Simon Wade > guitar, keys
Trent Horwood > drums
David Charlton > guitar
Craig Fryers > bass, bowed bass
Photos by Herve
"Graven Image" videoclip
"Pigeons" videoclip
"Graven Image" by Mushroom Giant for surf comp promo
Mushroom Giant live @ Ding Dong (part of "Scars")
Mushroom Giant "Kuru" album launch @ Revolver, Feb 2008
Influences
Some bands we've gigged with:
The Dead Salesmen, The Mavis's, The Fat Thing, Non-Intentional Lifeforms, Dandelion Wine, Aquitaine, Puppetman, Wendy Rule, Great Southern Electrics, Peeping Tom, Subaudible Hum, Spider Goat Canyon, Fire Witch, Dr Invisiablo, Sydonia, .hinge, Devil Rock Four, Dallas Crane, 1QA, Prajna, International Karate, Seascapes of the Interior, The Night Terrors, Winterun, Rollerball, Alaska Ratio, Long Walk Home, Dread, Ahkmed, Allan Campbell, Sleep Parade, Mammal, Self is a Seed, Superb Lyrebird, MM9, Ohana, The Knives of Neptune, Catnip, The Boy Who Spoke Clouds, The Black Hundred, Radiant City, Wicked City, Rhythm Bell, Slight of Build, Best Wishes, A State of Flux, Love is Science Fiction, Cycas Revoluta, Sons of Abraham, Rook, Benedict, Varliiba, Me, Matt Kelly & The Keepers, Meniscus, SleepMakesWaves, Los Alamos ...
Sounds Like
giant mushrooms, vegetarian souvlakis, altered mind states, nuclear war?
Kuru was released in February 2008 offering an engrossing listening experience; a 60-minute journey through up-tempo grooves and intricately-layered soundscapes to dark, cavernous compositions and bone-shaking riffs. The album was written with the notion of a cannibalistic human ancestory with a fictional tale of an alluring 4,000 year old bisexual vampiress living in modern day Manhattan (courtesy of acclaimed author Whitley Strieber).
R E V I E W S
• BEAT MAGAZINE 'Album of the Week' (20/2/08)
"... Crescendos are used to great effect throughout Kuru to build tension and elevate mood. In addition to the standard drums, bass and guitars, Mushroom Giant utilise pedal effects, violins and keys to give depth and dynamics. This is no more evident than on Iron Tang, Pigeons and Woman Heroin. In what would’ve fitted nicely on the Braveheart soundtrack, Autumn Leaves The Dead gives a feeling of walking through open fields, flanked by mountains, with the breeze brushing over long grass.
The gentle, light-filled first part to Kuru is just the calm before the storm. As the waves dive into the undertow and guitars begin to drop, chop and churn. The track Kuru holds a thunder-filled Sabbath drone while Poor Tom is truly the eye of the storm. Its schizo riffs and foot-to-the-floor drumwork are a force to behold."
• OZ PROG 'Featured Artist' (8/3/08)
"... Mushroom Giant have been quietly perfecting their art over the past five years, and their proficiency is evident on Kuru. Evoking comparisons to Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mono - bands who often teeter on the edge of out-and-out metal but also have a quieter, subtle side - Kuru is a rollercoaster ride from start to end.
In the album opener "Graven Image", one of post-rock's signature techniques is employed: gradually threading a melody into a repetitive rhythm, building closer and closer towards a crescendo. The difference here is in the upbeat, pounding drumbeat that drives the song at a speedy pace, making the song more dance-rock than post-rock. A crushing, distorted guitar effect in the final 20 seconds of the track offers one of many headbanging opportunities to come for those so inclined."
"... This is what Mushroom Giant do best: project moods, paint scenes and tell stories, all purely using music, and without any lyrics. This is a rare skill.
Kuru is a truly deep album, one not easily judged after a single listen, but one that becomes more rewarding with each listen. Give it the time and space it needs to show itself to you, and the album's beauty will make itself evident."
BRAD DIXON www.ozprog.com/reviews/music/view/37 • THE SILENT BALLET (USA) (26/4/08)
"Their sound sits right on the line between rock and metal, spacey and earthy. As they straddle these variables, multitudes of combinations produce great variety in the album, probably best shown in Poor Tom, which quickly switches from shred metal to spacey ambience again and again. Easily the heaviest song on the album, it provides a great change from the rather subdued nature of the middle of the album.
“Kuru is perhaps the song that sounds most like its concept, conveying the delirious, degenerative nature of the disease. Autumn Leaves the Dead is a pleasant yet energetic song that clearly contrasts Poor Tom in its beauty, despite the desolate implications of its title. Clean guitars and near-Oriental sounding violin melodies work beautifully together."
"The guitarists complement each other with wonderfully expressive, layered guitar playing while the rhythm section gives each song amazing depth and density. Songs like Pigeons and Autumn Leaves The Dead are beautiful, haunting compositions ..." BEIGE BARON, BEAT MAGAZINE
"Intrigued. Great rollicking piece of nu-prog. Look forward to hearing more ..." RICHARD KINGSMILL, TRIPLE J
loving shadows and since i love it so much im gonna go 2 missing link in the city and buy it next weekend lookin forward to it any new news from you guys?
My pleasure Craig.. i told u once before i look and party great for my age, haha.. Hows things going with u? its been a while between bonfires in ur backyard, god dam that was a pissa of an evening, was that after Sydonia@HiFi.. C not a good memory when your my age, ha.. Take care xo
home in a week from this fuckin epic journey. Tune the Noyce & warm up those Mesa tubes: travel weary yes but dying to play one big fat dirty open D chord & the rest!!!
I asked at the City Polyester Records for your album and they didn't have it. :-( I am heading to Brunswick St now however, and hope to pick it up from that store.
Your music is hauntingly beautiful - the violin is such a magical touch!
Thank you for making such soothing, delightful music!
I hear Sam has some kind of fetish for smelly pants... if thats the case then my pants are the smelliest... lol Look forward to seeing you guys on the weekend at Sydonia!!!
Since 2000, the Sixpack fraternity has featured bands like Sydonia, Mammal, Sleep Parade, Mushroom Giant, Peeping Tom, Subaudible Hum, Devil Rock Four, Long Walk Home, Dr Invisiablo, Winterun amd heaps more. And if you haven't heard of any of these names then even more reason to get acquainted! This year The Tote Hotel is proudly hosting the inaugural "WINTER SIXPACK" – on Saturday night, June 28. After live bands in the front bar from 5pm the main event begins at 8pm with the young princes of the Northcote astral panorama, ALITHIA, hot on the heels of the debut EP, "The Rising." Next up is DIVE INTO RUIN: high-octane, riff-laden, tongue-in-cheek, 3-piece rock action with a sound somewhere between Helmet and Spiderbait! Following them at 9:30pm is the lyrical sway of ALASKA RATIO, a classy indie rock band that's rocketed to the fore of the live music scene. Fourth on the bill is the breathtaking instrumental majesty of MENISCUS – these two guys and a girl have been the blowing minds of Sydney-siders and this will be their first foray south of the border. INTERNATIONAL KARATE are AWESOME! They continue to deliver spectacular soundscapes with every show, with each new album, and always with glorious guitar tones and impeccable taste. If you think, by now, you couldn't possibly squeeze in another aural blitzkrieg, then you will be missing out. At the strike of Midnight, appropriately, SPIDER GOAT CANYON will launch into their distinctive style of experimental pseudo-metal armed with a seriously potent guitar/bass/drums combination that never fails to shake the foundations and put the fizz back in your brew!
yeah los alamos is sick (i saw them with cog last year) but i havent seen sleepmakeswaves. Speaking of cog, i saw their show at the enmore theatre along with jakob. Both of them blew me out of the water, esp. jakob (im a big fan of theirs)
anyway, i emailed you just then for the mailing list.
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