MAD LOVE Ep 25: The Bad Apples House Party

When was your last house party?

Maybe it was back in high school when your mate Chad’s parents went away for the weekend, leaving their homely Sutherland estate open to goon-drinking marathons. Or it might’ve been when you were a little older and your friend Zoey from art class turned her quaint Newtown terrace house into a cesspool of durries and cheap pinot. While these both sound like a good time (especially if you’re in your early twenties, unlike this writer), they pale in comparison to how Aussie rapper Briggs and his record label, Bad Apples, turn a house party out!



All footage Courtesy of Bad Apples Music

For one night only, the Melbourne-based label and a slew of friends converted one of Australia’s most iconic venues into a home for thundering beats and inspired bars. And while the night was ground-breaking as it positioned hip-hop on such a grand stage, the bigger victory was how the night fulfilled the need for more Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander representation in Australian music.

Being a pioneer is nothing new to MC Briggs who has been pushing and redefining what it means to be an Indigenous artist in contemporary Australia. Briggs has gained attention for music projects such as his acclaimed 2009 Homemade Bombs, has produced tracks that have amassed well over a million streams, boasts television appearances on shows likeCleverman and The Weekly with Charlie Pickering, has written for Matt Groening’s Disenchantment, and was recently featured on Conan O’Brien’s Conan Without Borders.

After smashing through the perceived glass ceiling set out for him, the next step for Briggs was to lift as many artists as possible with him and establish his music label, Bad Apples. The label now represents Aussie acts such as Birdz, Kobie Dee, Nooky, Philly, and many more. Bad Apples navigates uncharted territory by catapulting the music of Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander artists into a mainstream music industry, to tell stories of disenchantment, defiance and celebration with the fierce charisma of seasoned spitters.

Before the evening, Briggs summarised his excitement by saying, “I can’t wait to move into the Opera House and sub-lease it out to my cousins.” And being a man of his word, that’s exactly what he did. Bad Apples was in a no mercy kind of mood and stormed the stage with an assemblage of local and international acts such as New Zealand hip-hop heavyweight David Dallas, Electric Fields, Rebecca Hatch, jayteehazard, and more. Blazing through a setlist that included highlights such as Briggs’ Life Is Incredible, Kobie Dee’s intense Jody, and Birdz’s infectious Black Child, the talent from Bad Apples displayed their effortless abilities to interweave head-knocking bangers with important social and political commentary.

Parties don’t last forever. Bad Apples House Party has come and gone. But the energy and bravado that filled the stage will reverberate for years to come. With fearless people like Briggs and powerful collectives like Bad Apples, the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and music doesn’t just look bright – it looks incredible.

So shout outs to Briggs and everyone over at Bad Apples! BAO!

MAD LOVE Ep 24: Eric Nam

It’s a warm Sunday night at Sydney’s famed Metro theatre.

Me and motley crew of Mad Love alumni have assembled to interview one of the faces of the K-POP wave currently taking over the world, Eric Nam, while on the Sydney stop of his world tour. We wait in a small room separated just for media -think green room, but far nicer- with bated breath, our anxiety slowly builds like the rising humidity around us. Questions start to swirl in our heads like “Will he like our questions?”, “Have we researched enough?”, “Will Eric want to hang out afterwards? “What does Eric want to eat?”



Within seconds of walking into the room, any lingering trepidation or nervous energy dissipates with Eric’s naturally disarming and warm presence. Carrying himself with a relaxed charisma that underlines his duality of being the boy next door and an internationally recognized superstar.

Nam’s charming and easy-going nature would almost have you believe that he was born to do this, that his path to success was a given when I reality it was everything but. As a Korean American growing up in Atlanta, Eric spent his early years and youth questioning where he fit in. With a burning curiosity to explore his personal identity while also pursuing his artistic dreams of being a singer, Nam strayed from the safe and narrow path and moved to his homeland of Korea to dive headfirst into its booming entertainment industry. Nam navigated the often rigorous and unforgiving Korean artistic scene of his homeland with the tenacity and drive of man with no Plan B. In his relatively short career Nam has already racked up a slew of hit singles, regular televisions appearances, once in a lifetime opportunities -like hosting NBC’s coverage of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics- and has just finished his critically acclaimed world tour.

With his success, Nam has begun to lay down the foundations of what a contemporary Asian music artist looks like, finding himself at a, particularly exciting crossroads. At once he is an instantly recognizable face in Korea and has the potential, talent, and catalogue to crossover into the notoriously hard to crack American market. While it is great that K- POP is slowly becoming widely accepted as a global genre of music with carving out its permanence in the west, it is still an uphill battle when it comes to representation of all races and cultures in the mainstream, and judging by Eric’s history it is one he doesn’t seem intent on giving up on anytime soon.

So shout outs to Eric Nam (@realericnam) and his team at EN Management for being so accommodating and making all this possible. Thanks to Will and Margaret from Half Symbolic Films for playing such a huge part in the production of this episode (they also distribute the most cutting edge films of Asia, and bring them to Aussie shores, find more info here) and to Michael Kim (@mkeens) for knocking it out of the park for his first ever interview!

P.S. Eric gave so many insightful and thoughtful answers that it was shame leaving anything on the cutting room floor, so if you’re interested you can find the uncut version here!

More art, more K-POP, more Mad Love! BAO!

MAD LOVE Ep 23: Sissy Ball

Shock, awe, dizzying adrenaline dumps, and clarity of mind that only comes from an overload of the senses. If you went to the Sissy Ball over the weekend, this how you probably ended up feeling.

After the success of last year’s first ever Sissy Ball, the underground sensation of ballroom culture and voguing was brought to Sydney’s sunny shores once more.

Curated again by Sydney LGBTQ+ icon Bhenji Ra in collaboration with Red Bull Music, this year’s Sissy Ball was graced by international superstars such as Precious, Leiomy Maldonado and Dashaun Wesley and stood again as a celebration of fearlessness, defiance and the explosive ferocity of the ballroom scene.

VIDEO

(FOOTAGE COURTESY OF RED BULL MUSIC)

While Sydney’s Sissy Ball is only two years young, ball culture has been around for at least five decades and has deep roots as an LGBTQ+ subculture. Not just fun and flair, ballroom culture acted as an avenue for self-expression and togetherness amongst communities that were (and still are) maligned and discriminated against based on their sexuality, gender and race. An important ballroom term to know is “houses”. Houses denotes the groups one can join when entering ball culture and have historically acted as alternate families for disenfranchised LGBTQ+ individuals. Houses would then compete against each other in balls and to wage scathing wars over attitude, walks, costumes, and realness.

The influence of New York’s ball culture since the 1980’s (when voguing was born) still rings loudly today. You probably still remember Madonna’s hit single Vogue and maybe you’ve watched Jennie Livingstone’s seminal documentary, Paris is Burning. We also still see mainstream artists like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and even Kanye West paying homage to what was once considered underground.

Which brings us to Sissy Ball 2019 – easily the biggest ball in the Southern Hemisphere. Bringing together some of the most famous houses in the Asia Pacific including House of Slé, House of Luna, House of IMAN and House of Amazon, the night was an exhilarating showcase of exuberant pageantry, raw physicality, dynamic beauty and pulsating beats. Whether it be tears of joy, tears of pain, exasperated breaths from heated screams or flamboyant costumes soaked in sweat, everyone who took the stage that night left a piece of themselves up there and basked in the shared glory that they got to be a part of something special.

While Australia has a long journey ahead of itself before fully giving the consideration and importance that marginalised communities deserve, events like Sissy Ball are shining beacons of hope.

Shout outs to all involved in putting together such an amazing night, to all the participants who each claimed the stage as their own, and to Bhenji Ra, Leiomy Maldonado, and Dashaun Wesley for appearing in this episode and sharing their knowledge and experiences! All we can say now is: See you next year at Sissy Ball 2020, BAO!

MAD LOVE Ep 22: 4A Artists' Car Boot Sale

We at Mad Love are never ones to judge. What you do in your own time is your business. But with the utmost confidentiality and trust, I must ask… has anyone out there ever bought something from the boot of car?

If the answer is “yes”, don’t be ashamed. There is nothing wrong with getting the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie on VCD or those Hong Kong exclusive Air Force 1’s (GLAD wrapped for freshness) from the trunk of a stranger’s car. For as long as there been qualified and reputable businesses, there has always been hustlers on the side who have thought, “Why can’t I just sell stuff too?” If anything, these self-made merchants are the middle men between rampant commercialism and desperate consumers. Who needs a store front or fancy marketing when you have a ‘can-do attitude’ and a car with adequate boot space?



The hustler mentality is also something that is shared with the Artist. Whether it’s through webstores, setting up shop on the street, or creating cult followings on Instagram, the autonomy of exhibiting and selling your own work has never been taken for granted. As a way of celebrating this, in collaboration with 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Garry Trinh decided to put on the first ever Artists’ Car Boot Sale.

Garry Trinh has been a cornerstone of Australian photography for the best part of the last two decades. Originally documenting the subcultural boom of graffiti and skating, Trinh would move on to build a career based on crafting images from the urban landscapes and everyday moments that swirl around him. With a background in self-publishing, a slew of self-produced photo essays and growing portfolio of mixed media works under his belt, Trinh was the perfect candidate to conceptualise and curate a night dedicated to empowering artists as business owners of their craft.

And what a night it was! Level 5 of the spacious World Square carpark was transformed into a vibrantly coloured art market. Each artist’s car was turned into a four-wheel gallery of the bizarre and wonderful. Affordable art, clothes, plants, ceramic bongs and even a mobile ASMR room, were available and on full display at the wild, wacky and earnestly DIY Artists’ Car Boot Sale.

Shouts out to 4A Centre for Contemporary Art (especially young Con for putting in all that hardwerk) and Garry Trinh for coming up with the idea and organising the whole night. Huge bigs up to all the vendors and artists who made the night so amazing, you the real champs! If this night proved anything, it showed that the arts/ artists are still very alive in Sydney, all they need is a big ol parking lot! BAOOO

MAD LOVE Ep 21: Mister Cartoon

L-A is often seen as a city defined by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. When people think of the City of Angels, images of movie stars, Rodeo Drive, soy frappuccinos and not-so-subtle plastic surgery jobs come to mind. This is a far cry from the gritty and raw depiction found in the art of Los Angeles legend, Mister Cartoon.

Mister Cartoon’s (aka ‘Toon’) art has become synonymous with the urban landscape of Los Angeles. Originally inspired by the music, art and urban sprawl of the city in the 1970’s and 1980’s, Toon eventually delved into the worlds of tattooing and graff, honing his craft in these styles. Detailing the fantasies of street life, Toon’s work creates his own romanticized vision of LA, littered with decorative cursive script, beautiful women, and modern day Chicano Warriors, adorned with classic clown face paint. Popularized by his prolific work ethic and natural gravitas to the imagery, Toon’s work can be found painted across huge walls, as decals across beautiful vintage and iconic west coast cars, or adorning the body of your favourite celebrity (Eminem and Dr Dre being highlights).

Looking through his expansive body of work, it’s easy to see why the California native’s style has been in high demand for the better part of the last two decades. Having collaborated with the likes of Nike, Vans, Stussy, Toon brings a level of authenticity and poetry to his art that is unparalleled.

As the definitions of what it means to be an artist changes, there is an aura of timelessness about the work of Mister Cartoon. Just like the palm trees, vintage cars, broad sidewalks and never ending highways, Mister Cartoon is forever immortalized as an LA classic.

So shouts out to the people at CHALK Digital for reaching out and helping in putting this together!