Downgrade delve into the sweaty underbelly of Sydney’s punk scene with their debut documentary, ‘COLD/HEAT LIVE FROM DOWNGRADE HQ’…

Equipped with an inventory of vintage analog gear and a keen eye for dank aesthetics, Downgrade are the somewhat elusive collective documenting a murkier side of Sydney’s music scene.

Known foremost for their glitched-out live performance videos (which have featured the likes of Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders, Enclave, Peel, Dead Witch, Big White, G.U.N., Second Idol and even the DMA’s, to name a few), Downgrade have previously dabbled in their own live stream video series, music videos, VJ sets and collaborations with live music events, like Coalchella.

Now, the collective have turned their sights for the first time on the documentary format, with their latest offering, a collaboration with beloved Sydney experimental electronic punk outfit, Cold/Heat.

The documentary centres around a packed-out live event that took place at Downgrade HQ earlier this year for Cold/Heat’s single launch (with sets from Black Dahlia and Shadowgrinder), the kind of heaving, adrenaline-fuelled night for which you need to be in some kind of know if you want any chance of hearing about.

Captured from the perspective of the party-goer, the footage is frenetic and inebriated, intercut with bathroom breaks, illicit substances and non-sequiturs with strangers.

Paired with an interview with Cold/Heat frontman John Hynd, the documentary reflects on what it means to be an artist in this day and age, and how, despite a fashionable temptation to state otherwise, Sydney’s music scene very much has a pulse (if you know where to find it).

We caught up with Downgrade to chat about the documentary and what drives them to provide this fuzzy record of Sydney’s subterranean music scene. Check out ‘COLD/HEAT LIVE FROM DOWNGRADE HQ’ and our interview below.

So when and where did Downgrade start?

Steve: It started a while ago. We’d accumulated all this analog tech – video synths, vintage video mixers and a small collection of AV MiniDV cameras. Originally it was for video mixing, like VJ stuff, live visuals. We were doing it old school: manipulating footage by creating analog anomalies. But it just seemed too nice for people who are, like, drug fucked in the club. The gear is heavy and expensive and no one really cares because they’re there for the music, and this is just scenery. We’re just AV guys.

What are some of the projects you’ve worked on so far?

We began with a streaming series with a bunch of bands like Cold/Heat, Ultra Boy, Enclave, Behind You. We started before Covid, which was unfortunate, cuz at the time, we were like, streaming is so weird. No one’s doing it. It seems like it could be the future. So let’s make a music video live in real-time. Then Covid happened and it became like, oh, you can’t go to concerts anymore and then everyone started live-streaming.

We also live-streamed a whole-day festival, with some cool bands like Jack Ladder, Shining Bird and Body Type. More recently we did a Jack Ladder concert and a G.U.N. video. We also filmed Jacky & The Wunderz at Tiles in Lewisham. Next video we’re releasing will be Munashe’s live album recording, which we’re pretty excited about.

Talk to me about the Cold/Heat doco. How did that come about? 

The concept came from John [of Cold/Heat]. Originally we were going to centre it around a show they were doing supporting Buzz Kull. But then the idea of doing a doco for the support act just seemed kind of funny. Like, the “other band”.

The show got cancelled over and over again because of Covid. And we were just walking through the garage below Good Space, and we were like, why don’t we just put the show on here? I can’t remember exactly how it happened, but as soon as we had the idea we were kinda like, that would be cool.

On the night there was a fight that broke out in the laneway, which we extinguished. There was also a drum and bass gig happening next door. I think they gave up and packed their speakers down cuz we were competing for the decibels.

What was the concept behind the documentary? 

We interviewed John at his studio. Very casual, very improvised. Then we tried to film the show through the eyes of someone at the gig. Just someone going, getting fucked up, having fun. We gave the camera to some of our friends. Record button on, just capture the whole night. And like, get in people’s faces, take the camera everywhere, full coverage. And if the cops show up, definitely get that.

Then putting the video together, it’s a pretty weird format. But the idea is the film just plays out, like a memory of the night. Just flashes of events, little details that you may have noticed, and then hard cut to the next thing, then the next thing, the order gets mixed up and then it’s over way too fast.

Exactly how an attendee would experience it.

I hope so. You get a little bit of a song, a bit of conversation. Then something that may or may not have happened. And then, at the end, everything just becomes static and garbled. Experience translated into VHS, glitchiness and nostalgia.

Do you have a preferred piece of gear you use to Downgrade-ify something? Or is that a secret?

It’s not a secret. I DIY made a video synth for the G.U.N. Downgrade. Just by running a few mixers. I won’t say exactly how, cuz I don’t know if it’s “technically” a video synth, but also it’s my video synth, so to me, it’s a video synth. I think that’s my favourite.

We try to stay as authentically analog as possible. No digital effects. Minimal tampering in post. Like, obviously we’ll edit it. Although at the start we weren’t editing, we would be live mixing. Which was beautiful. We’d just finish the gig, and the gig was edited.

Now I have this set-up in my studio with a few broadcast monitors and a VCR, some mixers and cables running all over the place. And then you can kind of customise [the footage], and what you get coming out sometimes looks kind of cool. Like weird glitches and stuff that gets stamped onto the footage. Everything is unique, which is what’s cool about it. It’s special.

It’s cool, because there aren’t that many opportunities for artists to represent their music in these analog formats, unless they go out and get the gear or know someone. And I think that’s the special thing about Downgrade.

The VHS aesthetic has a certain tactility to it. It feels sometimes, with the glitches and the anomalies, like it almost pops out of the screen. Or it responds to sensory things happening in the footage, like light and movement. But then it has this unpredictable nature to it as well, which feels like it’s mimicking a live experience. There are these undefinable elements, and you can feel the sound, and it just feels more tangible, more palpable.

Live music is all about the texture. It’s time and space and energy and aggression. It’s a shared live experience, and we’re trying to build an aesthetic to reflect that experience.

Talk to me about the vision behind Downgrade. It’s built on this undeniable anti-establishment sensibility. Where does that come from and why do you think it’s important?

The music scene in Sydney has taken a hard hit. It’s been decimated. The lockout laws happened and a lot of venues are starved and gone. It’s fucked up how police will shut down gigs just because of a few noise complaints. This city seems to be prioritising a lot of things over the arts, culture and the youth.

It’s still really hard to play live music here after a certain hour, or in a certain place. And most of the world is not like that. In other parts of the world, live music pours out onto the streets, and it’s a celebration. And here, it’s like a criminal act sometimes. I mean, it’s just fucking music.

It’s the perfect climate to do something that is cool and different. Because not many other people are doing stuff like that. And yeah, it is somewhat counterculturist. We love artists who are outliers.

You’re either a hole-in-the-roof kind of band or you’re not.

In a way, it’s trying to help keep live music alive and remind people that it exists. And it’s out there and it’s available. Giving bands a platform. There are a lot of cool artists in Sydney to collaborate with. There are heaps. Sometimes they’re harder to find. But they’re out there.

That was one really cool thing that struck me from the interview with John – when he was like, there are four amazing gigs happening every night of the weekend or whatever. And I was like, whoa, really? That’s not the Sydney I know.

Yeah. It’s coming back. There’s a mini-revival of live music in Sydney and people are excited about it. More bands are popping up and more people are trying new things. There are other things (radio stations, live events) out there that are also providing a platform for independent artists.

Every city needs a punk presence. Something out there to remind people that police and authority don’t own us. That there are forces greater, which represent something bigger, and people are willing to fight for it.

Do you feel like that kind of anti-establishment spirit is fading in the world? Or art is succumbing to other forces, like the corporate world? I feel like there’s a real temptation to romanticise the zeitgeists of decades past.

I think there’s no point in being too cynical about it – the idea that things are getting worse. Although, I will say this city is literally getting greyer. There is that. But I think there’s always gonna be people who feel compelled to make art, or to make something cool, or something new. You just gotta seek it out.

What does the future look like for Downgrade? Will you do more documentaries?

Yeah. Big plans, big fucking plans [laughs]. No, we actually have another documentary in the works and we’re currently planning an event for December. Aside from that, we’ll see what comes up, I guess. We’re always open to partners, collaborators, bands, spaces, institutions. Artists with real stories to tell.

For anyone wondering, who is Downgrade?

It’s three friends: Steven Lattuca, Aaron Zanbaka and Paul Andrew Rhodes. We’ve just always made shit together, and this kind of brought all three of our talents together. Sometimes we go off and do our own things, but then we always come back and work on things.

They always come crawling back.

Fuck, yeah. A little bit. The people you text at 3:00 AM. You up? Wanna do a Downgrade?

Follow Downgrade on Instagram or head to their website to keep up with the latest.