Image courtesy of Volumes
Volumes Festival, Sydney's multi-platform music and arts showcase, is back this year after last year's inaugural success, and has grown in size like one of those sponge dinosaurs you put in water.Last year, the very first Volumes played host to a huge lineup of local talent, supporting and exhibiting the work of Australian artists who were pushing boundaries in their creative fields, and bringing venues, labels and artists together in Oxford Square to reignite Sydney's live music scene over one weekend.This year, the people behind Volumes have upped the ante on electronic music—with a little help from yours truly. This year's festival roster includes—but is, somehow, not limited to—the brilliant talents of BV, Dro Carey, Habits, Rainbow Chan, Alba, HTMLflowers, Body Promise, Mall Grab and Marcus Whale. And of course, loads more. The schedule also happens to include a stage curated by us, and sets by the Noisey and THUMP DJs.We spoke with Volumes' Director James Spink to get some of the inside intel on what it takes to make something like Volumes happen, and what to expect this year. Read the interview and check out the Volumes 2016 full lineup below.
THUMP: For those who don't know, what's the big idea behind Volumes Fest?James Spink: The idea and concept around Volumes is basically to showcase amazing music and art in an easily accessible and super fun way that's a bit different.It's a collaborative effort between the most interesting and innovative artists, labels, venues and collectives in Sydney and Australia to create a cohesive and holistic experience of sound and vision. Each stage and space within [the festival] takes on its own identity. With a meticulously curated lineup of live music, visual & electronic art and interactive digital media experiences that captivate the audience and lead them on a journey through a portal of sound and vision like no other.Last year's recap video, via Volumes.What's changed since last year?In 2016 we have decided to wind things up a bit. We've expanded to two days and added another venue—The Burdekin, which will be home to 2 stages. This year, the Volumes concept takes a journey deeper through the portal of sound & vision exploring the relationship between music, art and technology in a captivating and immersive environment. There will be more electronic and dance music than last year with Friday night being predominantly electronic focused. There is an even more diverse spread of awesome local music—everything from techno, hip hop to heavy psych and back to disco.What kind of work goes into making something like this happen?A big focus is on the curation of the line up and the event day, each stage is planned out with a direction and vibe in mind. Work wise… A lot, haha. Luckily it's a lot of fun and really exciting to see the vision take shape. Work involves everything from curating and booking the line up, collaborating with visual artists, photographers & designers to create all the visual elements for the artwork and the live visual elements. We are working with some really exciting young creative legends this year, a lot more on this element will be revealed in July. Working with labels to curate stages, developing a live video series from the event, working with partners and collaborators on the event, such as Rolla's Jeans this year to create collaboration merch for the event and the bands—something we are super excited about.What are you really looking forward to at this year's Volumes?In terms of acts I'm incredibly psyched on the whole line up and can't wait to bounce from stage to stage across the weekend, that's a big part of why the event is happening. We are really excited to develop the other aspects of the event also, taking the event deeper into a complete audio visual and sensory experience.This year, Volumes made a big stride in terms of electronic artists, what was the motivation behind that?
The vision of the event has always been focused on representing a pretty even split of electronic and more instrument driven 'band' music, I love listening to both and spend a lot time at both types of shows.
BV / Dro Carey / Koi Child / Charles Murdoch / Rainbow Chan / Alba / Silent Jay x Jace XL / HTMLflowers / DEER / Milwaukee Banks / 30/70 / Christopher Port / Lupa J / Jaysways / Body Promise / Sidechains / Melty / Spirals / Godriguez / Nicholas Allbrook / Slum Sociable / Fishing / Mall Grab / Donny Benet / Mossy / Rolling Blackouts CF / You Beauty / Cliques / Marcus Whale / Habits / Zero Percent / Good Boy / Orb / Unity Floors / Terrible Truths / The Harpoons / Hubert Clarke Jr / Null / Babicka / Leo James / Scott & Charlene's Wedding / Darts / Summer Flake / Angie / Scraps / 100% / California Girls / Good Morning / Solid Effort / Us The Band / Xanga / Nite Fleit / Andy Garvey / Adi Toohey / Playful Sound_Volumes Festival runs over August 26 and 27. Follow them on Faceook _here for more_ information, tickets, and the rest._
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THUMP: For those who don't know, what's the big idea behind Volumes Fest?James Spink: The idea and concept around Volumes is basically to showcase amazing music and art in an easily accessible and super fun way that's a bit different.It's a collaborative effort between the most interesting and innovative artists, labels, venues and collectives in Sydney and Australia to create a cohesive and holistic experience of sound and vision. Each stage and space within [the festival] takes on its own identity. With a meticulously curated lineup of live music, visual & electronic art and interactive digital media experiences that captivate the audience and lead them on a journey through a portal of sound and vision like no other.Last year's recap video, via Volumes.
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The vision of the event has always been focused on representing a pretty even split of electronic and more instrument driven 'band' music, I love listening to both and spend a lot time at both types of shows.