Unique. It’s always been the Holy Grail for artists – the very idea that something entirely new can be created out of thin air. It’s a word not often used by many artists, but a word that completely personifies this Gold Coast mum/dad/son family three piece…The Twine.
Catch their show or listen to their records and you get the distinct feeling the trio are really on to something special.
On stage they manage to somehow play five instruments each – often at the same time. There’s raw, strumming acoustic guitar, flute, didgeridoo, wild percussion, drums, quirky instruments from all over the globe and the type of honest lyrics and harmonies that recall the classic traditions of story telling through song. You will see feet stomping, limbs swinging in every direction, faces beaming energy,hair flinging, and voices hollering, and the crowd, (no matter what the age), will be smiling and getting into the organic, high octane, positive energy that radiates off them as they play.
It’s a sound that somehow manages to fuse rich and powerful acoustic blues with the bottom heavy percussive pound of a doof tent. Melodic and thumping at the same time, The Twine have come to calling it tribal blues, and it really is a sound of their own.
The Twine finds its strength in the strong personal and creative connection between the duo of Melani M and Damio Sun. Longtime collaborators and partners, they honed their songwriting and performance skills during their stint with festival favourite Cloud 9.
But a few years back they decided to simplify things, paring back to a duo and focusing on new ways of making music together. And while they’d had plenty of festival experience to draw from, it was when they took their music to the street and began busking with their young son, Obi, that their sound really began to emerge. They freely admit, it was something they just stumbled upon.
Since before Obi could walk he has been playing drums and dancing, and performs like he was born for the stage.
Rather than hire a babysitter, the couple decided to scrap pub/club gigs and only perform at ‘children friendly’ events, so their little boy could share the joy of music and performance with them. The three bounce off each other, and are an absolute pleasure to watch.
The great challenge as a street performer is to grab your passing audience’s attention. It’s a skill, and an art, and one they now take to the stage. The Twine’s show is one where they genuinely engage with the crowd – there’s dancing, call and response,explosive drum solos from Obi, and plenty of energy flowing both ways.
With literally dozens of pub, club and festivals shows along the east coast behind them – not to mention countless hours busking – The Twine know better than most how to make music that drags people in. It’s a skill that saw them win both the Australian,Queensland and Byron Bay busking championships,and also saw them perform repeatedly on Australia’s got Talent, 2010, channel 7.
Capturing that energy has been the approach The Twine has always taken into the studio. With four studio records already released, The Twine continue to do what they do best – taking the stage and giving both themselves and the audience a truly memorable experience.