The whirlwind that is Melbourne Music Week has come and gone, and like previous years the event set precedents of just what is possible in the local live music landscape.
From inviting punters into possibly the spookiest but also most memorable live space in the abandoned Royal Women’s Hospital, to the avant-garde techno experience of Robert Henke’s newest show, Lumiere 2, the event pushed plenty of boundaries.
So to celebrate the amazing seven days that was Melbourne Music Week, we’ve collected some of our greatest highlights and memories for your reading and recollecting pleasure.
The Space
Located deep within the bowels of what was once the premier location for women’s health in Melbourne, the now abandoned Royal Womens Hospital was brought back to life for one week only to create what is now being acknowledged as potentially the best Melbourne Music Week venue yet.
Like the reshape of Argus Building back in 2012, this year’s hub repurposed a space beyond punters’ expectations and left everyone who entered with a feeling of both excitement and a pang of regret that once the week was over, the space would only exist in people’s photos and memories.
Swell
The room designed for General Assembly’s performance felt like you were at a gig in someone’s lounge room. The exclusive atmosphere brought something really beautiful to their set – not to mention they are seriously talented guys.
The fluffy toy room was by far the weirdest but in a wonderfully alerting, “Am I really seeing and hearing this?” kind of way. Swell LIVE was an incredible night of entertainment that did nothing other than astound and amaze all the senses every step of the way.
Creative director Janenne Willis’ desire for Swell was to find the effect of what different masses of material have on the experience of music, with each room acting as an audiological experiment.
The truly immersive and unique experience guided visitors via the way of LED wall strips taking those to dared to their next visceral delight. This psychedelic underworld that will opened your eyes to the possibilities of what can be done in such barren and abandoned spaces.
PVT
No matter whether you’re standing in the basement of the Former Royal Women’s Hospital ready to see them perform live, or revisiting the record stowed away in your collection, it’s still difficult to fathom that PVT’s impressively progressive debut, Make Me Love You, is a decade old.
The trio comprised of two brothers, Richard and Laurence Pike, alongside friend and bandmate Dave Miller visited Melbourne for a very special show in celebration of Make Me Love You’s milestone.
Laurence told us in an interview a little while back: “I guess we’re not terribly nostalgic generally, so I don’t think we would have ever staged a big tour to mark the passing of 10 years since the first album came out. We’re very much mindful of the future”, and this show was in a way rather than a kudos to themselves, more of a happy or convenient coincidence.
Not ones to wallow in self-congratulation and the past, the guys performed three songs from each album and made a sly nod to the future by previewing tracks from their next album due out early next year. Though it was exciting to see the guys celebrate what they’ve achieved, it’s clear they still have plenty of creative energy and potential in the bank.
Robert Henke
Hosted in Melbourne’s Recital Centre, techno and audio visual artist Robert Henke’s latest show Lumiere 2 was a truly heart-stopping, mind-bending labyrinth of sounds, shapes and lights that took the audience into another dimension from the comfort of their own seats.
While other laser and sound performances are usually enjoyed on the dance floor, with a myriad of other distractions, the beauty of Lumiere 2 is that the viewer is sitting still, which multiplies the intensity in an instant, making it an extremely gripping show.
Self Made Program
This year’s Self-Made program saw so many talented, creative and driven individuals throw their own events, giving audiences the opportunity to explore events and experiences they never even could conceive possible.
[include_post id=”464335″]From a North Melbourne warehouse, to an interactive sculpture installation at a city church, a party at the Old Melbourne Gaol and an immersive sensory experience from behind 3D glasses, the full program featured ten independently curated events supported by MMW.
The Lost Children’s Project was one of these such events, spearheaded by Kate Brouwer, the event was born from her a personal trip to Africa in 2013, when as she explains “I found myself falling in love with the small children of Kenya. Overwhelmed by the reality of their circumstances and feeling blessed by the opportunity to step into their lives, I wanted to share this back home.”
Curating a line up consisting of some of this country’s most exciting talents including World’s End Press, Foreign/National, Neighbourhood Youth, Tiny Little Houses, The Hounds Homebound, and Little Shock – Lost Children Found was an evening of great music and even greater social awareness. Kudo to Kate and co.
Check out the Hub gallery here.
