Three Parts Oils, One Part Femmes make THE BREAK
Mar 16th, 2010 by ladyjean
It’s a union that will delight music fans, surf rats, and festival goers alike.
Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey have joined with bass player, Brian Ritchie of US group Violent Femmes, to form a new surf rock band called THE BREAK.
The new band releases its debut album ‘Church Of The Open Sky’ on Friday April 16th, on the Bombora label through MGM.
Bombora founder, David Minear, who started the label a few years back to create and produce the unique and infectious sound of Australian surf music, is excited by the 20th release on his busy Bombora label. <<www.bombora.net.au>>
THE BREAK kicks off with a series of dates in Sydney leading to a performance on Sunday April 4 at the Byron Bay Bluesfest. A national tour, still in the planning, is expected to follow.
‘Church Of The Open Sky’ is a unique blend of pulsating psycho surf rock tunes. The 15, mostly instrumental tracks, are named after legendary surf breaks.
‘Cylinders’, one of the first tracks created and the first single from the album, is now available from iTunes Australia.
World renowned producer Nick Launay, who worked on many Midnight Oil releases and with other famous acts, took ‘Cylinders’ to a Los Angeles studio to create a mix highlighting the driving guitars and pounding back beat synonymous with both the surf rock genre and the classic Oils sound.
So how did THE BREAK come about?
After the Sound Relief benefit gig in Melbourne last year, Hirst, Moginie and Rotsey got together in the studio aiming to form a new band with a new identity. The onstage magic that had been the engine room of Midnight Oil had proved a force too powerful to deny. These three Oils were burning to play together again.
songwriters, Hirst and Moginie, who co-wrote most of Midnight Oil’s tracks had swag of ideas, but wanted to cut a new twist. Long time friend, Ritchie had recently moved to Hobart, Tasmania, so the stars were aligned and the four band members got together in Jim Moginie’s studio. Warming up by jamming on old favourites like Link Wray’s ‘Rumble’, the sound coming out of their amps took on an energy of its own. The synergy was instant, electrifying and THE BREAK was born.
Throwing lyrics out the window, freedom and breaking rules is what the music of THE BREAK is all about. The new band’s 15 great tracks push the boundaries within the traditional framework of the surf music genre: guitars, drums, bass, and keyboards. Each player, a master in their field, finds common ground in a range of obscure musical influences, including 60’s legends such as Ennio Morricone, Joe Meek, Link Wray and Dick Dale, as well as the psychedelic musical meanderings of San Francisco’s Mermen. The dynamic musical interplay between the four members ensures that the music itself is fresh, exciting and cutting edge. It’s a brilliant fusion of surf guitar rock, but with a modern bend – and an unmistakable whiff of Oil.
THE BREAK bring a sheer raw vitality and phenomenal force to the surf rock genre – an undeniable force, propelling and mesmerizing, it pulls you in like a rip, swim with it, surrender to it or simply lay back in it and enjoy the ride!
Surf on over to <<www.thebreak.net.au>> and check out THE BREAK!
