2008 :: April :: May :: July:: August/Sept:: Oct ::

::August September::

::Details::

1/4_inch presented 2 crackin gigs in 2 weeks. With large crowds and two great venues to boot this was a show enjoyed by many!

To celebrate the launch of a very special CD by band A Slow Rip 1/4_inch hosted one of the biggest events it planned all year. The show incorperated Live Audio Viusal performances by, Tom Ellard co. founding member of the now dead Australian Electro AV act Severed Heads and post rockers The Dead Sea, Modern Gong Ritual and, locals to Wollongong, A Slow Rip.

::Dates::

WOLLONGONG

August 30th at MUSIC FARMERS 8pm
::A Slow Rip:: The Dead Sea:: Tom Ellard:: Modern Gong Ritual::
5 Crown Lane Wollongong.
$10 at the door

SYDNEY

Saturday 6th September Megaphon Studios, 8pm
Floor 2 Building 8/ 70 Edith Street, St. Peters. Sydney.
::A Slow Rip:: The Dead Sea:: Tom Ellard:: Modern Gong Ritual::

$10 at the door

::A Slow Rip:: The Dead Sea:: Tom Ellard:: Modern Gong Ritual::

::Bio's::

::A Slow Rip::

A Slow Rip are a three-piece from the northern beaches of Wollongong who use group improvisations to create ambient dronescape pieces that are warm, glowing and transformative; some floating, shimmery and reflective and some darker, shadowy and fleeting. A Slow Rip don’t make loops, use convoluted digital processing methods or create duration pieces. Their group improvisational approach to tape makes for a sound with a life of its own. Organs hum bell-like, drones resonate and echo, electronic noise swirls, accentuated by Rob’s wind instruments, vocal sounds, percussion and guitar, sometimes sparkling and melodic, sometimes more experimental and spiky. Yet Rob’s careful production renders the resulting compositions beyond the category of instrumental improvisation.

The effect is that of a warm whole, something quite subtle and unique; definitely musical, yet ever-shifting, revealing constantly transforming inner worlds. The group’s krautrock, prog-rock and drone influences are quite audible to listeners familiar with those genres; however none of these terms really do justice to their music. Although an obvious comparison, Eno is probably the artist most similar to their more processed, meditative works.

Part of the beauty of the group’s music is its understatement. All three are accomplished musicians of various kinds – Ian is classically trained in piano and guitar, drawing from jazz, experimental and rock influences; Rob is a specialist percussionist who is equally comfortable on guitar, bass and accordion and constantly playing in many Sydney and Illawarra outfits; and Phil was integral to Sydney’s post-punk scene in the early 80’s, part of such seminal bands as Voigt/465, Wild West, and No Night Sweats. His influences run the gamut of rock, pop, and experimental.

Part of the beauty of the group’s music is its understatement.

::The Dead Sea::

Formed around the vision of musician/video artist Tim Bruniges in 2006, local legends Nick Kennedy (Big Heavy Stuff, The Cops) and David Trumpmanis (Sarah Blasko, Bluebottle Kiss) were recruited and the dead sea was born.

Their self-titled debut ep is the result of a fascination with the generation and regeneration of musical ideas. Songs are written and recorded and mulched and salvaged and left alone to decay in their own good time. The self-released ep has achieved radio play on the national broadcaster JJJ, FBI in Sydney, RRR in Melbourne and international broadcasters from Minneapolis to Barcelona.

The dead sea incorporates video art into its live performance. The films are a visual compliment to the music; highly pixelated, lo-fi aesthetics polished to within an inch of a visually obsessed world gone numb. They have been screened internationally in Sydney, Paris, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Vladivostok.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLjM5pZtCSY

::Tom Ellard::

Tom Ellard, is an Australian electronic musician well known as the founding member of the electronic and industrial music group Severed Heads.

Tom is one of those trully gifted people to see into the future. He was one of the first people to estsablish online music sales in Australia in MP2 format, one of the first electronic outfits to play in the boiler room at the Big Day Out with the outfit Severed Heads and he won an Aria for best soundtrack album in 2005 for the The Illustrated Family Doctor. Tom's recent works have been based within the realm live AV performances and sound and visual installations. To find more about the complicated and wonderful world of Tom Ellard log onto his website, http://tomellard.com for the all things Severed Heads, http://sevcom.com/

::MODERN GONG RITUAL::

MGR came together about five years ago after David was asked to do
a solo spot at a music festival, he roped Michael and Kent into joining him
for the show. Much fun was had by all and so MGR was born.
Due to the wide range of bands and projects the three members are
involved in, gigs have not been as frequent as they may have liked ,
but have included festivals such as Peats Ridge and even some pub
shows ... these to sometimes seemingly confused audiences.
MGR have also managed to come up with a debut album.

The Modern Gong Ritual consists of

Kent - Guitar , percussion and sometimes didj

Lead guitarist for the legendary Celibate Rifles , who have been
bringing their variety of Detroit via Dee Why rock to the stage and
studio for nigh on 30 years. Kent is also involved in many other
projects both here and overseas , and the sonic landscapes he
explores in MGR might surprise many fans of his other work.

Michael Trifunovic - Guitar , effects
Half of the duo Aqualash and member of other ensembles of widely
ranging musical styles , Michael is an island of calm in the archipelago
that is Modern Gong Ritual. His focused sanity allows others to have
their wayward way with sound ... but, to be sure , he has his
moments of anarchy.

David - Gongs, percussion, soundscapes
Probably best known for his work with such denizens of the darker
rock regions as Kiss My Poodle's Donkey and Monroes Fur , in recent
times most of his projects have been more based more in film and
theatre , though he still occasionally surfaces live with Ear Elephant
and Melbourne - based space rockers B.O.T.A..