New Weird Australia

Stu Buchanan talks with artist Bridget Chappell - raver, musician, writer and organiser - who makes frenetic and febrile electronic music as Hextape, and has been organising parties in drains, observatories, and other fascinating locations for many years. In 2020, they released their debut album under their own name titled Undertow, which blends sonified data from the City of Melbourne’s Open Data Platform with Melbourne's public sound sculpture, the Federation Bells.Brought up in Canberra, now resident in Melbourne; Bridget has a diverse practice that also encompasses writing, teaching and curating, as well as sound art for installations and performances; most recently for their first solo exhibition No Comment, which investigated the science of phase cancellation and its potential role as an act of sonic resistance.Music featured in this episode:Hextape - I Just Wanna Race (Friendships Remix)Hextape - YubabaHextape - 200 Fast 200 Furious (Corin Remix)Hextape - Revenge (Gabber Modus Operandi Remix)Bridget Chappell - Elizabeth StreetMark Temple - The Sound of the SARS-CoV-2 GenomeBridget Chappell - Freshwater Fallshttps://www.bridgetchappell.com/ 

Stu Buchanan talks with Sia Ahmad, one of Canberra's most prolific experimental artists, curators and producers, and relentless advocate for the local independent, DIY and underground music scenes. She discusses her recent body of work including 2018's ground-breaking "quiver"; the 2020 albums im/modesty and A Body Full Of Tears; and the upcoming remix collection Realignment.Music featured in this episode:- flaw, featured (Remix by Dijit) - from Realignment- im/modesty (with Australian Art Orchestra) - from im/modesty- "mask-ed" - from "quiver"- double checks against the corner (b) - from A Body Full Of Tears- team pressure - from A Body Full Of Tears- blown out / trace out (Remix by Lorraine James) - from Realignment- deficit - from A Body Full Of Tearsshoebahmad.bandcamp.com

Jessica at Birth is the solo outsider art project of multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter and performing artist Hanna Jenkin. Fusing vintage tape loops with in-the-box electronic production, Hanna blends spoken word stories with guitar, bass loops and experimental indy-punk percussion. Music featured in this episode:- Paperdaisy In The Spring Rain- To The Teeth- Waterburds- Speedway Queen- Windy Louvrejessicaatbirth.bandcamp.com

Having dedicated much of her early career to the electronic duo The Golden Filter, Penelope Trappes released her solo debut Penelope One in 2016 on the Optimo label; a release she described as "percussion-less, reverb-heavy haunting atmospherics with dystopian themes". She signed to Houndstooth for Penelope Two, which mixed field recordings, meditations and guitars with synth drones, piano and layers of reverb.Earlier this year, she released Gnostic State, a commissioned sound work for Longform Editions, and this month released a new four-track EP, Eel Drip.Music featured in this episode:Gnostic StateMaeveSilenceBurn On (Mogwai Remix)Eel Driphttps://penelopetrappes.bandcamp.com/--New Weird Australia on Buy Music Club: https://buymusic.club/list/newweirdaus-new-weird-australia-selects-or-spring-2020

Laurence Pike is a Sydney-based artist who for the last twenty years has been investigating the worlds of electronic music, jazz and leftfield rock; initially as founder and drummer of Pivot (latterly PVT); through various collaborative projects including Szun Waves and Triosk; and more recently as a solo artist, release three albums in as many years.  Using this new album 'Prophecy' as a backdrop, Laurence reflects on the place and purpose of art amidst apocalyptic events; how underlying shifts in culture and society are impacting on the future of music; and his upcoming collaboration with Angus Andrew as the newest member of Liars.Music featured in this episode:- Laurence Pike - Nero (from 'Prophecy')- Laurence Pike - Ember (from 'Prophecy')- Laurence Pike - Rapture (from 'Prophecy')- Szun Waves - Stutter (from 'Three')- Laurence Pike - Dance Of The Earth (Liars Remix) (Original version from 'Holy Spring')laurence-pike.squarespace.com

Sumn Conduit is the duo project of Indigenous Australian improviser and experimental vocalist Sonya Holowell , and modular synthesist and composer Ben Carey.  Their debut release 'Track' highlights the unique marriage of their two worlds, and in this episode we embark on a wide-ranging discussion that covers the 'oneness and multiplicity' of their approach; using visual stimuli in improvisation; the meaning and contradictions of 'experimental music'; and Sonya's recent long-form article, 'Decolonising the High Arts'.https://sumnconduit.com/Read Sonya's article at https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/article/opera-summit-decolonising-the-high-arts-part-aWatch Art Gallery of NSW 'Together in Art' performance https://youtu.be/wuxbHQImksQ 

Party Dozen is the sonic partnering of saxophonist Kirsty Tickle and percussionist Jonathan Boulet. Loosely based around improvisation, the duo create a mesmerising collision that is wild, weird and well out of the park. Stu Buchanan talks to the duo about creating colour out of chaos and breathing new life into the sax.Featured in this episode:- Auto Loser- Party Dozen- Scheisse Kunst- World Prayer- The Great Ape- Auto Loser (Mogwai Remix)https://party-dozen.bandcamp.com/

All of Amby Downs’ recordings are made with a decolonial intention, and engage with deep listening and deep historical thought to explore that which lies beyond the settler-colonial surface. Her latest album “Cylical” continues the connections first explored in her debut “Kinjarling Studies”, channelling ‘place’ through ambient soundscapes, radio recordings, improvised guitar and manipulated vocals.Featuring:– tornderrup kep (time-lapse with boyu)– terraformed land– violent cops attacking protesters– yuwarra-y / dhinagarralawaa (stages of grieving)– coogal moort wattern (a burial)ambydowns.bandcamp.com

Reuben Ingall is a prolific artist, musician and maker of mischief and supports the experimental music scene in his home town of Canberra through both a long-running radio show and monthly gig series.  His latest project is ‘NIMBY2’, a second collection of recordings made with no-input mixing board, and swiftly follows on from ‘Tuft’, an album of layers and loops and lo-fi acoustic instruments.In this episode, Stu Buchanan talks to Reuben about both projects, as well as his recent adventures in sound recording and his twin passions of (very) slow music and the 1996 Hollywood blockbuster ‘Independence Day’.Featured in this episode:13 (from ‘NIMBY2’)Hyperdillic (from ‘Tuft’)Ladies Market (from ‘Hongymoon’)Forever Young (from ‘A Slowed Remix Something’)5 (from ‘NIMBY2’)www.reubeningall.com