MOD CON, Ausecuma Beats and other local indie artists we’re loving this fortnight
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08.09.2021

MOD CON, Ausecuma Beats and other local indie artists we’re loving this fortnight

Mod Con
Words by Tom Walters

Hello and welcome to our fortnightly indie artists column. Head here if you missed the previous instalment, featuring Good Morning, The Florets and Tam Vantage.

Every fortnight, we round up the best new Melbourne/Naarm bands and artists making waves online, underground and on the airwaves.

For those looking to keep an ear to the ground with the best emerging acts, this column will have you covered every two weeks with Victoria’s finest.

This fortnight, we’ve been enjoying the angular post-punk of MOD CON, the joyous Afrobeat of Ausecuma Beats, and the lush ambience of Sean La’Brooy.

MOD CON

MOD CON are back this October with a brand new album, Modern Condition. The follow-up to 2018’s Modern Convenience has two tracks currently available, and both add to the bangers currently in the band’s arsenal. 

The opening track ‘Ammo’ is a belter – an angular post-punk track that throws back to classic Sleater-Kinney records like The Woods and No Cities to Love with a sprinkle of Le Tigre in its soft-synth flourish.

‘Learner in an Alpha’ continues to up the ante, packing even bigger hooks with the cathartic angst of Bikini Kill and the art rock sensibilities of X-Ray Spex. 

Could this be one of Melbourne’s albums of the year? Early indications are a resounding yes.

Modern Condition is out on Friday October 22.

Ausecuma Beats

Afrobeat ensemble Ausecuma Beats have a brand new album, Musso, coming out this November on the ever-excellent Music In Exile. The nine-piece band – led by the equally excellent djembe player, Boubacar Gaye – are well skilled in bringing together cultural references from all over the world, crafting truly joyous music through their many walks of life. 

The album’s first single, ‘Sallier’, is no different. While it’s based on traditional sounds from throughout West Africa, Ausecuma Beats have lovingly made it their own through their unique, glaringly bright melodies and glorious grooves.

There’s also a classic Ausecuma sentiment that shines through the lyrics of the song, asking everyone to calm down, so that they can listen and be inspired by the message that is being shared. This is exactly the kind of music Melbourne needs as we start looking for hope in our increasingly sunny days. 

Musso is out Friday November 5 via Music In Exile

Sean La’Brooy

Analogue Attic is having a killer year. The Melbourne-based label released one of the year’s best ambient albums in May with co-founder Alex Albrecht’s brilliant Campfire Stories, and now they look set to make that two back-to-back slammers with the forthcoming record from Albrecht’s long-time musical partner Sean La’Brooy.

Out Moving Windows is described by the label as a “listening album”, one to get yourself fully immersed in. And it’s hard not to, as the first taster ‘Splash’ featuring trumpeter ​​Fernando Ferrarone is truly hypnotic.

Across almost six minutes of lush pads, moving brass melodies and featherlight percussion, it’s hard not to be transported to some other place. That’s intentional, too – the label describes Out Moving Windows as being arranged “with the idea of the contemplative state experienced during a solo commute”.

It’s beautiful stuff.

Out Moving Windows is out October 2 via Analogue Attic.