Whitehouse has something to say and knows how to play. The front section consists of Grant Saunders aka Sonic Nomad on vocals and his cousin Allan Morris on guitars. Saunders has been writing Protest music since he first heard Grand Master Flash’s ‘The Message’. Morris is the third generation of a long line of talented Koori Morris musicians and can play drums, keys and bass almost as well as he plays lead guitar. This colossal Koori writing team combined with a hot Sri Lankan rhythm section with D Man on Bass and Cha Cha on drums forms a concoction that can only be described as FRESH and HIGHLY INFECTIOUS.
Ex-Thirsty Merc Guitarist Sean Carey Produced, engineered, and mixed their debut album, ‘A Funky Intervention’, recorded at the illustrious new Gadigal Recording Studios in Redfern and mixed at Trackdown in Camperdown, Sydney. For the recording Whitehouse employed their good friend in world renowned Hip-hop DJ Moto to bring the old skool Hip-hop flavours with local Keyboard whiz, Andy Judd, and Daniel ‘DC’ Charmichael on horns to colour the tracks with a 70’s funk vibe.
The album was well received by radio stations around the country leading up to, during and post their tour in July 2012. Their title track PM Gonna Save Us was played on Triple J’s Home and Hosed and their video played on RAGE. After rave album and live reviews from some prominent street press, Whitehouse are keen to get back in the studio and back on stage where they belong, entertaining audiences with their special brand of Message Funk and killer live performances.
“Whitehouse has produced a spectacular debut album in A Funky Intervention. The political prose is perfectly woven with some psychedelic soulful sounds and fresh funky flava, paying homage to the roots of hip hop. It’s been quite sometime since an Aussie band has produced such deep thinking music, and these activists have hit the nail on the head…Saunders’ pain and suffering (as a reflection of the same of many others) is exposed in his witty and intelligent rhymes – that dive much deeper beneath the surface than first realized.” Luna Magazine July 17, 2012 (full review at http://lunadigital.tv/review/whitehouse-a-funky-intervention/)
“Close your eyes during a lot of the tracks and you’d swear Saunders was channelling James Brown. There are bass lines to absolutely swoon for, beats to make you jump sky-high and even a didgeridoo used in a decidedly untraditional way. The narrative here evolves over the entire set like a great, grand novel written by an angry-yet-super-smart and technically gifted young man. Songs are long and rambling and usually involve world-class humanist insight. But the undercurrent here is all political chutzpah – funk educationalism, you could possibly call it – and the sheer importance of stupid white guys like your correspondent hearing this message is impossible to overestimate. Tony McMahon (Themusic.com.au) 13 July 2012
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Writer's Poll - Tony McMahon
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
1. Space Odyssey Part 1 JANE DUST & THE GIANT HOOPOES=
2. A Funky Intervention WHITEHOUSE
3. Hope Addicts HOPE ADDICTS
4. Let Go REVOLVER
5. The Romance of Communication STEVE LANE & THE AUTOCRATS
6. Requiem THE GETAWAY PLAN
7. Thank You For Giving Me The Blues SHAUN KIRK
8. Bye Bye Manchester MELANIE PAIN
9. Money For Rope MONEY FOR ROPE
10. Red Shadow Landing ALL INDIA RADIO
MISCELLANEOUS ALBUM OF THE YEAR
1. Just Music VARIOUS
2. Aches & Skakes: A Decade Of Popboomerang VARIOUS
3. 101 Sporting Anthems VARIOUS
SONG OF THE YEAR
1. The 26th WHITEHOUSE
2. Oscar’s Song HAUNTING AUGUST
3. Satelite HOPE ADDICTS
4. Playing With Fire GOREFIELD
5. Whole Other Kind DEAR STALKER
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
1. Whitehouse
2. Jane Dust & The Giant Hoopoes
3. Hope Addicts
4. Melanie Pain
5. Revolver
BEST WEBSITE
1. kat.ph
2. lwbooks.co.uk/journals/anarchiststudies
3. thehowlingfantods.com
4. distinctlyfemale.blogspot.com
5. melbournecinematheque.org
BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTIST PERFORMANCE
1. Boubacar Traore
2. Johnny Clegg
3. Billy Talent
4. Flight Of The Concords
5. Animal Collective
BEST AUSTRALIAN ARTIST PERFORMANCE
1. Hope Addicts
2. Primitive Calculators
3. Whitehouse
4. Yung Warriors
5. Sons Of The Sun
Whitehouse has produced a spectacular debut album in A Funky Intervention. The political prose is perfectly woven with some psychedelic soulful sounds and fresh funky flava, paying homage to the roots of hip hop. It’s been quite sometime since an Aussie band has produced such deep thinking music, and these activists have hit the nail on the head. At first listen, this record could almost be passed off as another uneducated rant about how hard life is for the minority, but on the second, third and fourth spins, Saunders’ pain and suffering (as a reflection of the same of many others) is exposed in his witty and intelligent rhymes – that dive much deeper beneath the surface than first realized.
Read More at http://lunadigital.tv/review/whitehouse-a-funky-intervention/
“Sure, we should be putting people in prison for abusing children, but we should be doing it to both black and white people.” This is Whitehouse frontman Grant Saunders, aka Sonicnomad, talking about the Federal Government’s Northern Territory intervention.This intervention seems a world away from Fitzroy’s Laundry Bar on a freezing Melbourne winter’s night. The whole point, though, is that it actually isn’t.
It’s tough to convey the sheer funkiness and sense of, well, good times, with which Saunders and the rest of his outfit disseminate and communicate this kind of information in song. Close your eyes during a lot of the tracks and you’d swear Saunders was channelling James Brown. There are bass lines to absolutely swoon for, beats to make you jump sky-high and even a didgeridoo used in a decidedly untraditional way. The narrative here evolves over the entire set like a great, grand novel written by an angry-yet-super-smart and technically gifted young man. Songs are long and rambling and usually involve world-class humanist insight. But the undercurrent here is all political chutzpah – funk educationalism, you could possibly call it – and the sheer importance of stupid white guys like your correspondent hearing this message is impossible to overestimate.
There are tapes of Malcolm X played between – or possibly as introductions to – songs, and the closing number is an extravaganza of crowd participation and showmanship. Saunders obviously has a good time bringing his message to people, and it shows in a decidedly un-preachy way, which is good for everybody involved.
Josh Donellan is an author, poet, musician, installation artist, teacher and event manager. He was almost devoured by a tiger in the jungles of Malaysia, nearly died of a lung collapse in the Nepalese Himalayas, fended off a pack of rabid dogs with a guitar in the mountains of India and was sexually harassed by a half-naked man whilst standing next to Oscar Wilde’s grave in Paris. He has an unnatural fondness for scrabble and an irrational dislike of frangipanis. He also writes reviews for Rave Magazine in Brisbane and this is what he had to say about our album.www.dropbox.com/s/t61jo7yulp68roi/image001.jpg
I've heard a ton of excellent protest music, and plenty of quality race-based hip hop from Indigenous Australians and new migrants. This is neither of those. This song is a well-intended but poorly executed musical commentary on John Howard's Northern Territory intervention policy which decries the tarring of all aboriginal people with the paedophile/alcoholic brush and argues for increased education and employment over paternalistic control measures...click here for full review and comments.
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