A History of Canberra Electronic Music Artists
A History of Canberra Electronic Music Artists
- Covering 1989-2010 [and beyond].
by DJ Robot Citizen, updated 2024-03-24
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This page was a draft for content that
now appears in updated form at
https://CanberraElectronicMusic.com
For this History article
please see this page
https://CanberraElectronicMusic.com/history-of-canberra-electronic-music-artists/
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Preface Notes:
This article is about the projects and people I know of who created electronic music in Canberra [Australia's capital city] from the late 1980s through to the late-2000s.
I seek to document below the journey of how numerous artists arose from sleepy Canberra suburbs to achieve national and international recognition.
Through the links on this site you can hear hundreds of tracks and download many for free.
I acquired the knowledge, noted below, through being an active person in the scenes. This included hosting radio shows on 2XX across 20 years - a range of shows devoted to Canberran, Australian and electronic music.
In the early 2000s I compiled a small portion of it on the ElectriCity CD compilations. Those feature some of the artists active in the prior decade.
You can hear and download them for free via Bandcamp :)
Volume 1 - - Volume 2 - - Volume 3 - - Volume 4
My article below is about Canberra people who created original electronic music. They either grew up in Canberra [yes many moved away], were active doing music here for a time, or they moved here and created music while here. In some way 'they got on my radar'.
By "electronic music" I mean the whole wide world of it which is based on synthesizers, samplers and related gadgets - styles from ambient soundscapes through to the multitude of dance-club-music styles through to indie-pop-crossover to industrial sub-genres and experimental avant garde noisescapes.
I point that out because some people think "electronic music" only means "doof doof doof"! Imho that is a sign they had a deprived upbringing! ;) Maybe this article can broaden their music world. :)
I don't seek to cover here the nightclub scene and the many Canberra club DJs [of which I was one]. I mention some of the DJs below, who became music producers and released their own creations. I have made notes about some of that club scene though in this other article. I intend to cover more of it another time, via interviews with the people who were there: the organisers, promoters, DJs.
Following the article is an Appendix section. It has my rambles on what it was like to create and promote electronic music back in the 1990s and early 2000s, as compared to more recently [2024 being the time of writing]. The TLDR summary is: Back in ye olden times it was way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way more expensive to do - compare ten$ of thousand$ to a couple of hundred now. That expense made it immensely more difficult to make electronic music, prior to the mid 2000s.
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Timeline
Annual List of Canberra Electronic Music Releases
& Related Events.
[PS - I intend to add pretty pix later on]
Yet-another-prefatory-note:
I start with 1989 because that is when I began to follow the music that was happening in Canberra. Firstly, through radio. Then as a fan going to club nights and band gigs [from 1989]. Then as a producer of electronic music [from 1990]. Then as a DJ in nightclubs [from 1992 through to 2023]. Then as a program presenter on radio 2XX [from 1993 to 2015] and member of the admin staff [2003-05]. And also through a record label with more than 30 releases including the compilation CD albums of Canberra electronic music artists.
~ ~ ~
1989
1989 - The year I tuned in to Community Radio 2XX, heard local Canberra bands and started going to their gigs. At that time - and for a long time to come - 2XX was the one-and-only media station in Canberra who cared about what was being made by Canberra musicians. I recall the excitement I felt when I discovered 2XX on the AM bandwidth and I shifted from the bland FM corporate radio stations to hear exciting new sounds on 2XX. A particular highlight on 2XX was regularly hearing bands performing live-to-air from Studio C; a recording studio that many Canberra artists made their demos and albums in. 2XX also hosted numerous concert events; multi-artist lineups at venues on the Australian National University campus. Of course, a lot has changed since then ...
In 1989 the band 'Space is Ace' released a cassette album of electronica synth-pop; recorded on a 4-track tape machine. They're somewhat like Depeche Mode and early New Order though with the Australian humour of groups like Severed Heads. Space is Ace played live as a 4-piece band and their songs were often broadcast on radio 2XX. Tracks like: "Red Planet" ... "I Operated On My Own Brain" ... "Concrete" [links open a page with audio].
I recall they moved to Sydney around '90-91 and renamed as Space.
Some of their tracks are on this youtube channel.
Band
members: Jonathan Flynn - Vocals, guitar, programming; Patrick
Flynn - Bass, vocals; Neil Bateman - Drums, Programming; Nick Wilson -
Keyboards and synthesisers.
1989 - Kimmo Vennonen and Jim Denley released "Time Of Non Duration" [bandcamp] an album of experimental avant garde music; a mix of electronic manipulations and sampling [Kimmo] and flute, alto sax, voice, drum [Jim].
Nearly everyone who has recorded music in Canberra over the past ~30 years and sought to release it, will know Kimmo; the go-to man for audio mastering.
He has recorded much more of his own music. Some has been used in performances with dance and theatre productions. Some tracks appear on several compilations. However it appears he has not released it as a collection. I hope he releases a collection on a site like bandcamp. :]
~ ~ ~
1990
1990 - Is when Bo Daley and a 'Robot Citizen' met at Narrabundah College; when they had time in the school's electronic music studio, one after the other. This eventually led to a lot of the below activities of the 1990s and 2000s; such as 'Clanberra'; the 1996 Sydney Big Day Out; the "ElectriCity" compilation CDs; and to several Canberra artists - B(if)tek, Dark Network, EYE and the E.L.F. - breaking through to achieve national exposure on the Triple J radio station and on music-video shows like ABC-TVs "Rage". Lots of notes follow below about that and more.
1990 - A group called The Pheromones were playing gigs around town, of their indie-hip-hop-rock; with a drum machine and rapping. The lady vocalist was Helen Razer who went on to become a very well known program host on radio Triple J during the 1990s and a columnist in a range of print media. I can't find any trace of an EP or album they ought to have recorded. They did have a track recorded during a live 2XX concert at the ANU bar; featured on the vinyl album "We're Not Square". [note to self: find the record and get the track online]
1990 - A synth-metal band known as The Righteous Corrupt were playing their earliest gigs. They changed name several years later to Sterile [further notes and links below].
Also around that time were the early incarnations of what would become, a couple of years later, the Canberra electronic dance music club scene. An article here by Roger Ramjet describes how that came together.
While there were many nightclubs and DJs during the 80s and early 90s that featured a range of top 40 dance music or alternative scene music - including genres like techno, indie-crossover and industrial - it was the early-mid 90s when venues, events and clubs appeared, that were dedicated to electronic dance music [predominantly instrumental].
~ ~ ~
1991
1991 - Early rumblings ... People I knew from my school years were obtaining [expensive] equipment and learning to use it to make a variety of electronic music. For example, several electro-industrial projects - Near Death Experience [NDE] and EYE and Sterile [then known as The Righteous Corrupt] - made their first demo recordings on 4-track cassette machines.
While NDE petered out without releasing their music beyond some friends, their making and recording music was inspirational to other projects.
Sterile and EYE's related projects went on to release albums and achieve radio airplay across the nation; be released on compilations in other nations; and perform live in lineups with well-known international artists.
And by inspiring me in 1991 with their tape, NDE, contributed to what led me on a long path of music activity; and ultimately writing this article 33 years later!
[A 'footnote' point from that is, and it may seem obvious, but it's worth noting: there are many people who make music that only a small number of others ever hear; most likely it's their music-making friends, who share their demos with each other.
While those artists don't go on to achieve certain recognised milestones of 'success', they have inspired the others who do.
The wider public only hears a snippet of what's produced. The artists who create music that becomes popular, are in large part inspired by the underground network around them, of other music makers.
For each artist that rises up with a song that achieves public recognition, they have ridden upon a wave of activity by so many others, who were busy creating and making music; who were forging new takes and styles; who were putting on events; though who didn't have the aspiration or the focussed plan and drive to do the social networking required to achieve fame; or they did their very best at that, but just weren't in the right place at the right time; sometimes their new sounds and styles were too early. It can require years of efforts, with scores of people working away to build a scene momentum, across locations, through which a handful of artists come through with the right track or song, at the right time, which achieves the public applause.]
In late 1991 the core duo of Sterile - then known as 'The Righteous Corrupt' - ambitiously tried for a few months in the USA. They played some gigs in Los Angeles in the hope of obtaining record label attention. They then came home for a while.
I gather other people - who are soon mentioned below - were also learning the ropes with their home setups; composing and recording their early tracks.
~ ~ ~
1992
1992 - Space is Ace had become Space and these tracks on youtube "Eye Spiral" and "Bus to Oblivion" represent the of-the-time indie-dance crossover sound they had.
The BtO clip features some blurry footage of the group playing by the lighted-dance floor of what was 'the Firehouse' nightclub; which became the legendary 'Heaven' venue from 1993-2000. That '80s dancefloor was still the same in the year 2000. And this might be the only footage of such a well-loved Canberra stomping ground. :)
1992 - EYE release a first lo-fi demo-cassette album which has had a range of titles including "Aphazia" and "Thought Crimes [Demonstrations 9192]". It was electronic experimental industrial soundscape music, recorded on a 4-track tape machine.
Copies were made on a home double-deck cassette player; some tracks were released in the mid-90s via a cassette-label in the UK; and on CDRs in the late 90s. At time of writing some tracks are newly released on Bandcamp.
1992 - Sterile had a first demo tape of their synth-based punk-metal. Their setup was a Roland synth, drum machine, bass guitar and tape machine; occasionally a live drummer. I can't find copies of their earliest tracks online; may get to doing that one day, if I find the tape.
In-mid 1992 the duo moved to Sydney. I
recall hearing from them that their new band name was inspired by their
feelings about Canberra, of the lack of a scene that could understand
their music.
~ ~ ~
1993
1993 - A Canberra chapter of Clan Analogue forms [aka 'CLANBERRA'] organised by Bo Daley. Also at the first meeting were Jon Wicks, Tim O'Loghlin and J Citizen. A first event with DJs and live artists was held at the ANU bar.
1993 - 'MENTASM' was perhaps Canberra's first major Rave event, held in Civic with 2 large rooms. Organised by DJ Chris Fresh the DJ lineup included someone who also then made electronic music: 'Robbie' [Robot Citizen].
Tangent: The DJ line-up of MENTASM could arguably be considered as Canberra's "Original Gangsters" - the first wave of active dance music DJs. I've seen and heard people refer to the "OGs" being in the 2000s. But that was 10 years later! So I'm co-opting the term "OGs" because others have mis-used it! :)
The lineup on the flyer lists: Ken Cloud, Chris Fresh, Mystik, Mush E, Ken Jensen, Ming D, Left Right Centre, Robbie and Mel[issa].
Other OG Canberra dance scene DJs - who were active before, then and later - were Roger Ramjet and Jon Wicks. In his article about the Canberra dance music rave and club scene, Roger Ramjet stated: "it was not until 1993, that the community really took off around the country ..."
So, while I was new to DJing in 1993, I had assumed much more had happened prior to that. It seems though 1993 was the time when things 'fell in to place'.
1993 - The Dark Network project forms, initially with Michael Dowling [of an electro-industrial project called Near Death Experience] and Tim O'Loghlin. They recorded quite a lot of acid-house-electro-industrial crossover music in Mike's studio. [Note to self: pester them to put it online].
1993 - 2 Canberra artists feature on the 2nd release by Sydney's Clan Analogue label. They were:
- Jon Wicks with "Old Woman 303" [youtube]
- Critical Frequency with a track of the same name [on youtube] [on spotify]
[C.F. featured Bo Daley, who joined Dark Network in 1994; Mike Dowling sadly retired from music-making, due to marriage!].
~ ~ ~
1994
1994 - Several CLANBERRA projects performed as part of 'Indyfest', a large multi-stage band event at the A.N.U. Refectory.
Performing artists were Dark Network, Area 51 and EYE as 'Aphazia'.
At the time it felt that many people thought it 'a bit controversial' to have electronic bands as part of such an event.
An after party with DJs and live sets was held as part of 'SMILE'; a popular techno-trance-house club by Roger Ramjet; held at The Asylum venue in the city bus interchange sector.
1994 - The Clan Analogue "EP 4" featured Canberra projects:
- Jon Wicks with "Old Woman's Last Stand" [youtube]
- Critical Frequency with "Heads Off" [youtube]
1994 - The Canberra School of Music released a CD called "Electroacoustic Music". It contains experimental electronic music recorded by 5 artists including Kimmo Vennonen and David Worrall [Foundation Head of the Australian Centre for the Arts and Technology (ACAT), in Canberra]. Snippets of each track can be heard on this site via the play buttons.
1994 - J. Citizen of EYE joins Sterile
in Sydney for a month of jamming, though declines to move there permanently; daunted by the logistics of moving to a big noisy city and the idea of leaving behind beloved cats.
~ ~ ~
1995
1995 - EYE release their firstly widely-distributed album on cassette, titled "H.U.S.H. [Herd Under Social Hypnosis]". A collection of electro-industrial-cyberpunk. 1000 copies were pressed and sold via record stores and mail order. It is on bandcamp as "Demonstrations 9394".
Some of it was recorded on 8-track tape at Radio 2XX, some on 4-track at a home 'studio'.
1995 - Several Clanberra projects perform as part of 'Yakfest', another large multi-stage band event at the A.N.U. Refectory. Artists again were Dark Network, Area 51 and EYE.
1995 - The Clan Analogue double-CD 'Cog' features tracks by:
- Area 51 with "Way Below Zero" and "They're Human" [clip on youtube]
- Dark Network with "Jooces" [youtube]
1995 - B(if)tek forms: a duo of Nicole Skeltys [from Area 51] with Kate Crawford.
1995 - The Clan Analogue cassette compilation 'Schizmatrix' features tracks by:
- B(if)tek with "They Oscillate" [bandcamp]
- Dark Network with "Jooces"
~ ~ ~
1996
1996 - The Sydney 'Big Day Out'. 5 members of CLANBERRA perform in a one-off group named 'STOAT'; headlining during the sunset hour on the Clan Analogue stage. The group's members were from Dark Network, EYE and B(if)tek.
They were Bo and Tim, Nicole & Kate and a Robot Citizen.
Also at that Big Day Out, another Canberran electronic group performed, during the afternoon in The Boiler Room venue. That group was Continuum - a duo including Nick Wilson who was in the 1989 Space is Ace band.
Nick and Graeme Cameron had grown up in Canberra though moved to Melbourne in the early 1990s as part of the Canberra indie-goth band The Entwined.
1996 - EYE have their first release on a various artist compilation CD, on a Melbourne label. It was the 1994 electro-industrial cyberpunk track "Grave New World". Through that the song was broadcast on numerous radio shows on community stations around the nation.
From 1996-2020 tracks by the intertwined EYE, AYA & E.L.F. projects were released on around 50 compilation CD albums, by independent labels in Australia, Europe, North and South America. Also see this page for a list.
Tangent: In
the 1990s, if you could not afford to press the minimum run of 500 CD singles or albums [requiring a budget of $2-3000+] then releasing a track on compilation CDs is how artists
released music on CD. It was the free or very affordable way of releasing 'a single' song on a CD; so your song was of a high-enough quality for radio and club DJs; and it was more enticing for the general public to purchase, than a cassette tape, a format which was starting to go out of mode.
1996 - B(if)tek release debut CD album "Sub-Vocal Theme Park (Acid Unravelled)"; achieving significant media attention; radio and print around the nation and international attention. [Hear it on bandcamp.]
1996 - Radio 2XX released 2 CD sets of Canberra bands. For the electronic music projects:
i] The "These Songs & More" CD featured EYE, 'Keystone' & 'Sirkus Of Sorts' [members of Dark Network and Kate of B(i)ftek]; and
ii] the "Turning Up 20" double-CD featured EYE and Area 51.
1996 - Sterile an industrial-metal group based on synths and drum machines, released their first CD album "Warm Dark Noise" [here on bandcamp and on youtube]. Some tracks were played on JJJ's heavy rock music program.
Sterile were Weston Creek Canberra kids, who moved to Sydney in 1992.
1996 - B(if)tek is released on a German compilation called "The Prophets Of Psychedelic Trance" with "They Oscillate" [bandcamp]
From 1995-2010 they were released on around 25 compilation CD albums.
~ ~ ~
1997
1997 - Artificial debuts with "Coolness Around Fountains" on 7-inch as a vinyl. It was a solo project by Nicole of B(i)ftek and Area 51.
1997 - The hip-hop outfit Koolism debut with their self-titled demo cassette tape.
1997 - EYE & AYA release a cassette album "Aphasia 1994-1996" via USA label.
1997 - DJ Chris Fresh [Chris Fraser] & Nash T [Nenad Trajkovski] released the "Burning Hands" single on Dancenet. [Hear it on youtube.]
1997 - EYE released a limited-run demo-cassette album titled "..."
It was later also released on a UK label.
1997 - B(if)tek tracks appear on 4 more compilation CDs: "Bedrock" [bandcamp] debuts on this and this compilation; "Eeg" on this one; and "Intercom" on this compilation.
1997 - EYE tracks are released on 4 more compilation CDs. The 3 tracks: "The Key (mutant AYA mix)"; "Grave New World" [bandcamp]; "Blind Progress".
1997 - The Clan Analogue double-CD 'Cognition' features tracks by these Canberra projects [links open to apple music]:
- John Wicks with "Systems"
- Dark Network with "Carpet Tirade"
- B(if)tek with "Bedrock"
- Artificial with "Car Crash"
- Sirkus of Sorts with "Just Get The Job Done"
~ ~ ~
1998
1998 is around about when the members of B(if)tek and Dark Network moved from Canberra to Melbourne and Sydney. Up until that point they had organised Clan Analogue events at venues like Heaven
nightclub. Such events happened several times per year, like when there was
an album launch. During the mid-90s they also held night-time events
in places like Stromlo forest, which were small-scale informal "bush
doofs". I recall they were called 'PanOpticon'.
[Sadly that forest burnt
down in the bushfires of 2003.]
Also of note: CDR burners were a new thing. For ~$1500 you could buy one and 'burn' [make] CDs of your music at home! It was a revolutionary change from using cassette-tapes.
1998 - Canberra record label Blatant Propaganda released the compilation album "Blatant Propaganda Volume 1" [bandcamp].
It featured these Canberran electronic music artists:
- EYE with "Logo Identity"
- AYA [ftg Lady Hannah Cadaver] with "Oi Ya! [Aphazia]"
- Sterile with "Control"
- Centrifugue with "Triangular Seas"
- Ray Cathode with "Sex Model"
- Keystone with "Mmm Mmm"
1998 - EYE tracks are released on 6 more compilation CDs; the electro-punk-industrial tracks "Logo Identity", "Aktifinit", "Blind Progress (schizoid mix)", "The Vivisector" and "Kadoish Adonais Tseybeyoth (95 mix)".
1998 - AYA have 2 'IDM' tracks released on 3 compilation CDs:
- "Aphazia (Oi-Ya!)" [bandcamp] featuring vocals by Lady Hannah Cadaver.
- "Psychological Warfare" [links to a later version, on EYE's bandcamp]
1998 - Koolism released the hip-hop album "Lift Ya Game" [it's on bandcamp].
1998 - B(i)ftek released the CD single "Bedrock" [on bandcamp] with a promo video [youtube]. The track achieved significant airplay on national Triple J radio and the video broadcast on ABC-TV's "Rage" program.
1998 - Artificial released the "Car Chase" vinyl 12-inch on the New York OMW label.
1998 - Dr Alistair Riddell has worked and taught for around a decade at the Centre for New Media Arts at the Australian National University. In 1997 he released the "Archisonic" CD and in 1998 the CDr album "Sturm Und Drang". From there, these notes about the album:
"Computer controlled piano instruments (1982-1987). Acoustic music from electronic forces. Beginning in the early 1980s, before MIDI, I pursued a vision of pianos under computer control. This CD contains music from several systems developed between 1982 and 1987, none of which now exist. This historical collection reflects a brief but dramatic journey into the performance possibilities of the computer and the acoustic properties of the piano."
You can hear the tracks on the album at his soundcloud.
Direct links to some: - Atlantic Fears ... Existential Constellation ... Fantasie
1998 - EYE released CDRs with the song "Mandate!" [bandcamp] to community radio stations around Australia. The track features samples of Prime Minister John Howard and disputed his claim to have a "mandate" from the 1998 election.
1998 - Meem [Michael Moebus, who relocated to Sydney in 1997] released his debut album "Machines & Records"
1998 - EYE released 2 cassette albums via UK label 'Music & Elsewhere. Firstly the title of "..." and secondly of "Split" [one tape side was EYE, the other was AYA].
1998 - Sterile release a 2nd CD album of synth-based industrial-metal called "Cold Dark Noise" [it's on bandcamp here]. Some tracks received national airplay on JJJ's heavy music show; with several live shows in Sydney and Canberra, including in support of Fear Factory [USA metal band].
1998 - Canberra record label Blatant Propaganda releases a CDR collection of EYE & AYA titled "Aphazia 1992-98".
~ ~ ~
1999
1999 - EYE release a CD album "Politics Can Be Fun" [bandcamp]. It was awarded "Album of the Week" on several community radio stations. The song "Mandate!" featured samples of Prime Minister John Howard. It was played extensively on radio stations across Australia. A representative of Triple J radio declared the songs "too political" to be on their regular daily playlist. However tracks were played among post-midnight 'graveyard' shifts and on the Australian music show.
1999 - Artificial releases their debut CD album "Electro Lollipop Explosion" [available on bandcamp]. I recall interviewing Nicole by phone for my radio 2XX shows and she was living in Melbourne at that time.
1999 - 'Microworld' [Philip McGarva] release debut 12" on Detroit's Transmat label. The lead track was "Signals" [bandcamp].
I recall no-one I knew personally knew Philip; he wasn't active in our scene. Though we thought it very cool that a mystery person from around town had aimed for and achieved such a release!
1999 - Continuum released the "Neurosis" extended EP plus video clip; a collection of psychedelic electronica. [Hear it on bandcamp].
[While they were then based in Melbourne, they were 'Canberra kids'; who moved to Melbourne in an indie-goth band in the early 90s].
1999 - The Closet Stiffs release a debut CD album "Non Violent Electronica"; a mix of electronica industrial rock. The primary creator was Mark Hemmingsen. The group featured Lady Hannah Cadaver on vocals. Here are some tracks on soundcloud: "Black & Gold" and "Modern Animal".
1999 - Under the project name 'Statecircle' Chris Fresh releases the "Dubrock" CD single.
1999 - EYE release a video for "Mandate!" [youtube, better audio is on bandcamp].
It was broadcast on the national programs "Rage" [ABC-TV] and "Alchemy" [SBS-TV].
During the filming, on the lawns of Australia's Parliament House, the crew were ordered by the security officers to cease and move on, under threat of arrest.
See here for the old web-page with some photos.
The clip budget was
$50 costume hire. The filming and editing was donated by videographer Scott McC.... who
produced it during after hours at his govt workplace.
It was then very rare for a local independent band to have
a video clip; as
it was so expensive and difficult to make them; few people had the
skills and access to the gear to do it.
1999 - "Capital Beats" was the first compilation album [that I'm aware of] with exclusively Canberra electronic dance music projects. It was a custom-pressed CDR with a small run of promotional copies.
Label: Bastard Squad records. Produced by DJs Jon Wicks and Sean Sullivan.
Artists on the CD: Rick Long, Mr Fink, Jon Wicks, Chris Fresh + Nash T, DJ Speedloader, Govinda, Keystone, AYA, PsiCorp, Archie, Retali8.
1999 - B(if)tek is released on a major label compilation CD called "Can't Stop The Rock" with "We Think You're Dishy" [bandcamp]
1999 - EYE music is released on 5 more compilation CDs by record labels based in Europe, Canada and the USA. The tracks:
- "Mandate!" a 1998 electro-hip-hop-rock track. [bandcamp]
- "Logo Identity" a 1997 electropunk track. [youtube]
- "Democracy?!?! (Party Politicians)" a 1999 digital hardcore track. [bandcamp]
- "The Vivisector" a 1995 industrial-rock track, reworked in 1998, released on 2 compilations. [youtube]
The related AYA project appeared on 2 compilations:
- a Canadian label released the dark IDM track "Aphasia" [bandcamp]
- the Canberra 'Capital Beats' compilation included a shortened version of "The Bions (Analogue Rituals)" [bandcamp]
1999 - Toupee - a well-known DJ on Canberra's club scene through the 90s - debuts on a compilation CD with the track "Skyline" [bandcamp] It was a collab with Sobriquet and appears to be the first of half a dozen Toupee appearances on compilation albums, of various artists.
I recall she too had moved to Melbourne in the late 1990s.
1999 - SBS-TV's music program "Alchemy" come to Canberra to interview EYE and Microworld.
1999 - Meem release his second album of quirky IDM electronica titled "Yumyum and Miffy" [on bandcamp]. He was then based in NSW though appeared often at local electronica gigs.
1999 - Sydney producer Paul Bambury moved to Canberra. He had several established music projects. Alien Headspace had remixes released on several major dance music singles by Itch-E & Scratch-E, notably the big hit "Sweetness And Light" in 1994 and his own tracks on compilations produced by that duo.
In 1999 Alien Headspace had a remix on the CD single of the huge Triple J radio hit by Friendly called "Some Kind Of Love Song" which featured the vocals of a young SIA [the one who conquered the music world in the 2010s].
Paul's other projects include Qpod; and also as half of The Transcendental Anarchists.
Those had tracks released through the 1990s on compilation albums of
ambient music, released by labels in the UK, USA and Australia. See this archived page for more notes about Paul's catalogue.
1999 - Mr Fink and Alien Headspace had tracks released on the compilation CD titled "Beatscootin" [on bandcamp] by the Sydney label Groovescooter founded and run by Canberrans of the 1980s - DJ Paris Pompor and Georgie Zuzak.
~ ~ ~
2000
2000 - B(i)ftek released their second CD album "2020" [on bandcamp] via Sony-Murmur records; plus several singles and promo videos for them:
- "We Think You're Dishy" [youtube]
- "Machines Work" [youtube]
- "Wired for Sound" [with Julee Cruise vocals] [youtube]
It was a huge success. Tracks were featured prominently on Triple J radio and on video shows like "Rage". They became well known, playing shows across the land and also overseas.
2000 - Chris Fresh releases "We Are The Future / Injection" on 12" via Vicious Vinyl.
2000 - 'Pentalpha' [a project by David Pendragon] released the "Harmony Healer" album on CD.
2000 - Koolism released "Bluenotes" a 12-inch EP of urban hip-hop [hear on bandcamp].
2000 - Artificial releases a vinyl EP "Stoner Classix Volume 1" [Hear on bandcamp].
2000 - Darren Ziesing released his debut CD titled "Landscapes" as the 'Stalker' project. His sets were a regular feature at electronic music events in the late 90s and early 00s. His later project titles include Liife, Cylan and from 2007 the Polybonk record label which has released dozens of albums. See polybonk.com
2000 - EYE tracks are released on 9 more compilation CDs through record labels based in Europe, Australia, North and South America:
- "Logo Identity" a 1997 electro-punk track
- "Action = Life" a 1996 electronica track
- "Mandate!" and "Respect the Mandate" electronica from 1998
- "Kadoish x3 Adonais Tseybeyoth (doishka mix)" a mix from 1998
- "(The Secret of) Perspective" an acid-electro-prog-rock track from 1996
as well as the tracks "Illumination" and "Blind Progress"; currently not found online.
2000 - Nash T released "Freedon Fighters / Abyss" on vinyl 12-inch via the Bang On label of Central Station records. Hear it on youtube.
~ ~ ~
2001
2001 - 'The E.L.F.' forms as a duo side project of EYE, intending to be more dance music oriented. Through to 2004 the project presented a dozen live gigs in Canberra [including 'XXL', 'eXXentricity', 'The Art School Ball' and 'Indyfest'] as well as in Sydney [at 'Club Kooky'] and in Newcastle [The 'ElectroFringe' concerts as part of the annual 'This Is Not Art' festival].
2001 - Nash T released "Orca" on vinyl 12-inch. Hear it on youtube.
2001 - Chris Fresh released "Dark Code - Strange Daze / Consciousness". [Hear the latter on bandcamp]
2001 - Under the project name 'North Atlantic' Chris Fresh released "Lights Out" on vinyl 12" [hear on youtube] as well as "Mind Filter" [hear on youtube]
2001 - Nicole Skeltys [then in Melbourne] released a compilation of Clanberra artists on a vinyl 12" called "Stoner Classix Volume 2" [available on bandcamp]. Tracks 1,3,4 are by Dark Network; 2 other tracks by Artificial and Clone.
2001 - EYE released the album "Propaganda (Is Sexy)" online via mp3.com and a small pressing on CDR by mail order.
2001 - Vance Musgrove debuts with "Squelch" on 12" vinyl. Hear it on youtube. His later projects include 'Muz & Mann' and 'The Aston Shuffle' [notes below].
2001 - Alien Headspace and Groovescooter each have a track released on this compilation.
2007 May - TOAST nightclub opened ... for the next 6 years TOAST was the main venue in Canberra for alternative music scenes including a range of electronic music genres; with hundreds of events encompassing club nights and live music.
2001 - Paul Bambury's Qpod project had 4 tracks released on the compilation CD "Environments - Antipodean Armchair Travel" released by the Thunk Recordings label.
2001 - Meem, Alien Headspace and Groovescooter each have a track released on the compilation CD titled "Re-Fashioned (Electronically Restitched Antipodean Classics)" Here it is on bandcamp.
2001 - EYE tracks were released on 2 more various artist compilations:
- "Grave New World" a 1994 cyberpunk track
- "Mandate!" a 1998 electronica-rock song
through record labels in Europe and UK ...
The related E.L.F. project made a debut appearance on a compilation, with an extended version of "Psychological Warfare [EYE's Chopper mix]" released on a USA label. A shorter version of that was released via the AYA title in the late 90s.
2001 - HEAVEN nightclub closed :( ... The venue had been going strong since around 1994. The space was previously known as The Firehouse. From the mid-1990s it was the important
venue through those years. It featured hundreds of events with a huge
range of music - a mix of club nights and some live music.
The Fridays and Saturday nights mostly featured electronic dance music, DJs playing the contemporary styles that came and went.
Week nights like Wednesdays and Thursdays featured the 'alternative music' nights; some which included live music. Fwiw I DJd a hundred or so Thursday nights from 1994 through to mid-2000 - the indie, goth, industrial, electronica and retro-pop nights. I retired from DJing there when a new job meant I had to sleep well and have a working brain on Fridays.
I did not go to many events at Heaven on the weekends. I was recovering from my own Thursday nights and lack of sleep. Also I had learnt in the late 80s that the weekend scenes in the city were often ugly - lots of drunks and fights. In contrast Thursday nights in the city were great! Far less of the problem people and so it was far more relaxed and pleasant.
So I went to weekend events at Heaven on just a small number of occasions; when there was something special like live music by people I knew; or a launch for something they had made and released eg. the Clan Analogue events.
Hence I don't know much about what happened with the other weekend DJ-based events.
~ ~ ~
2002
2002 - 'Artificial' released a second CD album of funky leftfield electro disco "Libraries are Fun" [available on bandcamp].
2002 - The E.L.F. released small runs of the albums "Live at XXL 2001" [bandcamp] and "Preview" on custom-pressed CDR.
A track called "Bring Yurr Lurrve" [bandcamp] placed 2nd in a song competition [for a site called MusicOz.org] which led to an interview in Sydney's "3D World" newspaper for the dance-music club-scene. The track was later included on an EYE album "Propaganda Machine" [bandcamp].
2002 - Koolism released their urban hip-hop album titled "Pt. 1" [on bandcamp] plus a 12-inch EP "The Season" [on bandcamp] and CD-EP "Diverse".
2002 - Blatant Propaganda and Radio 2XX released the compilation CD "A.S.I.N.G.E.D." denoting 'Australian Synthpop Industrial Noise Gothic Electronica Darkwave.' The album is on bandcamp.
It features Canberra electronic music projects:
- EYE with "Slogans for Consumer Youth" and "Kadoish" [featuring Lady Hannah Cadaver]
- the E.L.F. with "C.I.A. Hypno-Programmed Robot Assassin"
- DJ Citizen with "One of THOSE Days!"
- SysX with "Boomstik"
1000 copies of the CD were pressed and mostly given away at club launches in the major cities around Australia. Tracks were broadcast on national radio JJJ and on numerous community radio stations.
2002 - EYE tracks were released on 2 more various artist compilations:
- "Mandate!" a 1998 electronica-rock song
- those tracks noted adjacently for the "A.S.I.N.G.E.D." CD
2002 - Jono Fernandez releases his debut: "Lo Runner / Suede" progressive house tracks on vinyl 12" [on youtube: Lo Runner and Suede].
2002 - HyperSense Complex was a collaboration between Somaya Langley, Simon Burton and Dr. Alistair Riddell (Centre for New Media Arts, Australian National University). The trio performed across several years in several cities, where they wore interactive sensors to trigger sounds, exploring the concept of “networked bodies as instrument”.
2002 - Paul Bambury releases an album for the Futureretro project, titled "Organic Machines" [on apple music]
2002 - Nicole Skeltys released a third compilation vinyl 12" called "Stoner Classix Volume 3" [available on bandcamp]. It features Artificial & DJ Toupee with "Whatever Turns You On" and Artificial with "Big Beefy Birds". [click titles for bandcamp]
2002 - Nash T released the progressive house track "The Dark" on vinyl 12" [on youtube].
He also released music as the Bluephaze project: "What Is Music?" [on apple] and "The Bell" [on apple].
2002 - Mystral Tide [Ivan Bullock] released an album of neo-classical dark electronica called "Whirlpool of Souls".
Ivan was a participant in Canberra's '90s scene - who since moved to live in Japan [and was back to Canberra by 2004].
2002 - EYE tracks were released on 3 more compilation CDs
- "Mandate!" a 1998 electro-rock track [on youtube and on bandcamp]
- "Workers United" a 2002 hip-hop-electro-rock track [on youtube and on bandcamp]
- "Kadoish" a 1995 song that was reworked in 2001 as an electro-industrial dance-rock track; featuring vocals by Lady Hannah Cadaver [on youtube and on bandcamp].
2002 - The Blatant Propaganda label released on CDR:
- The Dark Network album "Analogues (early recordings)" of music from the mid-1990s.
- The 'Whiteplan' album titled "Prototypical".
- The 'SysX' album titled "Broken Machine".
- The DJ Citizen EP "So Contented" [hear on bandcamp]
~ ~ ~
2003
A Major Milestone for the Canberra Electronic Music Scene ...
Marking 10 years since 'things came together' in 1993 ...
The 2CD "ElectriCity" compilation was released.
Artists on the CD:
The E.L.F. ... Chris Fresh ... Dark Network ... EYE ... Bounder ... DJ Archie Vs Nash T ... Groovescooter ... Meem ... DJ Citizen ... SysX ... Mr Fink ... Stalker ... Artificial Vs DJ Toupee ... Gruv Dios [Jeremy Joshua] ... Chindogu Circuit ... Continuum ... Pearldivers (Of The Subconscious) ... Paul Richter [of Karton] ... Futureretro ... Whiteplan ... Combat Wombat ... QT ... Lackluster ... Al's Backyard ... STK [Sam Karmel] ... Clone ... Trancendental Anarchists ... Igloo & The Icycles ... Reductionist ... Voice Of Dog ... Kimmo Vennonen ...
There are projects that ought have but couldn't be on it. Either due to their label contracts, or
an inability to get in contact with them. They included: B(if)tek, Jon Wicks, DJ
Speedloader, AYA, Vance Musgrove, Jono Fernandez, The Closet Stiffs.
The compilation was produced by Robot J. Citizen for Blatant Propaganda and Community Radio 2XX. The CD page on Discogs.
The compilation was launched with a large event called "eXXentricity" in Civic. It featured numerous live acts and DJs. That event was organised by a team of volunteers headed by sound artist Somaya Langley.
In 2014 the set of music was added to Bandcamp
- available to hear and download.
Volume 1 - - Volume 2 - - Volume 3 - - Volume 4
2003 - The national Triple J radio station added The E.L.F. track "A Nice Walk in the Park" [bandcamp] to their daily playlist with features also on specialty dance music shows like "The Club".
2003 - B(if)tek released their third and final CD album "Frequencies Will Move Together" [available on bandcamp].
2003 - Meem released his third album titled "The Big Hoo-Hah" [hear on bandcamp] and the vinyl 12" "Superpeople presents Meem"
2003 - Vance Musgrove released "Elemental" on 12" vinyl [hear on youtube]
2003 - Jeremy Joshua [Gruv Dios] released vinyl 12-inch "Left Of Centre"
2003 - Jono Fernandez released several 12" singles of progressive house/breaks: "Colours Of Conscience", "Monkey Business", "Before You Break On Me" [youtube links]
2003 - Dark Network released a CD album "Late Set" via Clan Analogue. It's on youtube here and one of the tracks is on bandcamp. It can also be heard on their darkwork.net site.
2003 - Karton [Paul Richter & Paul Beohm] debut 12" vinyl release "Fire Fucker" [on youtube]
2003 - EYE tracks were released on 2 more various artist compilation CDs:
- "Uranium Mining" [bandcamp] a 1998 musique concrete electronica track, released on an Australian label.
- That album also included the electro-punk-breakbeat track "Psychological Warfare" credited to The ELF.
- "Slogans for Consumer Youth" [bandcamp] was on a USA compilation.
~ ~ ~
2004
2004 - Blatant Propaganda and 2XX release the compilation "ElectriCity 2" as a giveaway at an event called "eXXentricity 2" in Civic.
It was a CDR production of ~150 copies.
It's on bandcamp, free to hear and download.
Artists on the CD:
Ashley Feraude with Cris Clucas ... the E.L.F. ... Mystral Tide ... DJ Paf ... EYE ... Wax Audio ... Underscore ... Dotodot ... DJ Citizen ... Fuselage ... Kimmo Vennonen ... Solaris ... Somaya Langley ...
CD produced by Robot J. Citizen.
2004 - Microworld's self-titled debut CD album released on Derrick May's Transmat label. It's on bandcamp.
2004 - Karton release a second 12" vinyl release "3 Stripe / Here" [a remix is on youtube]
2004 - Koolism released their third hip-hop album titled "Pt. 3 Random Thoughts" [on bandcamp].
2004 - The Blatant Propaganda label and radio 2XX released the compilation CD "Songs of Protest". The album is on bandcamp. It features protest songs by independent Australian projects of a range of genres. It includes several tracks by Canberra project EYE: the hip-hop-electro-rock "Workers United" and the power-pop "Refugees [Detention Without Trial].
2004 - ABC Classics Radio released a CD of compositions by Mary Finsterer. It includes the electro-acoustic soundscape track "Sleep" [youtube] with engineering credits to Canberra's Kimmo Vennonen.
2004 - Academy nightclub opened and for around 15 years was 'an institution' of the Canberra electronic dance music scene ... I recall it was managed and perhaps co-owned by DJ Chris Fresh [mentioned many times above].
I
missed my opportunity early on to be involved as a DJ, for the 'Trash
Thursday' nights [the name I recall Chris mentioning]; something that I
rather regret in hindsight. And over the years I was so busy with DJ
gigs and scenes at other venues [The Holy Grail, Toast, The Aree Bar, Bar 32, Kremlin, Cube ...] that I only made it to Academy once for a great night in Summer 2009.
So
I don't know first-hand about what happened there. I am aware that
Academy had a huge scene
happening and brought many DJs and electronic music artists to perform
in Canberra. I gather it was also a supporting spring board for local
DJs and producers.
Thankfully there's a 2021 documentary on youtube about the Academy club [produced by 'Mustard Flats']. So I recommend to see that.
I gather the people who later formed the very successful project called The Aston Shuffle [notes below] were also involved with Academy.
2004 - EYE complete "Propaganda Machine" a double-album of electronica, electro-punk and post-industrial ...
but even though it had the interest of people like Jello Biafra [of The Alternative Tentacles label in the USA, and yes of The Dead Kennedys] ... we didn't release it ... until released in parts on Bandcamp a decade later.
The reason being is that I - the producer - had "burnt out" in 2004. For several years I had been coping with health issues [diagnosed as 'Fibromyalgia'] exacerbated by doing too many projects; doing too many things to help too many people - some of it described above - and I was not looking after myself; was not resting enough; was not focusing on my own projects.
And despite my intentions and some occasional efforts to get back in to producing music, I didn't get back in to the swing of those things.
As far as related Canberra electronic music releases and gigs - during 2005 and 2006 - I wasn't aware of much happening. That partly led to my decision to retire from radio and label activities.
I recommenced with organising club nights and DJing in early 2007, namely club VAMP; as 'DJ Robot' then as 'Robot Citizen'. My main focus then however was the general 'alternative music scene' ...
Hence I don't know such an amount of detail of what occurred from 2005 onwards, for the Canberra electronic music scene. So my notes of below may overlook some significant things.
~ ~ ~
2005 on
Notes below about related Canberra Projects I'm aware of.
I aim to add more content here as I learnt of it.
2005 - The E.L.F. track "A Nice Walk in the Park" was released on a various artist compilation CD called "Genesis". It was perhaps that release that led to the May 2005 broadcast on radio Triple J's Friday night dance music program called "The Club" - refer to playlist here. [The track was also later released on EYE's "Propaganda Machine" album and youtube channel].
2006 - CUBE nightclub opened ... though it might have been 2005. I recall going along in 2006 and that it was new then. It was a place to hear and dance to *very loud* thumping electronic dance music. For a fix of that clublife, while 'the straight' crowd went to Academy, 'the alternative and queer scenes' went to Cube.
Of course, that's generally speaking.
Unlike prior venues that supported and featured local Canberra electronic music producers - venues like Heaven [which closed 2001] - I can't recall such things happening at Cube. It was all DJs, nearly always their regular 2 or 3 resident DJs. I sensed the club management didn't want to take a risk with music that wasn't already 'massive' on a national or global level. They had a club formula that worked - commercial dance music - so they stuck to that. Nonetheless, it was a very important scene spot from then on, hence the mention.
2006 - D'Opus & Roshambo were a hip-hop project that debuted in 2006 with an 8-track CD-EP titled 'The Question'. In 2008 they released an album 'The Switch' and in 2011 a second album called 'Past Time' ...
I recall that during the 2000s Ross Garret [D'Opus] worked in the electronic music section at the well-known Better Music store; and Rowan Thomson [Roshambo] was a co-host with me in the early 2000s for the 2XX "Beatside" dance music radio show. I recall that after a year or so he switched his fortnightly "Beatside" shifts to present instead a new hip-hop program.
2006 - Dark Network released tracks on a vinyl 12" called "Sneaky Trax part 1 and 2". An updated version was made in 2009 with an extra track "Magic Genie"; on their new label project Deluxe Mood. There are mp3 samples on that page.
2006 - Sound artist Somaya Langley worked on a project called "gesture≈sound" ... a collaborative three-week residency at STEIM in Amsterdam, with Ross Bencina and Danielle Wilde. They developed experiments into gestural sound control.
For notes, audio and video clips: http://www.audiomulch.com/gesturesound
For notes on Somaya's other projects see https://www.criticalsenses.com/previous.html
2006 - The Aston Shuffle was formed as a project of Mikah Freeman and Vance Musgrove - refer to earlier entries about his solo projects.
They had 2 releases on 12" vinyl in 2006 and 2007 as Muz & Mann.
In 2007 their debut single as The Aston Shuffle was "For Everyone" followed in 2009 with "Do You Want More?" both released on a subsidiary label of Ministry Of Sound and EMI.
They've had a series of singles released from 2011 to 2014 through several labels; then a break until a new single in 2023 "Give it To You", a collaboration with German-based producer Chambray.
The albums are "Seventeen Past Midnight" [2011] and "Photographs" [2014].
The project has produced several DJ mixes for Ministry of Sound CDs in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
It also has had tracks and remixes for other artists released on a ton of dance music compilation CDs from 2007 through to 2023!
I have the impression they also presented shows on Triple J radio during the early 2010s.
As of 2024 it appears to be a Vance solo project: https://www.theastonshuffle.com/
At the youtube page it states: "The Aston Shuffle is DJ, producer, radio presenter, and Only 100s host, Vance Musgrove. Born out of the clubs of Australia’s capital city of Canberra, The Aston Shuffle is a name known and respected around the globe. Consistently delivering quality dance music of the highest level, The Aston Shuffle releases have garnered over 150 million streams and been supported by the likes of Patrick Topping, Diplo, Dom Dolla, Claptone, and Pete Tong, with international touring taking The Aston Shuffle all around the globe to Tomorrowland in Belgium, Elsewhere and Output in Brooklyn, Egg in London, Miami Music Week, plus numerous headline tours around Australia."
His "Only100s" monthly DJ mix series is at https://soundcloud.com/itsonly100s
2007 - Darren Ziesing launched the Polybonk record label for experimental IDM techno and abstract ambient. The label has dozens of albums.
See polybonk.com and https://polybonk.bandcamp.com ...
There were numerous releases in 2007 and 2008 for his projects:
- Cylan - including "Heaven" [bandcamp]
- Stalker - including "Dusk" [bandcamp]
- Liife - including "By the waters the trees"
2007 - Soft Tigers was an indie rock group with some hip-hop electro aspects. They had an album "Gospel Ambitions" released on Virgin Records in 2007, plus 2 singles "M.A.R.I.A." and "Mr Ice Cream" [the video]. Neil Harvey was one third of the group and he had a house music track on the 2003 "ElectriCity" CD compilation, released as the project called "Als Backyard".
2007 - Mystral Tide [Ivan Bullock] released a second album of neo-classical dark electronica called "Geometry Of Loss". Ivan was a participant in Canberra's 90s scene - who since moved to live in Japan, was back to Canberra by 2004 and was in Melbourne as of 2007.
2007 November 30 - TOAST nightclub closed :( ... TOAST had been going since May 2001 and was the important
venue through those years. It featured hundreds of events with a huge
range of music - a mix of club nights and lots of live music.
Unfortunately
a major hotel chain was located adjacent and they repeatedly protested
to the ACT government about the music and the crowds of people attending
TOAST. Eventually, and sadly, it closed at the end of 2007.
2007 - Nick Wilson's Reductionist project [of experimental electronic soundscapes] had tracks released on several compilations as were tracks by his duos known Continuum and as City Frequencies.
2008 - Somaya Langley created the soundtrack for a DVD production called "Tele Path" with visuals by David-McDowell. I haven't found audio for it online. For more notes about Somaya's experimental audio projects see https://www.criticalsenses.com/previous.html
2009 - The website mp3.com.au was a buzz of activity in the early-mid 2000s, a place where independent artists released music. In 2009 the site released a CD compilation titled "Mp3.com.au/The Future Of Music"
That CD featured several Canberra projects:
- EYE with "Mandate!"
- The ELF with "Psychological Warfare"
- Alien Headspace with "Hack & Crackle".
The Discog notes state: "This Promo CD was given out with any purchase from either HMV or Sanity music shops in 2009."
2009 - Ivan Bullock produced a compilation CD called "DEMUS compiled 2". It features several Canberra[-derived] projects such as:
- EYE with "This System Will Eat Itself"
- Mystral Tide with "Depreciated"
In 2009 Ivan released his third album as Mystral Tide titled "Isle of Narrows" [bandcamp].
From 2010 on his main project has been Minorarc with a 2010 self-titled album on bandcamp; as well as the 2013 "Involution"; and "Untold" released in 2023.
2009 - Tim O'Loghlin of Dark Network released a track of burbling acid house titled "Forwhat" [bandcamp] on a French label's 12" compilation under his moniker Suspect.
See here for bio notes
on what he had been up to in the decade or so up to then; including events
in Sydney, UK, Germany, USA, Russia; alongside well-known artists like
Richie Hawtin and Derrick May.
Late 2000s ... Another thing I know of is that in the late 2000s the local annual "bush doof" festivals like Dragon Dreaming became very popular. A lot could be added about those, another time, in another article.
~ ~ ~
2010 on
2010 - Suspect [Tim O'Loghlin from Dark Network] released a triple 12" vinyl album titled "Unfinished Business".
There's a clip on YT for the lead track "Inurface".
Some snippets of tracks are on soundcloud: Slide on Through ... Bleeding for you ... Infurface and remix ...
Also released was a 12" vinyl for "Shaken"; a section of the original track is here and the remix by John Tejada.
2010 - Clone is the duo of Kate Crawford [of B(if)tek] and Bo Daley [from Dark Network]. Their Deluxe Mood record label site states they had plans to release a 3-track 12" vinyl titled "Xerox". You can find MP3 samples on there. Their later project name Metric Systems released an 8-track album in 2018.
2011 - Suspect [Tim O'Loghlin from Dark Network] released a vinyl 12" titled "The Tevo Howard Files" - a producer in Chicago. Sections of the tracks can be heard here on soundcloud.
2013 - Ivan Bullock produced another compilation CD called DEMUS compiled 3.
It featured several Canberra-derived projects such as:
- Minorarc - "Grey Blue"
- EYE - "[de]Motivator" a 2003 mix of a 1999 track; also released otherwise under titles like "Challenger", "Echelon" and "Look Back into History".
Ivan's current 2024 community project is https://darkstereo.com featuring reviews and interviews of music he digs.
2015 - The Canberra Blatant Propaganda music label released the compilation CD "S.I.N.G.E.D. Volume 2" - denoting 'Synthpop Industrial Noise Gothic Electronica Darkwave.' The album is on bandcamp.
It features independent dark alternative music projects from around Australia and New Zealand; most of whom are electronic-based. It features Canberra project EYE with an electro-industrial-trance track titled "Challenger" - which has otherwise been released under titles like 'Echelon' and '[de]Motivator'.
2017 - A self-titled album of ambient electronic music was released by a project named Random Acts of Elevator Music [bandcamp] - a duo also known as City Frequencies which includes Canberra's Nick Wilson [formerly of Space is Ace & Continuum].
2018 - Metric Systems is the duo of Bo Daley [from Dark Network] and Kate Crawford [of B(if)tek]. They released an album "People in the Dark" [bandcamp]. The prior project names for their duo include Clone, Terry Nation, Type Face and Sirkus of Sorts.
2022 - Factory Preset is a solo project of Bo Daley [from Dark Network, Clone & Metric Systems]. He has released an album titled "Swingchronize me" [bandcamp]; dreamy electronica described as 'acid wave'.
~ ~ ~ ~
So that's where I'm at after a couple of weeks of brain-wracking, searching and rambling ...
As time permits I aim to:
- Add more notes
- Add pictures
- Add more pages
- Improve the site design
:)
I might move these articles to a site I can properly customise.
However I like the idea that being on blogspot, these articles may be more permanent; can still be here after I am gone. If I only have the articles on a site I control, then they'll disappear when I do and cannot renew the website address the following year. ;)
= - = - = - = - =
Appendix:
What it was like to create and promote electronic music ... Comparing Then & Now.
I wrote the following as part of my introduction.
But it got wordy so here it as an Appendix.
>>> The Technology - the Expense and Limitations:
To create electronic music in the 1990s and early 2000s was very expensive. Artists
spent in excess of ten thousand dollars [I did, among others] to slowly
acquire - over years - the range of equipment that enabled a fuller
rich sound ie. multiple synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, FX units,
multi-track tape machines, mixing desks, cables, amplifiers, speaker
monitors, powerful computers with the necessary software plus storage
racks, cases and transportation tools.
On the progression of recording technology:
Up to the mid-1990s the following methods were available to record:
A] To record tracks at home, artists either:
* Recorded live takes to a home cassette player or, for much better quality, to a stereo DAT [digital audio tape] machine; that's if you knew someone who had one!
* Used a 4-track cassette-tape machine [cost $1-2000] and mixed that to analogue tape or a DAT [cost $2000+] .
Because of the costs people were often borrowing and loaning such equipment.
or
B]
To record on 8-track machines you could hire time in a recording studio
and take all your gear in there. To record a few songs with a quick mix
you could need a budget of ~$2000.
Each option placed limitations on what could be done.
Most of all the available technology limited the sound quality that could be obtained.
From
the mid-1990s 8-track DATs become available to hire or buy for home
recordings; units such as the Tascam DA88 and Sony ADAT [cost ~$10,000].
These greatly expanded the spectrum of what could be achieved; coming
very close to studio-level sound quality.
Towards the end of the
1990s it became possible to record audio to computer hard-drives and mix
them there; if you had a very fancy expensive computer and digital mixer
setup that might sent you back $15,000+ [that being more than enough as a
deposit for a 3 bedroom house then!]
I recall a digital mixer like a
Yamaha O2R sold for ~$12000.
And a suitable Apple Mac computer would be
$5000+.
In the early-mid 2000s some aspiring artists were making tracks exclusively on computer 'tracker' software. However it sounded limited and 'thin' in scope. I recall people sending me demos like that and I was reluctant to play them on the radio.
I recall it was somewhere in the
mid-2000s that software termed 'digital audio workstations' [or DAWs]
became a viable thing for home recording, to replace the 8-track digital
tape machines.
Hence, by comparison, to achieve a similar sound quality:
* in the 1990s you needed to spend perhaps tens of thousands of dollars
* since the mid-late 2000s people could use a laptop and free DAW software!
>>> Tools of Release Promotion - the Expense and Limitations:
In
the 1980s and through most of the 1990s the main format for independent
artists to release music was the cassette tape. That was the most
affordable form for releasing 'demos'. On one hand you could make a
small batch at home with a double-deck tape player. To have them
professionally duplicated at a factory - with printing and superior
sound quality - a batch of 500 cassettes would cost you around $1500.
When you were more serious about what you'd made and had a bigger budget saved up, that's when you would make vinyl or CDs. As vinyl was a dying format in the 1990s not many did that. It was reserved for pressing 12" dance tracks aimed at club DJs. For the general public, you would release music on CDs. For around $3000 you could press 500 CDs.
What are those $ figures above in 2024 terms?
As a rough guesstimation I'd triple those. Maybe more ... considering house prices have gone up 7-fold since 2000.
Around the year 2000 is when the MP3 format became a way to
release music online. The early popular sites - where independent
artists could release their music - were www.mp3.com and the Aussie
version www.mp3.com.au ... I recall that instead of releasing hard-copy
CDs, many artists focused on releasing music on those sites ...
Similarly in the mid-to-late 2000s Myspace.com became a popular place to
release music and build a fanbase ...
What many of us learnt
though is that such huge websites are likely to be temporary. Imagine
that after devoting years to building a fanbase for your music on them,
you log in one day to find the website has been sold to a large company,
who has decided to obliterate your accounts and replace it with their
products or just nothing. And with other sites you may find that the once-popular site loses traffic and within a few years is a ghost
town.
In hindsight, I feel it was a mistake to focus so much with promoting via those music websites in the 2000s. It contributed to my sense of 'burn out'. After that it took me a long time - years - to consider investing time to other sites that popped up, like soundcloud and bandcamp. I look back and realise I and others could and should have
released more music on CD in the 90s and 00s. Of course, that would be pointless now, as things have changed again - music streaming sites now rule the waves.
And then there was the great hassle and expense of making promotional video clips!
I've always felt it should "be about the music". I'm not a fan of videos for music. And it's a different art form. However for a lot of the general public, video clips are proof that your music project existed; that you did something noteworthy with music, by having a little movie for them to pay attention to. It seems, strange as it is, that you only existed as a music producer, if you have a video to prove it ... Crazee!!! imho
Over the past 10-15 years artists could potentially make cool-looking video clips at home with zero or little budget. You could film them on your own gadgets, edit them on your computer and release them on youtube and so on. Through that your friends and fans could share it and build a buzz. Obviously you're likely to make something better though with a budget and with people with the video skills.
Whereas in the 1990s and 2000s, to make a video clip you either needed:
* to be signed to a major record label, who had the thou$ands and the connections with experience video production teams; or
* save and spend thou$ands and devote the hours to have a go at it yourself; or
* make friends with people who had spent the $ and time to acquire the skills and equipment to make video clips; and hope for a discount or freebie through them.
You might have needed a budget of $5000+ to produce a basic video clip in the 1990s, of a quality for TV broadcast. And even with that, it might never be shown anywhere! Hence, it was too much of a risk for struggling independent artists.
Thus independent artists of recent times can have video clips and an online presence. Whereas artists of slightly older times don't have videos that documented their time in the sun.
With both audio and video, there was a zone of about 5 years, around 2010, where the technology improved and became affordable and possible for independent artists to achieve higher levels of production and promotion; meaning they have a presence online. The artists of before that time, it's sadly like they didn't exist, as they have comparatively little presence online.
>>> Summation of that Tangent about Then and Now:
So today, in 2024, you can make music and video at home with high quality and release it online for free or, to get it on major sites, for a small distribution fee. Your music can then potentially be heard by 'the whole wide world' - that's if you slog your guts out and sell your soul to massively promote it.
But back in ye olden times, the 1990s and
2000s, you would need to save up thousands to make just 500 copies of
your music on a hard copy format!
And likewise think of $5000+ for a video clip that might never be shown anywhere; possibly once on ABC-TV "Rage" at 3:30am!
My main points via the above tangents are:
* when listening to tracks from earlier years, if it doesn't sound as polished as what is possible today, in the past decade up to 2024 ... and
* if it seems that artists from back then weren't popular, because they don't have the big online presence of current young'n'active artists ...
Appreciate that artists back then were achieving the
best they could with the equipment, budgets and media available.
Many gave a
huge % of their income, their time, to be able to create and record music.
It's highly like that 98% of people who now dabble with electronic music, they wouldn't have done so if they were alive in the 90s, because the barriers were so high.
So, if you ever come across a broke musician from the 1990s, empathise! :)
And
if they look hungry and homeless, give them some spare dollars ... maybe buy them a meal or ... even a house! ;) :)
The above ravings were rambled by a Robot Citizen :) in February 2024.
Based on earlier write-ups in blogs and social media channels.
~ ~ ~
Copyright notice - this site and the articles are copyrighted to the human entity behind the 'robot citizen' name. These articles are based on experience and connections made across 35+ years. I've experienced too many scenarios of younger people stealing/copying my work and attempting to present it as their own. Don't do that because if you do, it looks real bad to everyone else and that will damage you long-term; also you will have me as a major long-term thorn-in-your-side. You don't want that problem. I'm a friendly helpful humanoid if you're good. So be good. :)
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