It always starts with hearing a demo; a particular sound, a lyric, an instrument – a moment that grabs your attention and makes you feel something.  About a year ago, The Raffaellas and Large Noises got talking after we heard an early demo of their song, ‘Hands’.

For me, it was an instant intrigue by singer Pat Santamaria’s interesting vocals.  From deep and melodic, to raspy and passionate, ‘Hands’ takes the listener to all sorts of different places and back within a few minutes.  And a few more minutes if you choose to listen again, which I have continuously done since that day.

In an intimate filming session, with an audience of Large Noises crew and respective passers by, we filmed the likes of Ali Barter, Vance Joy and The Raffaellas on the same day.  Placed in front of a big red wall, the four-piece belted out their catchy tune for us to capture the live moment.  We were lucky enough to witness a stripped back, acoustic version of ‘Hands’; barefoot and all.

The Melbourne based band consists of Pat Santamaria (Vocals, Guitar), Doug Ross (Lead Guitar), James Raimondo (Bass) and Michael Ratten (Drums).  From socialising to playing music together, it’s an obvious collaborative energy the band shares – complimenting one another to produce a unique sound.

This sound might come from the range of influences within the band, from 80′s synth pop, classical guitar, country, blues, jazz and punk.  Each member brings with them a variety of musical influences, rounded with Pat Santamaria’s upper-register throaty vocals to create a genre of itself.

Lyrically, the songwriting is based around reflective themes of human interaction, relationships, the simple pleasures in life and clever wording.  The band recently supported Jinja Safari’s sold out show at The Toff in Town, as they kicked off their Australian tour.  It’s just the beginning for The Raffaellas, with the aim to get their tunes heard Australia wide before embarking on a bigger journey.

There’s always a moment in a song, for me it’s at 3:33.  It’s the feeling and passion as the band sing the catchy lyrics, “Don’t ask me, I can’t see what’s in front of my hands!”

The Raffaellas EP will be due out in the coming months.  You can keep up to date with their music at triple j Unearthed, their Facebook page and their Bandcamp.

The above words were written by Charlotte Abroms.

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Ali Barter is an Australian singer-songwriter, destined for things much bigger than she knows.

We had the pleasure of capturing her perform her song ‘Marigold’ alongside Oscar Dawson and Jack William on a sunny afternoon.  After the release of her debut EP ‘Trip’ last year, Ali has received well deserved national attention, namely extensive triple j radio play of her song ‘Run You Down’ as well as winning the triple j Unearthed competition to open Melbourne’s Laneway Festival in 2013.

In 2012 Ali Barter attended Laneway festival as a spectator and saw Feist and Laura Marling play.  At this point in time, she says she had no plans to record an EP and would never have dreamed of playing the same festival a year later.  Laneway Fesitval has been a highlight of her emerging career; specifically being on the same bill as Bat for Lashes.

Like many of the artists we film for Large Noises, Ali Barter has been singing since she was just a wee one.  Having been classically trained through school and singing in a choir for a decade, Ali only started writing music and playing guitar when she was 22 years old.  Ali soon created a name for herself in the local Melbourne music scene; playing open mic nights and gigs around town.  This is how we found out about her.

Influenced by the likes of Cat Power, Laura Marling, Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash, Ali has developed her own take on music; what can only be described as “folky indie pop.”  With an eager and positive attitude, the young singer-songwriter hopes to collaborate with several likeminded musicians in her career.

We get the feeling the young lass doesn’t quite know what’s around the corner for her.  I have visions of Ali taking the world by storm, touring the UK, Europe and America and developing a loyal fan base.  Ali has just the right sound and energy to take her music worldwide.

We can’t wait to see it happen!

Ali plans to record her debut album this year.  You can check out her gigs and keep up to date on her Facebook page and buy her debut EP on Bandcamp at http://www.alibarter.bandcamp.com

The above words were written by Charlotte Abroms.

Have you ever heard someone say, “This year is my year?”

Ignore that for now, Vance Joy never said that.  However, in our opinion Vance Joy personifies success.  Influenced by the musical taste of his parents, this young Australian artist recently grew into Vance Joy, a soon-to-be idol himself.  I was initially drawn to Vance Joy’s music after seeing numerous posts about him online; it was the mystery that surrounded this artist that lead to me to ask around.  And I’m thankful I did.

It’s hard to believe Vance started out gigging in the local Melbourne pub scene on open mic nights.  It might be harder to believe that he also has a law degree behind him; a classic example of the rare people you meet who have an amalgamation of contrasting interests and still manage to perfect them all.

Between the time I first came across Vance Joy until now, I’ve witnessed an amazing upward journey.  Vance Joy has signed a deal with Liberation Music, supported the likes of Of Monsters and Men at their Laneway sideshows, supported Julia Stone on her national tour and landed himself several gigs at SXSW.  There’s more.  After recently releasing his second single Riptide, Vance Joy quickly reached number one worldwide on Hype Machine.  A smile grew across my face as I realised the privilege involved in capturing Vance Joy at the most crucial and exciting stages of his career.

This is exactly the reason we do what we do.

It’s with great pleasure that we filmed this lovely (very tall), humble artist with his (comparatively very small) ukulele playing a stripped back version of ‘Riptide‘ on the streets of Melbourne.  Attracting an intrigued audience of passers by, Vance belted out a beautiful version of this catchy, feel good tune – drawing emphasis to the carefully planned lyrics and the power of his raw vocals.

Upon finishing the song, Vance sighs a small sigh of relief – confirming with a mesmerised audience that it was all OK.  It certainly was.

This year is Vance Joy’s year. And hopefully the first of many years to come.

Vance Joy’s EP God Loves You When You’re Dancing comes out 22 March 2013.  I’ve heard it, and it is indeed a party in your ears.  You can also catch him at his headline shows on the below dates:

Thursday 18th April – The Vanguard, Sydney
tix $10 +BF | www.thevanguard.com.au | (02) 9557 9409

Wednesday 24th April (Anzac Day Eve) – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane
tix $10 +BF | www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545

Saturday 27th April – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
tix $10 +BF | www.northcotesocialclub.com | 1300 724 867

The above words were written by Charlotte Abroms.

Ainslie Wills is what the Australian music industry needs more of: Integrity, depth, musical mastery and above everything else, honesty. Her music portrays an old soul with a young heart and a strong mind who has been put on this earth to captivate us with her melodic masterpieces.  She has certainly captivated me.

“This next song is called Bats.  You’ll soon know why.”  As Bayden Packwood reached the chorus in Bats, “Bats are… better than birds,” a little smile crossed my face.  This guy was interesting.

Sometimes people meet for reasons unbeknownst to them at the time.  This one was musical.  The above video should explain.

When co-founder and producer of Large Noises, Eliza Hull contacted Hayden Calnin, she was interested in organising to film and record him playing his heart wrenching track, Summer (and we did – you can view it here).  The idea that just six months later I would be asking her if we could film a collaboration between the two ground breaking young artists probably wasn’t something she really considered.  Let’s just say I might have scouted our talent scout.

Intrigued by Hayden Calnin’s unique sound, Eliza Hull placed herself in the audience at one of his gigs with the intention of asking him to participate in an intimate recording with the Large Noises crew.  Blown away by his performance, not only did she enquire about the shoot – but she also asked him to be the support at one of her residency shows at The Evelyn Hotel. Which I went to by the way, and it was pretty damn amazing.

The musical chemistry between Eliza and Hayden is natural; like puzzle pieces, like when you clear four lines at once in Tetris, like all the metaphors that don’t yet exist.  Shortly after meeting, Eliza went to Hayden’s home studio in Collingwood and sung Ghosts for him – a song written about ridding her ghosts, letting the past sleep and focusing on the present.  Within hours, Hayden had already recorded Eliza’s vocals – experimenting with different locations in his house.  With just stripped back keys and limited production, it was the simplicity of the song that resonated with me.

I was lucky enough to hear an early recording of Ghosts in February after we filmed Hayden’s clip of Summer.  I left with a combination of Hayden’s “Don’t you worry now” (lyrics from Summer) combined with Eliza’s haunting, “Where did you go? Where did you go?” stuck in my head, itching to hear some sort of epic mashup.

With an ear or two for production, Hayden added beats, synths and a collaborative chant into Ghosts - a layer of complexity that builds up towards the end of the song.

Standing in cameraman Sam’s backyard, I watched Eliza and Hayden singing together, with Large Noises soundman extraordinaire Jono on keys (and recording), while cameraman Sam and Jeremy filmed.  I must say, it was a bit of a collaborative dream come true.  We did keep it quite “in house” for this shoot; and it was worth every pixel.

You can download a copy of “Ghosts” here at triple j Unearthed.  You can watch Hayden pour his heart out live at the Northcote Social Club on 25 October 2012. We’ll be there, front and centre.

The above words were written by Charlotte Abroms.

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Formed in Malmö, Sweden, Royal Republic consists of frontman Adam Grahn, guitarist Hannes Irengård, bassist Jonas Almén and drummer Per Andreasson.  The Swedes released their debut album We Are The Royal in 2010 and since have performed over 350 live shows – making waves internationally across venues and festivals. After releasing We Are The Royal, their single Tommy Gun went platinum in their home country.

We set up in a formal conference room; wooden floors and stain glass, described by the Hilton as “suitable for both intimate or grand social functions, with a range of ways to enhance the experience in energising, unique and rewarding ways.”  ”Energising, unique and rewarding” are definitely three ways of describing this performance.

Frontman Adam Grahn, ever so eloquently kicks off the performance with, “All right pricks. Let’s do this.”  To which drummer Per Andreasson responds, “Don’t call me a prick, I’m a grown man.”  Their cheeky banter (surprisingly not even in their native language) makes you not only want to listen to their music, but also go for a beer with them.  Which in fact, they did, like true Melburnians the band went to The Napier Hotel in Fitzroy after the shoot to taste some native Australian dishes.

These young men have a mesmerising sense of energy and confidence; an energy that we were yet to experience – their enthusiasm for performing wouldn’t change whether they were playing to a crowd of five (us) or to a sold out festival.  Their electrifying performance of “I Must Be Out Of My Mind” left our crew both impressed, and a little bit giddy.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t blink once.

The band performs with a sense of honesty, an intense connection, and an underlying twist of cheekiness – this is what makes Royal Republic so easy to fall in love with.

Royal Republic’s new record Save The Nation is out on 28 September 2012.   Special thanks to Roadrunner Records for making the magic to happen.

The above words were written by Charlotte Abroms and Eliza Hull.

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

After one incredible performance, Hayden turns to the camera and says, “Was that all right?”  There’s only one thing better than an amazing artist, and that’s one who doesn’t know it yet.

A lot of people have been comparing Hayden to other established artists.  We think Hayden Calnin sounds a lot like Hayden Calnin.

At just 22 years old, with a background in film, Hayden turned his focus to music in the past two years.  And rightly so.

I first heard the song ‘Summer’ on triple j unearthed and knew he was unquestionably unique.  Soon after this I saw him play live at The Evelyn, supporting Eliza Hull and wandered over to Eliza before she went on stage and said, “We need to film him.”  So she organised it.

With such a different sound, I asked Hayden what his musical influences were and he said, and I quote, “Everything.  The good, the horrible, the doof doof.”  Exceptionally lyrically talented, it’s no surprise that his main musical influences are however The Swell Season, Low, Frightened Rabbit and Seekae; which all seem to fall under the ‘good’ category.

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, we set up in Hayden’s lounge room to capture him perform.  The cameras were rolling and we all struggled to keep our eyes behind the lenses when Hayden started performing his beautiful song, ‘Summer’.  His voice resonated through the entire house; it’s such a big voice, yet at the same time low and heart heavy.  Easily one of our most interesting shoots to date, whereby he live looped the entire song to an astounded little Large Noises audience.

This month Hayden will be supporting Matt Corby in three sold out shows at The Corner Hotel – on the 19th, 21st and 22nd of February.  Following this you can catch Hayden at The Toff in Town on February 25th with Dancing Heels and Them Swoops.  And on March 31st he’ll be supporting Mark Wilkinson at The Thornbury Theatre.

Keep your ears and eyes out for Hayden Calnin’s EP (featuring Summer) that will be released in the coming months.  Words can’t quite describe the excitement to pop my headphones on and listen to it.  Hayden Calnin is nothing short of a dream.

The above words were written by Charlotte Abroms.

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Sat in my friend’s apartment before a night out, Jess said she had a treat for us, having just heard this song on the radio that afternoon.  As the emotive first lyric kicked in, “After leaving her apartment…” everyone turned their curiosity towards the screen, watching Young the Giant perform ‘Apartment’ on a grassy mountain somewhere far from that living room.  I had just recently decided to start a website filming bands play tunes in different locations (this one); and was further inspired by this video to continue – which, mind you now has over half a million views.

In turns out Young the Giant had a similar idea; starting a sequence of online videos called ‘In the Open’ where they play different interpretations of their songs throughout their travels, in various locations.  I pondered what the chances would be of doing a shoot with this unique quintet from across the seas.

And then there we were; (many thanks to their wonderful Australian rep at Roadrunner Records) filming Young the Giant at the Corner Hotel before they supported Grouplove earlier this year.  Since first hearing them, Young the Giant have always been on my radar, having also played shows with Marina & The Diamonds, The Futureheads, Neon Trees and Grouplove.  Seeing the band perform at the 2011 MTV Awards was a pleasant confirmation that they were on a lot of the right radars, including Morrissey’s, who referred to them as one of his favourite new bands.

Singer Sameer Gadhia has a trademark vocal delivery, crooning over the top of indie pop guitars.  I’ve looked forward to posting this clip since before we even shot it; Young the Giant are consistently beautiful in their delivery of this song.

The above words were written by Charlotte Abroms.

Click here to watch on YouTube.

How often is it that you hear a song on a flavoured milk ad, write the lyrics in your phone and then look up the band later? For me, just this once.

Georgia Fair featured on a Big M ad in 2010 with their happy-go-lucky song ‘Picture Frames‘, that highlighted a group of laid back friends road tripping around Australia. And what better music to have as the theme of your summer than Georgia Fair? Thankfully to those of you living in the Southern Hemisphere, their debut album ‘All Through Winter’ was released just in time for summer; recorded in Asheville, North Carolina with Bill Reynolds (Band of Horses).

Singer/songwriters Jordan Wilson and Ben Riley are the Sydney duo behind Georgia Fair, now residing in Melbourne’s North, making waves supporting artists like Megan Washington, Lisa Mitchell and The Panics. Georgia Fair is a band that people are talking about; gaining a significant amount of industry interest, selling out popular venues, packing out their intimate gig at Pure Pop Records (where we filmed them) and soon to hit the road with The Howling Bells.

It seems that everyone is starting to catch onto the sun drizzled acoustic-folk pop tunes of Georgia Fair; filled with beautiful harmonies and sing-alongs it’s hard not be instantly captured.

Large Noises were lucky enough to film Georgia Fair at Pure Pop Records in a courtyard packed wall to wall with fans; waiting to have their CD’s signed. Fellow Large Noises Producer, Eliza Hull, turned to me and said, “This is what music should be like.” With their relaxed and humble nature, the boys didn’t let the attention get to them and casually belted out their beautiful song, Halfway Gone.

The introspective lyrics and gorgeous harmonies meant that for one brief moment mid-shoot our whole team looked at one another and smiled. As if to say, “This is going to be a good one.”

The above words were written by Eliza Hull & Charlotte Abroms.

Click here to watch on YouTube.

Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! are an experience.

I first discovered the band when I heard their song, “Little Cowboys, Bad Hombres” sometime last year. Looking back, this song made its way onto every playlist I made in 2010 – playlists I made for myself, parties, car trips and ones I made for friends around the world, it was a song that I could confidently send to people and think, “Thank me later.”

Being able to capture Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! while they were touring was an absolute delight. We managed to steal some of their time between sound check and their performance at The Forum Theatre, supporting Kimbra on her national tour. We wandered towards the location we’d chosen, Hoboken Café in Melbourne, with a band of six and gear to boot, only to find that it had just closed. The benefit of turning up to a closed café with a full band meant that we caught the attention of the staff. With the limited time we had, they oh so kindly let us in for the shoot. Later we found out staff member Liv was a bit of a die-hard fan of Fire! from back in their hometown, Adelaide. Thank you, Liv.

What I noticed instantly was the dynamic between F!SRF!; their chilled energy, they came in relaxed, joking and laughing, jamming and even helping themselves to a couple of left over croissants from the café. They were down to earth. They chose to play their killer new track Panther Shrine for the shoot. The recorded version of this track was mixed by Gareth Parton from the UK (Foals, Holy Fuck, The Go! Team) and mastered by Nilesh Patel (The XX, Bjork, Air), and if you’ve ever listened to Australian radio station triple j, then you’ve probably heard it.

The light hearted mood changed as they started playing; I was blown away by the magnetic rhythm the band had created with clicks and claps. After quite some time touring and performing together, what stood out to me was the friendship that glued them together, these guys were tight and it showed both musically and socially. Youngest member, only female and lead singer of the band, Caitlin (21) has a voice that swoons. I loved her humble nature; throughout their performance she was honest and a little bit shy – I left feeling like I had witnessed one of the most real bands I’d seen in a long, long time.

This song has been stuck in my head since we recorded it. In a good way.

Read more about the band on the Viceroyalty website.

The above words were written by Eliza Hull and Charlotte Abroms.

Click here to watch on YouTube.

Early last year Ryan Rabin (drummer of Grouplove) sent me a link to a song he’d recently produced and drummed on, called “Colours.” Within seconds of listening to the song, I got that feeling that I so rarely get; a combination of excitement and appreciation when you hear something that somehow sounds right. The unique sound of Christian Zucconi’s voice, combined with the clever and cryptic lyrics, and the underlying pop vibe makes you just want to dance or jump or move.

Around the time the EP was released last year I went to Los Angeles (hometown of Andrew Wessen and Ryan Rabin) and met the band. I noticed immediately that there was something more than a mere musical connection between these guys (and gorgeous girl, Hannah Hooper). All having come from different backgrounds, in some cases different cities, and in bassist Sean Gadd’s case, a different country – it was like a bizarre twist of fate that brought these exceptionally talented artists together, to finally make an explosive entrance onto the international music scene.

As I was leaving that week, I just missed Grouplove playing the Troubadour. Ryan was going to keep me posted on their progress. Upon returning home and with a slight case of post-holiday blues, I stepped into my little office in Melbourne, Australia and flicked the radio on. There it was, “I am a man, man, man, man, up up up in the air” and somehow Grouplove had beat me back here. The theme song of my summer had made it to my hometown, sooner than I had expected, thanks to Triple J.

Exactly one year later, August 2011 I found myself in the audience at Australian music festival, Splendour in the Grass, watching the band attract a crowd of loyal Australian fans.

Grouplove aren’t just a band; they are a family, having all found what appears to be their calling in life, simultaneously. This sense of love and family extends right out to their management team (Berger Management) and ultimately to their fans, to every little face in that crowd. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to be a part of their family, even if it was just a distant Australian cousin.

If you ever get the chance to go see Grouplove live, do it.

The above words were written by Charlotte Abroms.

Click here to watch on YouTube.

Eliza and I have a special story. We run Large Noises together, along with Jono Steer and Davey Sams. Jono, who you may notice also plays the keys in Eliza’s band.

Sat next to one another in our first year of university, Eliza and I bonded over, well, not really knowing what we were doing there. We chatted music. And we’ve pretty much only chatted music since. I discovered Eliza fronted a band called Describe Eliza, so I went home and had a little listen to her tunes. Without any industry experience, the next day I asked Eliza if I could manage her. That didn’t happen.

My point is that Eliza’s music moves people. With her humble and sweet personality, one would expect Eliza to have a soft, mellow voice to accompany it. She has a strong, powerful voice that carried throughout the Northcote Uniting Church and even attracted a small crowd of passers by from the street, including the crew from Small Werld who wrote a flattering article about her. When Eliza sings, people freeze, mesmerized by her voice and her performance.

It was people like Eliza who I wanted to film (if I couldn’t manage her), the ones that are about to break out and become something huge, the ones that don’t know it yet. So we combined our love for music, for film, for the written word and for supporting all of the other Eliza’s out there (they are far and few between) and we started Large Noises.

Listen to Eliza’s single here and let her voice take you away at her single launch.

September 15th, 2011
Northcote Social Club
7:30PM

The above words were written by Charlotte Abroms.

Click here to watch on YouTube.

ALPINE: // (say ‘alpuyn)
adjective
1. of or relating to any lofty mountain.
2. very high; elevated
…….

Cramming six people into a small bathroom is quite a challenge on the best of days. Add into the mix a keyboard, two guitars, percussion, a bunch of microphones, and a camera and things get cosy quite quickly.

On a cold Melbourne evening, after having our initial shoot location double booked, we were forced to improvise and decided to cram the 6 piece Melbourne indie-pop sensations into Eliza’s very small, very normal bathroom. What was to transpire was however, far from normal. Alpine delivered a stunning performance which had all of those things that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Their song “Villages” (which recently reached over 100,000 views on YouTube) echoed down the hallway to the kitchen where I was monitoring the recording and the intertwining vocals of Phoebe and Lou sucked me in immediately.

This was the first time I’d had the pleasure of seeing Alpine in the flesh, and they certainly lived up to the praise that I’d heard for them around town.
They definitely left all of us at Large Noises feeling very high; elevated, but I’d like to add another definition of my own…..

ALPINE:
noun
3. Must see, indie pop-genius from Melbourne.

Check them out on Facebook and get lofty!

The above words were written by Jono Steer.

Click here to watch on YouTube.

After realising that Gossling was the musical project name for singer Helen Croome, I was pleasantly surprised that I in fact had known Helen for quite some time. I had passed her in the High School corridor several times, as she came to my school to perform in the musical projects the school had to offer. This connection made her music even more personal for me. As fellow Albury-Wodonga (a small country town in Australia) residents, her voice became extremely special and her first EP, “If You Can’t Whistle” was one of my favourites to drive with; reflective and heartfelt.

Now Gossling is a name that people recognise, she is being compared to some of Australia’s greatest female singers and her songs continue to get the support they deserve. Her music is one you put on when you feel like being taken away for those moments; I often put it on when it’s raining and make myself a pot of tea.

Her voice is strong, original and raw with emotion and her song writing is striking, and lush. She is proving to be an artist to watch. Recently Gossling performed her recent single ‘War’ from her sophomore EP, “Until Then”, for Large Noises and she positively blew us all away with her feeling, and musicality. We were left with tingles from the powerful raw high notes she gave.

Her voice is definitely one that raises the hairs on your neck and brings you to that reflective state. With lyrics like, “I want to know if a crashing wave feels like war?” it seems Gossling, as an artist is one to reflect also. With emotive lyrics, and a voice that matches, she really has captured my heart.

The above words were written by Eliza Hull.

Click here to watch on YouTube.

My first listening experience with The Hello Morning was in my kitchen.  Rummaging through a pile of demos on the counter, I came across these soulful sounding country boys.  Surprised to find out that they weren’t forty year old men (singer Steve Clifford has an extremely mature voice), and were in fact dashing young fellows, I began listening to their songs more regularly (and became their number one fan).  Seriously.  These boys have something.

One relaxing Sunday afternoon, the band got together and played some tracks off their upcoming album (due for release later this year) in David Bromley’s studio.  After watching Mr. Clifford sing a delightful stripped back version of “Drive You Home” featuring Bertie Blackman, cameraman Davey Sams and I said we needed these guys in our cameras and on our website.

That evening we were lucky enough to film and record one of the most beautiful, intimate performances I may ever see.  We set up our cameras to film  The Hello Morning play their cover of “Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You” (originally sung by Wilson Pickett) but we were just waiting on Dan to arrive. Assuming Dan may be a mysterious member of the six-piece that I hadn’t yet met, I didn’t ask questions.  And in came Dan.  Dan Sultan, one of the most renowned artists on the Australian music scene at the moment.

The sense of pride in watching these young Victorian boys grow into such professional, seasoned musicians was no less than overwhelming.  With Joe Cope on keys, Steve Clifford on guitar on vocals and Dan Sultan stood casually with his hands in his pockets, these young men belted out an outstanding performance.  One could have sworn it was a Sultan Vs. Clifford sing off.  Not such a bad thing, I can assure you.

I can still confidently say that this is one of the most special performances I’ll ever see.

“Like” The Hello Morning on Facebook to listen more.

The above words were written by Charlotte Abroms.

Click here to watch on YouTube.

I first heard about Big Scary whilst sipping on a beer at the Great Britain in Melbourne watching Tom Budge perform a mind blowing set.  Sat next to singer Tom Iansek and drummer Jo Syme, they oh so casually told me about a band they’d started.  Soon after I found myself at Lentil As Anything for their EP launch.  Playing to a small group of people and selling their “The Mini EP” (2009) for all of about $10, I fell in love with Big Scary.  I described Iansek’s voice as an immense combination of Bono, Matt Bellammy and Jack White.  A compliment.

Skipping forward to 2010, I strolled through the city listening to their hit single “Falling Away” on repeat for a good 45 minutes.  Tom’s sweet, soft voice singing the lyrics, “They say it’s fractions and wholes, they say it’s pushing a stone up a hill and let it roll, they say it’s pleasure and pain, they say it’s freedom again, do we know now?” is enough to make anyone feel.

When we shot Big Scary for Large Noises, Iansek admitted he’d never been to a festival before.  One month later, not only had he been to a festival, but he was playing one. One of the most renowned festivals in Australia – Falls Festival.

The chemistry between Tom and Jo is beautiful, their humble nature is what makes them so attractive.  Their music is sensational; eclectic.  If you haven’t had a chance yet, go marry Big Scary.  You can buy their tunes via their website.

Check out Tom Iansek’s solo project “Dads” here.  His song ‘Life, Oh Life’ was  (unsurprisingly) the featured song on Triple J Unearthed earlier this year.

Big Scary’s album is due to come out in October, 2011.

The above words were written by Charlotte Abroms.

Click here to watch on YouTube.