STACK #187 May 2020

FEATURE MUSIC

isol-aid The brainchild of festival programmer, band booker and singer-songwriter Emily Ulman – alongside artist Merpire AKA Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt, and manager Shannen Egan – ISOL-AID started its weekend tenure back in late March, delivering an astounding series of consecutive, 20-minute sets beamed through Instagram Live. From the beginning, Ulman and her co-founders urged these generous musicians to promote their BandCamp and Patreon details during their sets. “They were definitely doing that, but for the most part, artists were saying ’We want to talk about the Support Act fundraiser’ – even still, in this time of crisis when who knows when they’re going to be able to play in public to real life humans again, they are still prioritising the overall community over themselves,“ Ulman noted when we interviewed her after ISOL-AID’s very first session. “It’s not ’My band or my success or my career over the state of the whole community.’ And that’s testament to Melburnian and Australian music – it’s so supportive and community-minded.“ highlights sarah blasko

#isoisobaby STACK ’s own Instagram series #ISOISOBABY is all about connecting our favourite artists with music fans who are also self-isolating, in a meaningful way that doesn’t revolve around the usual album release dates or tours. We decided to ask a bunch of musos four simple questions about what they’re doing to keep themselves active and positive during these weird times. highlights tim rogers You can’t go past Uncle Tim for some sage, and quite tender, words; after discussing the importance of slowing down and daydreaming, he concludes: “Look, I’m not going to give you any advice, I’m not a healthcare professional... but I just recommend: if you’re an anxious person, feeling that this is all a bit overwhelming, just have a big ol’ cry. It’s mysteriously cleansing.“ alice ivy Electronic-pop

Indie-pop legend Sarah Blasko performed for ISOL-AID #2, opening with We Won’t Run – that voice! Blasko would sound sublime through the sh-ttest of speakers: “We won’t fear, we can fight, all that we can bring to life/ There is far to go now, let’s not waste a minute more… of our lives.“ There was a beautiful fragility in her vocal tone, but her pitch never wavered from perfect. “Oh, hello to my Pilates teacher!“ she chuckled a one point, reading one of the comments as it scrolled by. Her cover of what she described as “a really amazing love song,“ This Must Be The Place by Talking Heads, acted as tuning rod for our isolated souls. Truly sublime stuff. alma zygier

darling Alice Ivy spent her whole video gadding about with her brand

Ryan Downey

new puppy, Kewpie. We had to re-watch to hear about her favourite boardgames because we were so busy aww-ing over the pooch. jeremy neale

“A long-forgotten gem I discovered? These, “ says Jeremy Neale, holding

up some… stamps? “That’s right: Royal Visit 2014 stamps,“ he confirms. “And I used them to send out some postcards.“ Thanks for reminding us of the excitement of snail mail: Jesaulenko, you bewdy!

The daughter of Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier, Alma is an artiste in the truest sense of the word – she sings from the soul. During her superb set we were reminded of the late, great Amy Winehouse since Alma also cut her teeth on the jazz circuit and boasts exceptional vocal technique. Her interpretive ability and the volume of emotion that she generously poured into her performance is so rare, and also something that can’t be taught. “Why oh why can’t I ?“ – her final, sustained note of Somewhere Over The Rainbow was a showstopper! Damnit, where’d those tissues go?

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