What Do Australian's Know About Sound?

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2002 2:50 pm

"Watch me wallabies feed, sport, watch me wallabies feed
They're a dangerous breed, sport, so watch me wallabies feed"

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2002 7:20 pm

Hmmm Bruce , Bruce , Bruce...

I've been wondering whether i should throw my two cents in about all this. I'll try not to go off on a tangent here while I make a couple of points. Smile

Australia has a very small music market , especially when compared to the USA. A platinum album is 70,000 untis here compared to 1,000,000 over there. The size of our market has an effect on production budgets and the production infrastructure.

Quote:

I got very frustrated many times with the "we don't do that here approach" and many other technically hungup rules.

.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. I'm not trying to be a smart arse about this Smile

D

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2002 7:37 pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Alan Hunter:
stedel,

The latest from those great minds "down under" might be a high-end amp by the name of "Halcro." They can be a bit pricey, but when you start to measure distortion by the billions, I guess you'll have to pay for it!

Cool. There you go folks. A reputation for high end taste, skill, attention to detail, precise and extremely quality consciousness and control, spunks, finely crafted, researched and executed designs, lusted after.

Hey I like me more already!!!!!!
AND WE'VE GOT A CRICKET TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Which I'm not sure how I feel about. I go with the late great Douglass Adams on this.

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2002 7:47 pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Ted Nightshade:
"Watch me wallabies feed, sport, watch me wallabies feed
They're a dangerous breed, sport, so watch me wallabies feed"

Actually I'm not aware that the wallaby is dangerous at all. The only danger maybe is that they possess an over abundance of cuteness which attracts millions of tourist. However some twisted people think this is a ghood thing.

Now Cassowary's. They're a different matter. This is a bird that grows to more than six feet tall.
They're like those raptors in Jurrasic Park. They'll stalk you, outrun you, and rip your guts out. Leterally, slash you wide open. There are on average three deaths a year in the Northern Territory from Cassowary attacks. Basically if one targets you, unless you;ve got a gun or a friend who just happens to have a killer boomerang or a spear and knows how to use them...fast..there's not much you can do.

How would you like that on your little funeral notice?
a. Cause of death - giant six foor bird.

Sad

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2002 4:15 am

Quote:

Originally posted by Curious G:
Great Australian bands that I love include: "Hunters & Collectors", "The Church" and "ICEHOUSE"

Thanks for the suggestions - must admit I'd forgotten about Icehouse ("Hey little girl..)
You may be interested to know that Hunters and Collectors seem to be available only on import in the UK. I'll check out The Church though - the latest album is available on through a well known Internet retailer.

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2002 3:48 pm

Howabout us Aussies meet up for a drink?!?!?

Smile

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2002 4:05 pm

Another Aussie death rant following....

Hey Dan.. good work tell it like it really is!

How is Velvet and the new AMEK going?

I am so sick of seeing this 'small town' mentality amongst enginners and uninformed people here in Australia.

Its true that there is no budget for records anymore. There is very little in top flight consoles (neve or SSL) here in Australia as most them were sold off overseas or were in studios that have closed recently or during the recession fo the 90's. In Australia there are around 15 SSL's and only 3 of them have been purchased in the last few years. The bulk of them are over 15 years old and still going strong. There is no 9000j in Australia....although one is coming int he next few months so it may bring Australia back to to some form of 'international' partity.

But what I am getting at here is that in Australia we have to make do with what we have got. Sydney or Melbourne is not like 'Hell A', NY or Nashville. Things just cant appear out of thin air!. More often that not it requires a few phone calls and a favour or something to get that one piece of gear that you or another engineer may need for a session. Even if the equipment was avaialble the engineers probably could not afford it due to budget constraints. I mean i know so many engineers that had had to fork out of thier own pockets becuase the budget was so small and they felt that they could not let product slip becuase of one peice of gear etc.. (but that is another thread in itself)

Basically we make great albums(IMHO) with little amounts of gear, lots of patience and emthusiasm!

Some great Australian Albums that were recroded andmixed here in Australia are..if you can find them.

Sandpit: on second thought
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=An3jueat34xh7
Snout: Circle high and wide
Paradise Motel: flight paths
Augie March: Sunset studies
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Autf5zfi2eh3k
Ides of space: first translated in 1965

and coutless others

check them out..if you can.

PEACE
Wiggy

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2002 4:16 pm

Yeha lets hook up for a drink!!!

Where are you all?

Stedel?
PTPerson?
Dan.. i know u live in Sydney
I am in Melbourne

anyone else????? chime in

faialing that we could ask Jules to sat aside and ozzie corner of the forum for us to hang and bitch to each other in....hmm just like chix!! Very Happy

:tu:

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2002 6:26 pm

i know its not what the post was originally about but i couldnt help but notice most people seem to reference old "classics" - ACDC and so on...
for chealy and anyone else i second Augie March, "sunset studies" if u want an indication of a modern australian recording. my favourite recording to date.

Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2002 5:41 am

Quote:

Originally posted by ok computer:
i know its not what the post was originally about but i couldnt help but notice most people seem to reference old "classics" - ACDC and so on...
for chealy and anyone else i second Augie March, "sunset studies" if u want an indication of a modern australian recording. my favourite recording to date.

Again Augie March albums do not appear to be available in the UK - am I detecting a trend here? At least I can justify my ignorance...
Wink

Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2002 8:31 pm

Yes chealy you might be noticing a trend.

What daniel_c and others have said is true..but that only tells half the picture. I'm not sure that it's appropriate to talk about it here in length on Julian's forum - which is after all about gear rather than "stuff"...so I'll do this incompletely and in parts:

PART ONE:
Bruce made the comment re quality of Australian engineers and their attitudes. That may in some cases be true. But it is hardly a situation that is unique to Australia. How many young bands, or even established artists, sign contracts that slam them into working with people they feel do not provide a sympathetic enough platform/knowledge to understand the nature of the sounds, or the "feel" of what the performers want to convey?
And for every false "Golden Ear" who are really cheap coated nickel you meet here, then there are people like Paul McKercher and others - some are friends of mine - who I've worked with who are the real 24c deal. No the issues are deeper.

1. Australia is a foreign country. Despite what my parents and us kids were told by Australia House
when my family applied to emigrate at the end of the sixties (wasn't my idea..leave England in 1969? Yeah great idea. NOT!) it is not "just like England", and no I didn't "fit in easily". It is a totally different culture with it's own richness, idiosyncracies, success's, triumphs and shame. Many Australian Artists,Sound Engineers, Designers, inventors etc. prefer to stay here, wishing to celebrate the Australianess of who they are and what the place is about. This is a decision I myself made many years ago. In some ways however, to stay in Australia, to wish to reflect your culture in your work,to enjoy living here is the worst career move you can make.
Why should this be the case?

Australia like many post colonial countries is partly schizophrenic but this is caused by environmental factors - (Australian's are not genetically predispossed to schizophrenia...well I hope not!).

On the one hand we wish to celebrate our uniqueness, our cleverness, our strengths - on the other there is a cultural "cringe" that kowtows to any overseas trend. At least you don't see too many bands advertised as "Australia's answer too...." anymore, (OK you Aussie BOF's - eg. - remember "The Pink Zoot"? Rick Springfield - Australia's answer to Pete Townshend? C'mon!!!!!!!!!!!). Still there is a screening that goes on re where, how, who, what form, and why your work makes it on any reasonnably large scale (and as daniel_c points out, large is a relative term). This is not just a subjective issue of self esteem, but is a hard edged reality of marketing, R&D, support, playlists, content, and the globalisation of just about anything you care to mention.

Now these last few points, in total, are also not unique to Australia..but within this broad picture, there are particular things that prevent more of you from hearing Australian Artists, buying Australian product, and even people getting their stuff out in the first place.And please, it's not because it's all crap.

Some Australian bands, musicians,songwriters, for
instance deliberately stay so.
A good example is the band "Midnight Oil". (please what follows is just MHO OK?). great live band. Have produced some great albums (although for me they seem to be wearing lead boots recently), and have produced some stunning imagery in their lyrics...but are you gonna move to a band that sings about cockatoo's? No? Then **** you. See we do that. Bad attitude? Well Peter Garrett the bands frontperson, I hear from a reliable scource,
(which is "Stedel speak" for don't sue me)has just lobbyed to get a Heritage Order placed on the old Festival recording studio's in Sydney.
If you lived here, if you knew the history of the studio's (most of you up here would not have heard of it), you would think...wow...yeah...cool. That's part of our history, yeah rock and pop music..not just toilet paper to be thrown away,
-might get him into all sorts of s*** though, y'know, standing by the things you believe in.
Cool

Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2002 12:59 am

[quote]Originally posted by wiggy neve freak:
[b]Yeha lets hook up for a drink!!!

Where are you all?

Stedel?
PTPerson?
Dan.. i know u live in Sydney
I am in Melbourne

anyone else????? chime in

faialing that we could ask Jules to sat aside and ozzie corner of the forum for us to hang and bitch to each other in....hmm just like chix!! Smile

Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2002 1:33 am

WORD!............

Thats was great work Stedel!

and yes that wanker from school of audio engineering now own the Festival complex.. or more to the point the monstrous 1081 Neve that used to reside there along with all that tasty outboard and tube mics etc.

There are some truly uncelebrated engineers that have come from Australia, and there are two that live and work in US/Europe who are and have allways kicked ass.. Tony Cohen of Nick cave and the bad seeds fame and Victor Van Vugt (mixed PJ harvey's last album and many other great productions inlcuding Bad Seeds and Beth Orton)

keep it coming!!

Also if you are having trouble getting Aussie CD's from overseas sources.. try these sites.

www.whammo.com.au
www.chaosmusic.com

PEACE
Wiggy

Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2002 5:04 am

there are a lot of nice pubs in newie

Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2002 5:22 am

There are some truly uncelebrated engineers that have come from Australia, and there are two that live and work in US/Europe who are and have allways kicked ass.. Tony Cohen of Nick cave and the bad seeds fame and Victor Van Vugt (mixed PJ harvey's last album and many other great productions inlcuding Bad Seeds and Beth Orton)
keep it coming!!

Excellent stuff Wiggy! And thanks for the music links...

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