It’s a musical meeting of the minds

NEED a pre-Christmas revival? Then sit back and enjoy a slice of Melbourne chamber pop ensemble My Friend The Chocolate Cake on Saturday night.

Renowned songwriter David Bridie and cellist Helen Mountfort started My Friend The Chocolate Cake back in 1989, originally as a sideproject to their acclaimed ambient music ensemble Not Drowning Waving. The pair began piecing together a formidable ensemble of their musical friends and colleagues, with violinist Hope Csutoros, double bassist Dead Addison, guitarist Andrew Richardson and drummer Greg Patten currently rounding out the MFTCC line-up.

Influenced by everything from Irish folk music to Joy Division, John Cale and Michelle Shocked, the band write emotive, wry songs about people, characters and their community, defying easy categorisation with tunes that range from subtle chamber instrumentals to acoustic pop hits.

It’s a recipe that has led to two ARIA Awards for Best Adult Contemporary Album (for Brood in 1995 and Good Luck in 1997) and made My Friend The Chocolate Cake a popular choice for film and television soundtrack producers.

After touring to Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Adelaide, the Blue Mountains, Castlemaine, Wagga Wagga and Melbourne this year to launch their latest album The Revival Meeting, My Friend the Chocolate Cake are heading to Hobart’s Theatre Royal this weekend.

Released in May, The Revival Meeting has been hailed as the group’s most accomplished record to date. The album features the single Jeffrey Smart (Silver City), a “tale about seeking to find the edge, the natural textural beauty and surreal light in the urban ordinary in the way that the expatriate Australian painter Jeffrey Smart did”.

My Friend The Chocolate Cake play at the Theatre Royal from 8pm on Saturday. Tickets are $20-$60, phone 6233 2299 or go to www. theatreroyal.com.au for bookings.