Browning Mummery (Electronic sound works)
Encyclopedia
The name Browning Mummery was adopted in Sydney
in 1983 by Australian electronic music
ian Andrew Lonsdale (1961-), as a vehicle for his contemporary electronic sound works. The name was taken from the label of an old 78 rpm platter without realising the original history of the artist. Originally never intended to be used for more than one performance (as was common at the time) the name stuck.
Andrew Lonsdale began producing electronic
and experimental music
in Rockhampton, Queensland
, Australia in 1980, and after relocating to Sydney in 1981, became part of the early electronic/industrial/experimental music scene, releasing several cassettes and performing as boxmusik, ISMism (a collective experiment aka 47½), and Atomic Disease (with late artist Nigel Gurney). Andrew also played in several post-punk
bands including Wrong Kind Of Stone Age
and Mutant Death.
Browning Mummery appeared in 1983 with a live to air radio performance on 2MBS-FM in Sydney. Browning Mummery released several cassette albums in the 1980s on the Boxmusik label, and became one of the original acts released by the Extreme
cassette label. Browning Mummery has appeared on compilations including the legendary Lunakhod cassette album (1984), with Severed Heads
and others. The film/performance Square by Jo Cunynghame, with Browning Mummery's soundtrack, was a showcase feature at Melbourne's Arts Festival (1985), and Browning Mummery has composed or contributed to several independent films, stage performances, and installations in the last 20 years. Browning Mummery also has the honour of having several tape releases unofficially re-released by European labels.
The Browning Mummery sound is distinctly genre-defying: Browning Mummery draws on influences from the Australian experimental underground, as well as techniques from dub, improvisation, industrial music
, musique concrète
, montage / cut-up, and environmental soundscaping. Browning Mummery has evolved from using tape and analog gear for composition and recording (including home-built instruments and processors by SwSW Thrght), to the use of digital equipment and computer-based techniques since 1988. Browning Mummery has also performed live on many FM radio stations around Australia, including 4ZZZ
(1999, 2004), 2RSR (1983), 2MBS (1982–85), as well as on American and European FM radio playlists in the 1980s.
Based in Brisbane
since 1993, in recent times Browning Mummery has performed at many events and venues in Northern New South Wales and Brisbane, including the Livid fringe (1995 and 99), the West End Festival (1999), Straight Out Of Brisbane (2003), Small Black Box (2002 and 2004), and frequently with the Electric Tipi Collective. Working with artists such as John Murphy
(Whirlywirld
/ Hugo Klang / NON
). Max Hawk (electric 12-string), from Electric Tipi, played in Browning Mummery from 1993 until his death in 2009. Launching into digital multimedia as part of the well-regarded 'Obelisk' web site (1995–2000) and with a self-titled 1997 CD release, Browning Mummery's sound and interview featured on Optus Localvision's FOI video documentary (1998).
Browning Mummery's most recent CD was released in 2009. Browning Mummery is one of a small number of 1980s Australian experimentalists still operating (in 2010). Others include Severed Heads
, Loop Orchestra, John Murphy (Kraang, Knifeladder), Philip Brophy
, Sonartorium (Educational Survey, ArtPoetry), and Ian Andrews (Cut With The Kitchen Knife).
Browning Mummery has been included on the 2010 CD compilation Artefacts of Australian experimental music: volume II 1973-1984 (Shame File Music), and is
increasingly regarded as a ‘quiet pioneer’ of Australian 'darkwave' electronic music.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1983 by Australian electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
ian Andrew Lonsdale (1961-), as a vehicle for his contemporary electronic sound works. The name was taken from the label of an old 78 rpm platter without realising the original history of the artist. Originally never intended to be used for more than one performance (as was common at the time) the name stuck.
Andrew Lonsdale began producing electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
in Rockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....
, Australia in 1980, and after relocating to Sydney in 1981, became part of the early electronic/industrial/experimental music scene, releasing several cassettes and performing as boxmusik, ISMism (a collective experiment aka 47½), and Atomic Disease (with late artist Nigel Gurney). Andrew also played in several post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
bands including Wrong Kind Of Stone Age
Wrong Kind of Stone Age
Wrong Kind of Stone Age was an Australian post-punk band formed in 1983 in inner-city Sydney by Gavin Williams and Miriam Williamson. The early Wrong Kind of Stone Age sound was a unique and wild fusion of post-punk attitude and bottom-heavy sonic distortion with strong dub and tribal influences,...
and Mutant Death.
Browning Mummery appeared in 1983 with a live to air radio performance on 2MBS-FM in Sydney. Browning Mummery released several cassette albums in the 1980s on the Boxmusik label, and became one of the original acts released by the Extreme
Extreme Records
Extreme Records is an Australian based record label.The label was founded by Ulex Xane, and initially specialised in underground experimental and industrial cassettes...
cassette label. Browning Mummery has appeared on compilations including the legendary Lunakhod cassette album (1984), with Severed Heads
Severed Heads
Severed Heads is an Australian electronic music group based and founded in Sydney in 1979 as Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign. The original members were Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright, and were soon joined by Tom Ellard. Fielding and Wright eventually left the group, leaving Ellard as a singular...
and others. The film/performance Square by Jo Cunynghame, with Browning Mummery's soundtrack, was a showcase feature at Melbourne's Arts Festival (1985), and Browning Mummery has composed or contributed to several independent films, stage performances, and installations in the last 20 years. Browning Mummery also has the honour of having several tape releases unofficially re-released by European labels.
The Browning Mummery sound is distinctly genre-defying: Browning Mummery draws on influences from the Australian experimental underground, as well as techniques from dub, improvisation, industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
, musique concrète
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
, montage / cut-up, and environmental soundscaping. Browning Mummery has evolved from using tape and analog gear for composition and recording (including home-built instruments and processors by SwSW Thrght), to the use of digital equipment and computer-based techniques since 1988. Browning Mummery has also performed live on many FM radio stations around Australia, including 4ZZZ
4ZZZ
4ZZZ is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia...
(1999, 2004), 2RSR (1983), 2MBS (1982–85), as well as on American and European FM radio playlists in the 1980s.
Based in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
since 1993, in recent times Browning Mummery has performed at many events and venues in Northern New South Wales and Brisbane, including the Livid fringe (1995 and 99), the West End Festival (1999), Straight Out Of Brisbane (2003), Small Black Box (2002 and 2004), and frequently with the Electric Tipi Collective. Working with artists such as John Murphy
John Murphy (musician)
John Murphy , sometimes credited as "Jonh Murphy", is an Australian drummer, percussionist and multi-instrumental session musician who has played in numerous Australian and British post-punk, ambient and industrial music groups...
(Whirlywirld
Whirlywirld
Whirlywirld was an Australian post punk band led by Ollie Olsen in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the first of his musical collaborations with drummer John Murphy...
/ Hugo Klang / NON
Non
Non, non or NON can refer to:* French equivalent to English "no"; Italian equivalent to English "not"; Latin equivalent to either "not" or "no"...
). Max Hawk (electric 12-string), from Electric Tipi, played in Browning Mummery from 1993 until his death in 2009. Launching into digital multimedia as part of the well-regarded 'Obelisk' web site (1995–2000) and with a self-titled 1997 CD release, Browning Mummery's sound and interview featured on Optus Localvision's FOI video documentary (1998).
Browning Mummery's most recent CD was released in 2009. Browning Mummery is one of a small number of 1980s Australian experimentalists still operating (in 2010). Others include Severed Heads
Severed Heads
Severed Heads is an Australian electronic music group based and founded in Sydney in 1979 as Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign. The original members were Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright, and were soon joined by Tom Ellard. Fielding and Wright eventually left the group, leaving Ellard as a singular...
, Loop Orchestra, John Murphy (Kraang, Knifeladder), Philip Brophy
Philip Brophy
Philip Brophy, born in Reservoir, Melbourne 1959 is an Australian musician, composer, sound designer, filmmaker, writer, graphic designer, educator and academic.-Music:...
, Sonartorium (Educational Survey, ArtPoetry), and Ian Andrews (Cut With The Kitchen Knife).
Browning Mummery has been included on the 2010 CD compilation Artefacts of Australian experimental music: volume II 1973-1984 (Shame File Music), and is
increasingly regarded as a ‘quiet pioneer’ of Australian 'darkwave' electronic music.
Cassette
- Evidence of Ritual, c30, boxmusik (1983), Zero Cabal (1990s) (originally performed as 'boxmusik')
- Oracles & Prescriptions, c60, boxmusik (1983), Extreme (1985), Zero Cabal (1990s)
- Obiter Scripta, c60, boxmusik (1984), Extreme (1985), Zero Cabal (1990s), Irre (1994), (incorrectly aka 'Browning Mummery')
- Rustic Acts Without Reality, (25 min.), 2MBS-FM (1984), 'Lunakhod' compilation
- Heautontimoroumenos, c30, boxmusik (1984) (very limited edition)
- An Obscene Delirium, c30, boxmusik (1985) (very limited edition)
- Undata Vol. 1, (c60), Extreme (1986)
- Atmospherics, (c60), (1987 - not released)
- Opera, (c60), Cosmic Conspiracy (1989) (incorporates much of Undata)
CD
- Browning Mummery, Obelisk (1997) (material from Obiter Scripta, Undata, Opera, with unreleased live & new studio tracks)
- Personal Soundtracks, Obelisk (1996-unreleased)
- The best time to buy is when the blood is flowing in the streets, Obelisk (1998) (EP - very limited edition)
- Audiomorphica, Obelisk (2005)
- Music for torture and interrogation, Obelisk (2006)
- 5 minute warning, Obelisk (2007)
- Songs of the Bicardiac Assembly, Obelisk (2009)
Film/Video/Soundtracks
- Light Industry, 10 min. 8 mm film soundtrack, (1983) (film by P&J Productions)
- Soldiers of the Cross, 10 min. 8 mm film + soundtrack, (1984) (film by BM)
- Square, 25 min. 16 mm film soundtrack, (1984–85) (film by Jo Cunnynghame)
- FOI, Optus Localvision documentary, (1998) (interview, live footage, and sound)
- Chop Wood, 10 min video soundtrack (2003) (film by Brett Paradise)