The Aussie Flow: Fusing reggae, hip-hop and psychedelic rock
The flow takes apart old genres like overworn clothes and fuses them into something new
Finding new music is as exciting as boarding a plane somewhere unknown, yet vaguely familiar. For weeks, no months, actually all of 2018, I binge listened the EPs Vibes & Days by Newcastle’s indie rockers VACATIONS. Smalltown-angst-indie-rock can feel right for a moment but it’s not exactly emotionally expansive. By breaking barriers and fusing into a new flow, Australia’s music scene has caught on fire. It’s hot, and not just because of Tame Impala either. Take Angus Stone for an example, the indie legend turned psychedelic as Dope Lemon. Let’s Marinade on that.
There’s a flow, a laidback yet psychedelic fusion of reggae and hip-hop that will bump you up, down and around. Our first point of arrival is central New South Wales, out which the flow’s frequency frequently transmits. Sticky Fingers first taught me how to fly with Caress Your Soul (2012); a vibe reminiscent of Milky Chance (without the electropop flair). The Sidney boys, the ‘Sticks’, have taken ‘Straya’s laidback attitude to the world stage. Created by but also creating the flow, the Sticks’ vibes reverberates all along Australia’s east coast and beyond. Up in Darwin, Rambutan Jam Band call “I go down, down east, to ease my mind, I do as I please.” Down in Melbourne, Tash Sultana welcomes us to the jungle.
As Modest Mouse began their headlining set for Rifflandia 2015, I asked Paddy Cornwall, the Sticks’ bassist if he was going for Liam Gallagher’s look and attitude. He wasn’t. Paddy didn’t even recognize the name. But he was entertained by the prospect that the former Oasis singer reminded me of him. He shared a brownie with me for laughs.
Credit’s given where it’s due. (Unless you’re as self-absorbed as Led Zeppelin or dare I say as cold as Vanilla Ice.) The Sticks’ sound is original. Yet, they have clear inspirations, and go out of their way to shout out to them: e.g. a banger dedicated to Bootleg Rascal. The Rascals, self-described “ghetto dubsters” from Sydney, will blast your boombox away. With Lyall Moloney as an essential ingredient, the Rascals and Sticks blend hip-hop into the flow.
More mellow, maybe more yellow (jokes), Sydneysider sunny boys, Ocean Alley stick to the psychedelic-reggae side of the flow. Their soulful vocals and chilled out melodies got them into the spotlight; opening for the flow’s true heavyweight: Tash Sultana. Tash, a Melbournite, may not be Sydney boyband but fits the bill for the chilled out flow, explicitly highlighted by her debut album: Flow State (2018).
At the 2016 Townsville Cultural Fest, Tash played four times, each performance blowing our minds anew. And she wasn’t even the headliner. Sunny Coast’s ukulele wizard Bobby Alu (Xavier Rudd’s former drummer) filled that role for the quaint gathering of Townsville’s art community. Being an intimate fest, Tash hung with our crew all weekend. In contrast to her modest offstage character, Majun Bu kept the goon flowing, spliffs rolling and hit us hard with their funky flow. Vaudeville Smash’s performances drove us wild. To the point that we stripped to our underwear to throw hay at each other (not Tash but two of the Majun Bu boys and I).
The flow takes apart old genres like overworn clothes and fuses them into something new. It’s a feeling that chills out and inspires, melodic and dynamic. Now that we’ve broken the static, we’re flowing into a new land of pleasure. We’re in the land of kiwis now, going down Mako Road.
Curious to feel the flow? Follow the flow on spotify.
