Blasé Sound

I had the pleasure of chatting with James Gorter, a New Zealand-born filmmaker currently residing in Melbourne. James spent his early adult life squatting around Europe and playing in various punk bands before getting immersed in filmmaking. James’s films and work have the ideas of fate, spirituality, death, and violence running right through them in a raw and intense way. James is currently working on a southern Gothic film called Prayers on Fire, an idea for a film that has been with him for over 10 years.

On this episode, James speaks about his squatting days in Europe, his punk background, growing up in New Zealand, how he got into film, near-death experiences, his love for the Safdie Brothers and Harmony Korine, the dream state, and more.

If you are keen to check out his films and what he is working on, you can find him on ig @james_gorter_film and https://jamesgorter.com/.

Bruce Milne is a radio presenter, music journalist, band promoter, and former record label owner who played a prominent role in Melbourne's early punk and post-wave scenes. Bruce began as a band promoter at Swinburne College, alongside Rowland S. Howard and Nick Cave. He would later co-found Au-Go-Go records, signing the likes of Spiderbait, Magic Dirt, The Scientists, and The Meanies, as well as partnering with Seattle's Sub-Pop label.
On this episode, Bruce speaks about Melbourne’s early punk days, how Au-Go-Go records came about, the concept behind cassette magazine Fast Forward, his time travelling between London and Seattle, the changes in the music industry over the years, and more.

Queensland born Dougal Gorman is a photographer currently residing in Sydney.

On this episode, we speak about his move to Sydney, his love for capturing live punk gigs, how he got into music photography, black and white film, and more. You'll hear just how humble Dougal is and feel his love for being behind the camera and wanting to archive the Australian underground punk scene. You'll also hear AWOL recording in the background at some points in this convo, which I think fitted in nicely given the talking points.
Much love again to Dougal for being down for the chat!

Episode 10 features Jim McCullough, a painter, artist, Frankston native and front man for the bands Civic and also the Leather Lickers. This episode was pretty special as Jim spent most of his early 20’s working as an undertaker in Melbourne, carrying and handling the deceased, a job that was pretty eye-opening and surreal. This job would later turn into the Glue Factory, a 110 page book of paintings and recollections of his time in this occupation. We discussed that period of his life, how the concept came about, growing up in Frankston, views on death, his early influences and more.

If you want to check out his work you can find him on ig @jimccullough.

Episode 19 features Toby Zoates, a Melbourne-born artist, author, animator, and filmmaker now based in Sydney. Toby has created animations and films like "Darling It Hurtz" and "The Thief Of Sydney." He has written books about his experiences living within Sydney’s public housing and spiritual adventures in India. Toby has also designed various early punk gig posters and flyers.

Toby is a genuine free spirit and continues to create and push his art to this day. His artwork and films have been showcased at various shows and galleries worldwide, and his work is widely respected within the art, music, and activism scenes.

We delve into Toby's early days in Melbourne, spirituality, nursing background, early influences, encounters with LSD therapy, DIY mentality, and more.

Much love to Toby for taking the time to chat during his stay in Melbourne. Hope y'all enjoy!

You can find him on : https://www.instagram.com/tobyzoates/?hl=en
You can purchase his book 'Punk Outsider' and prints here also:
https://www.passportal.com/collections/toby-zoates