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Ask Gotye about his new album Making Mirrors and he’ll speak not of songs, but of sounds. He’ll describe the various valves through which strings and choirs cycle on his Lowrey Cotillion, a vintag (More...)
Biography
Ask Gotye about his new album Making Mirrors and he’ll speak not of songs, but of sounds. He’ll describe the various valves through which strings and choirs cycle on his Lowrey Cotillion, a vintage organ bought for 100 bucks in a second-hand shop that features on the record. Or how he constructed a bassline by sampling the Winton Musical Fence, an unlikely instrument he discovered in the outback of Queensland, Australia, comprised of five large metal strings attached to wooden fence posts and a resonant chamber. He may mention the horn break from a traditional Taiwanese folk song he discovered on a 1970s Cathay Pacific promotional record, which he sampled, sped up and dubbed out, before introducing it to some Turkish drum sounds. Or the unique, virtual versions of acoustic instruments - among them a chromaharp and an mbira - he created by painstakingly multisampling every note. Listen to Making Mirrors and you’ll be drawn in by the details, transported to a world where every moment matters. This is pop at its most precise, but also electronic music at its most emotional. The record delves into dub, Detroit-era Motown soul, stadium-size politipop, synth-folk and world music on glorious, sprawling, huge-hearted songs. Gotye (pronounced Gauthier) first found fame in his native Australia with his second album, 2006’s Like Drawing Blood. Radio station Triple J named it their album of the year, as did iTunes on its release in Europe in 2008. It was recently voted the 11th greatest Australian album of all time. In Britain, Like Drawing Blood became a cult hit while in the States, it made waves after Drew Barrymore fell in love with single Learnalilgivinanlovin’ and used it in several of her films. Making Mirrors, its extraordinary follow-up, was more than two and a half years in the making. To write and record its dozen sumptuous songs, Gotye moved from Melbourne to a barn on his parents’ remote five hectare block on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. There, he had the space to permanently set up his growing array of instruments and recording equipment, and found the isolation that allowed for sonic experimentation and recording at any time of the day. After Like Drawing Blood, which was constructed almost entirely from samples of old vinyl, Gotye set about making an album using more physical and acoustic instruments. “I ended up sampling a lot of them note-by-note and turning them into virtual instruments,” he explains. “It’s a slow and sometimes laborious process, but it can completely change the sound of the instrument and how you approach playing it. You can buy so many virtual instruments online these days, but it’s not nearly as personal as making them yourself. I found a beautiful old chromaharp at an antique shop, and ‘virtualised’ it in this way. It ended up sounding more like an unusual hammer dulcimer when played on a midi keyboard or programmed with software” Meanwhile, Gotye continued to raid local second-hand shops for obscure vinyl to sample. “A lot of samples came from 1950s and ‘60s exotica records,” says Gotye. “Guys like Les Baxter; these amazing orchestrators and producers who experimented so boldly with musical colours and the stereo spectrum” “For Bronte, the closing track on the new record, I used a sample of ‘60s orchestrator Leo Addeo. He made an exotica record called Calypso which featured lots of wildly out-of-tune steel drums. I pitched some grabs of these around, really messing with the overtones of the samples, and it became a gentle, beautiful loop, while still being quite odd sonically.” Gotye’s background is as a drummer and often plays his shows solo, setting off samples from behind his drum kit while singing. On Eyes Wide Open, the first song recorded for Making Mirrors, he played live drums for the first time on a Gotye record. There is also live piano and bass guitar, plus some strange field recordings. “I recorded sounds from around my parents block - me walking up the path, the frogs in the background – and wove them subtly in to several songs. I even included the ambience of the barn in the background of Don’t Worry, We’ll Be Watching You. The most obvious field recording is of the Winton Musical Fence. I played the fence strings one windy night in the outback and recorded it on a portable stereo. That became the bassline for Eyes Wide Open.” The dubby State Of The Art, with its spooky, pitch-shifted, sci-fi vocals, is an ode to the Lowrey Cotillion, with lyrics that mention its keys and functions. “I’m fascinated by how attached to certain pieces of technology we can become. I mean, I love this organ!,” laughs Gotye. “But I was also interested in how these relationships don’t often hold between generations. Certain pieces of gear that once captured peoples’ imagination can now appear quaint and outdated to younger people. Yet those who experienced them when they were at the vanguard of technological achievement, sometimes still hold onto that glorious vision of the future they provided. It’s like we inscribe our dreams on these machines sometimes; we can develop these peculiar yet profound personal relationships with them.” In contrast, the joyous, uptempo I Feel Better revisits the Motown sound of Like Drawing Blood’s breakthrough single Leanalilgivinanlovin. “That song was a direct response to listening to Martha Reeves’ Dancing In The Street when I was driving home one day,” says Gotye. “I was struck by how massive the tambourine sound on the recording is – it feels like it’s being hit by the hand of God. I thought it was cool that such a wall of sound could be dominated by a physically quite small instrument like a tambourine. So I arrived home, played a tambourine backbeat at a similar tempo and put an impossibly big plate reverb on it. Sitting down at the piano in response to this percussion track, I had I Feel Better written in about an hour.” Already Making Mirrors is making waves thanks to stunning, Peter Gabriel-esque, first single Somebody That I Used To Know, a collaboration with New Zealand singer Kimbra which is currently nestled in the Australian Top 10. Within three weeks of its striking, stop-frame, body-painting video being posted on YouTube, the song had received more than two million hits and made it to No.1 on the Hype Machine Twitter chart. Hear it once and you’ll be haunted by it for weeks. Gotye launched Making Mirrors in Australia in August with a gig at Sydney Opera House, which is followed by a tour in the autumn. For the first time, he will be playing Gotye music completely live. “I have a ten-piece band, in which everyone sings and plays multiple instruments,” says Gotye. “These are by far my most ambitious shows to date. There will be no backing tracks used. All visuals will be triggered live too. We’ve been rehearsing twice a week for the past 3 months, and it’s exciting because it’s dangerous. It could go wrong on every song. I’ve never been one to make my life easy.”
Hometown:
Bruges, Belgium to Melbourne, Australia Record Label:
Eleven (Aus), Universal (UK/USA/Canada/Germany/France), V2 (Benelux), Frequency (NZ), Hostess (Japan) General Manager:
Danny Rogers (info@lunaticentertainment.com) and John Watson Booking Agent:
danny@lunaticentertainment.com (Aus), tom@windishagency.com (North America), natashabent@theagencygroup.com (UK) Press Contact:
claire@bossymusic.com (Aus), gina@pressherepublicity.com (North America), alix@wastedyouthpr.com (UK) Members:
Wouter (Wally) De Backer Website:
www.gotye.com, www.soundcloud.com/gotye, www.twitter.com/gotye, www.youtube.com/gotyemusic, www.myspace.com/gotye
Current Standing:
- ▲ 22.6% 1 month change
- Superstar status
- Exploding momentum
Gig Stats
- 0 upcoming gigs
- 64 past gigs
Social Stats
- last.fm 606,968 listeners
- Soundcloud 91,525 plays/track
- YouTube 8,536,046 views/video
- Twitter 160,620 followers
- Facebook 808,211 fans
Collab Request
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Upcoming Gigs
- No upcoming gigs.
Past Gigs
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Jul 29
Splendour In The Grass 2011
Woodford (Brisbane) – Cut Copy, Kele, Ajax, Bluejuice, DJ Shadow, Flight Facilities, Gotye, James Blake, Muscles, Jebediah, Pulp, Alpine - 2011
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May 14
Groovin’ The Moo
Hay Park (Bury) – Darwin Deez, Gotye, Cut Copy, AC Slater, The Holidays, The Aston Shuffle, The Go! Team, The Drums - 2011
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May 08
Groovin' the Moo
The Meadows, University of Canberra (Canberra) – AC Slater, Darwin Deez, Gotye, Cut Copy, The Holidays, The Go! Team, The Drums - 2011
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May 07
Groovin The Moo 2011
Maitland Showground (New South Wales) – AC Slater, Art Vs Science, Darwin Deez, Gotye, Cut Copy, The Holidays, The Aston Shuffle, The Go! Team, The Drums - 2011
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May 01
Groovin The Moo 2011 - Townsville QLD
Murray Sports Complex (Townsville) – AC Slater, Art Vs Science, Darwin Deez, Gotye, The Aston Shuffle, The Go! Team, The Drums, The Holidays, Cut Copy - 2011
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Apr 30
Groovin' The Moo 2011
Prince of Wales Showgrounds (Bendigo) – Cut Copy, AC Slater, Darwin Deez, Gotye, The Holidays, The Go! Team, The Drums - 2011
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Feb 12
St. Jerome's Laneway Festival 2011
Perth Cultural Centre (Perth) – Cut Copy, Menomena, !!!, Beach House, Bear in Heaven, Canyons, Foals, Gotye, Holy Fuck, Two Door Cinema Club, Yeasayer, Deerhunter, Les Savy Fav, The Holidays, PVT, Seams - 2011
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Feb 11
St Jerome's Laneway Festival 2011 - Adelaide
Fowlers Live (Adelaide) – Cut Copy, Menomena, !!!, Beach House, Bear in Heaven, Foals, Gotye, Holy Fuck, Two Door Cinema Club, Yeasayer, Deerhunter, Les Savy Fav, The Holidays, PVT - 2011
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Feb 06
St. Jerome's Laneway Festival 2011 - Sydney
Sydney College of the Arts (Sydney) – Cut Copy, Menomena, !!!, Beach House, Bear in Heaven, Foals, Gotye, Holy Fuck, Two Door Cinema Club, Yeasayer, Deerhunter, Les Savy Fav, The Holidays, Canyons, PVT - 2011
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Feb 05
St Jerome's Laneway Festival 2011 - Melbourne
Footscray Community Arts Centre (Melbourne) – Cut Copy, Menomena, !!!, Beach House, Bear in Heaven, Foals, Gotye, Holy Fuck, Two Door Cinema Club, Yeasayer, Deerhunter, Les Savy Fav, The Holidays, PVT - 2011
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Feb 04
St. Jerome's Laneway Festival 2011 - Brisbane
Alexandria St off St Paul’s Terrace, Fortitude Valley (Brisbane) – Cut Copy, Menomena, !!!, Beach House, Bear in Heaven, Foals, Gotye, Holy Fuck, Two Door Cinema Club, Yeasayer, Deerhunter, Les Savy Fav, Canyons, The Holidays, PVT - 2011
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Jan 27
Gotye
City Recital Hall Angel Place (Sydney) – Gotye - 2011
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Jan 14
Gotye
National Theatre (Melbourne) – Gotye - 2011
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Oct 02
Gotye
Bush Hall (London) – Gotye - 2008
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Oct 01
Gotye
The Sugar Club (Dublin) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 30
Gotye
Whelan's (Dublin) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 29
Gotye
Nouveau Casino (Paris) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 25
Reeperbahn Festival 2008
Reeperbahn (Hamburg) – Borko, Gotye, Kissey Asplund, MIT, Mnemonic, Neimo, Look See Proof, Parachutes, Naomi Sample, beta satan, The Wong Boys - 2008
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Sep 25
Gotye
Ampere (Munich) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 24
Gotye
Magnet Club (Berlin) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 23
Gotye
Studio 672 (Cologne) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 21
Gotye
Paradiso (Amsterdam) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 20
Gotye
Petrol (Antwerp) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 20
Leffingeleuren 2008
De Zwerver (Leffingestraat) – Arsenal, Cassius, Gotye, Stereo MC's - 2008
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Sep 15
Gotye
Komedia (Brighton) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 14
Gotye
The Cockpit (Leeds) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 13
Gotye
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (Glasgow) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 11
Gotye
Club Academy (Manchester) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 09
Gotye
Scala (London) – Gotye - 2008
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Sep 08
Gotye
The Thekla (Bristol) – Gotye - 2008
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Jul 25
Fuji Rock Festival '08
Naeba Ski Resort (Yuzawa) – Bill Laswell, ECCY, FreeTEMPO, Gotye, Mark Stewart, Mice Parade, Neon Neon, Princess Superstar, Sparks, The Go! Team, The Music, , DEXPISTOLS, Adrian Sherwood, riddim saunter, Little Tempo, Kagami, Fancy, INO Hidefumi, group_inou, Denki Groove, Ryukyudisko - 2008
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May 17
Gotye
Pressure Point (Brighton) – Gotye - 2008
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May 14
Gotye
Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen (London) – Gotye - 2008
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May 12
Gotye
Monto Water Rats (London) – Gotye - 2008
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May 07
Les Nuits Botanique 2008
Botanique (Brussels) – Gotye - 2008
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Mar 20
Bluesfest
Belongil Fields (Byron Bay) – Gotye - 2008
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Mar 16
The Union of Soul
Botanic Gardens (Wollongong) – Gotye - 2008
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Mar 15
West Coast Blues & Roots Festival
Fremantle Esplanade (Perth) – Gotye, London Community Gospel Choir, Salmonella Dub - 2008
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Mar 02
St Jerome's Laneway
Reiby Place (Sydney) – Gotye - 2008
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Mar 01
St. Jerome's Laneway Festival
The Zoo (Brisbane) – Damn Arms, Gotye - 2008
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Feb 24
Laneway Festival
Caledonian Lane (Melbourne) – Damn Arms, Gotye - 2008
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Feb 23
St. Jerome's Laneway Festival
Fowlers Live (Adelaide) – Damn Arms, Gotye - 2008
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Feb 21
Gotye
Prince Bandroom (St Kilda) – Gotye - 2008
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Feb 20
Gotye
Prince Bandroom (St Kilda) – Gotye - 2008
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Jan 25
Australia Day Live '08
Parliament House (Canberra) – Gotye - 2008
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Jan 04
Southbound
Sir Stewart Bovell Park (Busselton) – Blackalicious, Bonde do Role, Gotye, Regurgitator, Mattafix, Spiderbait - 2008
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Jan 01
The Hot Barbeque
Birrarung Marr (Melbourne) – Amp Fiddler, Gotye, Marc Romboy, John Tejada - 2008
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Dec 30
Falls Festival
Marion Bay (Hobart) – Blackalicious, Bonde do Role, Gotye, Regurgitator, Mattafix - 2007
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Dec 14
Meredith Music Festival
Meredith Supernatural Ampitheatre (Victoria) – Gotye, Muscles - 2007
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Dec 08
Homebake
The Domain (Sydney) – Gotye, Muscles - 2007
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Nov 23
Queenscliff Music Festival 2007
Queenscliff Music Festival (Queenscliff) – Gotye - 2007
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Nov 17
Trackside
Thoroughbred Park (Lyneham) – Damn Arms, Gotye - 2007
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Nov 06
chill festival
Churchill Island (Chur) – Gotye - 2007
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Nov 02
Sounds In The Grounds
Manning Bar (Sydney) – Gotye, Salmonella Dub - 2007
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Oct 28
2007 ARIA Awards
Acer Arena (Sydney) – Gotye - 2007
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Aug 12
Gotye
The Athenaeum Theatre (Melbourne) – Gotye - 2007
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Aug 11
Gotye
The Athenaeum Theatre (Melbourne) – Gotye - 2007
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Aug 10
Gotye
The Athenaeum Theatre (Melbourne) – Gotye - 2007
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Aug 09
Gotye
The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel (Adelaide) – Gotye - 2007
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Aug 04
Splendour in the Grass
Belongil Fields (Byron Bay) – Bumblebeez, Gotye, Lost Valentinos, Riot in Belgium, Teenager, Spiderbait - 2007
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Aug 03
Gotye
Brisbane Powerhouse (Brisbane) – Gotye - 2007
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Jul 29
Gotye, Mountains in the Sky [18+]
The Metro Theatre (Sydney) – Gotye - 2007
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Jul 29
Gotye, Mountains in the Sky [18+]
The Metro Theatre (Sydney) – Gotye - 2007
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Jul 29
Gotye
The Metro Theatre (Sydney) – Gotye - 2007


