Makee

Biography

Makee is Perth-based musician Daniel Cavalli, whose musical life began playing drums and guitar. As drummers were rarer than guitarists, and because he was a shy team player rather than a guitar hero, Cavalli most often hit the skins when jamming with friends. It wasn’t long before Cavalli figured that the best way to mesh his love of stringed things with drums and other instruments was to try his hand at production. Thus began a rather long and protracted musical journey littered with four tracks, samplers, sequencers and reel-to-reel tape, culminating in the purchase of a computer and some dodgy sequencing software. Even though he was immersed in a sea of ’90s atmospheric drum ’n’ bass at the time, he slowly but surely began to navigate back to his roots in guitar-based music, started playing bass, and even plucked up the courage to sing now and again.

Then disaster struck: hard drive failure and no back-up. With all but a few of his scratched demo CDs lost, he began to rebuild his compositions. This was timely, as Hidden Shoal’s Cam Merton showed interested in doing something more, following on from Cavalli’s remix of [The] Caseworker’s ‘Hold On To The Road’. Makee then re-acquainted himself with an old mate called Hooch and got to work finishing his debut self-titled EP.

News

• Hidden Shoal in Textura’s Ten Favourite Labels of 2018 List!

  Hidden Shoal is incredibly honoured to have been selected as one of Textura’s Ten Favourite Labels of 2018. Textura is, in our opinion, the premiere new music magazine and favourite of the label team for unearthing and exposing new and exciting new music. This is the second time Hidden Shoal has been selected in Textura’s best labels list and as always we are nestled against some other very special labels, all of who you should check out.

  Now for a very brief and unnecessary acceptance speech – we are nothing without our incredible roster of artists, who continually amaze, inspire and surprise us. Thank you all!

   

   

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• Eat Your Friends: A Hidden Shoal 10th Anniversary Compilation

  Hidden Shoal is excited to end the celebration of its 10th year of existence with the new compilation album Eat Your Friends, comprising remixes and covers of Hidden Shoal artists, by Hidden Shoal artists. This freely downloadable album not only showcases the wealth of original music released through Hidden Shoal, but also the creative ingenuity and deft musical touch of the remixers and cover artists.

  From searing solar-flared adaptations to delicately reconstructed covers, deep space jam reworkings, and shimmering ambient tapestries, Eat Your Friends reimagines the Hidden Shoal discography in new and beautiful ways, playing to all the strengths of the roster’s dizzying array of talent.

  Includes remixes and covers by: Antonymes, Arc Lab, Glanko, Wayne Harriss, Liminal Drifter, Makee, Chloe March, Markus Mehr, Erik Nilsson, REW<<, Slow Dancing Society, Tin Manzano, Willem Gator, and Zealous Chang  of music by: Arc Lab, Brother Earth, Cheekbone, City of Satellites, Medard Fischer, Gilded, Glanko & Daniel Bailey, Kryshe, Memorybell, Erik Nilsson, perth, Slow Dancing Society, Tangled Star, Umpire, and Zealous Chang.

  Eat Your Friends is available now as a free download via Bandcamp and is also streamable via SoundCloud. Listen and then throw yourself into the wormhole as you explore the originals and more work by the remixers and cover artists.  For all the filmmakers, games designers and others in need of engaging music, don’t forget that all tracks in our catalogue are available for licensing (film, tv, games, compilations etc).

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• Hidden Shoal is 10!

  Hidden Shoal is extremely excited to be celebrating its 10th birthday this month. It’s hard to believe that back in May 2006, Perth-based musicians Cam Merton, Stuart Medley and Malcolm Riddoch began Hidden Shoal Recordings as a means to put out releases by local artists. Tim Clarke, based in Melbourne, joined the team in 2007. Hidden Shoal has since gone on to become a much-loved independent label and publisher, releasing over 120 albums from a diverse range of international artists and licensing music from its catalogue across film, tv, web and compilation.

  Stay tuned for special anniversary announcements in the coming months!

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• Makee’s Debut Self-Titled EP Out Now

  We’re excited to announce the official release of the brilliant debut self-titled EP by Perth-based artist Makee. You can grab the EP on CD and in digital formats here and read more about the artist here.

  Makee’s bright-eyed, beat-driven tracks, as danceable as they are atmospheric, build to create a thoroughly rewarding sonic whole. His debut self-titled EP, self-described as “looped samples of atmospheric nostalgia”, stretches luxuriously across seemingly disparate genres. The fog-laden disco of ‘Bail’ is shot through with a beatific vibe; ‘Stez’ surges relentlessly on motorik rhythms; ‘Tone’ burns with ecstatic, sun-blind intensity; ‘Wake’ is infused with Caribou-esque psychedelia; and finale ‘Bord’ takes a leap into the void with the fervour of prime kosmische that’s been mollified by shoegaze.

  “For one thing, the detached retro unleashed from the looped up mind of Makee will hypnotise you in double quick time with the post Eurodisco sensibilities of “Bail” easily rendering your ears spellbound even if you’ve never been to Frankfurt. “ – BluesBunny

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• Makee Scoops Featured Track at RTR, Kramies at Froggy Delight

  Quick double barreled news blast for you. Kramies‘ campaign to free The Wooden Heart EP continues. Along with being available via Kramies Bandcamp for free download the EP is now also directly downloadable from the lovely French zine Froggy’s Delights.

  Now onto some news for Perth-based Makee – his new single has just been chosen as one of RTRFM’s tracks of the week via their Sound Selection feature. Be sure to grab the track, watch the music video and wait for his self-title debut EP to drop on the 19th of November.

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• Makee ‘bail’ Single and Music Video

  We have some sonic and visual delights for you today in the form of the beautiful debut single from Makee and its luscious accompanying music video. ‘bail’ is the first track from Perth-based Makee’s forthcoming self-titled debut EP, out November 19th. Grab the single at Bandcamp, stream it at Soundcloud and check out the video at YouTube and Vimeo.

  Makee’s bright-eyed, beat-driven tracks are as danceable as they are atmospheric and build to create a thoroughly rewarding sonic whole. His debut self-titled EP, self-described as “looped samples of atmospheric nostalgia”, stretches luxuriously across seemingly disparate genres. The fog-laden disco of ‘Bail’ is shot through with a beatific vibe; ‘Stez’ surges relentlessly on motorik rhythms; ‘Tone’ burns with ecstatic, sun-blind intensity; ‘Wake’ is infused with Caribou-esque psychedelia; and finale ‘Bord’ takes a leap into the void with the fervour of prime kosmische that’s been mollified by shoegaze.

  Enjoy the single and video and keep your ears peeled for the EP in November!
  

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• Makee Signs to Hidden Shoal

  A fantastic announcement to end the week – Perth based artist Daniel Cavalli, aka Makee, has signed to Hidden Shoal. His self-titled debut EP will be released on the 19th of November with a single and music video dropping next week (23 Oct). Makee’s new EP will also join our licensing and publishing catalogue. We see many a visual sync for these wonderful tracks!

  Makee’s bright-eyed, beat-driven tracks, as danceable as they are atmospheric, build to create a thoroughly rewarding sonic whole. His debut self-titled EP, self-described as “looped samples of atmospheric nostalgia”, spreads itself across beatific disco, ecstatic electronica, and shoegazing kosmische. The EP follows on from Makee’s first foray through Hidden Shoal, the wonderful remix of [The] Caseworker’s ‘Hold On To The Road’.

  Read more at Makee’s artist profile and keep your ears and eyes out next week for the new single and video.

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Reviews

• “Eat Your Friends” Compilation Reviewed at DOA

  “Over almost a decade, Hidden Shoal records developed a reputation as a consistently innovative and experimental music label, giving to us music of remarkable qualities whether it was the instrumental excursions of Gilded, the blissed-out indie of My Majestic Star, the electronica of Marcus Mehr, the alt.folk stylings of Kramies – the HSR list of significant talents was a lengthy one. I say was, as in 2014 or thereabouts, the Hidden Shoal label underwent a reorganisation of sorts, and it began to seem that one of the more influential Australian record labels of the recent past was itself going into hiding. Perhaps so, although only to return refreshed, renewed, invigorated and with its varying artistic visions intact – the Eat Your Friends compilation proves that the Hidden Shoal label is properly with us again.

  One thing I’ve found when reviewing compilations is that not infrequently, when I put them into my music players, the tracks separate instead of remaining in their album folder, and that has happened with my copy of Eat Your Friends, encouraging me to view each of the tracks as a single release rather than view the album itself as a cohesive whole. Then there’s the fact that only some of its contributors are already known to me and so, ditching some of my preconceptions about what it’s going to sound like, I began listening to the 11 tracks in a random sequence, and prepared for the unexpected.

  Firstly, there’s singer/songwriter Erik Nilsson’s “Moksha Can Wait”, a song which electronic composer Marcus Mehr has taken and adapted to his subtly developed production sound, a track that begins almost inaudibly and builds to a staggering crescendo of soaring, roaring electronic sound and with Nilsson’s guitar and piano providing a counterpoint to Mehr’s swirling atmospherics. The ambient chill of City Of Satellites is given an added gloss by Tim Manzano, although I’m not so sure what he’s actually done with the track – it does sound a lot like the City Of Satellites I know from their Machine Is My Animal album, although as the track progresses and the rhythm and bass begin to disintegrate into a dubby conclusion it seems more apparent where Manzano has left his mark. Arc Lab’s “Through The Burning Glass” is remixed by Glanko, beginning with a club-level bassline before levelling into a noir tinged synth epic. And just when you thought the tracks on Eat Your Friends were entirely instrumentals, Rew perform a cover version of Umpire’s “Green Light District” and they do it with a vocal, alongside the strings and crashing cymbals and haltingly uncertain rhythms, a highlight of an album each of whose tracks is in one or another way remarkable.”

  – DOA

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• Makee “Makee” EP Reviewed at Luna Kafe

  “Makee is a Perth-based one-man-band. Daniel Cavalli, being a creative musician described as ‘a shy team player..’, started up playing drums and guitar. He has formerly also been doing some remixing work, f.i. Hidden Shoal’s [The] Caseworker’s “Hold On To The Road” (originally from Letters From The Coast), rather splendidly ‘re-imagined’ by Cavalli. This debut, self-titled EP shows proof (with his music) of what the label tags as being ‘bright-eyed, beat-driven tracks, as danceable as they are atmospheric’. Self-described, Makee’s EP is ‘..looped samples of atmospheric nostalgia..’. In some strange way Makee’s music make me think of a more shy, dance-beat version of, say…Joy Division and The National. Add some Caribou, as well as much/many more.

  Hidden Shoal further go on (on his musical background) that he was: ‘..immersed in a sea of 1990s atmospheric drum’n’bass at the time, he slowly but surely began to navigate back to his roots in guitar-based music, started playing bass, and even plucked up the courage to sing now and again..’. This EP for sure is delicate and elegant, made with tenderness and affection, as the tracks beam out: “bail”, “stez”, “tone”, “wake”, and “bord”. Shy music, makes shy titles, but the musical confidence is way strong. The record label proudly announced ‘sonic and visual delights’ when the debut single, “bail”, was launched a couple of weeks ago, with its accompanying music video. It’s a beauty. Cavalli (armed with a computer, samplers, sequencers and a reel-to-reel tape, plus more) creates shimmering moments of highly electric pop. Hidden Shoal also describe Makee’s music to spread across ‘beatific disco, ecstatic electronica, and shoegazing kosmische’. This is a to-the-point description. Makee EP is a hidden teasure, and my guess is that it will stay a treasure. As well as, I am afraid, it will stay hidden. I dare you to dig its gold.

  Hidden Shoal: ‘Grab the single (and the EP) at Bandcamp, stream it at Soundcloud and check out the video at YouTube and Vimeo.’ That is some good advice. This is technicolor dream pop.”

  – Luna Kafe

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• Makee “Makee” EP Reviewed at Music Won’t Save You

  [Poorly translated from the Italian via Google Translate. Read the original here.]

  In that broad limbo between reminiscences wave and soundscapes driven by the rhythm ranks the Australian Daniel Cavalli, to debut under the alias Makee with a self-titled EP released by compatriot Hidden Shoal.

  I spent the drummer of Horses make full justification of its interest applied to a language eminently electronic, not averse to temptations dancefloor but in hindsight animated by a spirit more akin to that of feverish “Madchester” wildest of the early nineties that brain idm current practices.

  If fact, the opening words “Bail”, with its deep electronic beats, could herald a job in key purely wave-gaze not averse to an expressive dimension of physical nature, the density of the plot between keyboards and guitars of “Stez” and “Wake”, complete with vocals low and dark, turns towards horizons more turbid restlessness, which recall how extraordinary the British alternative scene of the nineties was also populated by bands such as Happy Mondays and Stone Roses certain. In this sense, the first evidence of record Makee is both the representation of a cross-section expressive dating, usually not very considered, and its actualization in a lively electronic dimension.

  – Music Won’t Save You

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• Makee EP Reviewed at SpaceRockMountain

  “Makee is the moniker of a musician from Perth, Western Australia otherwise known as David Cavalli. I gather from the promo info that this dude lost most of his music in a hard drive crash and so what we’re getting to enjoy is his attempt to rebuild his compositions. Regardless of all the preambles, the actual songs are fucking chill. They’re smooth electronic tunes that he’s tagged as “dreamtronica,” a term I am sure is of pretty fresh coinage. The songs have an airy ephemeral tone while retaining a solid rhythm. I really found myself liking the track called “tone” with the layering of elements and that very cool bass and psychedelic guitar licks. It’s been released through the very awesome Australian label, Hidden Shoal, which if you’re not familiar with you should look into.”

  – SpaceRockMountain

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• Makee EP Reviewed at Totoromoon

  [Translated from the French via Google Translate. Read the original here.]
  “The Hidden Shoal label, which has already released the excellent Kramies record , has unveiled a few days ago a new project from Australia: Makee. Behind Makee and his first self-titled EP is hiding the composer and musician Daniel Cavalli.

  Makee creates danceable and atmospheric electronica. Beaches both soft and rhythmic throughout with a flush of nostalgia.The five titles on the disc are in the image of its beautifully painted cover: they point to an evanescent horizon, makes great outdoors, pastel shades and bright sounds.

  Here, guitars, keyboards synthetic cloths, faraway voice samples and some scattered beyond deci blend harmoniously. The opening track is disco travel as soft and radiant vibrations, on Bord, the final instrumental pop tinged with soothing rhythm guitars, the compositions of the Australian happening happiness in simplicity and apparent lightness that one relishes from beginning to end.”

  – Totoromoon

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• Makee “Makee” Reviewed at BluesBunny

  “I like a bit of mystery. It adds something to the process of musical discovery. Why, for example, are all the songs on Makee’s self-titled EP four letters long? For that matter, is Australia really upside down?

  Pondering that kind of thing will make all the blood rush to your head but all that blood rushing to your head does have its advantages. For one thing, the detached retro unleashed from the looped up mind of Makee will hypnotise you in double quick time with the post Eurodisco sensibilities of “Bail” easily rendering your ears spellbound even if you’ve never been to Frankfurt. Looping things – for that is Makee’s musical weapon of choice – together with rather greater vehemence seems the plan for “Stez” as if to provide that vicious counterpoint to the dance floor while “Tone” takes irony to limit in the name of seventies space funk.

  “Wake”, for all its rhythmic predictability, is in clear and present danger of assaulting all that is ambient with the kind of short sharp shock guitar that once made the world safe for Goodbye Mr McKenzie. The longest song, and the most casual in its musical intentions is “Bord” and even that click tracks diligently in search of answers that aren’t actually there.

  The kind of manic insistence that drives Makee’s music would make these songs ideal for the soundtrack to any cheesy seventies exploitation movie starring Maria de Aragon. The mark of approval is duly given. – 4/5”

  – BluesBunny

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• Makee “Makee” Reviewed at Life is Noise

  “Makee is the name given to the hazy beat creations of Dan Cavalli – who in the past was seen drumming in some bygone electronic acts out of Perth like The Transients and Druid Lee Roth. But this is an entirely new transformation.

  For the past 10 years or so, Cavalli has been quietly dabbling in music production in his bedroom on “four tracks, samplers, sequencers and reel-to-reel tape… and some dodgy sequencing software” to create a five-track collection of sun-drenched, guitar-driven beats that’ll amiably have you drifting off to a place much more idyllic.

  Perhaps hinting at Cavalli’s vast range of influences, this transgresses a whole span of genres, from disco to shoegaze, dreamy pop psychedelia and kosmische musik, all lovingly submerged in some atypical Balearic beats — which thankfully manages to surpass that genre’s cheesy associations.”

  – Life is Noise

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Press Releases

Makee EP Press Release

Artist Photos

Music Videos

Licensing

Makee’s music is  available for licensing (master & sync cleared) through Hidden Shoal. Please contact us with some basic details about your project and the track(s) you wish to use and we’ll be sure to get back to you straight away.