Following the success of last year’s Last Hope, comes a new surf film experience with live music by The Windy Hills.
Songs from the Ether features projections from two new surf film projects, Andrew Kidman’s Lost in the Ether and Patrick Trefz’s Idiosyncrasies.
The band Windy Hills will accompany these films with tracks from their eerie yet euphoric new record, Friend from Another Star.
While Andrew Kidman is known widely for his visual pursuits – creating films inspired by the ocean, he has also always written and performed their soundtracks.
His legendary film Litmus, released in 1995, was a turning point in Australian surf filmmaking, depicting the culture with an open mindedness largely foreign to the genre. In that same language his films Glass Love (2005) and Last Hope (2010) documented surfing in a new light – behind each film was its own striking score.
Kidman’s own home, nestled on a rural property near the town of Uki, 40 minutes inland from Byron Bay, would provide a backdrop for the conception of their second album.
Recorded over three years by Jay Kruegner in a small studio in nearby Mullumbimby, Friend From Another Star is more muscular, varied and considered than previous releases – some songs wilder, some cleaner, some soft with acoustics and warm with Americana.
While not directly inspired by the ocean, it possesses a fluidity and escapist quality that echoes the band’s shared passion and connection with the sea.
Songs from the Ether promises to be another groundbreaking night in music, film and reverence for the sea.
