Tsk Tsk Tsk
Encyclopedia
→ ↑ → was an Australian experimental music project formed in Melbourne
in 1977 and led by Philip Brophy
. Aside from performing music the project produced artwork, films, videos, live theatre, multi-media, and wrote literature.
suburb of Clifton Hill
's Community Music Centre
was the base for Philip Brophy
's project, → ↑ →. Sometimes compared to Andy Warhol
's Factory
collective, the group provided experimental music
(Brophy on drums or synthesiser), films, videos, and live theatrical performances exploring his aesthetic and cultural interests, often on a minimal budget. Musically the group touched upon a wide range of experimental styles including minimalism
, punk rock
, muzak
, krautrock
and disco
, usually with no vocalist.
Over the project's operation it involved over sixty of Brophy's friends in variable line-ups that included musician David Chesworth
on synthesiser, and visual artists Maria Kozic on synthesiser and Jayne Stevenson on synthesiser. They performed at a range of Australian venues including pubs, galleries, university campuses, Crystal Ballroom (St Kilda
) and Clifton Hill Community Music Centre. → ↑ → at times included some members of Essendon Airport
, a post-punk
band that explored similar experimental music forms.
The band performed or exhibited in Europe, including London's Institute of Contemporary Arts
and Paris' Museum of Modern Art
. In 1983 Brophy issued a retrospective book, Made by → ↑ →, which is co-credited to → ↑ →. He dissolved the project shortly after; and continued to work with, his then partner, Kozic for some time, prior to her relocation to New York
.
films, which were made by → ↑ → during 1978–1982, were later transferred to video tape
(136 min). The collection is credited to Philip Brophy (film maker
) and Tch Tch Tch (Performing arts
group):
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1977 and led by 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:...
. Aside from performing music the project produced artwork, films, videos, live theatre, multi-media, and wrote literature.
History
MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
suburb of Clifton Hill
Clifton Hill, Victoria
Clifton Hill is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. The border between Clifton Hill and Fitzroy North is Queens Parade and Smith Street. Merri Creek defines the eastern border of Clifton Hill. Its Local Government Area is...
's Community Music Centre
Clifton Hill Community Music Centre
Clifton Hill Community Music Centre was established in 1976 to provide a space for the playing and rehearsal of music that was not of a commercial nature. The building was an old two storey organ factory...
was the base for 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:...
's project, → ↑ →. Sometimes compared to Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's Factory
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"...
collective, the group provided 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...
(Brophy on drums or synthesiser), films, videos, and live theatrical performances exploring his aesthetic and cultural interests, often on a minimal budget. Musically the group touched upon a wide range of experimental styles including minimalism
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, muzak
Muzak
Muzak Holdings LLC is a company based in metro Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1934, Muzak Holdings is best known for distribution of background music to retail stores and other companies....
, krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, usually with no vocalist.
Over the project's operation it involved over sixty of Brophy's friends in variable line-ups that included musician David Chesworth
David Chesworth
David Chesworth is an award-winning Australian-based composer and installation artist. Known for his experimental, and at times minimalist music, he has worked in rock groups, classical ensembles, theatre, opera...
on synthesiser, and visual artists Maria Kozic on synthesiser and Jayne Stevenson on synthesiser. They performed at a range of Australian venues including pubs, galleries, university campuses, Crystal Ballroom (St Kilda
St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
) and Clifton Hill Community Music Centre. → ↑ → at times included some members of Essendon Airport
Essendon Airport (band)
Essendon Airport was an Australian post-punk group from 1978-83 who explored experimental minimalist, electronic and funk music. They reformed in the original duo lineup for occasional performances in 2003 following the re issue of Sonic Investigations of the Trivial...
, a 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...
band that explored similar experimental music forms.
The band performed or exhibited in Europe, including London's Institute of Contemporary Arts
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
and Paris' Museum of Modern Art
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris is the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art dedicated to the arts of the 20th/21st centuries. It is located at 11 Avenue du Président Wilson in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.-Description:...
. In 1983 Brophy issued a retrospective book, Made by → ↑ →, which is co-credited to → ↑ →. He dissolved the project shortly after; and continued to work with, his then partner, Kozic for some time, prior to her relocation to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Members
→ ↑ → was a fluid project with little stability in the line-ups. The following list indicates individuals known to be involved in the project but the extent/years of their involvement is problematic.Key Members
- Philip BrophyPhilip BrophyPhilip Brophy, born in Reservoir, Melbourne 1959 is an Australian musician, composer, sound designer, filmmaker, writer, graphic designer, educator and academic.-Music:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, synthesiser (1977–1986) - Ralph Traviato – saxophone, synthesiser (1977–1983)
- Leigh Parkhill – guitar, synthesiser (1977–1983)
- Maria Kozic – synthesiser (1978–1986)
- Jayne Stevenson – synthesiser (1978–1983)
Participants
- Anthony (Anthe) Montemurro – synthesiser (1977–1978)
- Alan Gaunt – synthesiser (1977–1978)
- Ernie Althoff - saxophone (Wartime Art 1980)
- Kim Beissel – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
(Wartime Art 1980); actor (Stills 1986) - Frank Bendinelli – videoVideoVideo is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
maker (Spaces 1981) - Robert Randall – video maker (Spaces 1981)
- Rod Bishop – film producer (No Dance)
- Melanie Brelis - actor (Stills 1986)
- David ChesworthDavid ChesworthDavid Chesworth is an award-winning Australian-based composer and installation artist. Known for his experimental, and at times minimalist music, he has worked in rock groups, classical ensembles, theatre, opera...
– synthesiser, actor (Stills 1986) - Ian Cox – saxophone
- Paul Fletcher – drums
- Robert Goodge – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Barbara Hogarth – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Philip Moreland – (1983)
- Favourite Teddy - (1960)
Albums
- Live (1980 double-cassetteCompact CassetteThe Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
) - Live Vol. 2 (1980 double-cassette)
- Caprice (December 1980, Present Records)
- Spaces (October 1981, InnocentInnocent Records (Australia)Innocent Records was an independent Australian label that released records between 1979 and 1983.Run by David Chesworth and Philip Brophy, the label was set up to release music by their projects, → ↑ → and Essendon Airport, and solo work by Chesworth and others. It also released two compilations of...
) - No Dance (soundtrackSoundtrackA soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
, 1982, Present)
Extended Plays
- Venetian Rendezvous (April 1979, InnocentInnocent Records (Australia)Innocent Records was an independent Australian label that released records between 1979 and 1983.Run by David Chesworth and Philip Brophy, the label was set up to release music by their projects, → ↑ → and Essendon Airport, and solo work by Chesworth and others. It also released two compilations of...
) - Nice Noise (September 1979, Innocent)
- → ↑ → (March 1980, Innocent)
- Sound Tracks (1983, Present Records)
Singles
"Pop Art" (shared single with Eric Gradman: Man & Machine) (December 1979, Crystal Ballroom)Filmography
Ten Super 8Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
films, which were made by → ↑ → during 1978–1982, were later transferred to video tape
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
(136 min). The collection is credited to Philip Brophy (film maker
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
) and Tch Tch Tch (Performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
group):
- Super 8 films made by Tch Tch Tch
- Phantom No. 362 – 29 min
- Suspense/Play – 13 min
- Excerpts from Contracted Cinema – 12 min
- 1980 Moscow Olympics Opening Ceremony on HSV7 – 9 min
- The Celluloid Self – 13 min
- Romantic Story – 20 min
- I-You-We – 6 min
- Caprice – 4 min
- Excerpts from Muzak, Rock and Minimalism – 10 min
- No Dance – 20 min