i94bar1200x80

xani

  • john cale domino

    John Cale
    Xani
    The Recital Hall, Sydney
    July 10 2025

    Do you remember that annoying kid in Year Nine at school? The one who used to badger you with his arrogance and who raved about obscure songs and artists to prove he was superior? He would rattle off their names like a machine gun, firing off the titles of B sides of obnoxious Rush singles and dropping the name of some obscure European prog band that had elves on the cover of their debut album. 

    You, on the other hand, had discovered “Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal” by Lou Reed and had proudly made the connection that it had Dick Wagneron guitar who was now playing with Alice Cooper. And the ever-annoying wanker classmate would declare that the Reed record that I had just bought at Ashwood's was "shit" because it was “commercial” before name-dropping someone called John Cale.

  • keep moving xaniKeep Moving – Xani (Live At Fight Night Records)  

    It’s been a month since I saw Xaniat The Recital Hall in Sydney, in support of John Cale. Those in attendance that I’ve spoken to were blown away by the lone figure on stage with her Irish jig footwork and extraordinary violin playing.

    That night Xani produced a vast array of sounds from that tiny instrument. Of course, in a studio with multi-track recording, an artist doesn’t need the same level of complexity, timing and, in Xani’s case, looping. I suspect the songs in a studio setting came first and looping is a means of reproducing a wild tapestry of sounds when playing live.