New Weird Australia has released a series of archive live recordings, exclusively via the Free Music Archive. The free download recordings, dating back to 2010 and 2011, are culled from New Weird Australia events staged during the period, and feature exclusive work from Ambrose Chapel, Axxonn, Forenzics, Scattered Order and Stitched Vision.

The Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads, directed by WFMU, the most renowned freeform radio station in America. Inspired by Creative Commons and the open source software movement, the FMA provides a legal and technological framework for curators, artists, and listeners to harness the potential of music sharing.

View Releases:

• Forenzics: Live at FBi Social 2011
• Axxonn: Live at The Excelsior 2011
• Scattered Order: Live at The Excelsior 2011
• Stitched Vision: Live at The Red Rattler 2010
• Ambrose Chapel: Live at The Red Rattler 2010

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

Since 2010, Octopus Pi has staged a monthly event in Sydney titled Wormwood (absinthe & psychedelia) -incorporating experimental music from Australian artists, curated visuals, performance art and a myriad of interactive elements. Wormwood has become a haven for curious and creative souls, as well as a welcoming platform for diverse and DIY bands, and later this month, it’s being taken to the next level. Wormwoodstock, The Wormwood Festival runs from Friday 27th January at 1pm to Sunday 29th and over thirty inspiring DIY bands and solo artists from around Australia, in an intimate camping setting, 1.5 hours from Sydney. It’s designed to be an intimate festival for around 300 people, with DJs, performance artists and mind-blowing visuals from Wormwood regulars Optic Soup thrown into the mix.

The line-up includes Scattered Order, Zeahorse, Brackets, Domeyko/Gonzalez, Thomas William, Nakagin, Feathers, Justice Yeldham, No Art, Nhomea, Kris Keogh, Kasha plus an array of acts from Melbourne label Fallopian Tunes – Document Swell, Trjaeu, Wild Dog Creek, Red Hymns & Yolke.

New Weird Australia is delighted to be supporting Wormwoodstock in its inaugural year, and will be documenting many of the performances for later release through the site.

Limited, final release tickets are now available from Greentix for only $45 (including camping) + BF.

You can also support this DIY event by donating and downloading the Wormwoodstock 2012 compilation, featuring 13 acts playing at the festival, available from octopuspi.bandcamp.com.

WORMWOODSTOCK ON FACEBOOK

img: Secret Birds

Unpopular Music returns to Sydney on Saturday December 17th, raising cash for FBi and featuring eight bands over two venues. Unpopular Music 2011 sees four of Sydney’s underground & experimental music promoters working together for the first time – New Weird Australia, Octopus Pi, Sound Series and Refraction – staging two shows in one evening.

The late show (9pm) at Dirty Shirlows in Marrickville features Brisbane psych-rock ex-pats Strange Forces (back on Aussie soil after tearing up a storm in Berlin over the last two years), Sydney drone-grunge four piece Zeahorse, former Brisbane residents Secret Birds (one of the last artists, and few Australians, to feature on Pitchfork’s now defunct Altered Zones blog) and Scattered Order (fully re-energised and at a new creative peak, following the addition of Shane Fahey to the lineup earlier this year).

At 6pm, the early show at Hardware sees Thomas William and Scissor Lock launching their debut collaborative album ‘Jewelz‘, with support from Melbourne’s Monlith, Und and Anna Chase. The event also features DJs Paul Gough (Pimmon), Jack Shit and Octopus Pi, with a ‘Magical Audio Tour’ between venues, leaving Hardware at 8:45pm. Tickets are $12 on the door (which gets entry to both shows).

You can download a free compilation featuring all the artists playing at Unpopular Music 2011 – including exclusive unreleased tracks from Zeahorse and Thomas William vs Scissor Lock at newweirdaustralia.bandcamp.com.

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE

Click on the image below to view flyer at full size:

Scattered Order are one of the most unique players in the history of Sydney’s experimental and electronic music scene – founders of the M Squared record label in 1970s, a home for artists such as Systematics and Makers of the Dead Travel Fast, and a beacon for emerging underground artists around the country. Reforming their original line-up in 2009, Scattered Order played a set for New Weird Australia in January 2011 at the Excelsior in Sydney, in support of their new album, ‘Adjust The Terminology’. Joining them on stage was long-term collaborator and renowned producer, Shane Fahey.


AXXONN gathers up his keyboards and subsonic fuzz later this month to jaunt around the country one more time before heading overseas indefinitely ahead of label commitments (Arlen / Southern Record Distribution) for his album Let’s Get It Straight, which releases globally on February 14th. The tour is presented by NEW WEIRD AUSTRALIA, marking their inaugural Australian excursion after a string of successful Sydney events and nearly two years of compilation and artists releases through the label.

Tom Hall (aka AXXONN) said ‘NWA have been kind enough to take a liking to AXXONN which is great, it gives me one last chance to leave some permanent fractures in some of my favourite venues, catch up with old friends and make some loud noise for my favourite places in Oz before leaving….at this stage it’s indefinite, I don’t know when I’ll be back’.

NEW WEIRD AUSTRALIA has called upon a diverse and eclectic range of acts to feature alongside AXXONN, including BREATHING SHRINE, MYSTIC EYES, SCATTERED ORDER, KASHA, AMBROSE CHAPEL, NO ZU, DOT.AY, ERASERS, CONSTANT LIGHT, OCEANS, CRAIG MCELHINNEY, SPHERES, DIE ON PLANES, GILBERT FAWN, DUO, PEON and BORGIA .

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SYDNEY Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills – Friday Jan 28th
with BREATHING SHRINE, SCATTERED ORDER, CONSTANT LIGHT & BORGIA
(co-presented with Octopus Pi)

CANBERRA Transit Lounge – Saturday Jan 29th
with KASHA & CRASH THE CURB

HOBART Salamanca Arts Centre – Friday Feb.4th
with OCEANS, SPHERES & DUO

DEVONPORT Regional Gallery – Saturday Feb. 5th
with OCEANS, SPHERES & DUO

TOOWOOMBA The Spotted Cow – Friday Feb 18th
with AMBROSE CHAPEL & DIE ON PLANES

BRISBANE Woodlands – Saturday Feb. 19th
with AMBROSE CHAPEL, DIE ON PLANES & DOT.AY

PERTH Manhattans Bar – Thursday Feb. 24th
with ERASERS, GILBERT FAWN & CRAIG MCELHINNEY

MELBOURNE Yah Yahs – Sunday Feb. 27th
with MYSTIC EYES, NO ZU & PEON

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Visit the FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE

AXXONN Full National Tour 2011 supported by SOUND TRAVELLERS, STREET PRESS AUSTRALIA, SALAMANCA ARTS CENTRE & DEVONPORT REGIONAL GALLERY. New Weird Australia is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

AXXONN ‘Let’s Get It Straight’ (Useless Art Records) – available from axxonnband.com
“one of the most interesting Australian records of 2010” DRUM MEDIA

AXXONN on Soundcloud soundcloud.com/axxonn & Vimeo vimeo.com/axxonn

Title: Unpopular Music 2010
Catalogue Number: NWAUM002
Released: March 2012

Free Download

Tracklisting:

1. Thomas William vs Scissor Lock – Untitled (Live at Unpopular Music 2010) 22:25
2. Melodie Nelson – Meditations On The Sun (Live at Unpopular Music 2010) 04:28
3. Stitched Vision – Untitled (Live at Unpopular Music 2010) 20:27
4. Mere Women – Sun Rising (Live at Unpopular Music 2010) 03:31
5. Scattered Order – Eat At Joes vs Why (Live at Unpopular Music 2010) 05:49
6. TANTRUMS – Ships (Live at Unpopular Music 2010) 06:04

Sleeve Notes:

On Friday 3rd December 2010, New Weird Australia presented the second annual Unpopular Music event at Sydney’s Red Rattler, a benefit for the not-for-profit community station, FBi Radio. Since July 2009, FBi has supported the New Weird Australia project by broadcasting its two-hour show every week. Via this platform, New Weird Australia has given exposure to over 400 innovative and experimental artists from around the country, and Unpopular Music represents the chance to give something back. All of the artists donated their time for the gig, with all proceeds going directly to FBi, helping to ensure the ongoing survival of Sydney’s home of new music.

The six-act line-up was headlined by Scattered Order, one of the most unique players in the history of Sydney’s experimental and electronic music scene – founders of the M Squared record label in 1970s, a home for artists such as Systematics and Makers of the Dead Travel Fast, and a beacon for emerging underground artists around the country. Reforming their original line-up in 2009, Scattered Order played ‘Unpopular Music’ in support of their new album, ‘Adjust The Terminology’.

The bill also included:

• Tantrums – four-piece midi-evil disco outfit from Melbourne, whose debut release ‘Anomie’ was released via New Weird Australia’s label imprint, New Editions
• Thomas William vs Scissor Lock - two of Sydney’s best known experimental electronic producers went head-to-head for the first time at Unpopular Music
• Melodie Nelson – Moonmilk’s Lia Tsamoglou in warped, alt.pop mode
• Stitched Vision – solo synth / noise / drone project from Newcastle’s Jason Campbell, founder of cassette-label Eternal Solitude
• Mere Women – dark, minimalistic pop & post punk from recently formed Sydney trio, who previous projects include Ohana, Little A, The Thaw & Bare Arms

FBi Radio is a not-for-profit community radio station and is 100% independent. It relies on the generosity of its supporters to keep it on air and to thus maintain its support of innovative local music.

Press:

On Friday December 3rd, New Weird Australia presents the second annual ‘Unpopular Music’ FBi fundraiser featuring experimental, underground music from Sydney and beyond.

SCATTERED ORDER
TANTRUMS (Melbourne)
SCISSOR LOCK versus CLEPTOCLECTICS
MELODIE NELSON
STITCHED VISION
MERE WOMEN

Friday 3rd December 2010
The Red Rattler Theatre, 6 Faversham St, Marrickville, Sydney
Doors 7:30pm

Tickets $12 on the door, all proceeds to FBi.

Poster artwork by Heath Killen

Title: New Weird Australia, Volume Four
Catalogue Number: NWA004
Released: January 2010

Free Download

Tracklisting:

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.

Press:

Cyclic Defrost “favourite of the series so far… some brilliant music from both known and unknown artists always lurking around the corner”

Now Like Photographs, Minneapolis – Record Of The Week “If you need a primer on what is fresh from Australia’s music scene, look no further than New Weird Australia.”

Electrorash “More eclectic, eccentric and often amazingly beautiful tunes … pick up the whole shebangabang for $0.00 AUD. That spells value in 4568 of the approximately 5000 recorded spoken languages known to linguists.”

Daily Beatz (on Tantrums from NWA4) “Could New Weird Australia be the Australian counterpart to Ann Arbor’s Ghostly International? Based solely on this song, I would say yes.”

Throw Shapes Interview

(November 2009) MITCH JONES stands as one of the key figures in the history of alternative music in Sydney. Together with Michael Tee, Jones founded M-SQUARED Records – home to a cluster of now seminal local post-punk artists such as SYSTEMATICS, THE MAKERS OF THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST, YA YA CHORAL, PROD and their own band, SCATTERED ORDER. Nearly 30 years after the fact, SCATTERED ORDER have reformed their original line-up, and are both playing live and recording once again. Mitch Jones joins Stu and Danny on NEW WEIRD AUSTRALIA to talk about the past, present and future of SCATTERED ORDER.

DOWNLOAD: NWA Podcast #2. Scattered Order, Interview (November 2009)

The New Weird Australia Podcast Series features selected interviews and exclusive, in-studio recordings fromour FBi radio show.  Subscribe to our podcast feed by using this URL: http://www.cpod.org.au/feed.php?id=211 or click here to subscribe directly in iTunes.