we've posted our video diary from the japan tour - check it out here

love, laura.

dear person(s) i am talking to/at,

as i write, ME- and (to a lesser extent), US-related events continue to take place ALARMINGLY CLOSE to my CURRENT LOCATION. even as the SECURITY SITUATION here at where i am CONTINUES TO DETERIORATE, i intend to keep reporting to you from the very CENTRE of the US-RELATED ACTION, until the realities of the situation force me to introduce some separation between me and us-related events for FOR MY OWN SAFETY.

i'm getting word now WITH ONE HAND RAISED TO AN EAR that someone is talking to me on my earpiece and passing on a message which i'm RAPIDLY, AGITATI-SOOTHINGLY relaying to you now live on air:

- we have: wangled a (very limited) consignment of our new EP 'yes maybe no' into JB Hi Fi stores.

- we have: put t-shirts up for sale here, including some limited edition japan tour 2008 t-shirts.

- we have announced upcoming shows in sydney, brisbane and melbourne

• friday 19th september in melbourne: east brunswick club w/ special guests. pre-sale tix on sale now, $12+bf at the east brunswick club box office, online or phone: (03) 93889794
• saturday 20th september in brisbane: globe theatre, 220 brunswick street fortitude valley w/ del toro & do the robot. tickets at oztix retail outlets, or from globe theatre ph: 1300 762 656)
• sunday 21st sept in sydney: badlands festival.

- we have: recovered our instruments from customs.

- we have: sent an email message to you listing all the things above.

in TROUBLED times, it's the simple questions that become more important: what do events MEAN? how should we LIVE? what must we CHANGE? in an ever-changing world of geopolitical manoeuvre AND metanational 50-billion-dollar-foldout-mansion financial MANIPULATION, a world in which global INTRIGUE seems sometimes not to solely revolve around LAURA, YOU need to stay on top of the things that matter more then ever: your trusted, OMNI-ideological, ultra-UBIQUI-partisan, hyper-neo-post-SUPER-HUMANist source of US-related news coverage should always be: US. remember, laura the imaginary human is MILITANTLY PRO-HUMAN, in a world where the real humans often aren't.

unexpected bonus laura-endorsed personality test #493: have a quick look at the next paragraph. each of the triples can be left as it stands or flipped (i.e. "yes maybe no" could be left alone, or flipped to "no maybe yes"). to do the test, go through the list, deciding for each triple whether you prefer to leave it alone (write down a zero) or flip it (write down a one). for best accuracy and predictive power, each decision should feel completely arbitrary (i.e. DO NOT, just because it's a personality test, start thinking about your childhood). at the end, you will be left with a binary number (e.g. 000101010). convert this binary number into a decimal number (this page can help). don't worry about making mistakes; they're all part of the magic of the test. the space fairies who are running the show have the capacity to predict and compensate for them. multiply the decimal number by your age. go to google and type this number as words separated by spaces, followed by your name (e.g. "four hundred and thirty six ") into the search bar and press "i feel lucky". the page you reach will be a specially generated message intended solely for you, giving a special insight into your future romantic, professional and financial escapades.

YES MAYBE NO
NEVER SOMETIMES ALWAYS
ICE WATER STEAM
FUTURE PRESENT PAST
THINK SAY WRITE
RUN WALK CRAWL
ENGORGE ENDURE TUMESCE
LIES LIES LIES
LOVE LOVE LOVE
HUMANS HUMANS HUMANS

"cardboard cutout robot victim hero children", from our new ep "yes maybe no" (US release july 1), is up on our myspace. right now. go there. i'll wait for you. www.myspace.com/lauranoise

this friday, laura plays the peninsula lounge.

this saturday, she goes on to play the corner hotel.

at either show, you can buy our new ep, Yes Maybe No. you can't get it at retail stores in australia, ONLY AT THE SHOWS. shikata ga nai. presale tickets are to be had - at a discount - to guarantee your entry and a crack at the merch desk; this looks a wiser course of action each day.

also next week we are going to japan. it is clear that this is insane and that some series of mistakes has been made somewhere in administrative bureaux which we are now honourbound zealously to exploit on behalf of hideous little medusa-headed gorgeous princess laura thinginthebasement quietly dictating our every move with a plastic spoon that takes a fiendish sharpened edge that she brandishes in your face just when you're finally able to think of sleep. it sometimes is difficult to explain why the band's name is laura, but it's mostly because of stuff like that.

full gig details: here
laura myspace, with online catalog of our full stock of lauras: here

japan tour dates

thursday june 26 :: superdeluxe tokyo
friday june 27 :: earthdom tokyo
saturday june 28 :: sunsui osaka
thursday july 3 :: club quattro hiroshima

friday june 20 :: peninsula lounge
saturday june 21 :: corner hotel

ticketing info here

you are asleep.

> wake up

you open your eyes and slowly stand. your head is spinning slightly.

you are in the centre of a tinder-dry clearing within a forest. your clothes are covered with flakes of bark.

> look around

non-specific ambient forest noises seem to be coming from your left, but when you look in that direction, the sounds stay in your left ear. i have been specifically instructed to inform you that you feel a little dizzy, and have a slight sense of forboding.

you seem to have been sleeping on a circular pile of bark.

there is a well to the north.

> north

you are a little unsteady on your legs.

disturbed by your movement, pieces of bark detach from your clothing and tumble to the ground. they make an incongruous thudding noise as they touch the ground.

as more and more flakes of bark reach the ground, it begins to look as though they're forming a pattern.

> what kind of pattern?

i have been told to inform you that i cannot answer questions, only respond to imperative commands. if you want to know about the intricately detailed bark pattern seemingly formed by chance, please ask me to 'examine pattern'.

> examine pattern

i have been told to inform you that there is no detailed bark pattern seemingly formed by chance here.

> look at bark

i'm sorry, i don't understand that instruction. please simplify.

> look bark

i've been told to inform you that you are not to be allowed to read the message.

> look bark

i've been told to inform you that, as much as i might wish to help, particularly in the light of your circular plight, under no circumstances are you to be permitted to read the message.

> look bark

i've been told to inform you that you are becoming progressively weaker; that the sky becomes more monochrome with each interaction between us. your knees are trembling, and the well has taken on a crooked, threatening aspect. you feel discouraged, and very disinterested indeed in bark. look, over there: a tiger.

> look bark

there is no bark message from laura here.

> look at bark message from laura

i'm not sure what you mean by 'bark pattern conveying laura's fondest regards'.

> read bark pattern conveying laura's fondest regards

there is no bark pattern apologising for laura's recent ABSENCE here.

there is no bark pattern relaying laura's THANKS for your kind understanding.

there is no bark pattern, so arranged as to cause you to reflect that laura' absence is likely due to the songwriting and recording process for some sort of new RECORD here.

there is no bark pattern informing you of the upcoming recording of a new, yet-to-be-titled limited-edition exclusive laura EP for us label ELEVATION here.

there is no bark pattern advising that laura will be announcing new MELBOURNE show dates in the near-to-mid-term on dates negotiated directly with the reserve bank board of governers so as to have minimal impact on consumer spending.

there is no bark pattern advising that laura is coming to JAPAN to play some shows in tokyo and osaka in june 2008.

there is, specifically, no bark pattern in the form of a calendar such that the day of june 26 2008 shows laura playing at SUPER DELUXE (http://www.super-deluxe.com/), MINATO-KU, TOKYO, that the day of june 27 2008 shows laura playing at EARTHDOM (http://www1.odn.ne.jp/shinjuku-dom/index.html/menu.html), SHIN-OKUBO, TOKYO, and that the day of june 28 2008 shows laura playing at SUNSUI (http://www.sunsui.net/), OSAKA.

the tiger i made up earlier to frighten you seems to have taken on some level of reality. this is a regrettable consequence of my unique position in this... uh... environment. i should by now know to be more careful about what i say.

the tiger begins to walk towards you.

you are tired.

you fall asleep.

> look around

there is nothing.

you are asleep.

> wake up

you open your eyes and slowly stand. your head is spinning slightly.

you are in the centre of a tinder-dry clearing within a forest. your clothes are covered with flakes of bark.

we're excited to announce the japanese release of radio swan is down.

the japanese edition, released by happy prince, includes alternate cover art and the bonus track we should keep this secret. if you're quick, the first 200 copies also include a bonus disc that contains the clips for every light, i hope, we should keep this secret and hikikomori plus the track radio swan is down part 1 (live) taken from our brand new live album (re)capitulate.

love, laura.

lots happening right now in lauraland:

our new live album, (re)capitulate, is in stores now. it was recorded at melbourne's hi fi bar during our national tour supporting isis earlier this year. it's great to finally get our live sound onto a disc and out there for you all to listen to.

the free single from (re)capitulate, radio swan is down part 1, has been getting great play around australia, and was also awarded beat single of the week, so go download it now from the downloads page.

Beat said:
"Recorded live at the HiFi Bar, Radio Swan has a crashing scope: violins, guitars and piano thundering against the back of a vast hall and folding back on themselves. The single from Laura's forthcoming live album has a haunted Gaelic air and a murderous edge, and confirms Laura as the rightful heirs to the Dirty Three and all their instrumental glory."

last up, we're touring australia to launch the album. it's been a few months since we've been on the road, and we're planning to celebrate by unveiling some new material. here's the schedule:

fri nov 16: adelaide @ enigma, tix $10 + b/f (see below)
fri nov 23: melbourne @ hi fi, tix $12 + b/f (see below)
fri nov 30: sydney @ bar broadway, tix $12 + b/f (see below)
sat dec 1: brisbane @ the zoo, tix $10 + b/f (see below)

tickets are on sale at:
adelaide: venue*tix ph:(08) 82258888 and CIB ticketing ph:(08) 82310824
brisbane: rocking horse, skinny's, butterbeats (city & valley) and the zoo ph: 1300 762545
melbourne: missing link ph:(03) 96708208 and Hi Fi ph:(03) 96547617
sydney: fish records, red eye and all moshtix outlets, ph:1300 GET TIX (438 849)

love, laura

after a pregnant-pause-winter that momentarily threatened to become an uncomfortable-silence-spring, laura has a live album on the way. it's called (re)capitulate. it was recorded in melbourne earlier this year at the hi-fi bar. nao has pushed the camel through the eye of the needle and gotten the laura live sound onto compact disc. a promotional single has been released to radio, press, and Your Good Selves. you may download it here or get a loaner of it on our myspace. take it. we want you to have it. eat, eat, you're skin and bones.

release dates, and dates for an australian launch tour are soon to be announced - we'll let you know as soon as everything's arranged.

love, laura

for an instrumental band, we get a fair few emails asking if the lyrics on the new album are written down anywhere. well, here they are for patterns not people:

orphans;
bad friends;
girls and boys.
i've been calling;
three times.
too long.

what's this phase shift/symmetry break?
the new kids can't see the front of the stage

seek it call it more worthwile
than wasting time on getting by

can't see, can't speak for those who can.
what's in this house, under the bed?
what's in this stream, shallow and quick?
a heart beats a billion times and then stops.

'rob roy a live compilation’ features six tracks, all recorded live at the rob roy in fitzroy, melbourne. laura, my disco, grey daturas, sinking citizenship, international karate and colditz glider appear on the disc, which was recorded, mixed and mastered by local producer / live engineer nao anzai. laura will be helping to launch the compilation over two special nights at the rob roy, performing in surround sound with multi-screen visuals:

'rob roy a live compilation' cd launches

laura
(performing in surround sound w/ multi screen visuals)
grey daturas
sinking citizenship
friday 23rd march at rob roy

laura
(performing in surround sound w/ multi screen visuals)
international karate
rhythm bell
saturday 24th march at rob roy

both shows 8.30pm | $12 on the door | $10 tickets plus booking fee
tickets availabe from missing link, polyester records and rob roy

'rob roy a live compilation' will only be available at these two shows!!!

www.therobroyhotel.com | www.myspace.com/robroyhotel

dont forget to update the website dont forget to update the website dont forget to update the website dont forget to update the website dont forget to update the website dont forget to update

melbourne :: feb 24th saturday :: northcote social club
hobart :: mar 2nd friday :: republic bar
launceston :: mar 3rd saturday :: james hotel

laura's supporting isis (US) on their upcoming tour of australia.
also coming out with isis is these arms are snakes.
they're going to be unbelievable shows... come see one...

sydney :: saturday feb 3rd:: metro
melbourne :: sunday feb 4th :: hi fi
brisbane :: tuesday feb 6th :: arena
adelaide :: wednesday feb 7th :: fowlers live

love, laura

laura plays the gershwin room at the espy with sand pebbles on saturday november 25. $12. a comfortable place has been invisibly allocated to you. imagine a billboard with the gershwin room interior and dotted white lines wireframing a light blue, you-sized, see-through cube.
we look forward to your company.

hey everybody, just a last reminder about our melbourne launch for our second album, radio swan is down.

we're playing this friday, october 6th, at the corner hotel, with mountains in the sky and batrider. Pre-sale tix are $10+bf ($12) at the corner box office. You can order online at http://www.cornerhotel.com/ or by phoning 9427 9198. Tix at the door are $14.

the sydney show last saturday was amazing, and i'm hanging out for friday just to get another chance to watch mountains in the sky do their thing.

stats for the tour so far:

• emergency-room visits (melbourne): 1
• missed flights: 1
• bottles of magic pain-killer spray consumed: 1
• crushed fingers (mittagong): 3
• lost wallets/purses: 2
• found wallets/purses: 2
• raw chicken kievs accidentally eaten at the astor motel, albury: somewhere
between 2 and 6.
• stomachs pumped: 0
• anti-bacterial effect of vodka shots: apparently adequate
• shows played: 1
• kilometres travelled: 1690

hey kids,

just letting you know dates and cities for our "album launch tour" off the back of our new album "radio swan is down". seriously, we spent more time working on the wording of that tour title than we did on the tunes on the album, so get it worked into your next tattoo or something, please...

without further further ado, we're playing:

Sydney: FBi presents laura's "Radio Swan is Down" album launch @ Spectrum, Saturday 30th September, lineup TBA
Melbourne: "Radio Swan is Down" album launch @ Corner Hotel, Friday 6th October, w/ Mountains in the Sky
Geelong: Barwon Club, Friday 13th October, lineup TBA
Adelaide: Enigma Bar, Saturday 14th October, lineup TBA
Byron Bay: Great Northern, Friday 20th October, w/ Jump 2 Light Speed & Nathan Kaye. FREE!
Brisbane: 4ZzZfm Market Day Festival at the Showgrounds, Saturday 21st October

more lineup info later, can't wait to see you all there...

...and in case you're wondering, over the 23 days of this intermittent tour, we'll cover 6935 kilometres, or a bit over 1165km a gig. if you're wondering if this is a pathetic attempt to guilt-trip y'all into coming out to see us in your home town, damn straight, what else did you expect from us?

lots of love,
see you at the shows,
laura/andrew c.

news! news! news! etc.

- fans of the colour blue in all its diverse shades will be happy to hear that laura's second album, "radio swan is down" has been pressed and sent out to media. field operatives should commence construction of rpt-2100 mobile reception units and initiate monitoring of all published frequencies.

- also, the album's actually been rushed onto shelves in several stores before the official date... it's out there to be hunted down.

- laura's drummer, dave gagliardi, has been finally recognised for his tireless community service and diabolical triple-kick ill techniques, and been endorsed by yamaha music australia.

- laura's bass-player/programming + sequencing + sampling exponent, andrew yardley, has created a sound installation to accompany an exhibition of the work of sculptor deirdre walsh. you can check both out at a grand opening in the new york style this sunday 27th august at 2pm @ collingwood gallery, 292 smith street. the exhibition runs until the 7th of september.

- we're finalising the arrangements for a grand tour, the details of which will be announced here soon... the zeppelin fell through, so it looks like we'll be relying predominantly on autogyro for personnel transport, with the assistance of ex-soviet-military gas-turbine-powered tanks to move the gear. this armored detachment cheerily anticipates unilateral action in your neck of the woods in the near future.

love,
laura / andrew c

Monday 7th AUG
Andrew Y, Andrew C & Dave G will be talking with Ali O'Regan on 90.7 SYNfm at 6:40pm.
Monday 11th AUG
Andrew Y will be talking with Michael Byers on 88.3 SOUTHERNfm at 5:10pm.

Hey everyone,

Keep it together just a little longer and something will come up.

Big news item 1: Laura’s second album, “Radio Swan is Down”, is officially in the bag. It’s done. No more. We have stepped away from the canvas. I'm no music critic, but it's clearly at least 35% more broad, a sixth more dark blue, and has 8 newton-metres more bounce and lustre. Plus it's a bit longer than Mapping Your Dreams. All indicators are trending upwards. More news on release and launch dates later.

Big news item 2: The second single from the album, “I Hope”, is going to be launched on Saturday 12th August at the East Brunswick Club (280 Lygon Street, East Brunswick). Entry is $10 at the door and with no pre-sale tickets available we highly recommend being there early if you want to get in. The single is strictly limited (only 100 copies available for sale) and will only be available on the night. The release is a CD/DVD set which also features the 17 minute non-album track ‘Ash on Lake Vostok’ and video clips for ‘We Should Keep This Secret’ and ‘Hikikomori’, both from the band’s debut album ‘Mapping Your Dreams’. Doors 8:30pm. Supports are Sinking Citizenship & The Red Tree.

Big news item 3: In what may be an unwise move considering the way you guys pummel our server for these monthly downloads, we've made the first (radio-only) single from the album, “Every Light” available for free download. Get it on the media page.

much love

laura / andrew c

1. We've added a live version of Ariadne & the film clip for We Should Keep This Secret to our Media Page for download.
2. You may have noticed the new track 'Every Light' from our upcoming album has been appearing on radio & in press. Keep your eyes & ears out for it.
a lot more news to follow next week...

exciting news... laura will return for our first show of 2006 at the spanish club on the 20th of may with because of ghosts! what with the ghosties, the spanish club, some new songs to play for you, and the time we've had away from the live scene, all the stars are aligned for this to be a really huge show. look forward to seeing you...

approx. 4 months since the last news item...

we are really excited to announce the following:
> the film clips for 'we should keep this secret' & 'hikikomori' are completed. will be on tv soon.
> 'custom made touring' will now be taking care of our tours/shows. keep watching here for a stack of amazing 2006 shows.
> also, check out the latest issue of mess+noise magazine for andrew ramadge's photo diary from our most recent nsw tour

there's a lot more going on that we'll mention soon.

i get off the train, head still in my book. five-and-a-half minutes to home. walk up the ramp. turn right. look up for a few seconds, turn left, cross road, look back down at my book. home is straight ahead, eight hundred metres. look up, cross to the other side of the road. footsteps behind me. just regular footsteps, not worth interrupting higher brain function to think about them. still walking, still reading, main character in some kind of crisis, etc., etc., footsteps closer. footsteps still behind me. i think: person taking long time to execute overtaking manouevre. growling noise like a cheap horror movie effect or a kid trying to scare someone, but in a grownup voice. and again. i think "it must be a friend of mine" and half smile to myself and i think "i bet it's jason" but then the top bit of my brain reminds me that he lives about eighty kilometres away now and my subconscious is embarrassed that when i think fast or have dreams, jason still lives just across town. but the growling is still happening and i know i have to deal with it, so i turn my head to the right and there's a long-haired, stocky guy a little shorter and older than me looking straight at me with his right hand raised holding a golden shiny metal object and he smiles and brings his arms down towards me and i raise my arms and start say "woah, easy" but only get as far as "wuh" before he starts laughing and he's still walking and waving his hand around and i've slowed down a little some i'm a few steps behind now and he's asking "where do you live?" and i say "up here" in a vague enough way that by "up here" i might just be saying "on this plane of existence" and he asks "where do you work?" and i say "in the city" thinking "hopefully he'll think i mean reykjavik" and i'm not enjoying the line of questioning particularly, so i turn it around and say "where do you live?" he says "armadale" because the best way to get to know someone is to ask them questions about themself and he's still looking at me, and for some reason i'm feeling in control now, or less threatened, so i think humour might be a good idea, so i laugh and say "that's the weirdest thing that happened to me today" and he laughs with a bit of an edge, and i'm looking at the golden metallic object and his hand and i see it's got a sharp tip but nonetheless it's still just a brass "3" from some house's streetnumber and he looks at me with one of those rictus grins you only read about in pulpy thriller/horror books that belong to other people and shows me his hand and says "three! it's a three! three!" and i don't know why i'm still walking exactly other than that he seems to feel that this kind of thing happens all the time, and i'm not quite so stressed out by his bearing now, so i've taken some automatic, low level decision not to jolt him back into his hilarious "fake random stabbing" mode by doing anything "out of the ordinary" like standing in the footpath or suddenly changing direction. so now we're walking down my street together, him five metres ahead and moving at n m/sec, and me five metres behind, moving at n/2 m/sec. now he's dragging the house number along the palings of fences with a clattering noise. i'm back to "reading" because everything's just normal and this happens most nights. now he's scraping the number along a stone fence painted white and leaving a sequence of scratches and you could probably interpret it in some kind of morse-like encryption scheme as saying "this happens all the time. nothing to be alarmed about". two japanese guys are walking towards "us" and i'm about fifteen metres behind at this point, and there's not much i can do to indicate unambiguously "this guy's about to make your day more interesting", so i just watch, thinking "nothing will happen" but it doesn't, something does, and mister three raises his right hand and makes a beeline to japanese guy number two, who had courteously walked off the footpath onto the nature strip, and mister three makes fake stabbing motions and japanese guy number two has his hands raised just like i did and his brow furrowed and japanese guy number one has his eyebrows raised and they are both leaning back at the waist and then mister three is gone, laughing and walking past them down the street. so now, it's one hundred metres to my house and i'm passing the two guys who are now talking quietly and rapidly in japanese and mister three is about thirty metres ahead, and hasn't looked back once, so my strategy is now to walk to my house, and if he looks back just to keep walking past my house, because if he thinks we have some special connection now, i don't particularly want him having any useful information about where i live. thirty metres to my front door and he's just finished working over this hedge with his three, overhand-style, still walking, and i can see leaves all over the ground and now i'm looking about, checking for other people walking from the train station who might be less equipped then i was to mount a heroic "woah, easy"-style defense against the mister three onslaught, but there's only one business-suit-y guy on the other side of the road, walking in the same direction as and level with me, and i figure he can take care of himself and now i'm at my front door and there's been no sign of further interest, so i turn right, and i'm clear, and that's the last time i saw him.

finally, some photos of this year's sydney expeditions over on the photo page

Don't Mistakenly Turn up

unfortunately, our playroom gig for this friday night (23 september) has been cancelled by the venue due to circumstances of some kind, events that took place, etc. etc. etc... really sorry about the late notice, as we just found out ourselves. watch this space for more gig info...

Damn Melbourne Traffic

we're back in melbourne tonight after another lightning nsw tour. this one included an instore at sydney's sound & fury and gigs at the hopetoun in surry hills and the oxford tavern in wollongong. along with live-to-air interviews, we did a few pre-records (radio and tv) which we hope to get onto the website when we get our grimey mitts on a copy. we had some special stuff going on at the actual shows as well...

Destroy My Transformer

at the hopetoun, AY blew out his bass amp during the first track, which led to an improvised no-bass version of 'innocent smiles' that came from out of nowhere and got me, at least, jumping around like an idiot. once AY had scored a replacement and incorporated it into his rig (which somehow took less than four minutes), the rest of the set just went nuts... 'i hope' (the new track w/ live sampling of vocals) had the "nervous energy + a dedication to caz's dad = ?" equation working for it, and went right over the top... aiden (who was out on the road with us for the first time) had multiple projections of some amazing imagery running... i'm not gonna forget that set for a long time.

Dance, My Treasures

after the hopetoun show, we dj-ed a set at purple sneakers (check out the evidence @ http://www.purplesneakers.net/photos/).

Devious Manipulation Techniques

so, that was our second nsw tour. thanks uncle dave and aiden, thanks to the venues, the tides, mares, euphonic and throsby drive, thanks all the media folk and 2FBi and 2ser generally for supporting non-local bands, and thanks to everybody who came out to listen... we've got some more sydney news in the pipeline, so keep an ear to the ground...

for those in sydney old town...
-interview on 2rrrFM 88.5FM with AY Wednesday(14/9) at 9pm
-interview at 5:45pm this Thursday(15/9) on FbiFM 94.5FM with dave
oh and dont forget: 'laura official album launch after party DJ Set' - saturday morning 1.30am @ purple sneakers, The Abercrombie Hotel – Corner of Broadway & Abercrombie St, Sydney
love ay

if you go to mess+noise you can download our track 'we should keep this secret' and check out a review of our album

ninjas came in the night and updated the laura website. there's broken urns scattered about the place from their completely silent martial practice routines, a faint smell of that stuff that they polish their swords with, an mp3 of ac's interview on the osmosis radio show, and some new photos of the show at ding dong a few weeks back, courtesy of jason kretchmar.

plus, make it down to the evelyn this saturday (20 august) - we're playing with some great bands (red tree and the winter ship), and we've got new material...

check out issue #24 of sadness in the sky magazine. laura are featured inside and also on 'is there ever any such a thing as an accident?’, its bonus 17 track compilation cd

you can find it at: polyester records, polyester books, missing link records, record collectors corner, synaesthesia records, greville records(all in melbourne)
red eye records(sydney)
big star records(adelaide)
rocking horse records(brisbane)
78 records(perth)

oh man oh man oh man, laura plays ding dong this friday night, and wacky stuff's already happening. scandalous fliers and posters have been distributed through the streets of this fair city, inciting riotous behaviour wherever sited and sighted. the posters, in particular, are being nicked faster than the laura faithful can stick them back up (and we up-stick posters _fast_). this feels like a good omen. do your bit: steal a laura poster today and then tell everyone you know to come down to the show, by way of atonement.

come and see the post-rock upskirt event of the year @ ding dong, this friday 22nd july. laura + international karate + the null set (sydney).

this friday 8th July laura are performing in GEELONG at the national hotel w/clair burchell & insert bold statement. on saturday 9th July laura perform (with live visuals) at the CONICAL GALLERY (3 rochester st, fitzroy) for the launch of "theMAP". theMAP is a new guide to victoria's artist run art spaces.

so, it finally happened: laura made it to sydney. the trip up was eventful. a point-form summary:

• one "glow-in-the-dark tingler" was purchased at the avenal roadhouse, then lost in suspicious circumstances;
• we had an intimate, touching encounter with the wodonga highway patrol (unrelated, so far as we know, to the tingler event)
• in a suggestible state at around 4am, 180km out from sydney, a talk-back nazi convinced us of germany's secret plans to "go nucular" in 2008 after seceding from the EU to fill a power-vacuum left by Britain's soon-to-come departure. or something. it all seemed to flow pretty smoothly at the time.

the jb hi fi instore was great fun, although apparently shopping "centre management" are down on the jb crew's tail due to instore appearance noise issues. jb crew, i would have it be known that laura publicly stands by you in your ongoing struggle against the dark forces of "centre management", and commits its forces to the good fight.

later that night, the hopetoun made a stunning transition from rugby-related pub of some sort to so-hot-right-now live music venue at around 7:30 as if someone had flicked a switch. great crowd, every band's set was sperflewus (unrehearsed, unscripted testimonial overheard in the men's afterwards), and the food upstairs is pure post-rock glorious, whatever that would be. recommended. rumours of noise control measures imposed by "centre management" (who, worryingly, seemed to be following us around) proved to be unfounded.

the nsw bowler's club was even more a night to remember. with one more band the line-up would have been too large to fairly term a "festival". i think, in fact, we were dangerously close to "jamboree" territory. big up-yas to toby and kate, who snatched a banging knees-up from the jaws of defeat when it seemed to us all that centre management would sabotage the whole trip.

so thanks everyone who helped out. the venues, the local bands we played with, our fellow melbourne band International Karate for being great tour-buddies, the inestimable nao anzai for taking care of sound and three-dimensional tetris (16 cubic metres of equipment DOES fit in a 12 cubic metre trailer, you just have to stroke your chin and say "hard to say" a lot), and gus for keeping ay on the straight and narrow, posing for photographs, taking his shirt off more than strictly seemed necessary, intriguing the sydney girls, and buying classy foreign literature at great prices.

expect website updates as the trailer-lag wears off; photos and footage will be forthcoming.

finally by way of tribute i will stop over-using commas and dedicate an entire paragraph to toby and kate for doing an amazing organisational job in the face of huge pressure from centre management. thanks, heaps.

if you're real quick, you can catch me (andrew c) talking to leigh about hikikomori, the sydney tour, and band history on 2SER's osmosis tonight (tuesday 10th) around 7pm. for those of you who aren't in the sydney area, try streaming here: http://www.2ser.com/radio2ser/stream

also, dave's got an interview on 2FBI at 5.15pm this thursday the 12th, but i can't tell you what happens in that one because it hasn't happened yet.

check out http://www.melbs.org/category/laura/ for a review of "we are mapping your dreams", a track from our new album. as part of the fun, you can download an exclusive mp3 of the track and enter a competition to win some laura schwag, namely one of our fine, fine new run of t-shirts, a copy of the album, and a double-pass to our big upcoming gig at the rob roy on the 6th of may.

ye who chooose to be in melbourne this week, a few things to look out for:
dave g and i on 106.7 pbs fm tonight(tuesday 12th april) around 6:30pm , goodies in beat magazine tommorow , interview thing in 'mx' newspaper coming out thursday and an interview bright and early (8:30 friday morning) on 90.7 syn fm . Joy!
oh did we mention we have an album launch on sunday...ha!
p.s: listening to the 'blade runner' soundtrack, so hot right now...
-a.y

oh there is a very nice review of our album in 'inpress magazine' this week.. its the issue with funny man 'arj barker' on the cover, oh and we are right next to mariah carey, yeh!
so many thanks to inpress and mark stockdale
-a.y

click on info page to see the new t-shirts. here you will also find discounted pre-sale tix for our launch at the corner hotel w/ 'all india radio' & 'j.walker(machine translations)' EARLY sunday show 17th April.

'mapping your dreams' is beat magazine's album of the week! thanks guys!

if you're in sydney, tune into FBi's album show wednesday march 30th, 12pm. paris & georgie will play the entire album 'mapping your dreams', give a copy away & be chatting to a.y., chalmers and dave.

2SerFm add our album to their "Playbox" chart/playlist

'mapping your dreams' is featured at number 4 on this week's RRR soundscape

laura greens up your st pat's day thursday the 17th at the rob roy...
don’t miss it !!
see gig section for details...
-a.y

laura headline a gorgeous sunday evening at bar open this weekend, along with a solo set from school of emotional engineering's ben frost.

the brand new album 'mapping your dreams' will be for sale on the night and is now available from jb hi fi, cumbersome, polyester and all good record stores.

laura + ben frost (school of emotional engineering)
@ bar open - 317 brunswick street, fitzroy
sunday, march 6
doors 9pm, free entry

hope to see you there.

Sydney's 2FbiFM have added yet another track from our album to rotation. This time the vocal track 'Raise Your Flags'. Thankyou Dan & Fbi.

monday, 14 feb 2005 is the official release date of laura's debut album, "mapping your dreams" through alone again records and mgm distribution.

i can't believe we're finally here. after a long long time in hikikomori, the thing's finally going to emerge blinking into the sunlight. thanks to everybody who's supported us, bought the single, voted for it in the various competitions, thanks to beat for awarding us local single of the year 2004 for "we should keep this secret", thanks to naomune anzai for keeping us on the straight, narrow sonic path, thanks to alone again records, thanks to mgm for distribution, thanks everyone. the cover art is unbelievable (all credit and thanks to heidi), and it'll be figuring in your happy or sad dreams, depending on your disposition, for a long time we hope, possibly with the thundery bit of 'fugitive' as a soundtrack.

now it's up to y'all - get out there and listen to it!

track list:

1. jericho 1
2. levodopa
3. we should keep this secret (beat magazine local single of the year 2004)
4. fugitive
5. non serviam
6. we are mapping your dreams
7. hikikomori
8. raise your flags
9. ariadne
10. heliopause

look out for album launch and tour announcements in this space. much love, andrew.

beat magazine's daniel z has given our track: "we should keep this secret", local single of the year in the christmas edition of beat.
this review has already made an appearance on this website, so scroll down the news section to have a read... thanks again dan, thanks again beat!

Forget anything you've heard about the Rob Roy being dead as a live venue - it's just been sleeping. Now, normally, we'd think that was great news in itself, but to top it off, Laura has been chosen from a clamouring melee of suitors to rouse it from its slumber with a sequence of initially gentle, then progressively firmer and more probing sonic kisses ultimately destined for the throbbing nub of the Rob Roy's pleasure (i.e., the part of the bar that dispenses rounds of butterscotch schnapps after a successful Laura gig) this Friday the 3rd of December.

Supporting us on the night will be International Karate and The Winter Ship. How could you miss it?

Come along and find out which band gets the girl. Find out whether the lead female character the Rob Roy (played by Ingrid Bergman) gets on the plane, leaving the three bands (played in an amazing performance by Humphrey Bogart in several foam rubber suits simultaneously) to run his other bar that's not the Rob Roy but is, confusingly, played by the Rob Roy.

Friday December 3rd @ Rob Roy hotel, 51 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. Doors open 9pm, $7 entry.

'we should keep this secret' has hit no 1 on synfm's the hoist top 10.
cheers to everyone who's voted...

laura's debut album 'mapping your dreams' will be released by alone again records early 2005, distributed in australia through mgm distribution. you know it.

on tuesday 9th november andrew.yardley from
instrumental / post-rock / wall of sound / self-absorbed band 'laura'
will be the guest d.j on syn fm's 'The Hoist'
he b playing any god damn track he likes!
...as long as its australian...
so tune in on tuesday 5:30pm - 7:30pm on 90.7 synfm

friday night 1 october: laura play the empress with the bentleys, wellyn, sub audible hum, morning birds and blue is hope... the first 80 people thru the door will snag themselves a compilation cd featuring a song from each of the bands playing on the night... 714 nicholson street, north fitzroy...

saturday afternoon 2 october: laura plays cumbersome records instore @ 4pm. bring down a couple of beers on a warm spring afternoon, enjoy the barbeque, and soak up some live laura dipping sauce as late-afternoon sets in. a perfect way to build up to a big/small night out/in.

There are now copies of the new single 'we should keep this secret' available at Cumbersome Records, Missing Link & Polyester. There will be a few copies on sale at gigs until sold out also. If you want a copy don't forget the single is a limited pressing.

Hey dude, laura interview: 5.30pm Thursday 23 on 90.7 SYN FM, on SYN FM's all-Australian music program, The Hoist. cheers bruv, tom >>>> hey tom, when you get the chance can you email me the details for thursday so we can post them on the website and put them in our email send out... disgruntled employee of the month, -a.y

tune in to 3rrr's 'delivery' this sunday to hear dave, andrew y & andrew c chatting to owen mckern. they'll be talking about next week's single launch at planet cafe and also about our upcoming debut album.... that's 3rrr 102.7fm, september 19th, between 4pm and 6pm...

currently featuring in an exhibition by local artist Heidi Yardley is a painting to be featured on the cover of our upcoming album. the exhibition's titled "vacation", and is running at Intrude2 gallery, 114 gertrude st fitzroy, from august 31 to september 14.

gallery hours: tues-sat 12-5

http://www.intrudegallery.com.au/program2.htm

great news! beat's daniel z has taken a shine to our single, "we should keep this secret", picking it for beat single of the week in the 1 sep 2004 issue. for all you out-of-towners who won't be able to pick up a copy, we've excerpted the review below...

thanks dan, thanks beat!

Single of the week
Laura
We Should Keep This Secret (Cumbersome Records)
Now this is the instrumental soundtrack to my week. If you ever needed reaffirmation that we live in a beautiful world - and Coldplay don't do it for you - then this is it. A majestic foray into instrumental experimentalism; a beautiful, sweeping sonic boom straight into the darkest recess of your heart. Tinkering toy-boxes imported from Iceland, walls of reverb-drenched guitar noise imported from the States, all with the heart and soul of old Melbourne town. The first tune in a long time to send a wave of goosebumps down my back. Our streets are calling back...

it begins... pre-release copies of the upcoming single, "we should keep this secret", have winged (wung?) their way near and far; it's getting great play on local radio, so keep an ear out for it, and keep Friday September 24th free for the launch at the Planet Cafe on Brunswick St.

earlier this year, dave and andrew y spoke to gus and steph from Foreground Music on SYN FM. if you missed it live to air, you can download it now from the media page.

sheepish grins/shout outs to underpass @ terminus, whose sound system we blew towards the end of our set a couple of weeks back. we swear that the bentleys loosened it first.

For those of you who missed the mail-out, Weave is the new night for "Melbourne's burgeoning instrumental post-rock scene", put together by Captain Productions and running fortnightly at Bar Open. We're looking forward to playing the second Weave occasion this Thursday the 26th of August with International Karate. It'll be a great night, as long as you all manage to tear yourself away from the finals of the modern Penthathlon and get down to Bar Open to join us... How often do the olympics come around? Every four years. How often do Laura play with International Karate? Never happened before... You do the maths. Hope to see you there...

well, the album is nearly finished. thanks to everyone who has been playing the radio-only first single 'we are mapping your dreams', especially our friends at rrr, pbs and synfm ... if you're in sydney or adelaide, listen out for it over the next couple of weeks. more news soon.

On Sunday July 18 we'll be playing at Bar Open - Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Joining us will be Greyscale and Cam Butler's Guitar Orchestra. Entry will be free, and music will start at 9pm. It'll be a great night - hope to see you there.

Andrew Y and Dave will be chatting about the upcoming release on SYN FM 90FM this Monday, the 24th at 9pm.

for those of you in da know, you can now subscribe to an rss feed of our news and gigs pages using the link (look for the orange "xml" icon) at the bottom of the page. for those of you not in the know, rss lets you use a single program (your rss 'aggregator') to subscribe to a whole bunch of websites - whenever those websites are updated, your aggregator will know about it, and show you in a friendly single window (each update looks a bit like an email in your mail program). for more info, try this page, but don't forget to come back here and subscribe afterwards, right?

expect things to be changed and updated on a regular basis. many improvements planned, many ideas in the pipeline. right now, though, you can see our upcoming gigs, read news about our forthcoming recording, sign up for our mailing list and find out about our extensive existing body of work (i.e., the photographs ep).