Q&A: Musicyourmindwillloveyou

A while ago I sent some questions to the Don of the Australian underground, Michael Donnelly of the Musicyourmindwillloveyou label. It took some time for the answers to make it back to the other side of the world and I did plan the article for somewhere else originally. However, this place seems like the most appropriate to put at least an unedited, rough transcript of it. No glitter, just facts. And so it goes..


Could you explain your background a bit, music wise. What did you grew up listening to, what was available during your youth, what did you like about the bands you loved.

"I grew up listening to bad 70s and 80s am radio , and my parent’s 50s rock n roll and country albums. By my teens i had moved onto my older sister’s record collections , which consisted mainly of 70s schlock prog and 80s new wave. In my mid teens i was exposed to 60s psych and 80s underground , experimental stuffs...birthday party, butthole surfers , etc ....from then on it was all smoke and tunnels of light."

How did that evolve into moving on to a more experimental way of making music?

"Making music was a way of making sense of things around me keeping in mind that nothing really makes sense."

What lead you to starting musicyourmindwillloveyou? When did that happen?

"We started mymwly in late 2004 , mainly as a way to get our experiments out amongst receptive peoples."

Can you give a quick rundown of all the artists that you have on your roster and which ones you’re involved in personally?

collective
6majik9 , Brothers Of The Occult Sisterhood
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internal collaborations
Soarwhole, Xelaeon, Ffehro, Little Head Big Body, Blonde Cobra, Mansion, Flesh Flute
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solo projects
Snowfoxx, Dinmuck#f, Terracid, Nada Baba, Charles Curse, Kageplan, Zoo
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external collaborations
Alligator Crystal Moth, Catrider, Weird Acid Prank Club, Godzero, Bloom, Akhet
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non collective artists that appear as full releases on mymwly
Juniper Meadows, Corsican Paintbrush, Sunshine Has Blown, Sunmilk, Golden Oaks,
Hush Arbors, Autumn Galaxy, Rura Pente, Seht, Bjerga/Iversen, Ajilvsga, Vluba, Robert Horton, Heavy Winged, Taiga Remains, Paeces.

And also a rundown of worthwhile artists that might not be on mymwly?

"I will keep it local. Break Dance The Dawn and Inverted Crux are two amazing Australian labels well worth checking out."


Correct me if I’m wrong, but is it right to say that somethings buzzing around Australia and New Zealand?

"The New Zealand scene has been one of the most vibrant in the southern hemisphere , long before we ever got our shit together. Within australia things seem to be getting a lot more interesting."

Does the Australian government support artists like yourselves through funding? Could you elaborate a bit on that maybe?

"I have had nothing to do with the funding bodies that operate via the federal goverenment, so i really have no idea."

Does it mean something to be in Australia (the other side of the world, for many) and making the music you make? Does it add something?

"I’m sure it does . there are a lot of empty spaces in australia , few people . the lanscape is ancient . all of this influences those who chose to embrace it."

Do you sometimes feel isolated from the rest of the experimental world perhaps?

"Geogrphicaly we are isolated , and this can be annoying...mostly due to the minimal numbers of interesting bands that make the trip down to play. But from a creative point of view i see this as positive. our art is less contaminated by petty outside influences."

Could you speak of a ‘scene’ down under?

"There is a strong underground scene in Australia , but from my experience , not a large audience . nevertheless , shit is happening and ideas are blooming."

Do you feel you’re getting more attention lately and if so, what do you attribute that to?

"As we only started not that long ago its hard to judge what level of attention we have been getting. As a group of friends we have been making music and art for almost 20 years , the creation of the label has certainly increased our international presence."

How are ties with New Zealand artists like Birchville Cat Motel, is there a bond between those 2 countries’ experimental scenes?

"Again , we are more removed from any scenes that exist , though we have played shows with many New Zealand bands , and we interact at the label level as well...but on the whole i wouldnt consider our relationship with the new zealand scene to be any stronger than it is with scenes in other parts of the world."

It’s pretty obvious that the strenght of the music makes it travel all around the world but do you feel you have to push it a lot harder than when you’d be in the UK or the US? Ever considered moving there?

"We don’t really care about pushing the music . i doubt i could ever leave the australian landscape."

What are some of your favourite albums of alltime, current and oldschool?

"Ok , favorite albums

Nuggets – acid rock
Butthole surfers – hairway to steven
Love – forever changes
Chrome – half machine lips move
Sun ra – the magic city
Boredoms – soul discharge
Beefheart – lick my decals off
Amon dull II – yeti
Faust – tapes
Spoils of war – spoils of war
No neck blues band – intonomancy
Sunburned hand of the man – head dress
Ghost – lamma rabbi rabbi
Zappa – we’re only in it for the money
Josephine foster – all the leaves are gone
Avarus – rivers of finland
Holderlin - traum

Thats some anyways."