Out From Under

Whilst the legacies of post-punk, DIY electronics and proto industrial are widely known and documented in the UK and US scenes, their impact in an Australian context is less widely recognised. Bonding over the discovery of Cabaret Voltaire imports in Sydney record stores, Scattered Order formed in 1979 and gorged on a wide range of inputs to create a sound and visual aesthetic that was unique in Australia at the time. Together they also formed the label M Squared and fostered an impressive roster of bands such as Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, Systematics and Ya Ya Choral. In Part I of a two-part interview, Stuart Buchanan talks to Scattered Order’s Mitchell Jones about the early years of the band and the formation and impact of the M-Squared label throughout the late Seventies and early Eighties.

Experimental and underground music from Australia. In this week’s episode, we hear new music from Melbourne electronic producer Ju Ca; Canberra’s Wives get remixed by Enderie Nuatal; there’s two releases from Hyperborea and Fia Fiell (pictured) through cassette label Nice Music ; new work from Cold House member Morgan McKellar recording as Bright Sea, plus tracks from Teef Record’s charity compilation Imperium In Imperio II featuring Making, Hence Therefore and Tracy Chen.

On this week’s Out From Under, artists Andy Rantzen and Jochen Gutsch discuss their new collaborative project, which fuses Andy’s poetic spoken lyrics and Jochen’s diverse musical background, recording and performing as Hinterlandt. Highly conscious of the potential pitfalls of fusing poetry and experimental music, Andy and Jochen carve a path to an outcome that is tense and fascinating, and compels you to listen close. We also hear music from Jochen’s Hinterlandt Ensemble and take in back catalogue work from Andy’s Pelican Daughters project.

This week’s Out From Under is another in our new music playlist series, presenting a selection of underground and experimental work being made right now in Australia. We check out two compilations both surveying experimental electronic terrain - from labels Butter Sessions and Iceage Productions; music from two Canberra labels, Dream Damage and Moontown Records, featuring Danger Beach and Scraps; new releases from Sydney artists M.O.B. and Lortica; abstract sounds from Sam Filmer; and a new recording from Half High, featuring Lucy Phelan and Matthew P Hopkins from Naked On The Vague.

Electronic artist Martyn Palmer has been recording calm and tranquil sounds as Broken Chip for many years, but in recent months something fundamental has changed - precipitating a shift from light to dark, from tranquil to anxious, culminating in a new project under the alias Hidden. In this week’s episode of Out From Under, we hear from Martyn Palmer about his new work, the impetus for the shift in direction and how it contrasts with his work as Broken Chip - taking in an exclusive mix of brand new tracks from Hidden and a walk through Martyn’s back catalogue.

This week’s episode of Out From Under is the latest in the new music playlist series, surveying the terrain of eclectic and experimental music across Australia. We hear from experimental quintet Tangents, a quasi super group of sorts exploring the outer ranges of rock and jazz; Canberra’s Reuben Ingall on a new cross-continental split series; Melbourne artist & musician Lisa Lerkenfeldt; brand new material from Brisbane avant-garde trio Feet Teeth, Melbourne’s Fad and ModB, NSW duo School Girl Report, and the collaborative project of Andy Rantzen & Jochen Gutsch; plus a trio of tracks from one of Australia’s longest running tape labels, Altered States.