Water of Life – 78 Degrees Distillery & Duncan Taylor Octaves
I vividly remember my first exposure to 78 Degrees Distillery: It was at a local gin tasting that I was proffered their Classic Gin expression, which not only ticked all the boxes in terms of being …
The Formative Years - Die Kreuzen
There are bands that you listen to once and they are etched into your brain forever.
I vividly remember when I first heard Die Kreuzen’s first album , which included their newly recorded versions of the tracks from their debut …
Into the Wild – Zorali gear, tunes and silence.
I dig hiking as much as the next man and have done a fair share of backpacking in my time, both because of the need to make a virtue out of a nexessity, i.e. tight budgets, but also in a …
The Formative Years - Leeway
Desperate Measures from 1991 raised quite a few question marks with me when it was first released and did not enter heavy rotation.
Revisiting it a couple of years later, it was a delight to have more of an understanding to see it …
Water of Life
Teerenpeli
While I harbour a fondness for Finland and have visited quite a few times, the land of the thousand lakes is arguably more known for vodka rather than being fertile ground for the production of premium quality Single Malt whiskies.
Needless …
The Formative Years - Acid House
It was during a family holiday to the sandy beach of Arcachon, southwest of Bordeaux as a prepubescent that I spent a whole summer in the thrall of acid house.
Days were spent with a female acquaintance in the Dune du Pilat …
Water of Life
Scapa Glansa and Morris Whisky
Founded in 1885 and being located only a few hundred metres away from Highland Park, Scapa distillery is one of Scotland’s most northern distilleries.
My first and so far only exposure to Scapa was through a dram …
The Formative Years – Wipers
There are many bands that could be considered as genre coining in the realm of punk and hardcore, with most of them being considered because they were to first create a certain new sound or style.
Then there are bands that did the …
Waiting for Verdi: Opera and Political Opinion in Nineteenth-Century Italy, 1815-1848
University of California Press
Giuseppe Verdi and his oeuvre stands for more than merely operatic excellence, with the trio of La Traviata, Il trovatore and Rigoletto having become some of the most appreciated and timeless …
Having been inspired via an influx of Italian migrants after 1945 who evolved the traditions of their home country, Australia has become known and revered for its coffee culture and for the most part, it proves to be hard to not appreciate the obsession with quality product and presentation, which …
The Formative Years
X-Mist Records
X-Mist Records has been around ever since Germany saw its own hardcore scene evolve in the mid-80es. What started as a cassette label, eventually grew to a veritable record label that was significantly involved in creating the foundation for bands like Spermbirds to …
Thus Let Us Drink Beer – New England Brewing, Akasha’s Eagle and Kaiju’s IPA
“I don't want to change the world, I am not looking for a new England…”
Ah, good ole Billy Bragg is suitable enough as a relevant reference to kick off this instalment …
The Formative Years
The Exploited
The Exploited is one of the bands that had an immense influence on me transitioning from metal into punk as a prepubescent. I vividly remember seeing their Pushead designed skull with mohawk logo patch on an older punk’s battle vest and thought it …
Audio = Ground Zero
Bose QuietComfort
In 2012 I started traveling internationally every month for work and given the amount of time I was spending on the road, I started to consider making some investments regarding gear that would not only make the journey more pleasant but …
Water of Life
Melbourne Hot Sauce x Starward and Kavka Vodka
Not exactly the most guarded secret is that I love hot sauces and whisk(e)y and have yet to find an occasion where I would find either not suitable to enjoy.
However, this does not necessarily mean …
The Formative Years
EA 80
I still remember the first time I came across EA 80 in the late 1980s. I was hooked immediately and their music has become a steady companion ever since.
As a band, EA 80 has always been completely autonomous, self-sufficient and to …
ST. ALi Italian Film Festival 2021
Palace Cinemas
27 October to Sunday, 21 November
Sydney, Australia
There are quite a few film festivals that are being held on terra australis on an annual basis, however, the Italian Film Festival is never not a highlight, which …
The Formative Years
Sun Ra
There are few musical genres that I enjoy more than jazz when it comes to unwinding and blowing the cobwebs out. While it was not certainly not love at first sight and had to be steadily cultivated, listening to jazz and experimental music …
What’s Sumatra With You
Will & Co.
I dig coffee – my brain has grown accustomed to the arousal it produces, which results in my feeling passionate about it in a manner that is reminiscent of what Honoré de Balzac penned about and inspired by a cup of …
The Formative Years
Public Image Ltd
It did not take long after being introduced to the Sex Pistols as a prepubescent that I started to acquire all of their records available at mainstream stores and religiously absorb any information available. Clearly, Sid Vicious was everything one should aspire …
