Holidays On Ice, comprised of Angie Hart (Frente!), Dean Manning (Leonardo’s Bride) & Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint), will release their third album ‘The Luxury of Wasted Space’ on March 31, with live dates kicking off on April 18 in Canberra.
The trio’s new album, The Luxury of Wasted Space, is a tongue in cheek reference to the modern aversion to emptiness, and was produced and recorded by Dean in his living room to eight track reel to reel. “I love the space, the art on the wall, my grandma’s old piano, the wooden floor boards. I left everything set up for a year. Angie & Stella dropped in off & on as did various friends & guests. We ran out of tape at one point. Then we found out they don’t make that tape anymore. Then someone sent us this new stuff that kind of disintegrated before our eyes. We got there in the end, just.”
The album features mixes by Nick Mainsbridge (Hummingbirds, Triffids), Justin Stanley (Jamie Lidell, Clapton) & Sparklehorse vet Scott Minor.
The Luxury of Wasted Space used crowd-funding model Pozible; Dean offered 20 small original paintings as rewards. The paintings included instruments featured in the making of the album – an omnichord, a tape delay, guitars, stomp boxes etc. The group made their target in record time.
The story behind new single ‘Broken’ is an intriguing one. About eight years ago, the producers of the film ‘Candy’ put out a call – Lou Reed had declined the use of the Velvet Underground’s ‘Sunday Morning’ in the film and they were looking for someone to ‘rewrite’ it.
Dean Manning took up the challenge as a personal project, it took him seven years to complete, and the result is a simple yet stunning track. The video for the song, a playful homage to Molly Meldrum introducing the band on Countdown, took months to put together, frame by frame. Dean made the puppets from clay and wood and sewed their clothes, and for the sets, found mother-of-pearl jewels and a miniature drum kit, remarkably the perfect size!
The Luxury of Wasted Space will be released on April 4 through Cloudy But Fine/MGM
Holidays On Ice Tour Dates
Featuring Angie and Dean
Friday 18th April – Smith’s Alternative, Canberra ACT
Sunday 20th April – Open Studio, Northcote VIC
Friday 25th April – Glebe Café Church Hall, Glebe NSW (with Martha Marlow)
Sunday 27th April – Dowse Bar, Paddington QLD
