STACK #146 Dec 2016

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MUSIC NEWS

Illy’s last album, the ARIA Gold Cinematic ) is rock-solid: “I trust him pretty much entirely,” he says. Two Degrees also sports some intriguing international fingerprints. The incredible beat in Lightshow – with syncopated snare and tambo all rolled into a very Fool’s Gold feel – was written by British producer Cat Crazy. “It was made in a warehouse

months, and was at a long-time collaborator of mine’s wedding earlier in the year… Vera’s manager

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[was there]. I said ‘Here’s this track, do you think Vera would be down for it?’ The next day we all sobered up, and in the cold light of day it was still a great idea, so I reached out to her and she hit back saying she really

INTERVIEW

ILLY

in the English countryside,” Illy explains. “Every time I hear this track I have this really vivid memory of barrelling down side streets in Essex with this dude. We made a handful of tracks, and this one made the album. It was that early

liked the track. It was crazy ‘cause [it] had been there without the right vocal for quite a while at that point.” Also nailing his guest slot is Mike Waters, whose very first take on Extra Extra was the one Illy decided to use. “He’s just sort of getting started in his career

A t a bus station near Monash University Clayton during the ‘00s, there used to be a big ugly piece of graffiti that said ‘There is no emoticon for existential dread.’ “That sounds like Monash Clayton – I went there,” Illy chuckles. On the surface it’s kind of parallel to a line in the rapper’s new track You Say When , which goes: “Ain’t no emoji for the feeling.” The sentiment is similar – you can’t boil complex emotions down to a little short-hand image – but Illy’s version is full of the joy that comes with partying with your partner in crime. Camaraderie is all over the hip hop artist’s fresh album Two Degrees , and Illy describes the way the guests fell into place as occurring with “a whole lot of air-punching” – particularly when it came to single Papercuts , which features the celestial voice of Vera Blue. “I had [the Papercuts demo] with me on the hook for a few

Two Degrees by Illy is out now via Warner.

‘90s feel to it.” Emoji-wise, the whole album is sort of ineffable – but it turns out Illy’s own most-used emojis are actually a pretty faithful reflection of its vibe. They are: “The one where your index finger and your

but he’s super talented. I’m sure he’s going to make some noise next year,” Illy says. Next to Waters’ beautiful melody, Illy’s lyrics are full of the little colloquial markers we love (“We go together like PB and celery”), and sometimes subtle, sometimes super-warped variations in vocals pop out, courtesy of revered Australian producer M-Phazes. Truce features a beautiful, spectral organ intro, which Illy also attributes to “the creative genius mind of that fool.” He admits he’s a bit dense when it comes to the technical aspects of production, but the partnership between these two men (who worked together on

thumb are in a circle and then there’s three fingers up… is that ‘Okay’? And the cry-laughing one, and the 100.” Perfect.

FACTOID: Illy has a law degree; he spent his first year out of high school working as a removalist, but then sat an admissions test and scored so well he was accepted to university immediately.

M any more minds than the average droog's have been inspired by the awesome power and beauty of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's compositions; any classical musician will study Mozart's scores as a matter of standard, and his influence stretches all the way to the present day. This completely exhaustive (and we mean completely ) boxset comprises over 240 hours of music from 600 ensembles and solo performers, five hours of newly commissioned MOZART: THE NEW COMPLETE EDITION

WHAT'S THE STORY? We have a look back at the fascinating tales behind some of our favourite album covers.

This month: Homogenic, Björk (1997)

A fter the release of Bjork's third album Post (released in 1995 and featuring the fanatically popular singles Army Of Me , Hyperballad , It's Oh So Quiet , Possibly Maybe and Isobel ), the experimental alt-pop musician found herself navigating an unwholesome amount of attention. She escaped to Spain to record her next release, and for its cover art, asked British fasion designer and

recordings, two hard- cover books written by Mozart scholar Professor Clifford Eisen, and four framable prints. This truly is the definitive collection of the incredible icon's work.

close friend Alexander McQueen to transform her into the warrior of love she felt she'd become. "I had 10 kilos of hair on my head, and special contact lenses, and a manicure that prevented me from eating with my fingers, and gaffer tape around my waist, and high clogs so I couldn't walk easily," she told the Chicago Sun Times in 1998.

Mozart: The New Complete Edition is out now via Decca/ Universal.

DECEMBER 2016

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