Balcony’s Paradise

TODAY! Video Premiere of “True Love” at Backseat Mafia

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In March 2019 Lorenz O’tool (from German band Chuckamuck) and Jeremy Tayler (from Australia) got together and recorded some songs on a verandah looking out to sea towards Tasmania.

“This is not a studio production, and no White Album. It’s 35 minutes to lean back, escape reality and without urge for anything, be nothing.” – Balcony’s Paradise

“Tired” released on 4th December 2020 with a second single “True Love” out on 19th February 2021 and the self-titled album to follow on 5th March.

So you can all get to know Balcony’s Paradise, we did an interview via email:

 Hi Lorenz and Jeremy. One of you is from Germany, one from Australia. How did you meet?

Jeremy: We met ten years ago in Berlin. Lorenz and his friends took me in under their wing. From my fuzzy memories we snuck into clubs and climbed building sites…generally trying to find the best spot to have a drink and smoke. Lorenz was in Chuckamuck already then, but I don’t remember doing much music apart from some freestyle rap.

Lorenz: It was that night I played a fucked up concert in a filthy cellar with my band Chuckamuck in Berlin, and suddenly this curly guy stood in front of me and said: your good friend Tom – who was in Australia at that time – told me to get in touch with you…a few days later he moved to my place.

You recorded the album on a verandah. Can you tell me about the set-up you used.
Lorenz: Jeremy’s got a nice small coherent set-up on his balcony. I brought some microphones from Germany and we bought the first available 4-track tape deck we found. Then we caught the best moments during this month on some quite old tapes from his Landcruiser. More often it does not need more.

Any overdubs?
Lorenz: We didn’t do many overdubs, just some piano, solos and backups. One day we visited Jeremy’s mother in Melbourne – a classical violinist – and overpowered her with a one take. Ciao.

How isolated were you? Any complaints from neighbours?
Jeremy: Not very isolated, we have neighbours on both sides, but they are polite, god-fearing people. Also, the beach is 50 metres away, so there was an audience sometimes. But you could say of course that for most people’s standards this is very isolated.

I like your choice of covers. There are some pretty well-known songs (like the Beatles and Toots and the Maytals) plus some others – unless you’re a fan – from Townes Van Zandt, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. What was the process in choosing what songs to record?
Lorenz: It was the right time to cover songs which I always wanted to play. Some of the songs I already played in solo concerts.

Jeremy: These were the songs which at that time we were celebrating and playing.

I can’t help but notice that pretty much all the musicians you cover are outsider rebels – even Cash and Dylan. Does this make it a concept album?
Jeremy: No, it wasn’t about executing a plan, it was just about friendship and joy and these are the songs which we bonded over.
Lorenz: The concept is a collection of well harmonized tracks, could have been a coincidence.

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New album from I do You do Karate

I do You do Karate are back with their second album One Last Job In Mexico. Their debut album How do You do Karate (release on Half A Cow in 2019) was well received across the board, featuring on many streaming playlists, and was named ‘indie-surprise of the year’ at Deichman music blog.

The second album shows that the five-piece band from Bergen, Norway is still all about making pop songs with catchy melodies and fuzzy guitars that will ‘make you smile’. The first single, “Olivia Newton-John in Xanadu” got a 7.5 out of 10 at stemmegaffel.no and is currently played on Norwegian radio and referred to as ‘classic indie-pop of the old sort’.

One Last Job In Mexico is 10 songs in 30 minutes played by five men who still believe in indie-rock. The vinyl LP version is also now available.

Buildings – new single from Anthropomorphia

“Buildings” is the third single to be taken from Key Out’s Anthropomorphia album which was released this year. The band says of the track, “Buildings was always the obvious album opener. It’s got a hopeful momentum, escapist lyrics and a fuzzy accidental-guitar line that survived from an early demo.”

The single has a ‘b-side’, a remix of “Chorus” by An Heirloom from Brisbane. They reimagined it as a dark and moody song with glitchy beats and arrangements that wash over you.

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Sydney band key out released their second album anthropomorphia on Friday 26 June 2020.

The lead single Chorus made Double J Radio’s rotation playlist and best New Music on Sydney’s 2SER 107.3, and was played across the Austereo Network via Rebel Rock FM in Queensland, 3RRR 102.7 and community radio all across Australia.

“That bass line, those synths, the sharpness of the guitars, the vocal delivery; if you’re a fan of post-punk and atmospheric indie rock, you’ll love this new single from Sydney’s Key Out.”– Double J

The album is available on limited edition marbled vinyl and via digital platforms through Half A Cow.

The band is looking forward to playing songs from the album live in a reopened world or via digital channels in the near future.

Key Out is Paddy Haid, Rohan Geddes and Caroline Wake.