CHICKS ON SPEED AT fBI SOCIAL

By Benjamen Judd

For those of us who did the rounds at art school, German electro-noise group Chicks On Speed are synonymous with avant guarde album production, DIY fashion modules and a general contrariness musical talent that somehow didn’t matter because we all had their CDs and waited in desperation for them to tour Australia.

Since those early days, they’ve lost a member, made some more questionable music and toured Australia several times including an interactive sound room as part of the Sydney Festival. This time, they’re tour is to celebrate the launch of their latest album, UTOPIA, and they will be rocking the roof of our fave dancehall the fBI Social Club this coming Friday, 14 March.

Despite the underground and club success of their earlier albums, the last few years have seen the girls focus more on their art rather than their music (although the two technically go hand in hand). Exhibitions of their work have been shown at some of the world’s best galleries including MoMA, Tate Modern and our very own MCA.

So to learn that they have refocused back on creating off-beat and out of tune music again is something we are very happy about. Better yet, to learn that they have collaborated with other off-beat whacksters including the inimitable Yoko Ono and even Julian Assange (seriously) makes this the potential album of the decade in our books. The album launch performances will see the unveiling of tracks from the new album, as well as inviting audience members to participate in the creative process on stage with the chicks, by live-composing and mixing audio-visual scenes via the Chicks on Speed Apps.

Tickets to the event cost $35-$40 and space is limited to get in quick.

Chicks on Speed UTOPIA album launch party starts at 8pm at the fBI Social Club this Friday, 14 March.