“New Weird Australia” (Used 9 times)

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.

DOWNLOAD / STREAM FULL RELEASE HERE

Sample tracks from the release:

Earlier this year, we alluded to a departure in format in our free compilation series of eclectic and experimental Australian music. 

Up until now, the series has effectively been a snapshot in time of new, weird Australian music, dropping once every two months.  Over nine compilation albums, we faithfully represented that broad and loose concept, however the time has come to sharpen our focus.  The series will now morph into more structured compilation releases – structured either by genre, geography or theme, or structured by the guiding hand of a guest curator.

The first of such releases scores on two counts – ‘The Sound Of Young Canberra‘ is the first release to be selected by a guest curator, in this case the double-header combination of Shoeb Ahmad (hellosQuare) and Tim Guthrie (Dream Damage). It is also the first compilation to focus exclusively on one geographical area, and what better place to start than our oft-scorned nation’s capital.

Together, Shoeb & Tim have been a beacon for new Canberra music  – via Shoeb’s label and tireless commitment to live events, and Tim’s outstanding blog, where many Canberra artist receive their first online editorial.  This new collaboration between that pair is a wild and truly eclectic mix of styles; some familiar, some entirely new; some residents, some expartiates – featuring Pollen Trio, Teddy Trouble, Spartak, Jonny Telafone, From The South, Readymen, Reuben Ingall, Danger Beach, Shoeb Ahmad, Assassins 88, Kasha and Bum Creek.

The 12-track compilation is available for FREE download from the Free Music Archive at: 
freemusicarchive.org/music/New_Weird_Australia/The_Sound_Of_Young_Canberra/

Sample three of the tracks below:

I've been hitting a few compilations pretty hard lately on the FMA, and I must say that a recent favorite has been "New Weird Australia, Volume 3." The non-profit NWA group releases a new compilation of tunes from Australian artists that can be categorized loosely as "weird" every other month, they host a weekly radio show on FBi in Sydney, and put on live music events from time to time. My latest compilation muse, "NWA, Vol. 3," was released in November of 2009.

From mellow and woozy songs fit for a dream sequence, to repetitive krautrock jams, to dainty acoustic prances, to experimental electronic hiss, drones, and moments of glitch. This album won't start any parties, but it does wonders if you're driving, in a contemplative mood, just waking up, or stuck inside on a grey day. Check out a few of my favorite tracks below.

The NWA label offers even more lovely oddities, with two more volumes of compiled songs here on the FMA, and even more goodies available to download on their website.