Itch-E and Scratch-E
Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the fictional characters Itchy and Scratchy from The Simpsons
.
Itch-E and Scratch-E is an Australia
n electronic music
group formed by Paul Mac
and Andy Rantzen
in Sydney
in the early 1990s initially recording on the Volition
label
. For a time during the mid to late 1990s the duo recorded under the name Boo Boo & Mace!.
They were initially focused on a techno sound which drew on early bleep techno as well as being influenced by fellow Sydneysiders Severed Heads
(Tom Ellard
from Severed Heads helped produce an album by Paul Mac's other band The Lab
, that was never released). The melodic influence of the classically-trained Paul Mac lent their music a distinctive sound which eventually led to moderate pop success in Australia.
0
The single "Sweetness and Light" from their 1994 album Itch-E Kitch-E Koo, co-written with Justin Brandis, is their best-known work. The single reached the twenty-first place on the 1994 Triple J Hottest 100
, and led to a 1995 ARIA
award for best dance single. The duo caused a brief controversy during the presentation of their award on national television, Mac and Sheriff Lindo (Little known 3rd member of the band for a few years), thanked "the ecstasy dealers of Sydney", which was subsequently bleeped out of the telecast.
In January 2010, the duo announced on their MySpace page that they were going to release a new album and a new single.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
.
Itch-E and Scratch-E is an Australia
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 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...
group formed by Paul Mac
Paul Mac
Paul Mac is a musician, producer and music remixer from Sydney, Australia. He was classically trained at Sydney's Conservatorium of Music. Paul Mac formed the bands Smash Mac Mac, Itch-e And Scratch-e, The Lab, and The Dissociatives, as well as releasing two records under his own name...
and Andy Rantzen
Andy Rantzen
Andrew Rantzen is a Sydney-based lo-fi electronic recording artist and writer. Trained as a psychologist, he has been lecturer and tutor at the University of Sydney...
in Sydney
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 the early 1990s initially recording on the Volition
Volition Records
Volition Records was a Sydney, Australia-based record label specialising in electronic music styles such as house, techno, synthpop and trance. It was founded by Andrew Penhallow in the late 1980s, but folded in the late 1990s....
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. For a time during the mid to late 1990s the duo recorded under the name Boo Boo & Mace!.
They were initially focused on a techno sound which drew on early bleep techno as well as being influenced by fellow Sydneysiders 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...
(Tom Ellard
Tom Ellard
Thomas Ellard , is an Australian electronic musician best known as the founding member of the electronic and industrial music group Severed Heads.-Early life:...
from Severed Heads helped produce an album by Paul Mac's other band The Lab
The Lab (band)
The Lab were an Australian Sydney-based electronic music band consisting of keyboardist Paul Mac, vocalist Yolanda Podolski and vocalist and bassist Warwick Factor. An early line-up included a second bass player. They formed in the late 1980s and initially recorded on the rooArt label...
, that was never released). The melodic influence of the classically-trained Paul Mac lent their music a distinctive sound which eventually led to moderate pop success in Australia.
0
The single "Sweetness and Light" from their 1994 album Itch-E Kitch-E Koo, co-written with Justin Brandis, is their best-known work. The single reached the twenty-first place on the 1994 Triple J Hottest 100
Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll, based on the votes of national Australian radio station Triple J listeners, in order to determine their favourite song of the year. Voting is conducted by the internet and begins roughly two weeks prior to the new year for the previous year's songs...
, and led to a 1995 ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
award for best dance single. The duo caused a brief controversy during the presentation of their award on national television, Mac and Sheriff Lindo (Little known 3rd member of the band for a few years), thanked "the ecstasy dealers of Sydney", which was subsequently bleeped out of the telecast.
In January 2010, the duo announced on their MySpace page that they were going to release a new album and a new single.
As Itch-E and Scratch-E
- Irritable (EP) (1992)
- Itch-E Kitch-E Koo (1993)
- Itch-E and Scratch-E ... and friends (1994)
- It Is What It Isn't (2001)
- "Other Planets" (single) (2010) featuring MDNA.
- "r.E.f.r.E.s.h" (single) (2010) featuring ScribeScribe (rapper)Malo Luafutu better known by his stage name Scribe, is a New Zealand hip hop rapper and recording artist of Samoan descent...
. - Hooray For Everything!!! (2010)
- "Electric" (single) (2010) featuring Kiss Reid from The ScareThe ScareThe Scare is an Australian rock band formed in 2004 by Kiss Reid, Samuel Pearton and Liam O'Brien in Brisbane, Queensland. They released their debut EP, Masochist Mimes, in November 2004. Brock Alexander Fitzgerald joined in 2005 and the band released a second EP, Vacuum Irony in October...
. - "Back 2 The Jack" (single) (2010)
As Boo Boo & Mace!
- "Flowers in the Sky" (single) (1997) dedicated to producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Robert RacicRobert RacicRobert Racic was an Australian DJ and record producer. Born in Melbourne and highly influential within electronic and house music circles he was largely unknown outside Australia...
who died in 1996. - "Seven days" (single) 1998 featuring Jo Maskell.
- "Heartstrings" (single) 1998
- Sublimely Pointless (1998)