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Title: "ELECTRICITY - Capital Beats & Bleeps" - compilations of Electronic Music by artists living in or from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

ABOUT

If the album audio does not appear on this page it is also available on the Blatant Propaganda BandCamp Channel

Genres: Electronic Dance Music (EDM), Club, Acid-House, Industrial, Electroclash, Drum&Bass, Trance, Electro, Intelligent Dance Music (IDM), Witch-House, Glitch-Hop, Trip-Hop, Synthpop, Hip-Hop, Rap, DancePunk, SynthRock, Techno, IndieTronica, PowerNoise & Ambient; Australian, Canberran.

Description:

DJ Robot Citizen: "The first ElectriCity compilation album was released in 2003; after a few years of preparation. I was in the position to become aware of all this material through hosting several radioshows for many years on 2XX 98.3fm, including Beatside (electronic dance music) and Know Your Product (independent Canberran and other Australian music). The compilation was a double-CD set and showcased many Canberra electronic musicians who were producing in the 1990s to the early 2000s. The 2-CD-set received numerous reviews of high-praise - some are featured on this page. Overall it helped greatly to establish a sense of recognition, respect and possibility - in many places, most importantly in Canberra itself - for the electronic sound artists in this small city.

I distributed most of the CDs to several hundred radio stations. Many tracks were played on radio-shows around the nation. I was interviewed on several stations (interstate) by hosts who were impressed by the music and curious about "the Canberra scene". In particular the national Triple J (JJJ) radio network, one of the most popular across Australia, played numerous tracks on genre-specialty shows. Of most impact JJJ added the E.L.F. track 'A Nice Walk in the Park' to their daily playlist for several months in mid-2003. That means it was played at least once every day and heard each time by many thousands of people around the nation. And through that more attention was brought to the CD & all the artists upon it. This was probably only the second occasion that a Canberra electronic music project achieved such JJJ (national) recognition and support; B(if)tek being the first. ("E.L.F." was a name used by EYE to release and perform their 'dancier/happier' EDM & IDM material during 2001-2004; having used the name AYA prior for that. This national radio exposure opened doors of opportunity: there was talk of E.L.F. hosting and performing live for a JJJ Saturday night Mix-Up radioshow. There were offers by promoters to have E.L.F. play live in many cities alongside international touring acts. It was a major breakthrough. However, a serious workplace injury & illness intervened and so E.L.F., EYE & Blatant Propaganda were all put on hold for a long time.)

The 2CD-set was launched in 2003 with a big event called eXXentricity in the city centre at a club then known as Sultan's (known at other times as Babylon and Krave). The event was a fundraiser for Community Radio 2XX. A team of half-a-dozen people organised it and many hundreds attended. Around 150 of the CD-sets were given to the first paying customers. The event featured numerous live artists - including EYE's E.L.F. project, as well as many of Canberra's then most renowned DJs, in two rooms. The CD set was otherwise available for sale for only $10 at the radio 2XX office and a few local record stores such as Impact and Landspeed.

In 2004 we (some of us involved with 2XX's electronic music radio-shows) organised another fundraiser event for 2XX - eXXentricity 2 - which also featured numerous DJs and live-electronic bands including one of the last gigs by EYE's E.L.F. project. I recall we held this event at a venue then known as the Aree Bar (later called The Church & The Transit Bar). For that event I compiled and produced a CDr called "ElectriCity 2" - music recorded by artists in 2003-2004. Around 100-150 were created and given to the first paying customers at the event; others were for sale via 2XX.

During 2014-2015 I have gradually made the collection of music from all 3 CDs available again - on Bandcamp. Because otherwise these things become lost and forgotten in time; the only people who know of it are the ones who were there. I hope that this way these artists will be remembered and (re-)discovered. Further that it can inspire younger artists in Canberra to feel a sense of what's possible, to create, organise and promote. It seemed to make most sense to sort the collection in to smaller volumes of around 50 minutes each. So that's what I have done. The music from the original 2-CD "ElectriCity" set appears on the Bandcamp Volumes 1, 2, 3 and the music from the 2004 "ElectriCity 2" CDR release appears on Volume 4.

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AUDIO - FREE downloads via BandCamp: Vol 1 - Vol 2 - Vol 3 - Vol 4

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PIX

For larger view: click/tap opens new window

Electricity-Canberran-Electronic-Music-EDM-Club-Dance-House-Techno-Electro-Industrial-Trip-Hip-Hop-Rap-Psy-Trance-Electronica-Indietronica-Glitch-Doof-Ambient-ACT-Australian-Artists-Producers-lo-680w-872h

Electricity-Canberran-Electronic-Music-Album-CD-Review-Canberra-Times-Newspaper-Club-Dance-EDM-House-Techno-Trance-ElectroIndustrial-TripHop-HipHop-Rap-Ambient-Indietronica-Australia-Artists-Groups-Projects-350w489h

Electricity-Canberra-Electronic-Music-Album-CD-Review-BMA-Magazine-EDM-Dance-Clubs-House-Trance-Techno-Electro-Industrial-Ambient-TripHop-Hip-Hop-Indietronica-Australian-Bands-Artists-Groups-Producers-400w-437h

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Canberran Australian Live Electronic Dance Music Electronica Bands Record Label DJs DJ Musicians Canberra Australia Nightclub Night Club Rave Parties Events Gigs Producers Artists Community Radio Stations 2XX 98.3fm Sound Artists EDM IDM Acid House Groups Projects

Electricity 3 Canberran Australian Electronic Dance Music EDM Electronica Acid Stoner Witch House Psy Trance Trip Glitch Hip Hop Drum'n'Bass D&B DnB Elektro Goth Techno Nightclub DJs Power Noise Ambient Indietronica Alternative Experimental Canberra Musicians Sound Artists Groups Projects

Electricity 4 Canberran EDM Dark Electronic Dance Music Scene Producers Electronica Bands Groups Artists Musicians Night Club DJs 90s 00s Canberra ACT Australian Capital Territory Trip Hop IDM Techno Pop Electro Industrial Tech House Breakbeat Experimental Dark Ambient Experimental History Photos

Electricity 2 Canberra Electronic Music Artists Musicians DJ Groups Night Club DJs Projects EDM Dance Producers ACT Australian Capital Territory Trip Hop IDM Techno Pop Electro Industrial Deep Progressive Tech House Breakbeat Clan Analogue Experimental Dark Ambient Experimental

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REVIEWS

"CD of the Week" review in The Canberra Times newspaper, 10th April 2003 by Lexi Metherell. Click this link to view the newspaper clipping.

Feature article & review in BMA Magazine, Canberra's music newspaper, March 2003. Click this link to view the clipping.

Excerpts from a 2003 review by Calico, www.inthemix.com.au, then Australia's premier dance music website: "For such a small city, Canberra has had an inordinately large impact on the country's music scene. Nowhere has this been seen more clearly than in electronic music... This compilation from underground crew Blatant Propaganda ties in some of the disparate elements of Canberra's electronic underbelly. The fact that it attempts this is admirable, the degree of success they've had makes it doubly interesting... It's diverse! But then again, so is the Canberra dance scene.
You get the lush electronic glitchiness of Stalker's 'Untitled #6' - probably the highlight of the compilation for me - rubbing up nicely against the quirky grooves of Artificial vs DJ Toupee's 'Hole In My Programme'. There's also the gorgeous flute-driven house of 'The Flute Song' by Gruv Dios ... Al's Backyard delivers minimal deep house grooves while Chris Fraser (aka Dark Code) delivers his trademark throbbing progressive. Dark Network, Mr Fink and Groovescooter all drop lovely grooves that are decidedly easy on these ears. Electricity doesn't only stick with the more accessible stuff about town though. SysX and DJ Citizen are responsible for some pretty brutal techno and industrial sounds. Combat Wombat drop their conscious activist rhetoric on a live version of 'Police Brutality' and E.L.F. opens things with a strangely compelling bit of electronic groove on 'A Nice Walk in the Park'. There's a lot here. But if you're interested in electronic music in Australia, then alongside releases like 'Sound Quality' this is an excellent place to start. It's available for only $10 making it an essential purchase. The full review was originally here

Excerpts from a review by Tom Colman in Cyclic Defrost magazine, March 2003: "... a smorgasbord of styles. From down-beat acid growls reminiscent of early Clan Analogue [a music collective] rumblings to house styles of all persuasions (including funky), progressive trance-tinged anthems to industrial drum n' bass roars alongside glitchy ambience and noise. Everything pretty much gets a look in. While some keep to a loose song structure and are able to stand alone you get the impression other tracks are better suited to a DJ mix. Electricity is an excellent and engaging introduction to Canberra's electronic music community."

A review in Fiend magazine, March 2003:
"This double CD compilation of 'capital beats and bleeps' showcases the many and varied talents of Canberra's electronic music communities... these CDs run the entire spectrum of electronic music, from industrial to house to trance to powernoise to ambient to dub to hip-hop to drum&bass to 'commercial' electro-pop-disco.
E.L.F. kicks off the first disc with the bouncey 'A Nice Walk in the Park'. DJ Archie and Nash T contribute an uplifting trancey track called 'Twisted Anthem' which seems to tip its lid to modern EBM. And 'Miraculous', contributed by SysX, is a noise extravaganza that wouldn't be out of place on the ant-zen label. The second disc starts with EYE's 'Psychological Warfare'. Continuum slow things down a bit with the beautifully smooth track 'Neurosis'. Whiteplan's track 'Against Stupidity' is guaranteed to pack dance-floors, and Combat Wombat's live hip-hop track 'Police Brutality' bristles with energy and intent. The final track, Kimmo Vennonen's 'Reality Intrudes', is a journey. Eleven minutes of droning, ambient electronic soundscapes that is a perfect way to end the excursion into Canberra's electronic underbelly. The artwork on this release is pretty special too. "

Here is a pre-release promotional article on the CD by Paris Pompor of the Sydney-based "DRUM Media" music magazine-newspaper: "... turn up the volume and prepare to be surprised..."

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VID

Youtube playlist: Canberra Electronic Dance Music (EDM) - Canberran Bands Groups Projects Artists Producers

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Some PIX

EYE Alternative Heavy Hard Dark Queanbeyan Canberra Electronic Dance Music Artists Producers Night Club DJs Australian Bands Electro Cyber Punk Synth Rock Pop Indie Industrial Gothic Electronica Indietronica EDM Dance IDM Synth Pop Glitch Hip Hop Drum Bass Witch Tech House Trance Hardstyle Techno Groups Musicians in from Australian Capital Territory ACT

EYE Dark Heavy Hard Canberra Electronic Music Groups Alternative Synth Electro Pop Punk Rock Bands Aussie Alt Musicians Electronica Artists Night Club Dance DJs Indietronica Elektro Gothic Industrial IDM Techno Glitch Trip Hip Hop EDM EBM DHC Jungle Drum Bass Deep Tech Prog Witch House Trance in from the ACT Australian Capital Territory

EYE Heavy Hard Dark Electronic Music Canberra Alternative Aussie Bands Australian Groups Musicians Electro Pop Synth Dance Punk Industrial Rock Elektro Gothic Alt Indie Electronica Artists Night Club DJs Indietronica Hardstyle Techno Glitch Hop Deep Tech Prog Witch House Trance EDM EBM DHC Drum n Bass Jungle in from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

EYE-Canberran-Electronica-Electro-Rock-Industrial-DarkWave-Dance-Punk-Pop-Music-Bands

EYE-Propaganda-Machine-CD-Electronica-Industrial-Rock-DarkWave-Dance-Punk-Synth-Pop-Music-Bands-from-Canberra-Australia

EYE-Electronic-Music-EDM-Canberra-Australia-Alternative-Electro-Industrial-Dance-Rock-Synth-Pop-Punk-Indietronica-Aggrotech-Hard-House-Techno-Elektro-Goth-IDM-Bands-Groups-Projects-Producers-DJ-DJs-515wh

EYE-Politics-CD-Electro-Rock-Industrial-DarkWave-DancePunk-SynthPop-Music-Bands-Canberran-Australian

EYE-Australian-Canberra-Electronic-Intelligent-Dance-Music-Electro-Industrial-EDM-IDM-EBM-Techno-Punk-Alternative-Rock-Canberran-Bands-Artists-Groups-Projects-Producers-Photos-567whLoRes

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