him to add to our very small but growing collection of photos of black guys who didn't eat us.
We were totally stoked with our acquisitions. The CD's had the original Africa Dance Machine version and the wonderful accapella Kembona Nzambi along with a couple of Passi Jo's big hits Pigeon and Wakassa.
Sweet!

Archie

Coco Bazaar

2008-10-27T22:02:00.000+11:00

Photos from a big weekend of DJing in Melbourne.

Saturday 25th at Coco Loco! The planets first certified organic fair trade chocolate cocktail bar.

Chocolate chocolate chocolate acck! Seriously.

Sunday 26th at Jump Up! The planets hippest family friendly day club at Horse Bazaar.

The kids dug the happy keys and the bouncy beats.

Coco Loco gig

2008-10-19T15:33:00.001+11:00

Come along to the deluxe chocolat bar Coco Loco to taste chocolate
martinis that will expand your consciousness....and savour Honky Kong's
special sonic mix of jazz & fusion delights.

The 86 tram from the city will practically drop you at the door....

The Coco Loco menu: http://cocoloco1.wordpress.com/menu/
yummm!!!!!!

Date: Saturday, October 25, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 11:00pm
Location: Coco Loco 219 High St, Northcote (just past the Northcote
town hall)

Jungle Party - Sunday October 26

2008-10-16T22:24:00.000+11:00

Here's the flyer for our second Melbourne show - Sunday October 26
Come one come all.... and don't forget the Jungle theme!!
corn colonel

Melbourne Shows

2008-10-12T00:23:00.001+11:00

Honky Kong to DJ a pair of special shows in Melbourne !!

Saturday October 25

HK's first outing will be an evening performance at Coco Loco

This hip little cafe/bar is home to the smoothest hot chocolate that will EVER pass your lips!!
Coco Loco can be found at 219 High Street, Northcote (about 100 metres up the hill from Northcote Social Club).

Sunday October 26
Following our chocolate indulgence - we will be performing an afternoon set at Horse Bazaar .
The lovely Collector's Set people have invited HK to DJ at Jump Up #3 - the Family Friendly Day Club.

Horse Bazaar can be found at 397 Lt Lonsdale St, Melbourne (it's that bar with walls of projectors!)

.....times & themes of both gigs to be announced in coming days!

p.s. and you haven't heard the last about the chocolate....or the chocolate martini....

Honky Kong Spiel!

2008-10-03T13:52:00.000+10:00

Our Artifactual Tour de Force is ready! We foraged through the libraries and white elephant sales for minimal spiritual acoustical and technological musical explorations to find Galleria Etherea. We tested it on some arty types who found it entirely satisfactory. We think Satie would be very impressed that it is called Music for Spaces and it is our first foray into indulgentness which has prompted us to prepare a spiel/manifesto of sorts to explain why.

Who we are:
Honky Kong are Archie Jacobson (Michael Swifte) and The Corn Colonel (Gregory Crocetti). We've been around since 1999 in various forms. We started out as a five piece Jazz Fusion ensemble playing loops and samples with cello, guitar, drums and vocals in the theatre of the mind style typified by DJ Shadow and The Cinematic Orchestra. We've performed around Brisbane at the Boundary St Festival, The Zoo supporting Full Fathom Five, with DJ Hutch and DJ Scuba D, live scoring at Audio Pollen Social Club and OtherFilm Festival, and of late with The Dynamic Thrills and Mr Laneous.
Among our fans we can list Dan Kelly, Paul Bromley, Danni Zuvela, Wolf Mother, Kylie Gaffney, Paul Curtis, Tony Scorpio, Mr Laneous, and the Rude Kat Crew.

What we do:
Honky Kong do DJing, live scoring, micro short film, and make mixed CDs. We have four aspirational genres. These allow us to persue themes unfettered by the requirements of traditional genres and explore the relationships between various musical themes and textures. The title of our mix CDs refer to the significant people and events on our journey to satisfy the brief we've supplied for ourselves.
We are a not for profit a pair of magpieing, wombling, manic fanatic musicians who found inspiration in the idea of the mixtape-as-art.

Why we do:
We find fascination in the continuum between free-play and composition…in particular this oscillation between the various genres of Jazz, Folk and Fusion.

What we believe:
We believe that all music attempts to balance the need for structure and organisation with the desire to explore new and expressive places. Free Jazz and Free Folk represent an attempt to fully embrace improvisation. We shy away from the overt raucousness of Free Jazz and are attracted to the transcendent qualities of Free Folk. We try to make obscure music accessible to a wider audience, because we recognise that obscurantists don't always have the wherewithal to broadly communicate the qualities of the music they love.
Lovers of Free Jazz are a prime example. Whilst they may appreciate the transcendent quality of their music, it just doesn't come across to audiences without the requisite appreciation.

What we say:
Our personal philosophy is 'cut out the overindulgence’. We respect the need for a musician to journey deep into a theme or idea during a solo performance. However, a balance must be found between exploring this journey with the artist and entertaining (as well as sometimes possibly educating) the wider public. As such, we see ourselves as arbiters of the common taste towards a greater good(and a smoother mix!).

Who we like:
We admire Manfred Eicher the famed producer and founder of ECM records. We appreciate his approach to encouraging artists to develop spontaneity during recording. We also love the spacious reverbs he provides. We believe that while Ornette Coleman may have forged a new path in Jazz, his innovations left free jazzers in the wilderness. We like Don Cherry for being the one who hacked his way back out of the scrub where Ornette left them off. We also like Don Cherry because he truly explored and enriched the world for Jazz while retaining idiomatic integrity.
We like Erik Satie for his take on evocation in etherea-music for art consumption. We especially appreciate his belief in his art-music to produce an unconcious intuitive response.
We like Oumou Sangare, Tinariwen, I.K. Dairo, King Sunny Ade, Kudsi Erguner, Sierra Leone Refugee Allstars, Rashaan Roland Kirk, Mulatu Astatke, The Cinematic Orchestra, Screamin Jay Hawkins, Anouar Brahem, Paul Metzger, Toru Takemitsu, and many more.

What we like:
The ECM label from Germany. Black Saint label from Italy. Sterns of Africa. Juju, Fuji and Galala music from Nigeria. Sufi Jazz from Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. Rumba Soukous from Congo. Desert Blues and Wassoulou from Mali. Ethio-Jazz, Spritual-Jazz, and Jazz-Fusion from North Africa. East Rock from Turkey, Lebanon, USA, and the Indian subcontinent.
We love our music to be on vinyl but we recognise the need for Cd's since they carry uncompromised audio that can be turned into mixes. We like supporting living musicians so we purchase hard copies of all the works we play.

Music for Spaces

2008-03-28T12:11:00.000+11:00

It's now 2008 and there is much to do. Our Galleria Etherea mix CD is near completetion. The Corn Colonel and I have been working each in our own City, me (Brisbane) he (Melbourne) to do what we used to do face to face and ear to ear. Now Music for Spaces is a 'tour de force' waiting to happen.

Below are the extensive liner notes for Music for Spaces.

Music for Spaces
Galleria Etherea

Etherea comes in and out of existence, appears and disappears, invades our consciousness, then draws away without memory. Music cannot be without the space in which it exists. Recorded music captures a fingerprint of the space in which it is meant to be. Galleria Etherea comes out of the corners of your ceilings and retreats into the corners of your mind then dissipates.
The musicians of Music for Spaces are a generation of folk music, connecting classical, contemporary, avante garde, and improvised listening music stretching from the late 19th century till now. They use a basic structural form of harmonic colouring around a tonal centre, though always favouring melodic development over repetition.

Für Alina - Arvo Pärt
“Tintinnabulation is the search for unity. That moment when everything unimportant falls away. Here I am alone with silence. I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played. This one note, or a silent beat, or a moment of silence comfort me. I with very few elements – with one voice, with two voices. I build with the most primitive materials – with the triad, with one specific tonality. The three notes of a triad are like bells. And that is why I called it tintinnabulation.” Arvo Pärt

Barzakh – Annouar Brahem
Barzakh refers to an isthmus, that place where the spirit rests between death and the afterlife, a mystical notion that can engage the believer and the unbeliever in contemplation of the finality of death. ECM founder and producer Manfred Eicher encouraged as he often does: Annouar Brahem (oud), Bechir Selmi (violin), and Lassad Hosni (percussion) to try a wholly improvised piece that slowly unfolded. This unexpected improvisation reflects the discipline and sympathy
of each player.

La Espiral Eterna – Leo Brouwer
Played by the composer himself this piece represents an important point in the self described “creative arc” of Cuban composer Leo Brouwer. A self taught guitarist who found his primary inspiration in folk music, he explored folk, avantgarde, and what he called the hyper-romantic through his career as a classical composer. La Spiral Eterna was written and recorded at a time when his work was at its most abstracted. It has been described as an avant-garde “tour de force”.

Bonn - Nils Økland
The droning, dreaming hardanger fiddle of Nils Økland pushes traditional boundaries, whilst still drawing on hisNorwegian heritage.
“If this is holy music, it is for a space church, at once ethereal and heartily substantial.” The Wire, UK.

After the snow, the fragrance – Tony Scott, Shinichi Yuize, and Hozan Yamamoto
In 1965 Jazz clarinettist Tony Scott gathered esteemed shakuhachi player Shinichi Yuize and koto player Hozan Yamamoto to perform and record an album of improvised variations on traditional Japanese melodies. Yuize and Yamamoto were completely unfamiliar with improvisation but were persuaded by Scott’s profound dedication to exploring eastern music with his Jazz approach. The result is a ‘pure’ fusion and in keeping with both original idioms.
In this piece Scott takes the traditional melodic lines of the shakuhachi and gives them the denser timbral qualities of the clarinet.

Three Improvisations on a Modified Banjo, part 1 (edit) – Paul Metzger
Paul Metzger’s training in both eastern and western music is clearly apparent from listening to the steel-string improvisations on his custom-built 21-string banjo. This patient, slow-burning piece - sometimes bowed, sometimes plucked - makes use of the banjo’s extra sympathetic drone strings, simultaneously creating ballads and meditative raga-scapes.

Part 1 Resonating Stone, Shakuhachi – Stefan Micus
Recorded in the gothic Ulm Cathedral in Germany with its eight second reverb, this piece is played with mallets on metre thick granite blocks with an accompanying shakuhachi solo. The blocks, the work of the sculptor Elmar Daucher, have been carved into attractive patterns with a diamond saw and are based on the ancient Chinese Pien Ch’ing stone chimes.
Stefan Micus is regarded as somewhat of a new age musical explorer of sound and variation within both the ordinary and the extraordinary. In this piece the overlapping warm resonances of the marble blocks mix with the flute and the timeless reverberation of the Ulm Cathedral.

Furakoko - Onna-Kodomo
(Women&Children)
Released on the Tokyo-based P.S.F. (Psychedelic Speed Freaks) label, the three artists of Onna-Kodomo have backgrounds ranging from punk/hardcore and Butoh-dancing to medieval dream-drone music and free jazz. The simple violin and bass lines of Furakoko float along with the celestial vocals, like a delicate dream into the heavy night.

Aragon – Brian Eno
Brian Eno used ‘the cinematic’ as his muse in his album Music for Films. Aragon (Tr 1) transports us to a fertile plateauwhere we witness his exploration of mood and the boundaries of emerging technology. As in many of his other works of the time we witness the warmth, simplicity, and honesty of expression that is possible from electronic instruments.

Gymnopédies part 3. Lent Et Grave - Erik Satie
“Satie, naturally drawn to strange religions, was a Rosicrucian for a while in the 1890s. It was here that he was introduced to the mystical strains of Gregorian and Plainsong chant--music that would influence everything Satie would do for the rest of his career. The ethereal, aloof, and impersonal music went against everything Wagnerian, the rage of the moment in Paris. Satie composed his most famous works, the Gymnopédies, while under the spell of the Rosicrucians.” Kenneth Goldsmith - UBUWeb.

* Very special thanks to Roly for gently nudging us in some of these directions over the years….!
Archie Jacobson (Brisbane) & The Corn Colonel (Melbourne) – March, 2008

Arvo Pärt

2007-07-24T01:54:00.001+10:00

Pärt turned again to self-imposed silence, but re-emerged in 1976 after a transformation so radical as to make his previous music almost unrecognisable as that of the same composer. The technique he invented, or discovered, and to which he has remained loyal, practically without exception, he calls "tintinnabuli" (from the Latin, little bells), which he describes thus: "I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played. This one note, or a silent beat, or a moment of silence, comforts me. I work with very few elements —with one voice, two voices. I build with primitive materials —with the triad, with one specific tonality. The three notes of a triad are like bells and that is why I call it tintinnabulation." The basic guiding principle behind tintinnabulation of composing two simultaneous voices as one line —one voice moving stepwise from and to a central pitch, first up then down, and the other sounding the notes of the triad— made its first public appearance in the short piano piece, Für Alina.

from the Bibliographic notes at:
http://www.arvopart.info/

So much to look forward to!

2007-07-16T16:27:00.000+10:00

These are exciting times for us. We are looking forward to a very productive run to the end of the year. HK have a number of projects on the boil so be ready for more CD's and invites to very special events.
The big news right now is that the Brisbane HK studio is up and running. Thanks to my bro-in-law Regan I'm able to listen to tracks through faithful near field monitors (fancy speakers). I can now rise to the challenge of becoming a real musical nerd with my new laptop.
In other news I have just taken possession of a book called Horizons Touched, a history of the German uber-label ECM. This may not mean much to some of you but it is very exciting for the us. It will be more than invaluable to us in our search for the finest Twisted Jazz, Afro Love, Superfusion.

Cheers

Archie Jacobson

2007-06-11T18:07:00.001+10:00

Check out our MySpazz http://www.myspace.com/honkykongsounds

new Honky Kong web links!!

2007-06-06T15:20:00.001+10:00

Here are the new links to Honky Kong's various activities:

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/honkykong-photos/

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/HonkyKongVideo

Home Page:
www.honkykong.com

The Corn Colonel