The Dirty Three at Work on New LP, Tour Film

Beloved Melbourne-based instrumental trio The Dirty Three have seemingly had their dayplanners booked solid ever since the release of last year's We Have No Strings Apollo. After touring Taiwan earlier this year, they briefly visited Rose Street Studios in their hometown of Melbourne to work on demos. Soon after all this productive music making took place, guitarist Mick Turner had a baby girl (actually, we're suspecting a significant female companion of Turner's actually delivered the child) and has since taken paternity leave from the band to fully embrace his new fatherhood. During this time, The Dirty Three composed a soundtrack for a short film and contributed some material to a strange French compilation entitled The Exquisite Corpse Project. Possible studio time and touring is reported for the end of the year.

In the meantime, the group has recently accomplished a significant feat in the near-completion of their long-awaited tour film. Titled 1000 Miles: Dirty Three Live, the feature-length production contains footage from the band's most recent North American tour, containing several live performances (a rarity and treat for fans of the band) while focusing mainly on the geography, mood and physical condition of touring itself. Low bassist Zak Sally was also on hand for the duration of the tour, turning the band, however briefly, into The Dirty Four. Directed by Dutch Harbor filmmaker Braden King. There is presently no set release date for the film, but speculation has it sometime near the first quarter of 2005. Cross your dirty fingers.