Title: New Weird Australia, Broadcast Three
Catalogue Number: NWAB003
Released: January 2012

Free Download

Tracklisting:

1. EDWIN MONTGOMERY – Waterfalls / Flying (06:01)
2. KIRIN J CALLINAN – She (05:09)
3. HACKS – Between Hack and Buzzard (07:01)
4. SIMO SOO – OMGZ Lets Bomb The Moon (02:04)
5. LITTLE A – Neon (03:37)
6. PANEYE – Strange Tide (02:49)
7. MENTAL POWERS – Hamneck (04:36)
8. THE DEADLY NIGHTSHADES – Dobro 1 (04:56)
9. PIMMON – Rojak Soul (04:52)
10. PEON – Untitled (10:47)
11. SCATTERED ORDER – Heat (04:32)
12. ANONYMEYE – Untitled (09:59)

Compiled by Stuart Buchanan.
Artwork by Ryan Stannage.

All recordings previously unreleased.
Originally performed & broadcast live on the New Weird Australia show 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). Listen to archive shows at ondemand.fbiradio.com or download our podcasts.

Sleeve Notes:

Since 2009, New Weird Australia has broadcast a weekly show on Sydney’s FBi Radio – playing two hours of new, experimental and ecelctic Australian music. As well as covering off the best of the week’s new releases, the show also features regular guest performances, playing exclusive in-studio sessions.

This free compilation is a selection of exclusive in-studio recordings from recent months, including material from Edwin Montgomery, Kirin J Callinan, Hacks, Simo Soo, Little A, Paneye, Mental Powers, The Deadly Nightshades, Pimmon, Peon, Scattered Order and Anonymeye.

Press:

“another stellar collection of music covering ambient, psychedelic, experimental and everything in between. 12 tracks, all free. What are you waiting for? Get your weird on.”
Bandcamp Hunter, February 2012

“The latest New Weird Australia compilation is a collection of live performances on Sydney community radio station FBi. As is usual with NWA releases, the quality is incredibly high, with the record featuring contributions from the likes of Pimmon, Kirin J Callinan, Mental Powers and Peon, plus many more.”
Life Is Noise, January 2012

Title: New Weird Australia, We Are After All Here
Catalogue Number: NWA008
Released: February 2011

Free Download

Tracklisting:

1. CAMRYN ROTHENBURY, Racing Across The Void (3:37) from Patina (Grave New World)
2. THE CARNAGE VISORS, Ledge (3:15) from Wailing Walls EP (self-released)
3. RITES WILD, Rites Wild Theme (4:12) from Ill Health & Rites Wild Theme Cassingle (Faux Friends)
4. STITCHED VISION, Healing Pattern (5:38) previously unreleased
5. GUERRE, Travellers Home Blues (2:41) previously unreleased
6. NO ZU, Horoscope (7:02) from New Age EP (New Editions)
7. STRANGE FORCES, Soul Window (6:04) from forthcoming debut EP
8. COLOURS, I’ve Watched You Suffer (6:22) from s/t EP (Free Loving Anarchists)
9. JAVIER FRISCO, Mad Flutes of Strange Incensed Lands (Excerpt) (6:18) from Opiate Southern Gardens of Orchids C60/CD-r (Emerald Cabal)
10. PANEYE, Misery Portholes (2:30) from Lost In A Dark Aquarium (New Editions)
11. YOLKE, Sunrise Eyes / Western Star (7:32) from Poppy Wash EP (Fallopian Tunes)
12. MARK BARRAGE, Rubicon Drive (2:32) from Rubicon Drive EP (self-released)
13. ANDREW SINCLAIR, Ritual Beat / Stolen Drums (5:30) previously unreleased
14. DESFONTANE, Cannibal Cod (3:56) previously unreleased
15. MUNDARING WEIRD, So Hard (6:00) from So Hard (Grave New World)
16. ORBITS, Feel Burn It (3:39) previously unreleased
17. EDWIN MONTGOMERY, Alone In The Museum (2:17) from Travel Ideas (Lesstalk Records)

Compiled by Stuart Buchanan.
Artwork by Camryn Rothenbury, gravenewworld.net

All music donated by the artists for use in this compilation only, all rights reserved.

Sleeve Notes: February 2011:

Last year, we shifted the focus of the New Weird Australia compilation series away from a free-for-all approach to something that would have a sharper curatorial focus. Something you could put handles around (so to speak).  Something you could clearly identify as “a compilation about X or Y or Z”. “We Are After All Here”, volume eight in our compilation series, does have a theme and identity of sorts, but defining it becomes increasingly problematic. Let me explain:

Throughout 2009 and 2010, we were listening to a heap of bands and artists that were clearly starting to coalesce into some form of vague and abstract grouping. Either through sound, technique, image, a reverence for the past, or just a common, skewed take on a hauntalogical notion, there was a broad church emerging that would count these artists among their flock.

Fortunately, no one dared to define it. If you speak of the devil, he’s sure to appear, thus keeping quiet and refusing to conform to definition worked well for all concerned. Having no such definition, and thus having artists co-opted or excluded based solely on the whims of the individual listener, was the perfect scenario.

But, of course, someone had to define it, and in doing so, they killed it. Hipster Runoff dropped ‘chillwave’, The Wire started talking about ‘hypnogogic pop’.  Then followed glo-fi, witch house, drag, screw gaze and so on and so on. (Our favourite remains ‘crunk shoegaze’ – meaningless, yet somehow quite endearing).

The list of artists lumped together under these various microgenres was often contradictory and bafflingly random – they were subsumed to the will of the writer, desperate to force round pegs into square holes. And once this grouping was anointed with such dubious definitions, the scrutiny began – spotlights were shone in all manner of places, and backlashes naturally came thereafter. The edifice soon crumbled.

We, on the other hand, are (after all) here – ‘down under’ – doing our own thing, far removed from such recklessness. We have our own obliquely connected and amoebic group of similar artists, remaining unaffected by trend, hype or weak stylistic interpretation. And it is to this group that we turn for this compilation. If, by virtue of their geography, they had birthed their projects in North America, they might well have all been raped and pillaged by now – raked over the blogeratti coals for their part in an ill-defined ‘scene’.

Although our upside-down location can often be a curse, in this case it’s a blessing – all these artists survived unscathed, their mission no more or less impossible, living another day to ‘fight the good fight’. And we shall leave this group unnamed, for all our sakes. Suffice to say, it’s another new, weird slice through the unsung underground of abnormal Australian music.

–

Postscript: At the time that this compilation was looking for its own defining title, we were saddened to hear of the passing of Trish Keenan from Broadcast.  As a band that pursued its own unique investigation of such territory and no doubt inspired many of these artists in whole or in part, we chose to draw on a highly pertinent track title from their 2009 release ‘Broadcast And The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age’.  And it is to Trish that this release is respectfully dedicated.

Press:

Featured in WMFU’s “Free Music Archive – Top 20 Free Albums Of The Year”
Free Music Archive, January 2012

“Focusing on a group of electronic artists steeped in the ominous will of what we would call in the western hemisphere “Hypnogogic Pop” or “Hauntology”. For the most part these guys succeed in distinguishing themselves as a different breed, but all in all it shouldn’t really matter. It’s a pretty good deal, and the quality here is not too shabby.”
Foxy Digitalis, June 2011

“NWA is a non-profit initiative promoting “new, eclectic and experimental Australian music.” Their latest sampler, “We Are After All Here,” succeeds on all three counts. I’d recommend this compiliation on purely break-your-routine grounds, but several tracks stand out; my FLFs (First-Listen Favorites) are Horoscope from NO ZU, Camryn Rothenbury’s Racing Across the Void, and Cannibal Cod by Desfontane.”
Cognitive Buffet, May 2011

“I’m very excited to introduce the eighth and latest New Weird Australia compilation, entitled We Are After All Here [and] a track-by-track description of the release in its myriad glory … Stitched Vision craft blissful electronic drone with billowing, textured furls—not unlike the music of Ben Frost or Tim Hecker … [No Zu's] soundscape hearkens back to a lost era of electronic psychedelia—reminiscent of both early Kraftwerk and late Roxy Music … The NWA comps have consistently featured music which depart from world-music influences and arrive on the other side of the frontier’s horizon”
Reviler, February 2011

New Weird Australia’s label imprint, ‘New Editions’, has announced the next two releases in its ongoing artist series – ‘Lost In A Dark Aquarium’ from Sydney solo artist PANEYE, and ‘Anomie’ from Melbourne quartet, TANTRUMS.

As PANEYE, Will Treffry has produced three full-length, self-released solo albums in the last two years, and the triad of quality, originality and volume begs the question as to why his PANEYE nondeplum isn’t a more recognisable name by now. His blend of psych-folk, ambient electronica, shoegaze and dream pop certainly echoes work by overseas contemporaries such as BEACH HOUSE, DUCKTAILS or BOARDS OF CANADA. Whether this release, his fourth full-length, will do anything to change that remains unclear – suffice to say Treffry’s notion that ‘Lost In A Dark Aquarium’ consists of twenty-four “ambient ditties” underplays what is a unique and singular release from an emerging Australian talent.

Since their inception eighteen months ago, TANTRUMS have been playing regular gigs in their home town, dropping selected dates in Newcastle and Sydney, contributing to compilations and establishing a solid network of friends, collaborators and champions. Rather than crashing headlong into the studio, TANTRUMS have chosen to bide their time, choose their words and only commit to a release when the time was right. Their shared love of artists such as KRAFTWERK, DEAD CAN DANCE, NINE INCH NAILS and PANTHA DU PRINCE informs their ‘midi-evil disco’ / industrial sound, which – through reviews of their live shows – has invited comparisons with HTRK, SIOUXSIE, IKE YARD, TELEPATHE & PiL. Some of this can be found on the under-stated single release ‘Anomie’, which comes backed with remixes from COLLARBONES, WORNG and an ambient makeover from TANTRUMS themselves.

‘Lost In A Dark Aquarium’ and ‘Anomie’ are available in two formats: a run of limited-edition CDs – housed in a gatefold card sleeve, with artwork inserts – available from artist shows & New Weird Australia events; and a 320kbps / FLAC digital release, available free from newweirdaustralia.com.

Info & download links:
Edition Three: PANEYE, Lost In A Dark Aquarium
Edition Four: TANTRUMS, Anomie

Artist: Paneye
Title: Lost In A Dark Aquarium
Catalogue Number: NWAED03
Released: November 2010

Free Download

Tracklisting:

1. Fake Pond Repair Firm 3:07
2. Adrift In A Vast Square 2:52
3. Lonely Vessel 2:09
4. Misery Potholes 2:30
5. I Woke Alone 0:38
6. She Swallowed My Days 2:03
7. The Taste of Her Gills 2:24
8. Flipper Gazer 1:13
9. Yet, You Did Not Reach 1:06
10. Reality Swam Away 1:31
11. Hibernation Sickness 0:41
12. Saint Paul’s Lime Sulfur Divesuit 1:43
13. Dead Rainbow Rastas 1:45
14. Season For Milking Stonefish 1:22
15. I Cannot Describe My Happiness 1:14
16. Algae Pillows 1:43
17. Submerged Guesthouse 1:10
18. Running Aground on a Giant Spine 2:01
19. Urchin People Stumble Ashore 0:46
20. Jade Shards 1:09
21. Disembarking From Tentacle Island 3:08
22. Dreams of Ai 4:46
23. Storm Herds 3:19
24. Derangers 2:48
25. Feathers From The Flooded Colonies 1:34
26. Wave Graves 2:40
27. North Sea Radio 4:21

Recorded in a Tokyo guesthouse between April and July 2010
Music, words, art, voices by Will Treffry.
© Paneye / November 2010
myspace.com/paneye, thebutterpeople.blogspot.com

Sleeve design by Heath Killen.

Sleeve Notes:

As PANEYE, Sydney artist Will Treffry has pulled off a rare feat in the last two years – producing three full-length, self-released solo albums and a further body of work under a collaborative project with Jasper Rice titled BRISTLES ON THE CARAPACE.

There are three elements however that work together to characterise this output as being a cut above your average bedroom producer: the sheer volume of material, the consistency of the quality and finally the clear originality that Treffry displays across all releases – all of which begs the question as to why Paneye isn’t a more recognisable name by now. His blend of psych-folk, ambient electronica, shoegaze and dream pop certainly echoes work by overseas contemporaries such as BEACH HOUSE, DUCKTAILS or BOARDS OF CANADA, although it is perhaps due to Treffry’s modest conviction in his recorded work – that it alone should represent him. Live performances under the Paneye name are uncommon, and there are scant few interviews or promotional material cluttered around him.

Whether this release, his fourth full-length (recorded in a Tokyo guesthouse in Nishi Nippori), will do anything to change that remains unclear – suffice to say Treffry’s notion that “Lost In A Dark Aquarium” consists of twenty-four “ambient ditties” of “just synths and (his) feminine moaning” underplays what is a unique and singular release from an emerging Australian talent.

Press:

“One of my favourite musicians featured here on HLFP. I simply love those dreamy, very atmospheric electronic soundscapes. Strongly recommended!”
Home Made Lo-Fi Psychadelic, December 2011

“The album is eclectic, swinging wildly from dreamy layers and field recordings, to more synth- and beat-driven material and back again … an intriguing mash-up of a record.”
Rave Magazine, March 2011

“This album is a wonderful journey. Starting off as a refreshing dip in the icy cold waters of the Pacific Ocean, it peaks in the middle with said dip ending, as the persona then runs along the beach, Baywatch style. After experiencing a night-time carnival full of pretty lights and deathly spinning rides, they end their night in a deep and drunken stupor, traversing dark alleyways to make their way home. For a digital and experimental release, this is OF EPIC PROPORTIONS, spanning 27 tracks! While a great listen, try not to get lost in the masses. Or do. Whatever floats your boat.”
East To West, December 2010

(September 2010) Paneye is the moniker of Sydney musician Will Treffry. Residing in Sydney,Will’s music combines elements of psych-folk, ambient electronica and dream pop. In this podcast episode, recorded on the NWA Radio show in September 2010, Stu Buchanan talks to Will about his work to date – which includes three full solo albums, and an ongoing collaborative project with Jasper Rice, titled ‘Bristles On the Carapace’. We hear tracks from his most recent album ‘Lying Under Moribund Waves’, as well as unreleased material recorded recently during a residency in Japan, and two tracks performed live in the studio.

DOWNLOAD: NWA Podcast #11. Paneye, Live-to-air Performance & Interview (September 2010)

The New Weird Australia Podcast Series features selected interviews and in-studio recordings from our FBi radio show, as well as live performances from events, video interviews and more.  Subscribe to our podcast feed by using this URL: http://newweirdaustralia.libsyn.com/rss or click here to subscribe directly in iTunes.

Title: New Weird Australia Volume Six
Catalogue Number: NWA006
Released: June 2010

Free Download

Tracklisting:

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.

Press:

Who The Bloody Hell Are They? “super rad blog / podcast / radio show that features the best and latest in experimental / electronic Australian music … a wonderful compilation … the strongest of the series so far.”

TripBase “without a shadow of a doubt, the best Australian-based experimental music site the Internet has to offer”

Paneye is the moniker of Will Treffry. Will resides in Sydney, Australia and his music combines elements of psych-folk, ambient electronica and dream pop. Will’s vocals are somewhat reminiscent of an Ian Curtis and Nick Drake hybrid, while the second vocalist (Jessica Mutascio) adds ethereal, misty harmonies to a number of Paneye’s songs.

www.myspace.com/paneye

Paneye appears on ‘New Weird Australia, Volume Six‘, the New Editions release, ‘Lost In A Dark Aqarium’ and ‘New Weird Australia, We Are After All Here‘.