New Weird Australia Volume Six, June 2010, NWA006
DOWNLOAD FREE at newweirdaustralia.bandcamp.com

1. AMBROSE CHAPEL, Black Lava (7:47) previously unreleased
2. JONNY TELAFONE, Stardate 2012.1221 (3:33) from ‘Rainbow Genesis’ (self-released)
3. CHROME DOME, She Said (1:13) from ‘Chrome Dome’ (Lexicon Devil)
4. WIGWAM, Ancient Path (3:31) from ‘Sweat Lodge’ (Badminton Bandit)
5. J NEWMAN & R SQUIRES, The Church Of Our Lady Of Pompeii (Excerpt) (3:50) from ‘Our Lady Of Pompeii’ (Gift Project Audio)
6. KYNAN TAN, Melt (4:44) from ‘Two Clouds’ (self-released)
7. TRJAEU, Hull (4:56) from ‘Home EP’ (self-released)
8. EASTERN GREY, 24-5 (9:23) previously unreleased
9. PANEYE, Staircases Under the Sea (3:20) from ‘Lying Under Moribund Waves’ (Secret Station Records / Butter People Records)
10. ISLE ADORE, Keep A Lid On (4:53) from ‘Perfect Dust’ (OWLS)
11. UNDERLAPPER, Elephant Shoe (2:51) previously unreleased, from forthcoming album ‘ Softly Harboured’
12. DANGER BEACH, Milky Way (2:02) previously unreleased
13. PHILIP SULIDAE, Dead Horse Gap (6:07) from ‘An High Land’ (dontcaresulidae)
14. ANNA CHASE, Lines (3:42) previously unreleased

Compiled by Stuart Buchanan.
Artwork by David Egan, www.badmintonbandit.com
Click artist title for background information and links.
All music licenced via Creative Commons (Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives), except track 9, all rights reserved.

Sleeve Notes, June 2010:

Curating and sequencing the New Weird Australia compilation series is a difficult business – underpinning each track-listing is a desire to present both a sense of cohesion and one of contrast. They might at first seem at polar opposites, but in fact it is the latter that provides the aural glue for the former – as we believe this latest volume clearly proves.

We open with a track that could only placed at the start – a statement of intent that clearly signals that all bets are indeed in the off position. Ambrose Chapel’s patient slice of epic drone metal takes nearly five minutes to introduce any percussive elements, by which point a growing sense of disorientation has already dislodged any preconceptions about what might follow. If you’re not already feeling paranoid by the end of track one, Jonny Telafone will certainly drive you there – signalling the end of the world in track two (happening sometime next year, apparently). However, his apocalyptic vision is tempered with an electro clarion call, insisting that we take a moment of heady refuge and get it on with whoever might be closest.

The contrasts and cohesion continues throughout the volume: Chrome Dome‘s furious, motorik rant against needy members of the opposite sex is juxtaposed with Wigwam‘s sweaty, stumbling percussion and mid-tempo tribal shuffle; Eastern Grey‘s lengthy, freeform piece pitches analogue machine against analogue machine in a squealing and unsettling battle for aural domination, whereas Isle Adore calms us all down with a perfect drop of experimental pop, culled from a sadly neglected album that richly deserves wider acclaim.

Nowhere is the yin / yang more obvious than in the closing couplet. Philip Sulidae‘s dense slab of black tar drone falls into Anna Chase‘s tempered closing shot of sparse vocals, guitar and accordion – all of which belies a fitting moment of quiet defiance, with Chase insisting that we’re simply “not going to take it any more”.

This line in the sand is an appropriate finale to Volume Six, and indeed to both Year One of New Weird Australia and our process to date. Our next releases will see a change in direction – with guest curators, thematic and genre-specific compilations and a new series of artist EPs, released free with limited CDs available on the side. A contrast to what has gone before, but nonetheless a cohesive and natural evolution to our new, weird, Australian story.

New Weird Australia is a not-for-profit initiative designed to promote and support new eclectic and experimental Australian music. Our current projects include a free download compilation series, a weekly show on Sydney’s FBi Radio and an irregular program of live events. Contributions from Australian artists are welcomed and encouraged.

New Weird Australia, Unputdownable & Sunday Night At The Movies present
Unpopular Music 2009, A Benefit Album For FBi Radio, NWAUM001

Seven exclusive tracks, recorded live at ‘ Unpopular Music 2009′, a benefit gig for Sydney community radio station, FBi 94.5FM. All artists have donated their tracks for use in this album, and 100% of all sales go directly to FBi.

DOWNLOAD AT newweirdaustralia.bandcamp.com, Price $10

1. NICK WISHART, Untitled (Live at Unpopular Music 2009) (04:22)
2. ANNA CHASE, Lines (Live at Unpopular Music 2009) (04:52)
3. SCISSOR LOCK, Untitled (Live at Unpopular Music 2009) (12:08)
4. ANON, Untitled (Live at Unpopular Music 2009) (16:29)
5. kyü, Sunny In Splodges (Live at Unpopular Music 2009) (05:19)
6. MANDALA TRAP (Pimmon & Jeff Burch) - Untitled (Live at Unpopular Music 2009) (7:02)
7. PIMMON, Untitled (Live at Unpopular Music 2009) 6:13

Compiled by Stuart Buchanan.
Artwork by Sopp Collective, soppcollective.com.
Recorded live at The Red Rattler, Sydney, November 2009.
Recorded and mixed by FBi Radio 94.5FM.

Click artist title for background information and links.
All music copyright of the artists, all rights reserved.

Sleeve Notes, April 2010:

Three FBi radio shows, New Weird Australia, Unputdownable & Sunday Night At The Movies, came together in November 2009 at the Red Rattler in Sydney to present ‘Unpopular Music’ – a benefit to support their station. They pooled their collective networks and gathered twelve of Sydney’s innovative, experimental artists – all of whom donated their time, with all proceeds going directly to FBi, helping to ensure the ongoing survival of Sydney’s home of new music.

‘Unpopular Music 2009, A Benefit Album For FBi Radio’ collects seven exclusive tracks, recorded live at ‘Unpopular Music 2009′. Once again, all artists have donated their tracks for use in this album, and 100% of all sales go directly to FBi.  The album includes music from:

- PIMMON, an artist that has forged an international reputation for creating dense, challenging and engaging electronic music
- MANDALA TRAP, a new collaborative project between PIMMON and JEFF BURCH, solo artist and one quarter of Sydney band, SONGS
- kyü, an experimental pop outfit, building a reputation for their original and innovative sound
- ANON, aka noise artist, musician and label manager Anna Vo
- SCISSOR LOCK, an experimental project from musician Marcus Whale
- ANNA CHASE, a multi instrumentalist and vocalist who weaves melodies into familiar yet dreamy pop constructions.
- sound artist, musician and chronic circuit bender NICK WISHART – long-standing member of Toydeath

New Weird Australia broadcasts a weekly show on Sydney’s FBi 94.5FM – an independent, community-based radio station, delivering the best in new music and emerging culture. FBi plays 50% Australian music, with half of that from Sydney. As a not-for-profit entity, FBi relies on the financial support of listeners in order to stay on air, primarily by subscribing as an FBi Supporters. Every dollar raised from this release goes directly towards keeping FBi on air. For more information, visit fbiradio.com.

New Weird Australia Volume Five, March 2010, NWA005

DOWNLOAD ZIP FILE (AUDIO & ARTWORK):
Standard Quality, 160 kbps (92 MB) | Higher Quality, 320kbps (138 MB)

1. MOOKOID, Hex River Valley (3:32) from ‘Fishy’ (Pimalia)
2. DOT.AY, You Knight (5:25) previously unreleased
3. PEACE OUT!, Running On Sand, Walking On Water (4:29) from ‘Peace Out EP’ (self-released)
4. BURNING PALMS, Mockery (2:12) previously unreleased
5. THE ATLAS ROOM, Iris (5:18) previously unreleased
6. ///▲▲▲\\\, Spit Shine (2:00) previously unreleased
7. KATE CARR, Textopera (3:06) from ‘First Day Back’ (Retinascan)
8. RED PLUM & SNOW, I Would Die 4 U (2:21) previously unreleased
9. DUNS, Bad Rythm (sic) (5:47) from Cowardly Attack (c40 cassette, Willaston Tapes)
10. VORAD FILS, Temple Leak (2:42) from ‘The Warmest Static – POWWOW Ten’ (Feral Media)
11. JUSTICE YELDHAM, March Of The Bodypumpers (4:54) previously available as a Wire Magazine download
12. GAIL PRIEST, Etchings (3:22) previously unreleased
13. CAUGHT SHIP, BlackHole/SweatBeat (5:32) previously unreleased
14. CRAB SMASHER, Skin Destruction (3:58) previously unreleased
15. RIPPLES, False Mission (5:06) from ‘Ripples EP’ (self-released)
16. BLAKE FREELE, Inside There’s Expectations (8:59) previously unreleased

Compiled by Stuart Buchanan & Danny Jumpertz.
Artwork by Kris Keogh, kriskeogh.com

Click artist title for background information and links.
All music licenced via Creative Commons (Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives), except: Tracks 1, 3 & 6, all rights reserved.

Sleeve Notes, March 2010:

In his 2007 essay ‘Mob Rules’, futurist Mark Pesce noted that “John Gilmore, who co-founded SUN Microsystems … recognised an inherent quality of networks: they promote the sharing of information. This was codified in what I (only half-jokingly) call Gilmore’s Law: The net regards censorship as a failure, and routes around it.” This phrase has stuck with us in the intervening years – that the net (or more accurately, the human beings that use the net) finds censorship, and routes around it.

It came to mind again recently when considering the fracas surrounding the diminishing state of live venues in Sydney and Melbourne, highlighted by the struggles of The Tote and The Hopetoun. It was also front and centre of our minds when looking at the Australian Recording Industry Association’s 2009 Sales Report - claiming that despite an annual 72% increase in digital album sales, that “illegal file sharing… continues to erode profits and hamper investment into the local industry”. Clearly the mainstream music industry remains bewildered and befuddled by the ever-changing landscape unfolding beneath its ivory towers.

These are cited merely to highlight Gilmore’s Law in a new, weird, Australian context – that the artists on this compilation (and their kin spread throughout the country) find censorship, or find a blockage, and simply route around it. Closed venues are a blockage, mainstream industry machinations are a blockage, lazy media are a blockage, indeed any predefined ‘norm’ that restricts freedom of expression and dissemination of art, is a blockage – and in all these cases, we simply find it, and we route around it.

Crab Smasher and Red Plum & Snow route around distribution hierarchy and manufacturing expense by selling their music direct to fans on the digital platform Bandcamp. ///▲▲▲\\\ routes around traditional expectations of PR & marketing by refusing to be photographed and refusing to present a media release or bio, yet still ends up featured on the renowned U.S. site, The Fader. Justice Yeldham, aka Lucas Abela, finds a wall of noise and litigation around illegal downloads and routes around it by promoting Australian music on WFMU’s Free Music Archive (and thanks to Lucas, you’ll also find our releases there soon). The Atlas Room and Mookoid wind up on this compilation by routing around existing promo & media frameworks by hitting us up directly on Soundcloud. Burning Palms route around traditional marketing and find themselves with over 500 fans on their social network pages with zero releases under their belt. Need we go on?

Venues, channels, infrastructure and norms will all come and go. And if we can’t work with them, we’ll regard them as a failure and we’ll simply route around them. We will always network, we will always share and we will thus always survive. Call it (only half-jokingly) the NWA Law.

New Weird Australia is a not-for-profit initiative designed to promote and support new eclectic and experimental Australian music. Our current projects include a free compilation series (available to download every two months), a weekly show on Sydney’s FBi Radio and an irregular program of live events. Contributions from Australian artists are welcomed and encouraged -submission details and terms can be found on the About page.

New Weird Australia Volume Four, January 2010, NWA004

DOWNLOAD ZIP FILE (AUDIO & FRONT COVER ARTWORK):
Standard Quality, 160 kbps (83 MB) | Higher Quality, 320kbps (146 MB)

DOWNLOAD FULL SLEEVE ARTWORK: Jpeg (1.2MB)

1. TEXTILE AUDIO, Some Kind Of Mininova (5:32)
2. PAINT YOUR GOLDEN FACE, Television Is About Picture (4:12)
3. REUNION SACRED IBIS, Sing It To The Mountains (2:11)
4. TANTRUMS, Beat The Happy Pavement (4:08)
5. SCATTERED ORDER MK 1, Ruined By Me (5:44)
6. ALISTER SPENCE TRIO, Two Halves Of The Moon (3:26)
7. SCISSOR LOCK, Codify (2:05)
8. GUTTER PARTIES, Sashi (2:15)
9. NO ZU, Lay Of The Land (4:25)
10. THE TOWNHOUSES, Jigsaws Under The Clouds (4:08)
11. SEAWORTHY, They’re Cicadas You Know? (3:55)
12. GENTLEFORCE, Our Last Day Together (4:30)
13. GOLD TANGO, Telescope (3:26)
14. ALPEN, A Meditation On Flight (3:16)
15. RED_ROBIN, The Surveyor (4:36)
16. AUTOMATING, When Use Becomes Abuse (9:19)
17. SILVER BULLETIN, Minding Time (4:13)

Compiled by Stuart Buchanan & Danny Jumpertz.
Artwork by Anna Vo, annavo.wordpress.com.

Click artist title for background information and links.
All music donated by the artists for use in this compilation only, all rights reserved.
All tracks previously unreleased, except: 6. from ‘Fit’ ; 8. from ‘Marooned EP’ ; 9. from ‘Graffiti EP’; 13. from ‘Gold Tango EP’.

Sleeve Notes, January 2010:

What’s in a name?

In attempting to find answer that question, and thus establish a title for this very project, there was a solitary guiding idea – that the artists shared a deep common bond, beyond just an experimental approach to music making. In their own unique ways, we believe that each artist on New Weird Australia shares a disdain for any cabals of musical ‘authority’, an irreverence to established industry etiquette, a rejection of art neutered for acceptability, and ultimately a dismissal of ‘rules of behaviour’ in contemporary music practice. Their music exists in an autonomous zone of their own construction, unburdened by any sense of what ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’ occur.

In broader Australian culture, the comedic variant of this sensibility is often referred to as ‘larrakinism’ – characterised by the mischievous or outlandish ‘larrakin’, who gleefully flaunts regulations and standards set down by society. The nemesis of every po-faced ‘do-gooder’ in the country, the larrikin takes the piss, flaunts convention, and pushes buttons and boundaries with great abandon.

Although this action is universal, the word ‘larrikin’ is perceived as a quintessentially Australian definition, with roots as far back as the 1860s. In one of its earliest occurrences, the larrikin is beautifully cited as a “young urban rough”, although its lexicological roots suggest it was born of a conjunction between ‘leery’ (‘wide awake’ or ‘knowing’) and ‘kinchin’ (‘youngster’). Most of its recorded use in the late nineteenth century always seemed to involve both thievery and mischievousness.

Transgressions against boundaries or conventions, rejection of norms and standards handed down by an authority, all wrapped in a roughish youthful spirit – whichever way you cut it, the larrikin sensibility is writ large in New Weird Australia. No more so than in this particular volume – where Textile Audio takes both classical and operatic blueprints, and weaves them around found sounds and abstract electronica; Tasmanian duo Paint Your Golden Face rethink and reshape the fundamental essence of the male voice choir; Reunion Sacred Ibis cuts a sharp sheath through archival sounds in a spirited slice of plunderphonics; Gold Tango reinvent Kraftwerk with an unexpected tribal swagger; and Scattered Order stick two well-placed fingers up against the very idea of ‘heritage rock’, their original line-up reforming after over 25 years, with their innovative touch still absolutely to the fore – delivering an exclusive cut from their (very) long-awaited new album.

This entirely Australian larrakin paradigm – an irreverence to a learned authority, maverick thievery, a rejection of etiquette – it may help to explain why ‘New Weird Australia’ is ripped directly from ‘New Weird America’, a phrase coined by Scottish journalist David Keenan in 2003 to define a new breed of American psychedelic folk or ‘free folk’. Since then, ‘New Weird America’ has been used in a variety of ever changing contexts – cited in artandpopularculture.com as “[finding] inspiration in such disparate sources as heavy metal, free jazz, electronic music, noise music, tropicália, and early- and mid-20th century American folk music”. Any perceived rules of definition are clearly dubious.

‘New Weird Australia’ does what it says on the tin. It’s new, weird, Australian music. Thus, we felt compelled to appropriate (nay, thieve!) Keenan’s nomenclature for our own ends. Sure, it’s a bastardisation. Sure, it’s wrong-headed. But if in the rejection of a guarded sense of ‘what is right’, we put even more noses out of joint, then more power to us. And while the odd prude may cry ‘plagiarism’, they might well be missing the point.

Consider it even more broadly, reduce it to its simple acronym. The letters N,W and A. And, there once again, for a second time over, we steal where we shouldn’t steal from, we tread on toes that we shouldn’t tread on – in fact, we clearly reject any notions of what we should and shouldn’t do. An ideal I’m sure both the American freak folksters and the late Eazy-E would readily connect with.

New Weird Australia is a not-for-profit initiative designed to promote and support new eclectic and experimental Australian music. Our current projects include a free compilation series (available to download every two months), a weekly show on Sydney’s FBi Radio and an irregular program of live events. Contributions from Australian artists are welcomed and encouraged -submission details and terms can be found on the About page.

Since August 2009, New Weird Australia has been broadcasting weekly on Sydney’s FBi Radio – playing two hours of new, experimental and ecelctic Australian music, from over 300 artists to date. NWA also features regular guest performances, playing exclusive in-studio sessions – many of which are previously unreleased. This free download collects together seven of those sessions from Morning Stalker, Cleptoclectics, Scissor Lock, Go Genre Everything, Random Acts Of Elevator Music, Afxjim and The Ghost Of 29 Megacycles.

New Weird Australia, Broadcast One, NWAB001

DOWNLOAD ZIP FILE (AUDIO & ARTWORK):
High Quality, 320kbps (130MB)

1. MORNING STALKER, The Bohemian Grave (7:56)
2. CLEPTOCLECTICS, Mr Convex (5:38)
3. SCISSOR LOCK, Out By Holy Land (Scissor Lock vs Pimmon vs Scissor Lock Remix) (13:25)
4. GO GENRE EVERYTHING, Livetoair17sep2009 (Showw) (8:34)
5. RANDOM ACTS OF ELEVATOR MUSIC, Lunchtime Meditation Session (8:13)
6. AFXJIM, The Chris Jericho Diaries (8:05)
7. THE GHOST OF 29 MEGACYCLES, Leelo (Part 1) (8:22)

All recordings previously unreleased.
Originally broadcast on New Weird Australia on FBi Radio.
Stream FBi Radio at fbiradio.com, or listen in Sydney in 94.5FM.
‘New Weird Australia’ broadcasts every Thursday at 9pm (Aus EST).

Compiled by Stuart Buchanan & Danny Jumpertz.
Artwork by Rebecca Macdonald.

Click artist title for background information and links.
All music donated by the artists for use in this compilation only, all rights reserved.

New Weird Australia Volume Three, November 2009, NWA003

DOWNLOAD ZIP FILE (AUDIO & ARTWORK):
Standard Quality, 160 kbps (90MB) | Higher Quality, 320kbps (164MB)

1. JEFF BURCH, Untitled 1 (The Western Hour) (3:44),
from ‘As I Remember, If I Remember Correctly, I Arrived Sweetly’
2. AFXJIM, Through The Woods (6:08), from ‘POWWOW Eight (Blackout Music)’
3. 48/4, Hlibt (3:39), previously unreleased
4. THE SINGING SKIES, September (2:52), from ‘September Sky’
5. K MASON, Of 2 Evils (7:15), from ’2 (Evils)’
6. ALPS, Goosebeak Whale (2:21), from ‘Alps Of New South Whales’
7. DRIVE WEST TODAY, Anthropology (4:37), previously unreleased
8. ADAM TRAINER, Corrosion Party (4:22), previously unreleased
9. COMATONE, They Fall Freely (6:05), previously unreleased
10. ZEAL, Wasps (2:34), previously unreleased
11. NAMATOKE, A Mountain With A Secret (4:53), from ‘Chiaroscuro’
12. LECTER MACABRE, Granelli (New Version) (2:43), previously unreleased
13. BUM CREEK, Fast Forrest (5:13), from ‘Bum Creek’
14. ANON, Quiver Crura Quaker (13:46), previously unreleased
15. ERASERS, Lost///Found (4:26), from ‘Erasers’
16. POMPEY, Actual Locks (3:20), previously unreleased

Compiled by Stuart Buchanan & Danny Jumpertz
Artwork by Lee Tran Lam, www.leetranlam.com

Click artist title for background information and links.
All music donated by the artists for use in this compilation only, all rights reserved.

Sleeve Notes, November 2009:

The old adage still holds true – one man’s meat is indeed another man’s poison. Divert the same philosophy to music and the song remains the same. One woman’s rock is another woman’s roll – or thereabouts.

We make this point to simply note that our definition of ‘weird’ is purely subjective – and we make no claim otherwise. The artists that represent Volume Three of New Weird Australia truly stretch, invert and redefine the notion of ‘weird’. To some, this selection might well be perilously unlistenable, to others we’re toying dangerously with pop at various flash-points throughout the compilation. And therein lies the point.

Our mission is not to meticulously scope and define what is to be ‘weird’ (#FAIL). Our mission rather is to map out a loose terrain – one that skirts around the topological spread mapped by mainstream alternative media, and one that sits both simultaneously in and out of reach. New Weird Australia is designed as a bridge to reach fresh pastures – at some points that journey might feel familiar, at others it might be terrifyingly new.

Given that we’re now on our third volume, we understand that in order to go deep, we also have to go wide – which means fucking with the boundaries at both ends of the spectrum. From Zeal‘s quasi-Anticon hip-pop to Anon‘s 14-min noise excursion, Volume Three does indeed traverse considerable distances – along the way winding via Lecter Macabre‘s pitch-black slow-mo roar to Pompey‘s steel-drum romp that winds the set towards a final, optimistic flourish.  We could obviously go much wider and much deeper yet – there lies new worlds to conquer in future volumes.

For now, for this month, this is our definition of New Weird Australia. Some you’ll adore, some you’ll abhor – and with that very disagreement, we’ll all find common ground.

New Weird Australia is a not-for-profit initiative established to promote eclectic and experimental Australian music. Free compilations are available to download every two months from www.newweirdaustralia.com. Contributions from Australian musicians and designers are welcomed and encouraged – submission details and terms can be found on the About page.

New Weird Australia Volume Two, September 2009, NWA002

DOWNLOAD ZIP FILE (AUDIO & ARTWORK):
Standard Quality, 192 kbps (103MB) | Higher Quality, 320kbps (159MB, via Rapidshare)

1. OCEANS, 02 + 03 (5:11) From ‘album’
2. GHOUL, Swimming Pool (Remix) (3:04) From ’Swimming Pool’
3. WILLIAM GARDINER, Sonance Arboreal (4:39) Previously unreleased
4. SAM PRICE, AutoHackney (5:28) From ‘Rand’
5. BROKEN CHIP, Summer Stars (5:06) From ‘POWWOW Seven’
6. KHARKOV, Crustacean (3:12) Previously unreleased
7. COCK SAFARI, 8MH (6:36) Previously unreleased
8. LUCIA DRAFT, Not Interested (1:16) Previously unreleased
9. MIELI, Hometime (3:34) Previously unreleased
10. KAROSHI, Re-Animate Me (2:44) Previously unreleased
11. NO ART, Fight In The Nocturnal House (3:56) Previously unreleased
12. TRANSMISSIONS, Staring At Lightning Strikes, Catching Every One (2:45) Previously unreleased
13. PANOPTIQUE ELECTRICAL, We Was Them (7:32) Previously unreleased
14. MADDEST KINGS ALIVE, Measels (4:05) From ‘Make Me’
15. SPLENDID FRIENDS, Holy Shears (1:42) From ‘Summer Moon Illusion’
16. PAUL FIOCCO, Torsions and Drifts (13:34) From ‘Torsions And Drifts’

Compiled by Stuart Buchanan & Danny Jumpertz
Artwork by Grant Hunter, granthunter.daportfolio.com

Click artist title for background information and links.
All music donated by the artists for use in this compilation only, all rights reserved.

Sleeve Notes, September 2009:

Grant Hunter’s cover artwork for the free download compilation, New Weird Australia Volume Two – featuring our country’s endearing emblematic marsupial with black claw outstretched and a murderous fleck in his eye – perfectly illustrates the ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ binary of the Australian story.

On one side, the world is sold on paradisal visions of Australian reefs and plains, care-free surfers racing down golden sands, and the classic long-shot of a sun-blemished Uluru. On the flip, with just as much fervour, we mythologise and peddle stories of perpetual gangland warfare, malevolent outback serial killers and dingoes eating babies for their morning snack.

If only the same warped duality could be brought to bear on the world’s vision of our musical worth. The exported track record is however largely one-sided – our place as the shiny, electro party-starter of the Southern Hemisphere is unrivalled, along with a seemingly endless passion for rock, culled from a 40-year old tombstone. Ask the world to identify a prominent Australian undercurrent and they will remain largely tight-lipped. Hence New Weird Australia – a project aimed as much at curating a contemporary library of alt-Australiana, as promoting that collection to the rest of the globe.

For Volume Two, we once again represent a strong geographic diversity with music from Tasmania, Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. We embody genre diversity from 21-year-old William Gardiner’s neo-classical work to the sprawling sample ephemera spread by Newcastle’s Cock Safari; from Maddest Kings Alive’s shoegaze chip-tunes to a seemingly perfect drift plain soundtrack, hewn by Solo Andata’s Paul Fiocco. There are also multiple exclusives from Kharkov, Lucia Draft, Mieli, No Art, Karoshi, Transmissions and Jason (Pretty Boy Crossover) Sweeney’s Panoptique Electrical project, and new work from Broken Chip, Ghoul, Oceans, Sam Price and Splendid Friends.

In mapping and redefining the local terrain, New Weird Australia represents a new breed of Australian musicians that cast an essential shadow over Australia’s sunny disposition.

New Weird Australia is a not-for-profit initiative established to promote eclectic and experimental Australian music. Free compilations are available to download every two months from www.newweirdaustralia.com. Contributions from Australian musicians and designers are welcomed and encouraged – submission details and terms can be found on the About page.

New Weird Australia Volume One, July 2009

Geography dictates that, to some, Australia may forever remain as the Romans once saw it, as the “unknown land of the south”.  However as technology conquers territory, distance becomes increasingly insignificant – a fact that is clearly illustrated on this first instalment of New Weird Australia. In borrowing (and expanding) ‘new, weird’ terminology, we hope to shrink the notion of distance between innovative Australian artists and their international compatriots; between the dot points on the vast map of our own land and between definitions of genre, taste or style.

For Volume One, we find ourselves narrowing the gap of the 4,000km range from the precision edit and bluegrass glitch of Brisbane’s Anonymeye, to the free-jazz of Yugoslavian ex-pat and Perth resident, Predrag Delibasich.  We simultaneously compress time – moving from Pimmon (a renowned experimentalist with a significant international back catalogue) through to Kyu, a nascent duo freshly ripped from the Sydney soil. We additionally garner exclusive tracks from Telafonica, Tom Smith (of Cleptoclectics), Raven and Inquiet, and recent releases from Clingtone, Lessons In Time, Battlesnake, Loom and the inappropriately named Brutal Hate Mosh.

Neither popular nor alternative, neither one genre nor another, New Weird Australia represents a new breed of Australian musicians that find refuge in the space between us.  We hope you enjoy this selection and seek out the full library of work that these artists have to offer.
Stuart Buchanan, July 2009.

DOWNLOAD ZIP FILE (AUDIO & ARTWORK) (89.6MB) *

1. CLINGTONE The Intruders (1:23) From ‘Mary Had A Little Lamp’
2. ANONYMEYE If At First You Don’t Secede… (5:31) From ‘The Disambiguation Of Anonymeye’
3. LESSONS IN TIME Those Plastic Street Signs Are Not To Be Followed (2:02) From ‘Lessons In Time’
4. TELAFONICA Time And Distance (6:32) Previously unreleased
5. PIMMON On The Other Hand This Carbon Fire Is (Flammable) (4:36) Previously unreleased
6. KYU Sunny In Splodges (5:19) Previously unreleased
7. BATTLESNAKE Shadow Of The World’s Tallest Midget (5:22) From ‘Umlaut’
8. TOM SMITH Settled For Less (3:09) Previously unreleased
9. RAVEN Presumption #1 (3:10) Previously unreleased
10. LOOM Snail Shell (8:06) From ‘All You Need Is Teeth’
11. INQUIET Honey & Seeds (3:28) Previously unreleased
12. PREDRAG DELIBASICH Heartburn (13:37) Previously unreleased
13. BRUTAL HATE MOSH Roads (1:43) From ‘It’s Pronounced Kate Moss’

Compiled by Stuart Buchanan
Artwork by Adrian Elmer

Click artist title for background information and links.
All music donated by the artists for use in this compilation only, all rights reserved.

Thanks to all the artists for the leap of faith in donating their tracks for the first volume in this initiative. Special thanks to Danny Jumpertz and to Adrian and Blake for their early support.

New Weird Australia is a not-for-profit initiative established to promote eclectic and experimental Australian music. Free compilations are available to download every two months from www.newweirdaustralia.com. Contributions from Australian musicians and artists are welcomed and encouraged – submission details and terms can be found on the About page.

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