Yeah, I dig that one. Nice to hear some of his early solo tunes without the drum machines. There was a VHS of it, too, which I have, but not sure if it ever made the jump to DVD.
Please forgive me my Kilbey brethren for I have had this release since 1988 and except for the epigraph ("The magic is fading from this world") I've still have not attempted to read the booklet. I'm certain that as a map lover and former land surveying draftsman I've looked over that fold-out map in the accompanying insert far more times that just flipping through the novel. I went for that Bandcamp Kilbey discography last June but as I really over did it last year with both physical and download releases I've still just barely cracked the entirety of it. Still, at this point, I think I can declare that Earthed is my favorite Kilbey release. And the novel? Well, I'm currently under my oncologist's advice to self quarantine for a few weeks so I may find time for it! And perhaps I'll find it a good fit for our times?
I am also a big fan of the 2 Gilt Trip albums that Steve did with his brother Russell. Really nice, atmospheric instrumental music and, particularly on the first album, some beautiful violin from Linda Neil.
Gilt Trip is really wild. The Kilbeys tackle all sorts of world music styles. Hypnotic and always engaging. One thing I worded poorly in my post about the early albums - it was only the 1987 CD of Unearthed that was released in the Netherlands or Germany or wherever, the LP was Australia.
This one is not on Bandcamp, strangely. It shows two things: his songs don't need that spacey production and atmosphere to still be good songs, and (perhaps for the first time) he has a goofy sense of humor. Maybe it's not worth $40, but it is a neat little collection.
Yep, I just looked into it - the reason I thought it was Netherlands only is because my CD (purchased as NOS in New York) is that edition. So it was Netherlands and the US in 1987, both formats. Australia had the 14-song Red Eye LP in 1986 and then the 16-song Red Eye CD in 1990.
I'm an idiot - the other track is "Forgetfulness", not "Transference". This is what I get for not double-checking!
To this list I stupidly left off Steve Kilbey & Gareth Koch - Chryse Planitia. The Ceberano/Kilbey/Sennett one is definitely worth picking up, but it's really a collaboration between Kate Ceberano and Sean Sennett which Kilbey contributed some lyrics and vocals to; I don't consider that "his" album.
It just now occurred to me (is it occurring, beekeeper?) that this song was clearly the springboard for the Church song "Remote Luxury" - or perhaps vice-versa. Same chord progression, with that Cadd9 going to Am (though "Luxury" may be in a different key, and obviously has different notes added for melancholic texture). Cadd9 was Kilbey's chord of choice during that period - see also "Pretty Ugly, Pretty Sad", which is not far off from "Remote Luxury" either. Unearthed itself was basically just cobbled together from Steve's trove of bedroom recordings that he put out to make some money. One of the best hodge-podge albums out there...
I think many artists, Steve included, are going to have a tough time for a while. When I buy music, I like to get the CD, so have never really bought anything digitally, so am unfamiliar with Bandcamp. His full catalogue is still an amazing bargain so was thinking of buying it in the knowledge that he gets 85% (I believe) of the price, and gets paid quickly as well. I don’t own a computer any more, only iPod and iPad and I understand that for me I would need to use the Bandcamp app for listening. What I can’t find out on their website is, can I download the albums on the Bandcamp app for offline listening or can I only listen when at home using WiFi or using my mobile data allowance? How do people find the Bandcamp app? I’m not an audiophile, so just wondering more if it’s quite user friendly etc? Any advice appreciated.
I'm not sure the process for that. As far as I'm aware - although I don't know for sure as I've never tried it - audio downloads don't work on mobile devices. I think it would require a computer to process the download and then move those files to the phone or tablet. I could be wrong.
The Bandcamp app will allow you to stream anything you purchase on their site. Highly recommended! So you have the option of downloading (FLAC/MP3/etc) AND streaming.
Today's/tonight's Instagram performance is the UK edition of Of Skins And Heart - basically the same album but with "Tear It All Away" replacing "Fighter Pilot". Not sure why, "Fighter Pilot" is a great song. Australia just went into Daylight Savings Time, so even though it says 3 AM EST (which was 12 minutes ago), it's probably going to actually happen at 4. Oops!
I don't know if it's just me, but the connection dropped out during "Bel-Air" (judging by the chat, it wasn't just me) and skipped entire measures in "Is This Where You Live" to compensate (might have just been me). I guess we'll find out what happened when the full video goes on YouTube!
Just a quickie for anyone who may be interested. While the Steve Kilbey solo release catalogue has been a bargain for a while now on Bandcamp, I noticed a week ago that the Martin Kennedy/Steve Kilbey catalogue of 24 releases has been reduced to $49 AUS. Not sure if this is limited time offer, doesn’t say on the Twitter feed, probably a limited time.
Great deal. A lot of those releases are download-only, never on CD. And IIRC the "Commissioned Songs" albums are only available as CD-Rs. Thanks for the heads up!
I like Kilbey's solo output and have most of it. I'm especially fond of his albums with Martin Kennedy and I love Isidore too, both albums. Painkiller is getting a lot of support here. I'll have to revisit that one... it's been awhile.
Painkiller is the most "rock" of his solo albums. "Outbound", "Wolfe", "Oenone" - very rocking stuff. There's obviously plenty of cerebral stuff, it is still Kilbey after all. But for those that like the more rocking edge, this one is a good starting point. "Oenone" unfortunately does suffer from an extremely unpleasant screeching noise throughout. I can't tell if it was intentional. You can edit it out somewhat effectively with a DAW. It's somewhere around the 14 kHz mark - I can double check later.
Steve has been doing solo acoustic gigs from his living room last few weeks on a Monday evening, NSW time, via his Instagram account. Haven’t watched live as it’s 9am UK time, but watched the last two on YouTube, playing Of Skins and Heart and The Blurred Crusade. Pretty basic of course, and he’s had to re-do one show as he forgot to record it, but good fun. He lights up a big fat one, has a drink and tells a few tales. PayPal donation optional.
Update - the frequency in question is 10.06 kHz to 10.19 kHZ. So select from just before the start of the drums to the end of the track in your DAW and eliminate out that EQ range, makes the song much easier to listen to.
No concrete proof yet, just a speculation, but I suspect we'll be getting a reissue of the Isidore debut - most likely a hi-res download and possibly a double-LP with the rare tracks "Mitternight" and "Andalusian Dogs" included. There's now an official Isidore account on Instagram, where Jeffrey Cain has been posting lots of photos, and most recently, a video of "Andalusian Dogs" with the caption "high res audio". As this is my favorite SK-related album, I'm excited for a potential announcement. @isidoreofficial on Instagram: “#andalusiandogs #hiddentracks #isidore #one #hiresaudio #neve #mix”