Melbourne Music Week is over for 2011, and what an amazing ride it was. From the breathtaking success of KUBIK Melbourne to the astounding commitment from all our event partners and punters, MMW 2011 had so many highlights.

Over 70 events ran throughout the week, which would never have been possible without the incredible support of so many people.

MMW would like to thank all our event partners, venues, musicians, production companies, security, retail and hospitality businesses, media partners, supporting partners, labels, staff, volunteers and every single one of you who made it down to an MMW event.  Your incredible support and passion were key to the success of the event.

We always knew Melbourne was one of the world’s greatest music capitals and this week proved exactly why that is.

Until next Melbourne Music Week,

the MMW team

And we’re on! MMW kicks off this weekend with a whole bunch of exciting events.

AWME and Face The Music conferences, running on Friday and Saturday, offer you the opportunity to hear from some of the world’s leading music industry representatives. Make sure you check out our program of panel sessions.

Opening night at KUBIK Melbourne is sold out but tickets are still available for:

In Light with the Raah Project
Saturday 19 November, from 8pm
Featuring The Raah Project (with a 17-piece orchestra), DJ Prequel, Kano and more.

Tune in Tokyo
Sunday 20 November, from 7.30pm
Featuring DJ Krush (JPN), A13 and more.

Dexter, Stephanie Lake and Robin Fox are launching the Giant Theremin with a couple of incredible performances on Saturday evening. Outside Signal, this launch event will be an amazing mix of live sound and movement, and you’ll have the opportunity to play with the theremin afterward the show.

And, down at ACMI on Saturday, Mick Harvey presents the film that has had the greatest influence on his musical career. Get along and watch All Night Long (1962), followed by a Q&A with the man himself.

The program continues all through next week with many incredible events – make sure you check out the full program and start immersing yourself in music today.

To be in the running to receive a double pass to one of these events, simply tell us what these glow sticks symbolise:

Email your name, answer and contact phone number to melbournemusic@melbourne.vic.gov.au by Monday 14 November.

Winners will be notified by phone and/or email on Tuesday 15 November.

 Terms and conditions

1. This competition is run by the City of Melbourne [ABN: 55 370 219 287]

2. Entry into this competition deems acceptance of these terms and conditions.

3. Entrants need to email melbournemusic@melbourne.vic.gov.au with their name, contact number and the correct answer between 4 and14 November 2011 as a condition of entry.

4. Entry is open to all residents of Australia over 18 years of age, except employees and immediate families of the Promoter, associated companies and agencies and participating outlets. The Promoter is the City of Melbourne, 240 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

5. The competition commences on 4 November 2011 and closes on 14 November 2011 at 17:00 AEDST. The winners will be selected randomly by the City of Melbourne by midday on 15 November 2011.

6. The total value of all prizes as of 3 November 2011 is $489.

7. Ten winners will be randomly selected by the City of Melbourne to receive one of the following prizes:

• 1 x double pass to Chapter Music Live @ Old Melbourne Gaol on 23 November 2011 = 2 x $12 = $24
• 1 x double pass to Mistletone Records Live @ St Michael’s Church on 25 November 2011 = 2 x $20 = $40
• 1 x double pass to Two Bright Lakes Live @ Melbourne Central Rooftop on 26 November 2011 = 2 x $20 = $40
• 1 x double pass to In Light with the Raah Project at KUBIK Melbourne on 19 November 2011= 2 x $25 = $50
•  1 x double pass to Tune in Tokyo at KUBIK Melbourne on 20 November 2011 = 2 x $35 = $70
•  1 x double pass to Sweet Beat Manifesto at KUBIK Melbourne on 22 November 2011 = 2 x $27.50 = $55
•  1 x double pass to Racket at KUBIK Melbourne on 24 November 2011 = 2 x $25 = $50
•  1 x double pass to The Likes of You at KUBIK Melbourne on 25 November 2011 = 2 x $30 = $60
•  1 x double pass to the Melbourne Music Week After Party at KUBIK Melbourne on 27 November 2011 = 2 x $25 = $50
•   1 x double pass to Cinemix at ACMI on 25 November 2011 = 2 x $25 = $50

8. The 10 winners will be notified by telephone and/or by email on 15 November 2011.

9. Prizes are not transferable, exchangeable or redeemable for cash and can only be used on the day of the events.

10. Only one entry in the competition per person.

11. Incomprehensible, illegible and incomplete entries will be deemed invalid. All responses become the property of the Promoter.

12. If the Promoter is unable to contact the winner to claim fulfilment of the promotional prize by 17 November 2011 at 17.00 AEDST, that winner will forfeit the prize in its entirety and it shall be awarded to the first runner-up in the promotion. A new runner-up will them be selected. The Promoter will not be liable for a winner who cannot be contacted, and therefore forfeits their prize, and no correspondence shall be entered into.

13. Prizes will be available for redemption on the door at the entrance to the venue of the event, from the commencement of the event.

14. The Promoter’s decision is final and binding and the Promoter will not enter into correspondence regarding the competition result.

15. It is a condition of accepting the prize that the winner must comply with all the conditions of use of the prize and the prize suppliers’ requirements.

16. The Promoter shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever which is suffered (including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss) or for any personal injury or any other loss suffered or sustained in connection with any prize/s except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law. 

17. Should there be less than 10 correct responses, the number of prizes left over after rewarding correct respondents will be rewarded to randomly drawn incorrect respondents.

Spanning over nine full days, MMW will take over the city with a diverse range of independent and co-produced events. Featuring more than 170 artists over 40 locations, the full program boasts more than 60 events.

The recently announced KUBIK Melbourne will be the pulsating centre of MMW. Functioning as a café by day, this innovative structure will showcase world-class music events each night, seeing the likes of Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernauts, DJ Krush, Wax Tailor, The Gaslamp Killer and more, take to its stage.

Live Music Safari, an uprecedented event, will see 10 of Melbourne’s favourite live music venues co-presenting a night of completely free music. On Thursday 24 November, each of these much-loved haunts will program a line-up of stellar quality, encouraging punters to visit multiple music venues.

For Record & Release, a five-day series, bands record tracks that are pressed, mixed and mastered for release just 24 hours later. Utilising a pop-up laneway studio open for public viewing, these recordings will be released the following night at the Buffalo Club. The event is curated by Vice and features Parking Lot Experiments, Absolute Boys, Electric Smile Band, This Thing and more.

The best of the city’s busking talent will perform against the backdrop of Melbourne’s iconic Hosier Lane for Street Change, in the afternoon of Saturday 26 November. You get to vote for your favourite performer, and donations go to charity.

The Giant Theremin will be launched on 19 November as part of MMW. Located outside Signal on Flinders Walk, the Giant Theremin will entertain passers by as they interact with this world-first interactive musical instrument. Featuring Dexter, this launch event will be a spectacle of sound and movement.

For In Store, some of Melbourne’s creative and quirky independent retail and hospitality businesses will present a series of events, exhibitions and offers focused on the theme ‘Aesthetics of Sound’. This series recognises and celebrates the impact of music on the creative success of Melbourne’s thriving independent businesses.

These latest announcements round out the the full program, which also contains series for kids, workshops & conferences, films and Labels Live @.

KUBIK Melbourne: 18 to 26 November 2011

One of Europe’s most innovative temporary architectural structures makes its Australasian debut in Melbourne as the principal live music venue for Melbourne Music Week 2011.

An incredible state-of-the-art, outdoor live-music venue, Kubik is constructed from a number of interconnected and illuminated water tanks that create stunning visual effects as they change colour in synch with the live music played from within.

Since its inception, Kubik has toured to 22 cities around the globe as a summer festival highlight in cities such as Milan, Lisbon, Berlin and Barcelona.

Specially designed for Melbourne Music Week and situated on the lower terrace of Birrarung Marr, Kubik will feature in its extraordinary Southern Hemisphere debut season from 18 November to 26 November 2011.

The KUBIK Melbourne program will feature a eclectic selection of music, exploring new live acoustic instruments and electronic sounds, and showcasing both pioneering and internationally acclaimed artists. Appealing to a wide range of tastes, the program will showcase styles from jazzy to experimental rock, electronica to indie and broken rhythms. In addition to an impressive line-up of live electronic music artists and DJs, KUBIK Melbourne will also feature a high-quality program of video mapping, light installations and digital arts.

Artist announcements coming soon. Tickets on sale early October.

KUBIK Melbourne will be located on the lower terrace of Birrarung Marr from 18 November to 26 November and will be open until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights and until midnight all other nights.

Photo: Manu Martinez, Balestra Berlin

MMW returns in November to showcase the very best of the city’s thriving independent music scene.

Returning with a redefined artistic direction, MMW 2011 will highlight local, national and international, well known and emerging artists. We’re partnering with the local music industry to create a unique event featuring 130 acts in 40 locations plus a number of workshops, conferences and more.

For nine days you can immerse yourself in music, Melbourne style – performances will not only be in live music venues, but in city laneways, record shops, cafes, bars and fashion stores.

Along with the cutting edge programming concepts, MMW 2011 will see events staged in extraordinary locations and will highlight Melbourne’s climb to join the top music cities in the world.

Full program and line-up coming soon.

From 1959 until 1969 Britain’s famous Rank Organisation commissioned dozens of newsreels reflecting life of the time – “Look at Life”. They represent an intriguing snapshot of a moment frozen in time. And, as if from the future but with an eye on the past, enigmatic Midnight Juggernauts bring their special blend of film-inspired “kaleidoscopic jams” with a score performed live in the cinema.

Accompanying this specially commissioned soundtrack will be a live performance as these classic works unspool amid samples, loops and inspired improvisation.

Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
Friday 25 November, 8pm
60min, G

Tickets will be available soon from:
ACMI Box Office
03 8663 2583
www.acmi.net.au

Mistletone @ St Michael’s Church

HTRK, Beaches, The Orbweavers, Wintercoats and Montero

Set within the ethereal walls of a church, this one night only event will offer audiences an exclusive and poignant experience.

For the first time since the tragic loss of their founding member and bassist Sean Stewart, HTRK will return to Australia following the September release of their new album “Work (work, work)”. Using subdued beats, evocative bass lines and highly textured noise, HTRK produce a beautiful mixture of sounds and emotions with just the right amount of expression versus restraint.

Born of humble intentions, five-piece-all-female band Beaches have built an avid following for their live shows laden with cosmic guitar stretches, vast textures, conjuring voices and phantom like frequencies.

This night is curated by Mistletone, one of the leading independent labels and thriving local touring and events company in Melbourne.

St Michael’s Church
Friday 25 November
Time TBC
All ages
Ticketing information available soon.

Two Bright Lakes @ Melbourne Central Rooftop

Oscar + Martin, Teeth & Tongue and more.

Two Bright Lakes in collaboration with Mess + Noise will be presenting an extraordinary concert on the hidden rooftop space of Melbourne Central.

Oscar + Martin have been dancing around Melbourne, making beats, loops and melodies since 2006. Born of a generation with the history of music making at their fingertips, they possess an explosive creativity that will instantly convert this space to an infectious dance floor.

Teeth & Tongue, the musical project of Jess Cornelius in collaboration with Marc Regueiro-Mckelvie (guitar) and Damian Sullivan (bass), bring their combination of pop, garage and post-punk with metronomic precision and haunting vocals to this interesting location.

Since forming in 2007, Two Bright Lakes has built a reputation as one of Melbourne’s most diverse labels. Continually evolving, not only have they released records, but also produced video art and animations, curated festivals and promoted a huge number of events.

Melbourne Central Rooftop
Saturday 26 November
Time TBC
18+
Ticketing information available soon.

When throwing a party, there is always that little sizzle of anxiety that people won’t turn up, even if they accept the Facebook invitation, and if they do turn up, they might not have fun. Well, thanks to all of the music lovers, the Melbourne Music 2010 party had no such problems and quickly scattered any nervous butterflies with a garage-band-jam sized bang! We had many Melburnians rock and roll their way to gigs and embrace our first event – from the little people at the MSO Baby Proms, through to the big kids who filled Federation and City squares. And, based on the smiles on dials, we think everyone had fun. Musical fun.  

There were many great moments and there have been many discussions in city offices, around the Tan, and on the steps of Flinders Street station about the best bit of Melbourne Music 2010. It is impossible to decide on the number one highlight, so in no particular order, here are some that have been bandied around at Camp Melbourne Music; and by no means all of them:

• Our line-up at our Opening Concert. Dan Sultan undid his shirt and put the full stop on a great line up that included British India, Parades, Eagle and the Worm, and Dan Kelly’s Dream Band.
• Our sold-out Cinemix with DJ Dexter on the film La Haine.
• The Bedroom Philosopher; on the 86 tram.
• The MSO playing a classical tune that morphed into the Sesame Street theme song, and had 300 or so people less than four feet tall singing along.
• The lunchtime crowd in the sunshine for Melbourne on Stage. The professionals from Mary Poppins, Hairspray and Madame Butterfly were brilliant but back at camp Melbourne Music, all the raving was about the VCA students. Bravo!
• A packed City Square for Push It.
• Keith! Party’s random and colourful, erm, party on stage at the Closing Concert. They looked like they had done a group aerobics class at the end, just wrapped in streamers. But the good people they are, they cleaned up after their party before leaving.

So, the crowds have left, the stages have been cleared, and the artists are preparing for their summer gigs. What do we do now? Well, we plan to be back in 2011 and dance on our desks with air guitars all over again. So stay tuned. And thanks for making our first Melbourne Music such a great one.

What was your highlight? Let us know what Melbourne Music 2010 gigs you made it to and what you thought were the best bits.