Gotye: The Winner

Congrats to Sarah, from Portland, Oregon

She is the winner of a copy of "Like Drawing Blood" from Gotye. I'll get your cd out early next week! Thanks to all who entered. It was one of my most successful contests! I had lots of entries.

And if you still have not done so, I strongly suggest you check out Gotye. He is making some of the most creative music around today. It will move you.

Gotye (you can purchase his music here)

Gotye's myspace

And if you missed it, you should check out Faux Pas music also. He remixed one of Gotye's tracks on the upcoming "Mixed Blood" LP.

Gotye: Some final thoughts (and some Basics love thrown in)

So as my coverage of Gotye comes to a close, I hope you have had the chance to listen to his music objectively. Gotye does not easily fit into any category. However, in my opinion, his music is heartfelt, moving, and downright fun to listen to. So if you haven't heard it yet, make sure you scroll down and download a few MP3s, or head over to Shifted Sound to hear the interview and some other tracks. And make sure you continue to check Gotye.com to find out more about the remix album "Mixed Blood."

And Wally posted the following info about his tour on his website...

In response to much demand, 500 more tickets are being released for the Gotye mini orchestra’s matinee performance at Sydney’s Metro Theatre on Sunday July 29.

Also, an extra show at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne will be happening on Friday August 10.

The extra Sydney tickets and new Melbourne show will go on sale at 9am on Wednesday July 4 through Ticketmaster and the venues.

In other news, the Gotye mini orchestra will also be playing a set at Splendour In The Grass on Sunday August 5.

And tomorrow I'll announce the winner of a cd copy of "Like Drawind Blood," by Gotye! There is still time to enter. All you have to do is send me an email to thetwomirrors@yahoo.com by tonight at midnight with the subject "Gotye" and your mailing address. And in the body of the email answer this question...

Where will Gotye play on August 10th?

And I'll randomly choose a winner tomorrow morning.

And finally, I would be a failure if I didn't mention that Wally was also in another band that you may enjoy. The band is called The Basics and they are much more of a straightforward rock band, but somehow find a way to infuse more types of music into their music than humanly possible. Check out the Basics here.

Gotye: The tour, a contest, and A Better Offer interview

For the record today's post was going to be about Gotye's tour (which I will still write about) but Wally sent back his responses to my interview questions. So you get a double post today, which I'll leave up through the 4th of July holiday. And there is contest information and the end of this post.

This tour is set to kick off on July 26th. Wally will be hitting the four corners (so to speak) of Australia in a little more than two weeks. All the shows have sold out--which is a huge accomplishment--but some more tickets will be released on July 4th (tomorrow). Gotye will be accompanied by a "mini orchestra" and Mountains in the Sky will be opening. And according to Wally you can expect "an audiovisual treat featuring strings, skins, saxes and axes, not to mention projections and reflections (that’s lights yo)" Those of you in Australia better get out there and see at least one of these shows. They are sure to be amazing. The dates are...

Jul 26 2007
8:00P
Fly By Night - SOLD OUT
Perth, Western Australia

Jul 27 2007
8:00P
Fly By Night - SOLD OUT
Perth, Western Australia

Jul 28 2007
8:00P
The Metro - SOLD OUT
Sydney, New South Wales

Jul 29 2007
2:00P
The Metro (Matinee all ages show from 2pm) - MORE TICKETS RELEASED ON WED JULY 4
Sydney, New South Wales

Jul 29 2007
8:00P
The Metro - SOLD OUT
Sydney, New South Wales

Aug 3 2007
8:30P
The Powerhouse (all ages) - SOLD OUT
Brisbane, Queensland

Aug 4 2007
8:00P
The Powerhouse (all ages) - SOLD OUT
Brisbane, Queensland

Aug 5 2007
8:00P
Splendour In The Grass - SOLD OUT
Byron Bay, New South Wales

Aug 9 2007
8:00P
Governor Hindmarsh - SOLD OUT
Adelaide, South Australia

Aug 10 2007
8:00P
The Athenaeum - TICKETS ON SALE WEDNESDAY JULY 4
Melbourne, Victoria

Aug 11 2007
8:00P
The Athenaeum - SOLD OUT
Melbourne, Victoria

Aug 12 2007
2:00P
The Athenaeum (Matinee all ages show from 2pm) - SOLD OUT
Melbourne, Victoria

Aug 12 2007
8:00P
The Athenaeum
Melbourne, Victoria

So, Wally from Gotye is simply one of the nicest (and busiest) people on the planet. Since Shelby from Shifted Sound conducted such a great interview last week, I decided to focus in on one Gotye track in my interview and go in depth into that song. The song I chose was "Hearts A Mess" from the Like Drawing Blood LP. If you have not heard the song yet, here's the MP3 again.

ABO: Can you talk a little about the inspiration for "Heart's A Mess".

Wally: A broken relationship. Ruminating on my attempt to feel alright afterwards. One night stands versus longer term meaningful relationships. Oh...and a loop from a 60s record ;)

ABO: One of my favorite things about this track, and your music as a whole, is your ability to push the limits (lyrically and sonically). You seem to be able to take listeners to a place that's almost uncomfortable, yet not cross the line. Can you talk a little about that moment in "Hearts A Mess" where you sing, "But I'm desperate to connect..."

Wally: Sometimes pop songs have a key moment. I guess in Hearts A Mess it's that line/vocal. I think I was pretty aware that I needed to usher the listener into a tension/buildup towards that moment. I believe the radio edit (available on Gotye's MySpace) does that"ushering" less effectively because it gets to the chorus too early. That vocal is the top of my range, where my voice starts to break up, but if I keep it together it can have a certain power to it I guess. Perhaps I captured something special in that final take.

ABO: What about the technical aspects of this song? Can you talk a little about the samples used, instrumentation, and how it will play out live. I know you mentioned that you really never intended to play these songs live, and I'm interested in hearing how you expect this track to play out live.

Wally: This particular track has proven very difficult to play live. Specifically the main loop of drums and bass. Sometimes samples have some idiosyncratic vibe/sound that just can't be recreated/reinterpreted without gutting your song. In the end I've decided to use the loop from a sampler live. It's augmented by my live vocals, live bass, drums and string quartet.

ABO: Is there anything else the readers at A Better Offer should know about this track?

Wally: It's missing an apostrophe (Hearts A Mess). Should technically be "Heart's A Mess". But I'm gonna stick with the apostropheless spelling :)

And now for the contest...I have a copy of "Like Drawing Blood" that Wally is sending my way to give away to one lucky listener. Just send me an email (thetwomirrors@yahoo.com) with the subject line "Gotye" and answer this question.

Where will Gotye play on August 10th?

Make sure to send me your mailing address also (its open to anyone who reads A Better Offer regardless of where you live) and I'll announce the winner on Saturday. Good Luck!

Gotye: Faux Pas remixes "Coming Back"

Gotye will release a remix version of his acclaimed record, "Like Drawing Blood" soon. The remix album is entitled "Mixed Blood." It is not your typical remix album in the sense that it will have remixes, covers, reinterpretations, and more from a number of different artist. Last week on Shifted Sound Shelby played the ENS remix of Puzzle with a Piece Missing (which is exceptionally beautiful) that will be featured on the album. You can check that out here. The full track list follows...

Joe Hardy - Hearts A Mess (3AM remix)
Karnivool - The Only Way (cover)
ENS - Puzzle With A Piece Missing (remix)
DLake - Hearts A Mess (Electro-Baltimore Club remix)
Faux Pas - Get Acquainted (A Distinctive Sound remix)
Bass Kleph - Learnalilgivinanlovin (That’ll Learn ‘Em remix)
Bitrok - Thanks For Your Time (remix)
Infusion - The Only Thing I Know (remix)
Duosseudo - Hearts A Mess (remix)
Rocky Lolo - Seven Hours With A Backseat Driver (Way Back When remix)
King Charlie - Out Of My Mind (Oceans of Dub remix)
Velure - Puzzle With A Piece Missing (cover/remix)
Inga Liljestrom - Coming Back (cover)
Fourth Floor Collapse - Worn Out (Worn Out Blues cover/remix)

But here at A Better Offer, I strive for a little more than the typical. And through a serious of misspellings and emails, I came in contact with an you fella named Tim. Tim happens to be the brains behind the acclaimed Faux Pas (who was also played on Shifted Sound). And Tim has given A Better Offer permission to post a web exclusive remix that he did for the Gotye track "Coming Back." This track did not end up on "Mixed Blood," but another one of Faux Pas remixes did. Anyways check out the remix below and check out Faux Pas music as well. I think you'll be delighted.

Coming Back (Faux Pas remix)

Gotye: Heart's A Mess video

Wow!

For more info on the making of this video, listen to Shifted Sound episode 66.

Video by Brandon Cook.

Gotye: Some intital thoughts

So I first heard Gotye when a friend of mine from Australia made a mix of her favorites from Australia. It included Wolfmother, Youthgroup, Ben Lee, Gotye, and many more. Well there were a few that stood out. And Gotye was one of them. The two tracks she included were, "Hearts a Mess," and "Thanks for Your Time." They both blew me away. Gotye just seemed to have a way to push things sonically and lyrically. I was impressed especially with Heart's A Mess. And still to this day that track has stood out as one of my favorites. (I'll have more on this track coming soon!)

Below is my initial review of Gotye, when I posted it on the Two Mirrors site that I used to write for. Check it out.

Gotye was next up and by far these two songs were my favorite songs from the Australia comp. His music is simply stunning. He has that quality in his music where it's almost uncomfortable to listen too. Think early Bright Eyes with an electronic edge. Both of these tracks are highly recommended! You will be hearing more from Goyte when I get the new record. You can order it here.

Gotye--Hearts a Mess

Gotye--Thanks for Your Time

Stay tuned folks, I've got lots more Gotye, including tour dates, remixes, an interview, and A CONTEST!

Gotye: Background info

An MP3 to listen to while you read. What do you want by Gotye

Below is some background listed on Gotye's site.

Gotye is many things to many people, and, at once, many things to just one person (himself for instance), although, at times, he may be a few things to a few people. At once.
Sometimes, he may mean something to some person…or people (and we all know you can fool some people, some of the time) but it must be said: his aim is to fool himself, all of the time. Which he does.
Sometimes

But seriously…by Phil Collins was an album that informs pretty much all of Gotye’s songwriting to date. Any sounds in his tracks that sound familiar are of course, exactly that.
They come to Gotye in his dreams, and he gathers them round him like little children round a campfire, desperate (although they don’t know it) for visions of a glorious future, where all children (that is, “sounds”) can play (read: “resound”) together harmoniously… in a world where love rules and everyone will gladly “lay their body down for the groove”.
Is that how they say it these days?
Hmmm…

Variously described as (i) a reclusive hunchback with a penchant for blue cheese and a horrible flatulence problem, (ii) a leading Soviet authority on ancient and early modern Russian political, economic and social history or (iii) a debilitating affliction of the neck (resulting from a childhood inattention to spelling), in actual fact, Gotye is just a young Australian fellow named Wally De Backer who makes music in his bedroom.
But which account do you find more interesting huh? I mean, really!

Boardface (2004) and Like Drawing Blood (2006) are two lps he has released independently. Gotye also has a remix album called Mixed Blood coming out soon. You can buy his records at the following links.

Buy directly from Gotye's website

Buy a digital version via Martian music

Or from Australia's Itunes

A pricey one for the Americans via Amazon.com

And the good news, I heard back from Wally and I hope to have an exclusive (albeit short) interview with Wally in the next few weeks. And definitely a contest!