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The Mandelbrot Set were an indie/powerpop band from Adelaide, South Australia, who rose to prominence during the "shoegaze" era of the early 1990s. They released two EPs through Ra Records (a subsidiary of rooArt) before their break-up in 1994.
The band formed in 1990 when school friends Tim Mortimer (guitar/vocals) and Brian Pyper (guitar) met Adam McBeath (ex-Artisans), a guitarist who agreed to join on bass. With the addition of drummer Michael Bajer, plus occasional violinist Christie Scardigno, the line-up was settled.
Featuring a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar sound reminiscent of The Church, and with early Tim Mortimer songs inspired by REM and the Rain Parade, the band gained popularity on Adelaide community radio station Triple M (now 3D Radio) with a locally recorded demo, "Joy in Despair", before expanding their sound to embrace the new effects-laden bands coming from England’s Creation Records.
Further local radio hits "Dream So Hard" and "More Than Happy" followed before a final demo, "Massive" (an Adam McBeath song), saw them experimenting with sampling technology. By 1991, gigs featured fog machines and elaborate light shows, and drew crowds from both the rock and fledgling dance scenes. Also in ’91, a re-recorded "Dream So Hard" appeared on the rooArt Youngblood III compilation, alongside Underground Lovers, Ripe and Glide, and the band played national youth radio network Triple J’s Live at the Wireless after winning the "J Sessions" (the nineties equivalent of Unearthed). [1]
In 1992, having been Adelaide’s "next big thing" since their inception, the Mandelbrot Set signed to Sydney label Ra Records and released a 7-song EP, A Place Called Kansas. Unfortunately the songs the label chose to record were by then out of date, did not reflect the band’s live sound and were over-familiar to a fanbase which, in many cases, preferred the original demos. [2]
A second EP, The Mandelbrot Set, followed, wherein Tim Mortimer took centre stage, programming the bulk of the arrangements on an early digital sampler and embracing influences from New Order to the Jesus and Mary Chain. In the end, with sales for the second EP roughly half that of the first, and complaining of having been rushed through the recording, the band faltered and lost momentum just as east coast label-mates You Am I cracked the charts; the label lost interest. [3]
The Mandelbrot Set split in 1994, by which time the brief period of indie ascendancy in Adelaide—started by the Artisans in 1989—had passed and grunge was the order of the day.
Tim Mortimer played bass in Truck Train Tractor in 1994, guitar in Salo in 1995 and bass / guitar / samples in the American Public from 2000-2001. He now records solo ambient, pop and instrumental music.
After taking a long hiatus, Adam McBeath plays guitar in Swimsuit.
Michael Bajer drummed in Fiona Beverage and Studio Mojo before his death in 1999.
In Adelaide, the Mandelbrot Set are acknowledged as forefathers of a scene that includes the Retreads, Straight to Video, the Avant Gardeners and No Through Road.
VAST is an American alternative rock band based in Seattle, United States. The acronym VAST stands for Visual Audio Sensory Theater and is the main creation of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Crosby. The band is signed to 2blossoms, an independent record company created by Crosby.
The Hummingbirds were an Australian indie pop and jangle pop band from Sydney, who formed in 1986 from Bug Eyed Monsters. They were one of the most highly regarded outfits to emerge from Sydney's inner-city scene during the late 1980s and were an early signing to the rooArt label. The Hummingbirds' single "Blush" peaked at No.19 on the ARIA singles charts in 1989. They left rooArt in 1992, and disbanded in 1993.
You Am I are an Australian power pop band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted at the number-one position on the ARIA Albums Chart: Hi Fi Way, Hourly, Daily and #4 Record. Nine of their tracks appeared on the related ARIA Singles Chart top 50 with "What I Don't Know 'bout You", their highest charting, at No. 28. You Am I have received ten ARIA Music Awards from thirty-one nominations. The band have supported international artists such as the Who, the Rolling Stones, Sonic Youth and Oasis.
Operation Ivy was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, formed in May 1987. They were critical to the emergence of Lookout Records and the so-called "East Bay Sound."
Gaslight Radio were an Australian indie rock band. It was founded by brothers, Martin (guitar) and Rory Cooke with Simon Piper (drums) and Phil Roubin in Burleigh Heads, Queensland in 1995. They released three studio albums, Hitch on the Leaves, Z-Nation (2003) and Good Heavens Mean Times, before disbanding in 2009.
The Moodists were an Australian post-punk band. They were formed in late 1980 by Dave Graney on lead vocals, Clare Moore on drums and Steve Miller on guitar, all from punk group the Sputniks. They added bass guitarist Chris Walsh in early 1981, and in April 1983 added guitarist Mick Turner. They issued their sole studio album, Thirsty's Calling, in April 1984. Turner left in January 1985 and the group disbanded in 1987.
Abrasive Wheels are a punk rock band of the late 1970s – early 1980s. They hailed from Leeds, England and were seldom out of the Independent charts between 1980 and 1984 when the band split. The band were Shonna Rzonca – vocals, Dave Ryan – guitar, Harry Harrison – bass, Nev Nevison – drums. In 2002 the singer Rzonca reformed the band with new members.
Embodyment was a Christian rock band from Arlington, Texas. The group formed in 1992 and were first known by the name Supplication where they originally played death metal, later turning to deathcore with the release of their debut album Embrace the Eternal, which in turn is credited as one of the earliest deathcore releases of all time. Following their debut full-length the band would completely abandon all their extreme metal elements thereafter, pursuing instead an alternative rock/nu metal style with their album The Narrow Scope of Things and subsequently became lighter with each proceeding album.
Underground Lovers are an Australian pop-rock band whose sound encompasses elements of indie rock, electronic music, and shoegaze. Founding members Glenn Bennie and Vincent Giarrusso formed the group GBVG in 1988, and by May 1990, they had changed the name of the group to Underground Lovers and were joined by Richard Andrew (drums), Maurice Argiro, and Philippa Nihill.
rooArt was an Australian independent record label, founded in 1988 by INXS's then-manager, Chris Murphy. The label's roster included several well-known Australian bands and artists such as Crow, Ratcat, Screaming Jets, You Am I, Wendy Matthews, The Hummingbirds, The Trilobites and Amanda Brown. Other bands which made early or first releases on the rooArt label included Hipslingers, The Last Metro, The Lab, The Fauves, Bellicose and Custard. rooArt released a series of three compilation albums of new or then-unsigned acts, called Youngblood. A number of acts released on the compilations went on to record their own albums, including Tall Tales and True, The Trilobites and Martha’s Vineyard.
The Gingers were an Australian pop punk band which formed in early 2005 with Etta Curry on drums and vocals; Nellie Jackson on lead guitar, rhythm guitar and vocals; and Chelsea Wheatley on lead vocals, bass guitar and keyboards. They signed with Illicit Records, which issued a five-track extended play, Love You Long Time, in May 2006.
Martin Grech is an English singer, songwriter and musician from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
The Trilobites were an Australian power pop/rock band formed in Sydney in June 1984. The original members of the Trilobites were Mike Dalton on vocals, Scott Leighton on bass guitar, Martin Martini & Paul Skates on guitars and Paul Styman on drums. Their first two singles, "Venus in Leather"' and "American TV" reached number 1 on the alternative chart. They released three albums, Turn it Around in 1987, Savage Mood Swing in 1990 and The Lost Generation in 1992.
Electric Pandas were an Australian pop rock band, fronted by vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Lin Buckfield, which formed in Sydney in 1983. Fellow founders were Warren Slater on bass guitar, Mark Stinson on drums and Tim Walter on guitar. Their first release was the single "Big Girls" in 1984 on Regular Records, which peaked into the Top 10 on the Sydney charts. It was followed up by an EP, Let's Gamble. Electric Pandas' only album Point Blank was released in September 1985, which peaked at No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. After Electric Pandas disbanded in 1987, Buckfield worked in television, eventually on Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners from 2000.
loveBUZZ is the debut album released by Australian rock band The Hummingbirds.
The Onset were formed in 1987 by Mike Badger after he left his former band The La's. Badger teamed up with locals Danny Dean on guitar, Hamish Cameron on piano and Colin Becket on drums. The first demo "Let's Go Home" can be found on the 2006 compilation CD, Lo Fi Electric Excursions by Mike Badger & Friends.
The Subway Organization was a British independent record label founded in 1985 in Bristol by Martin Whitehead.
Rushall Station is the fourth album by Australian indie rock/electronic band Underground Lovers, released in 1996. It was named after Rushall railway station, located near the home of band member Vincent Giarrusso in Clifton Hill in Melbourne.
Tingles is an extended play (EP) by Australian indie pop band Ratcat, released on 1 October 1990. It went on to peak at No.1 in Australia and finished 1991 as the second best-selling single of the year, behind "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams. It was also the highest-selling single in Australia by an Australian artist in 1991. The EP was promoted by the song "That Ain't Bad", which charted on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number 27 in November 1991.
Alcotomic was a power pop band formed in Melbourne, Victoria, February 1996. Initially, the band was called Dozer and the first recording session commenced at the original Birdland Recording Studios in High Street Prahran, Melbourne with record producer Lindsay Gravina. This line up consisted of John Freeman Baxter (Holocene) on vocals and guitar, Denny Brereton on bass and Stephen Boyle (Moler) on drums.
