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MICK HARVEY

MICK HARVEY

AUSTRALIA
territories : Europe & UK
availabilities : October 2024
THE SONGS OF SERGE GAINSBOURG availabilities : Fly-ins/Special Events/Festivals

Mick Harvey, renowned as a founding member of both The Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and for his collaborations with PJ Harvey, has made a series of solo albums during the last two decades – starting with ‘One Man’s Treasure’ in 2005 and culminating with 2013’s ‘FOUR (Acts of Love)’. In the years since he has completed a 4 volume collection of translations of the songs of Serge Gainsbourg, which he began in the 1990s, and most recently released an album of songs based on a fictional WW1 poet in collaboration with Christopher Richard Barker called ‘The Fall and Rise of Edgar Bourchier and the Horrors of War’(2018)

Harvey started out playing in bands whilst still at Caulfield Grammar School in Melbourne, Australia. Three of his schoolmates, Nick Cave, Phill Calvert and Tracy Pew, ended up with him in his first post-school band The Boys Next Door. Playing extensively around Australia in the late 70s the band eventually relocated to London in early 1980 where they changed their name to The Birthday Party. In the early 80s they were renowned for their wild performances and abrasive recordings which remain influential and unique to this day.

In 1983 The Birthday Party disbanded and Harvey was caught up in the formative years of The Bad Seeds with his Birthday Party bandmate Nick Cave and also worked in a variety of line-ups with the singer Simon Bonney on his Crime and the City Solution project which continued until 1991. During the mid-80s Harvey moved to Berlin where both these bands were based during the late 80s.

After the dissolution of Crime and the City Solution Harvey produced two albums of the songs of Serge Gainsbourg translated into English (‘Intoxicated Man’ and ‘Pink Elephants’ 1995 and 1997 respectively) and began collaborating with the English singer PJ Harvey and producing recordings for Anita Lane amongst others. His participation in Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds continued and he became more involved in film soundtrack composition. 

With the advent of the new millennium Harvey was based back in his home town of Melbourne and finally began work on his own ideas for a series of solo albums. Initially based on an extensive wish list of obscure and much loved songs mixed up with some of his own occasional compositions the result was four albums – ‘One Man’s Treasure’, ‘Two of Diamonds’, Three Sisters – Live at Bush Hall’ and ‘FOUR (Acts of Love)’. This series of albums was augmented by 2011’s ‘Sketches from the Book of the Dead’ – a themed album comprised entirely of Harvey’s own song compositions and followed by the release of ‘FOUR (Acts of Love) in 2013.

By early 2009 the 35 year long relationship with Nick Cave had finally lost its spark and Harvey chose to leave The Bad Seeds. Since this time he has completed the aforementioned series of solo albums and continued presenting these works live in various band configurations and, at times, completely solo. He has also been able to find more time for projects such as PJ Harvey’s ‘Let England Shake’ and ‘The Hope 6 Demolition Project’ (the former which he co-produced) and has also been part of the touring band. More free time also allowed him to record with his former Birthday Party band mate, the late Rowland S Howard’s, final album, ‘Pop Crimes’ having also played drums on Howard’s classic first solo LP ‘Teenage Snuff Film ten years earlier.

2014 saw Harvey deeply involved in German culture again with the Ministry of Wolves (including Alexander Hacke, Danielle de Picciotto and Paul Wallfisch) and the Dortmund theatre production ‘Republik der Wölfe’ based on the stories of the Brothers Grimm. 

The reissue of his two mid-90s albums of Gainsbourg translations saw Harvey take Gainsbourg’s works to the stage billed as ‘Intoxicated Man’ in Australia and Europe – the first time Harvey had performed these works live - and this led to the recording of a further 2 albums of translations – ‘Delirium Tremens’ and ‘Intoxicated Women”, the latter of which was released in early 2017.

Still based in Melbourne Harvey lives with his wife Katrina Beale, a painter, his son Solomon and a Burmese cat called Misha.

Mick Harvey has announced details of his first solo album in over 10 years, Five Ways to Say Goodbye, the final release in a series of releases that feature a blend of originals and interpretations of pre-existing songs. The new 12-track collection, out on Mute on 10 May 2024, will include original compositions alongside tracks written by artists as varied as Ed Kuepper (co-founder of The Saints), Fatal Shore (Phil Shoenfelt and Bruno Adams), David McComb (The Triffids / Blackeyed Susans), Lo Carmen and Lee Hazelwood. 

The new album follows Harvey’s recent collaboration with Mexican artist Amanda Acevedo, who features on Five Ways to Say Goodbye, and will be accompanied by a UK and European tour dates in May and June – full details below.

BOOKING ENQUIRY

Rowland S. Howard, grand oublié du rock australien

By Bester : PDG, avocat et assistant social à Gonzaï • January 6, 2020
Quand il est question de rock australien, la boussole tourne un peu dans tous les sens. Existe-t-il un métrage commun pour mesurer les talents de King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, INXS, Tame Impala, de The Saints ou des Bad Seeds ? Et taut-il prendre en compte la Nouvelle Zélande de Connan Mockasin et des Datsuns ? Le simple fait de poser ces questions est une manière d’y répondre ; la majorité des groupes précités, pour être placés sur la grande carte du rock, ont du s’exiler à Londres ou labourer les terres européennes ; il est vrai un peu plus fertiles que le bush australien. Un homme, un seul, a fait plus pour ce continent perdu tout en bas à droite sur la planisphère que tous les autres : Rowland S. Howard, le seul vrai déboussolé derrière un nombre de groupes si importants que l’histoire, jusque là, n’a gravé son nom dans la stèle qu’au crayon gris.

POP CRIMES - The Songs of Rowland S. Howard

By HOT PANTS • December 9, 2019
TICKETS:
ORLEANS >   https://bit.ly/2rInFwP
PARIS >   https://bit.ly/2Z4x4uQ
RENNES >   https://bit.ly/2PQEPBN
LONDON >   https://bit.ly/2DXvj9c

MICK HARVEY 2019 TOUR

By HOT PANTS • October 13, 2019

Mick Harvey   has announced a tour throughout October and November 2019 with dates split into two separate and very special performances:   The Songs of Serge Gainsbourg   and a double bill with close collaborator J.P. Shilo which will see Harvey perform songs from across his solo albums.

The Songs of Serge Gainsbourg   dates, which start in France, will feature Mick Harvey, J.P. Shilo, Xanthe Waite, James Johnston, Toby Dammit and Yoyo Röhm performing Harvey’s interpretations from across four album releases which saw Harvey translating the work of Gainsbourg, starting in 1995 with   Intoxicated Man   through to   Intoxicated Women   (2017).

At the end of October (with three UK shows in Newcastle, London and Glasgow) Mick Harvey will present songs from his four solo albums,   One Man’s Treasure   (2005),   Two of Diamonds   (2007),   Sketches from the Book of the Dead   (2011) and   Four   (2013).

For this section of the tour, the former Bad Seed will join forces on a double bill with his close collaborator J.P. Shilo (Hungry Ghosts / Rowland S. Howard / The Blackeyed Susans) and a band including Glenn Lewis (Cambodian Space Project) on bass and Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) on drums. Shilo will be performing material from his new album   Invisible You   due for European release in October while Harvey will take the opportunity to include selections from the recent album   The Fall and Rise of Edgar Bourchier and the Horrors of War , his collaboration with Christopher Richard Barker (Mute, 2018).

One Man’s Treasure   and   Two of Diamonds   will be released on vinyl for the first time in November 2019.

MICK HARVEY 2019 TOUR
SONGS OF SERGE GAINSBOURG
18 October - FR, Alençon La Luciole **
21 October - FR, Rouen Le 106 **
23 October - RU, St Petersburg Morze **
24 October - RU, Moscow Dom Kino **
26 October - PL, Lodz Sound Edit Festival **
2 November - PT, Porto Casa da Musica **    
3 November - PT, Lisbon Lisboa Ao Vivo **

SOLO / with J.P. SHILO
 27 October - CZ, Brno Mersey Club *
28 October - DE, Frankfurt Club Nachleben *
29 October - BU, Sofia Mixtape 5 *
31 October - IT, Fiorano Modenese Teatro Astoria *
4 November - UK, Newcastle The Cluny *
6 November - UK, London 100 Club *
7 November - UK, Glasgow Broadcast *
9 November - SI, Kranj Layerjeva Hiša *
10 November - HR, Zagreb Vintage industrial Bar *
11 November - SP, Belgrade   KC Grad   *
12 November - GR, Athens TBA *
13 November - GR, Ioannina TBA   *
15 November - FR Paris   Les Trois Baudets *

16 November - NL Haarlem   Patronaat *

* Mick Harvey and J.P. Shilo

** The Songs of Serge Gainsbourg

 

RECENT PRAISE FOR THE FALL AND RISE OF EDGAR BOURCHIER

 “Undeniably esoteric but the adventurous will be rewarded” – Q magazine

 “…   a compelling listen” – Soundblab

“... a series of truly brilliant songs that equate with [Harvey’s] best material.”- Allmusic

 

Listen to the album:   http://smarturl.it/MH-CRB

http://www.mickharvey.com/

www.mute.com

Mick Harvey - PETIT BAIN (30 novembre 2018 - PARIS)

By HOT PANTS • January 1, 2019
Flegmatique et élégant, Mick Harvey a délivré la quintessence de ses quatre albums consacrés à Serge Gainsbourg. Le passage de ce répertoire du français à l’anglais paraît naturel, tant les mélodies et les rythmiques puisent leurs sources dans le jazz et la pop anglo-saxonne. Du ‘’Poinçonneur Des Lilas’’, devenu ‘’The Ticket Puncher’’, à ‘’Overseas Telegram’’, Harvey fait sien cet univers toxique, de même que ces chansons taillées sur mesure pour France Gall (‘’Puppet Of Wax’’), Bardot, Deneuve (‘’God Smoke Havanas’’) ou Bashung (‘’J’envisage’’). Une relecture classeuse ? Affirmatif ! PIERRE MIKAILOFF / Rock’n’Folk janvier 2019
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