“Puts a musical punch right in the belly of pop mediocrity.”
- Peter Cobbin, Senior Engineer, Abbey Road Studios.
2008 was a busy year for Melbourne trio The Basics; they toured relentlessly to some of the most remote outback areas Australia has to offer, making new friends and fans in high schools, indigenous communities, community centres and pubs and clubs along the way.
2009 already promises to be a huge year for the band. To kick things off, their new single WITH THIS SHIP was released on Tuesday 22 February, in Australia on cd single and limited edition 7" vinyl, and worldwide on iTunes. Here's what some critics had to say about the song:
'A soaring, infectious and gorgeously crafted pop song from three incredibly talented musicians. You are amazing.' - Single Of The Week. Simone Ubaldi, Beat Magazine
'A song bordering on f$@$%g marvellous.' - Ross Clelland, Drum Media
'What a treasure!' - Scott McLennan, Rip It Up
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Like A Brother ep
Released: 2009
Price: $10 AUD incl. postage & GST
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With This Ship (cd single)
Released: 2009
Price: $7 AUD incl. postage + GST
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LIKE A BROTHER is the 2nd single from The Basics' forthcoming LP "Keep Your Friends Close". Bass player and vocalist Kris Schroeder on the background of the song:
"Back in 2007 we had a love affair with Japan.
It all began with Toshi Maeda (ex-Mach Pelican) asking us to play support for psych-rock legends Yura Yura Teikoku at their Melbourne show. These guys had been around for 20-or-so years and were massive back in Japan, and it showed. It was a electrifying show that left us with memories of The Ring-like musicians clad hurling themselves around the stage and while pulling off complex riffs and syncopations.
Following the success of that billing, Toshi again asked our help as he was bringing a 60s-inspired suit-wearing band called The Bawdies over to Australia. We thought it would be a great fit (and it was at the time), and they joined us on our East Coast tour in mid-2007.
Another great success, and the friendships formed led us to booking our own tour of Japan, with a massive amount of help from Toshi and The Bawdies' manager Chikara Yoshida. We managed two three-week stints in Tokyo in August and October of 2007, playing 21 shows all up. These were often six-to-seven band bills, and the variety of music we played alongside blew our collective mind.
When I say variety, there were twelve-piece brass ensembles, maximum-slick J-pop groups (complete with light show), crazy leather-clad psych-rock bands, electro-girl numbers, 60s rock'n'roll combos, and weird ones like "Panty High School" which was three scantily-clad schoolgirls playing trash-rock fronted by an older guy who we assumed must have been their teacher!
This wild ride completely changed us forever, and there nothing like experiencing such a vastly-different culture to get the creative cogs turning. Like A Brother was written very soon after arriving back in Australia, and upon reflection seems to have fused many of these off-tap influences from our bizarre but exhilirating time in Japan."
Mixed by Peter Cobbin (U2, The Beatles’ Anthology, Lord of the Rings) at the famed Abbey Road Studios in London, and featuring production contributions from prominent New York-based engineer Michael Brauer (Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, Bob Dylan, John Mayer), and local wizard Francois Tetaz (Architecture In Helsinki, Lior, Gotye) The Basics are certainly keeping good company.
The Basics are touring Australia now and will be heading overseas later in the year, so stayed tuned for more Basics-related super-fun-happy-times!
Like A Brother and With This Ship are released independently and distributed through MGM.
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