Mike Noga's new single 'Open Fire' out now
On Friday 4th March Part Time Records will release EWAH & The Vision of Paradise’s second album The Warning Birds. The Warning Birds was recorded throughout 2019 at Head Gap Studio in Melbourne, Victoria with Finn Keane, who co-produced the album with band leader and vocalist, EWAH/Emma Waters. The Warning Birds is an exploration in the meaning of paradise that, across its twelve tracks, manages to feel both grim and uplifting in equal measure; something of a treatise on a world in crisis, the album searches for paradise, starting from a hellish post-apocalyptic world. Lead single ‘Hole in the Sky’ is released today.
Hailing from Tasmania, EWAH & The Vision of Paradise’s moody sound has been described as “epic post punk with a scope as wide as the Australian skyline.”
Brought together through the recommendation of late friend and label mate Mike Noga, the enigmatic act immediately sparked interest from PTR upon viewing their striking video for single, ‘Vanishing Point’. “Right from the start we could tell that the band had a clearly defined vision about what and who they are” states PTR’s Emma Coyle. “Having seen and loved their visceral live performance a few years ago, what sealed the deal for us was witnessing the high calibre of their creative output and getting swept up in the post-apocalyptic sci-fi narrative of their album”
Written and conceived over a protected period that saw the band deal with the grief of losing loved ones, as well the joys of welcoming new family members, The Warning Birds
is the result of the band’s unwavering dedication to their vision – a labour of love, that band leader and lyricist, Emma Waters (EWAH) describes as “An exploration of the meaning of paradise. Investigating paradise, purgatory and hell on earth through the prism of environmental disruption.”
EWAH on The Warning Birds - “We've been sitting on this album for a long time now. Working hard at it alone. Chipping away. Coming up against many obstacles and challenges. Deaths, births, empires crumbling, you name it. At the beginning, I laughed at the idea of the difficult second album. Well, it's five years since we released 'Everything Fades to Blue'”. EWAH continues “This one should've been released 2-3 years ago, but stuff kept happening to slow it down. Somewhere along the way 'The Warning Birds' became my albatross. There's a point where finally you get to release this creature, beast, baby, call it what you will, out into the wild wide world and see what happens. Well, thank fuck that time has finally arrived.”
TRACKLISTING
1 - Dusk
2 - Beach
3 - Vultures
4 - Vanishing Point
5 - Arcadia
6 - Noon
7 - Hole in the Sky
8 - Play Hard
9 - Paradeisos
10 - Isolation
11 - Golden Light
12 - Dawn
BUNDLE OPTION
1 x copy of 12” vinyl of The Warning Birds
1 x copy of PTR Singles Club 7” release ft. Vanishing Point + Arcadia (light room version)
VIEW CART
On Friday 8th October, Part Time Records will release Mike Noga's fourth album Open Fire. Open Fire was recorded in August 2019 at Sacred Heart Studios in Duluth, Minnesota with Alan Sparhawk (Low) in the producer's seat. Open Fire is an apocalyptic, synth-heavy, rock and roll record and follows on from Noga’s critically acclaimed concept album, King. The title track 'Open Fire' is released today.
Mike Noga passed away on 26 August 2020. His death was accidental and attributed to a rare condition that caused a cerebral haemorrhage, a condition exacerbated by bouts of heavy drinking. Mike had a lifelong struggle with anxiety and depression which became particularly difficult in the last three years of his life. His family are incredibly proud of this album, for its ambition, beauty and nuance. His passing has left his family and friends with a massive void that might be partly filled with his incredible body of music. A gift to us all.
Open Fire was written in Noga's hometown of Hobart. Writing to a friend during the recording process Mike reflected “Sonically and thematically there’s a healthy dose of impending doom about the state of the world running through the songs…I constantly have the Velvet Underground in mind when I'm writing for this album. Pop... but with a weird, dark twist.”
Lead single 'Open Fire' is the centrepiece of the album, a big Springsteen-esque rocker. A little bit about revenge, a lot about the impending end of the world.
"I've spent the last two years writing this album and it's an absolute dream come true to get to work with one of my songwriting heroes, Alan Sparhawk. Alan's unique style and penchant for twisting music and words into beautiful and uncomfortable forms is the perfect fit for this batch of songs. It also doesn't hurt that he's one of my favourite vocalists, guitar players and lyricists in the world and has offered to lend his incredible voice to the album".
Noga and Low toured Europe, Australia and New Zealand together in 2016 and became friends, with Sparhawk offering to produce Noga's next album in his hometown of Duluth, Minnesota.
Reflecting on the experience Alan Sparhawk said, ”Mike reached out. When people say they are reaching out most of the time they’re really holding in and wanting something but, for Mike reaching out was a giving and vulnerable gesture. I had seen him play before but our first meeting was on a tour where that common shared timeline carves deep and eternal friendships grow quickly. Mike’s eye for style and the relentless heart he put into every song inspired us, while his generous friendship and vulnerability made us stronger people. Plans were made. Mike had all these songs figured out; how he wanted them to sound and what needed to be done to achieve that so, once he’d arrived in Duluth work went fast. He put in long hours, pushed through doubt, worked out glitches and found the transcendence he so desperately hungered for, all the while sharing and inviting us into the journey. I feel we were witness to magic and for a moment Mike found a way to unravel the message he had held so tightly clutched in his hand. A true talent, gentleman and champion.”
Mike Noga on Open Fire - “It was a long and at times difficult process this one. I’m actually just proud of myself for being able to write another album’s worth of material, even if it did take years! I’m super proud of this album. I think it’s the best I’ve ever done. My global warming, apocalyptic, mid-life crisis album. Wooo! I was surprised on listening back at how much I mention “when I was young” or reference being young. I didn’t realise it when writing it. It’s always interesting to me when the album reveals itself and even I realise what the over-arching theme is. The subconscious is a powerful thing. I totally love Alan’s production. His stamp is all over this album and it feels like the next logical step for me after King.”
“There was nothing quite like watching Mike unleash his talent and creativity, whether he was brandishing a pair of drumsticks or a guitar or a mic stand, he did it all with total abandon and it was always a total pleasure to get lost in the music with him. As a songwriter, Mike was every bit as bold and uncompromising and 'Open Fire' is the sound of an artist with no limits to his ambition or scope. It's a big widescreen album, full of darkness and full of light, and it's a beautiful thing to get lost in.” – Paul Dempsey, Something for Kate