The Necks are an Australian avant-garde jazz trio formed in 1987 by founding mainstays Chris Abrahams on piano and Hammond organ, Tony Buck on drums, percussion and electric guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass guitar and double bass. They play improvisational pieces of up to an hour in length that explore the development and demise of repeating musical figures. Their double LP studio album Unfold was named by Rolling Stone as "one of the top 20 avant albums of 2017."
Lloyd Stuart Swanton is an Australian jazz double bassist, bass guitarist, and composer.
Christopher Robert Lionel Abrahams is a New Zealand-born, Australian-based musician. He is a founding mainstay member of experimental, jazz trio the Necks (1987–present), collaborated with Melanie Oxley as a soul pop duo (1989–2003), and has issued ten solo albums.
Melanie Susan Oxley is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and primary school teacher. Oxley was a member of the dance pop group, The Sparklers, which in October 1988 released their debut album, Persuasion.
The Dynamic Hepnotics were an Australian soul, blues and funk band which formed in 1979 and disbanded in 1986. Mainstay, lead vocalist and front man, "Continental" Robert Susz formed the group in Sydney. They had chart success on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart with a top 5 single, "Soul Kind of Feeling" in 1984. It was followed by "Gotta Be Wrong " which reached the top 20 in 1985. Their album, Take You Higher, reached the top 20 on the related Albums Chart in June. In 1986, "Soul Kind of Feeling" won the APRA Music Award for 'Most Performed Australasian Popular Work'.
Sex is the debut album of improvised music trio, The Necks, originally released on the Spiral Scratch label and later rereleased on Fish of Milk and Private Music in the US. The album features a single track of just under an hour in length performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck improvising over a two-bar motif. On this album the band overdubbed the instrumentation of piano, bass and drums in a dual take creating a "hypnotic repetitive piece".
Next is the second album by Australian improvised music trio, The Necks, originally released on the Spiral Scratch label in 1990 and later re-released on Fish of Milk. The album differs from most of the trio's releases in that it features 6 tracks, rather than a lone track.
Aquatic is the third album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks released on the Fish of Milk label in 1994 and reissued on the Carpet Bomb label in the US in 1999. The album features two tracks, both titled "Aquatic", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck with the addition of Steve Wishart playing hurdy-gurdy on the second.
Silent Night is the fourth album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks released on the Fish of Milk label in 1996 as a double CD. The album features a two tracks, titled "Black" and "White", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck.
Piano Bass Drums is the fifth album and first live album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks released on the Fish of Milk label in 1998. The album features a single track titled "Unheard", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck recorded in concert at The Basement in Sydney, Australia.
The Boys is the sixth album and first soundtrack album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks originally released on the Wild Sound/MDS label in 1998 and later rereleased on Fish of Milk. The album features music recorded for the Australian motion picture The Boys (1998).
Aether is the sixth album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2001 and later on the ReR label internationally. The album features a single hour-long track, titled "Aether", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck.
Drive By is the seventh album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2003 and later on the ReR label internationally. The album features a single hour-long track, titled "Drive By", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck.
Mosquito/See Through is the eighth album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released as a 2-CD set on the Fish of Milk label in 2004 and later on the ReR label internationally. The album features two hour-long tracks, titled "Mosquito" and "See Through", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck.
Chemist is the ninth album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks, which was first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2006 and later on the ReR label, internationally. The album's three tracks, "Fatal", "Buoyant" and "Abillera", were written, performed and produced by the group's members: Chris Abrahams on piano, Lloyd Swanton on double bass and Tony Buck on drums and guitar. It won the ARIA Music Awards Best Jazz Album category in 2006.
Townsville is the fourteenth album and fourth live album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2007 and on the ReR label internationally. The album a single track, titled "Townsville", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck recorded live at the Riverway Arts Centre in Thuringowa, Northern Queensland.
Photosynthetic is the tenth album and third live album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks released on the Russian Long Arms label in 2003. The album features a single track, titled "Photosynthetic", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck recorded live at DOM Cultural Center, Moscow on 29 March 2002.
Body is an album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2018 in Australia and on the Northern Spy label in the US.
Unfold is an album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Ideologic Organ label in 2017 as a double LP and download.
Three is the twenty-first studio album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks released in 2020.
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