Amanda Brown (musician)
Encyclopedia
Amanda Gabrielle Brown (born 17 November 1965) is an Australia
n composer, classically trained musician, singer and songwriter, renowned for her role as the violinist of the band The Go-Betweens
and more recently a session musician and soundtrack composer.
In 1986, The Go-Betweens
– soon after signing a new contract (this time with Beggars' Banquet) – discovered Amanda Brown playing live in a cafe. She later joined the band in London, her addition expanding the lineup to a five-piece, for which she provided backing vocals, violin, oboe, guitar and keyboards and arrangements.
Brown played on two studio albums, Tallulah
(1987) and 16 Lovers Lane
(1988). The Go-Betweens toured for 18 months following the release of 16 Lovers Lane, ending in Munich, Germany, and broke up in December 1989, after a farewell tour of England.
, resulting in two mini-CDs on the rooArt
label, Egg and Cleopatra's Lament, including the single (and video) "Thank You". During this period, she also undertook session work with Tactics, the Shane Howard Band and Wendy Matthews
Band and sang back-up vocals on former Go-Betweens member Grant McLennan
's 1991 debut album Watershed
.
Later work includes playing with Sydney band Love Me (1997–1998) and diverse session appearances with artists including R.E.M., The Reels
, Died Pretty
, Silverchair
, David Bridie
, David Lane, The Cruel Sea
, The Junction House Band and Boxcar
(on the album Algorhythm
).
, Amanda Brown has established a career as a screen composer, writing for television and film soundtracks. In 2003 she released the Incognita soundtrack CD, a mixture of songs and instrumentals accompanying a performance by the Stalker Theatre Company. The performance of Incognita toured Australia and Europe, commencing at the Sydney Festival
2003, and the show explored issues of Australia's past and present.
Brown composed scores for feature films, including Preservation (2003), Floodhouse (2003), Look Both Ways
(2005) Monkey Puzzle (2007) and Son of a Lion
(2008). Documentaries she has composed the music for include Suburb For Sale (2006) and A Well Founded Fear (2008).
Brown is also the occasional 'sixth' member of Toni Collette
's live band, The Finish
, and has continued to record and perform with various artists including The Vines
, Youth Group
and Josh Pyke
. In the winter 2007-08 she duetted with the Danish singer Michael Møller on the song A Sunday Routine from his debut solo outing from his band Moi Caprice
.
Since November 2007, Brown has been a member of The Rainy Season, a five piece band fronted by Jed Brown, and including Peter Jones (ex Cosmic Psychos
), Clyde Bramley (ex Hoodoo Gurus
), and fellow former Go Between Lindy Morrison
.
In 2008 Brown won the IF Inside Film Award for Best Music for her score to Son of a Lion. A soundtrack album of the music from Son of a Lion was released in late 2008. In 2009
she won the APRA/Australian Guild of Screen Composers Award for Best Music in a Documentary for the score to Sidney Nolan; Mask and Memory.
Brown continues to diversify and in 2009 she mixed David Lane's album Head In The Clouds. However, she now has no plans to make her first solo album of songs.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n composer, classically trained musician, singer and songwriter, renowned for her role as the violinist of the band The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals,...
and more recently a session musician and soundtrack composer.
1980s
Brown's early bands (during the early 1980s) were Climbing Frame, Tender Mercies (with John Willsteed, also later with the Go-Betweens) and Blood Brothers, in which she played violin, oboe, guitar and keyboards.In 1986, The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals,...
– soon after signing a new contract (this time with Beggars' Banquet) – discovered Amanda Brown playing live in a cafe. She later joined the band in London, her addition expanding the lineup to a five-piece, for which she provided backing vocals, violin, oboe, guitar and keyboards and arrangements.
Brown played on two studio albums, Tallulah
Tallulah (album)
Tallulah was the fifth album by The Go-Betweens. It was released in 1987 in the UK on Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, the group had expanded to a five-piece with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Amanda Brown. The original release consisted of ten songs...
(1987) and 16 Lovers Lane
16 Lovers Lane
16 Lovers Lane was the sixth album by Australian indie pop group The Go-Betweens, released in 1988 by Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, longtime bassist Robert Vickers left the band when the other group members decided to return to Australia after having spent several...
(1988). The Go-Betweens toured for 18 months following the release of 16 Lovers Lane, ending in Munich, Germany, and broke up in December 1989, after a farewell tour of England.
1990s
Following the breakup of the Go-Betweens, Brown formed the band, Cleopatra Wong (1991–1992), with Go-Betweens drummer Lindy MorrisonLindy Morrison
Belinda "Lindy" Morrison is an Australian musician originally from Queensland. She was the drummer in indie rock group The Go-Betweens from 1980 to 1989, appearing on all the band's releases from their first LP in 1981 until the band's first break up on 26 December 1989...
, resulting in two mini-CDs on the rooArt
RooArt
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...
label, Egg and Cleopatra's Lament, including the single (and video) "Thank You". During this period, she also undertook session work with Tactics, the Shane Howard Band and Wendy Matthews
Wendy Matthews
Wendy Joan Matthews is an Australian adult alternative pop singer originally from Canada who has been a member of Models and Absent Friends and is a solo artist...
Band and sang back-up vocals on former Go-Betweens member Grant McLennan
Grant McLennan
Grant William McLennan was an Australian singer-songwriter with the alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, which he co-founded with Robert Forster in Brisbane, Australia in 1977...
's 1991 debut album Watershed
Watershed (Grant McLennan album)
Watershed is the debut solo album by Grant McLennan, a member of The Go-Betweens released under the name G. W. McLennan. The album was recorded nine months after The Go-Betweens disbanded; it was released in 1991...
.
Later work includes playing with Sydney band Love Me (1997–1998) and diverse session appearances with artists including R.E.M., The Reels
The Reels
The Reels is an Australian rock/indie pop group which formed in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1976 and initially disbanded in 1991, they eventually reformed in 2007. Their 1981 song, "Quasimodo's Dream", was voted one of the Top 10 Australian songs of all time by a 100-member panel from Australasian...
, Died Pretty
Died Pretty
Died Pretty, sometimes The Died Pretty, were an Australian alternative rock band founded by mainstays, Ron Peno as lead singer and Brett Myers as lead guitarist and backing vocalist, in Sydney in 1983 – briefly as Final Solution. Their music started from a base of early electric Bob Dylan with...
, Silverchair
Silverchair
Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Merewether, Newcastle with the line-up of Ben Gillies on drums, Chris Joannou on bass guitar and Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo...
, David Bridie
David Bridie
David Bridie is a musician from Melbourne, Australia. Bridie first rose to prominence as a member of Not Drowning, Waving, which he started in the early 1980s with guitarist John Phillips. They released four albums on Australian independent labels to some level of critical acclaim and very limited...
, David Lane, The Cruel Sea
The Cruel Sea (band)
The Cruel Sea are an Australian indie rock band from Sydney formed in late 1987. Originally an instrumental-only band, they became more popular when fronted by vocalist Tex Perkins in addition to Jim Elliott on drums, Ken Gormly on bass guitar, Dan Rumour on guitar and James Cruickshank on guitar...
, The Junction House Band and Boxcar
Boxcar (band)
Boxcar is an Australian Sydney-based synth pop and techno band. Formed in the mid-1980s in Brisbane by main songwriter guitarist and vocalist David Smith, he was soon joined by keyboardists Brett Mitchell and Carol Rohde and somewhat later by drummer-percussionist Crispin Trist. They initially...
(on the album Algorhythm
Algorhythm
- Additional musicians :* David Allen — congas * Amanda Brown — vocals * Nigel Jones — guitar * Lisa Maxwell — vocals- Credits :* Adrian Bolland — mixing* Boxcar — mixing, producer* Kathy Naunton — editing & mastering...
).
Recent work
A graduate of the Australian Film Television and Radio SchoolAustralian Film Television and Radio School
The Australian Film, Television and Radio School is the Australian national centre for professional education and advanced training in film, television, radio and digital media. The School is an Australian Commonwealth government statutory authority...
, Amanda Brown has established a career as a screen composer, writing for television and film soundtracks. In 2003 she released the Incognita soundtrack CD, a mixture of songs and instrumentals accompanying a performance by the Stalker Theatre Company. The performance of Incognita toured Australia and Europe, commencing at the Sydney Festival
Sydney Festival
Sydney Festival is Australia's largest and most attended annual cultural event running every January since it was first held in 1977. Its program features around 80 events including contemporary and classical music, dance, circus, drama, visual arts and artist talks...
2003, and the show explored issues of Australia's past and present.
Brown composed scores for feature films, including Preservation (2003), Floodhouse (2003), Look Both Ways
Look Both Ways
Look Both Ways is a 2005 Australian independent film, written and directed by Sarah Watt, starring an ensemble cast, which was released on 18 August 2005. The film was supported by the Adelaide Film Festival fund and opened the 2005 festival. It won four AFI Awards, including Best Film and Best...
(2005) Monkey Puzzle (2007) and Son of a Lion
Son of a Lion
Son of a Lion is a 2007 Australian-Pakistani drama film set in Darra Adam Khel, in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The film tells the story of Niaz Afridi , a Pashtun boy who wants to go to school instead of carrying on the family business of manufacturing firearms...
(2008). Documentaries she has composed the music for include Suburb For Sale (2006) and A Well Founded Fear (2008).
Brown is also the occasional 'sixth' member of Toni Collette
Toni Collette
Antonia "Toni" Collette is an Australian actress and musician, known for her acting work on stage, television and film as well as a secondary career as the lead singer of the band Toni Collette & the Finish....
's live band, The Finish
Toni Collette & the Finish
Toni Collette & The Finish are a band fronted by Australian actress, singer and songwriter Toni Collette. Other band members include Collette's husband Dave Galafassi, Glenn Richards, David Lane and Pete Farley.- Personnel :...
, and has continued to record and perform with various artists including The Vines
The Vines
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Special:LandingCheck?landing_page=L11_1121_WMUK_Jimmy_DDOptimised&utm_medium=sitenotice&utm_campaign=C11_1121_WMUK_DDvOneOff&utm_source=B11_1121_WMUK_Jimmy&language=en&country=GB...
, Youth Group
Youth Group
Youth Group are a rock band based in Newtown, Sydney, Australia signed to Ivy League Records.- Biography :Youth Group formed in Sydney in the late 1990s. They have released four albums in Australia, with the three most recent albums also gaining releases worldwide...
and Josh Pyke
Josh Pyke
Josh Pyke is an Australian singer-songwriting musician.-Beginnings and Feeding the Wolves :Josh Pyke was in his first band by age 12 and played his first performance in front of 650 parents and students at his primary school graduation. Playing guitar and initial song writing efforts came aged 14...
. In the winter 2007-08 she duetted with the Danish singer Michael Møller on the song A Sunday Routine from his debut solo outing from his band Moi Caprice
Moi Caprice
moi Caprice is an indie rock band from Denmark. Current members are Michael Møller, David Brunsgaard, Jakob Millung, and Casper Henning Hansen. The band, formed as early as 1993 as Concrete Puppet Frog, rose to visibility in 1997 as the first unsigned band to top the Danish alternative music...
.
Since November 2007, Brown has been a member of The Rainy Season, a five piece band fronted by Jed Brown, and including Peter Jones (ex Cosmic Psychos
Cosmic Psychos
The Cosmic Psychos are a punk rock band based in Melbourne and rural Victoria in Australia. An underground band that has only ever achieved limited recognition.-Description:...
), Clyde Bramley (ex Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band, formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner and later joined by Richard Grossman , Mark Kingsmill , and Brad Shepherd...
), and fellow former Go Between Lindy Morrison
Lindy Morrison
Belinda "Lindy" Morrison is an Australian musician originally from Queensland. She was the drummer in indie rock group The Go-Betweens from 1980 to 1989, appearing on all the band's releases from their first LP in 1981 until the band's first break up on 26 December 1989...
.
In 2008 Brown won the IF Inside Film Award for Best Music for her score to Son of a Lion. A soundtrack album of the music from Son of a Lion was released in late 2008. In 2009
APRA Awards of 2009
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2009 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 23 June at the Peninsula in Melbourne, they were presented by APRA and the...
she won the APRA/Australian Guild of Screen Composers Award for Best Music in a Documentary for the score to Sidney Nolan; Mask and Memory.
Brown continues to diversify and in 2009 she mixed David Lane's album Head In The Clouds. However, she now has no plans to make her first solo album of songs.
Further reading
- David Nichols (2003). The Go-Betweens. Puncture Publications. ISBN 1-891241-16-8