A Hip–Hop (type) artist from Adelaide. His debut EP. The opening track Justice is fairly ‘in ya face’ but musically ranges all the way from bossa nova beats to retro electro and then serves it all up on a new york dolls punk platter. Dead has been described as a comedic artist and the angst never manages to take it self that seriously, just when you think its getting too maniacal, Dead puts his tongue back in his cheek. The topics covered include: Multi-national corporations, fast–food outlets indemnifying themselves against libel from bad health consequences to consumers (think Micheal Moore meets Eminem), hunting and sexual domineering, divide between the rich and poor, aboriginal deaths in custody, absence of humane standards in abborttoirs, world hunger issues and a need for people in the west to grow their own food instead of being dependant on food grown in developing nations in a post peak-oil world. A great EP and a lot of fun. Exactly a half an hour in length. Check it out.more…
- 11:34Justice [11.1MB]
- 6:08I hunt hunters
- 3:48Three
- 4:09Absolved [4.4MB]
- 4:28bonus live track
30:07Total playing time
Singer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Andrew Benthe has numerous albums and this is one of his best. A very beautiful recording of original folk, contemporary acoustic rock and Celtic-tinged ballad songs. The opening track ‘Ethereal’ is definitive folk-rock-pop. The albums mood and substance mainly stays within the boundaries of exploring the lighter and darker side of love and fidelity. It has sub themes of; both the need to see the similarities rather than the differences between yourself and significant other (in the personal and universal) and the theme of trusting your intuition in relationships and with yourself. Instrumentation includes: 12-string acoustic guitar, cello, bass, drums, keys, electric guitar, wooden flute, Uilleann pipes and mandolin. It is filled with sublime musicality and lush layered vocals. This album is a good starting point for discovering Andrew Benthe’s work.
- 3:45Ethereal
- 3:46Inside your skin [4.6MB]
- 2:53Closer
- 5:08Optimistic [6.0MB]
- 5:24Waterfall
- 5:24Miss Lust [7.0MB]
- 5:48Lucky
- 4:10Found you
- 6:07Come Around
- 8:53Beautiful Girl
- 7:30Love Never Dies
- 2:32Lotus
1:01:00Total playing time
Musically diverse this album is. There are sombre piano instrumentals, anthems about inequality, and long sinuey reflective compositions.“The world they see” – eerie experimental pop about the way animals in intensive agriculture must see and endure the world, features the sound of 20,000 Lismore cows! The track ‘I got mail’ is made out of sampling and manipulating mobile phone noise and static – very moody and astounding. A live track called ‘strengthen your will’ which sounds like someone triumphing over depression and feelings of loss, has some wry, wistful and emo-late cure meets Janes Addiction – style darkness which fuels the songs powerful intent. E.S.P Mail has a track called ‘Fear got the better’ which at times is reminiscent of Louis Tillet’s ‘children of the cave’ which probably belongs on Benthe’s ‘The Mirror’ album (all about the same relationship). A Billy Bragg inspired song called ‘Therefore change’ which states in the opening line: ‘you don’t have to come across like an asshole, just to make a point’ draws a connection between our attitudes towards animals and our attitudes to each other. This album is generally possessed of either wordy songs about rare song topics such as non-violence, ear-candy type instrumentals, or unrequited love ballads and light catchy ditties such as ‘Mariner’ and ‘Moving on’ which say a lot because they say so very little. The closing track ‘I AM Happy’ is full of spontaneous exuberance and amazing rare vintage synthesiser sounds And chaotic changes in genre. E.S.P mail is never boring!
- 2:50Fishbowl heads [3.0MB]
- 3:16Why Kill for food?
- 7:02The world they see [7.8MB]
- 6:31In Bloom
- 3:11Open
- 3:33I got mail
- 6:38The magic of feeling
- 6:39Better man
- 6:20Fear got the better
- 5:46Strengthen your will (fatale) [7.3MB]
- 5:43Therefore change
- 1:32Mariner
- 4:11Moving on
- 11:30I am happy
1:15:00Total playing time
Ahimsa formed in Melbourne, based around the idea of compassion. Song themes included those of homelessness, displacement of people from war, reverance for nature, and the need for understanding and tolerance between different faiths and races. Such was the content on the first disc ‘Ahimsa – Live in Melbourne’.
This next incarnation of the Ahimsa musical tribe features Lori-“lolo Bird”- Eiserman, Heath Schauer and Andrew Benthe on Vocals, with Nick Littlewolf on Djembe, and Andrew Benthe on production and instrumentation.
The material is compiled from anthemic ‘spirituals’ from festivals all around the world. The album addresses such topics as the global oppression of women, affirmations for a sustaiable environment, finding refuge in meditation and self-peace, and the importance of humility. This album has a subtle tranquility which permeates it’s sound, which listeners have said is effective and rare.more…
- 3:02Earth, water, fire and air
- 3:42Oppressor man
- 2:32Lover of the land
- 4:25Humble yourself [5.0MB]
- 1:11Sha-Noo
- 3:28Heart’s Song
- 2:09One Planet
- 3:09Opening [2.8MB]
- 1:28Ancestors
- 1:51Heal one another
- 3:02In the womb [3.6MB]
- 0:36What I’m living for
30:35Total playing time
The first Ahimsa studio album features an 11 minute version of ‘The hidden crime’ as it’s cresendo. The opening track ‘Ahimsa is Compassion’ is a powerful instrumental signifying a new dawning era. Then the gothic chiming chords of ‘Torn Lungs’ pierce the silence, telling us of the inner fight of the forest activist, boardering on relgiousity and sounding like Kate Bush meets Thom Yorke.
“Army of Me” wants industry out of the sea and to have reverance for every tree and everything that breaths. Once again unpredictable dark chord changes give these songs an unprecedented sound of meaningfulness. This coupled with double tracked 12-string guitars and bottleneck adds uniqueness to it’s influence of Led Zepelin 3.
“Release (a simple prayer)” is a studiofied lush garden of deep middle-eastern mallets and heavenly organic sounding samples with staccato processed noises forming a compelling rhythm bed.
The Source of Peace is primarily about how our own search for peace as humans is intertwined/held back by the commodification of animal life. (i.e. That we more readily morally undermine our own kind when we fail to acknowledge animal murder, than if we cease our personal connection to animal abuse by not depending on animal products.)
“Coming to the Party” is a live track with the original line up of Sue-Anne Stewart, Andrew Benthe, Mikale and Kirri. It talks of a day, like the Iraq war protests when “everyone who can feel’ will come out in protest against the abduction of our fellow mammals for food, leather, entertainment and research. The track is full of Penelope Swales style folk-pride and passion. ‘The Message’ has some of the most otherworldly sundrenched guitar sounds you’ll hear and the vocal is sedative and spacious like that of Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star. A great disc with a flowing angelic quality. Rare as hens teeth!more…
- 2:14Ahimsa is compassion
- 5:01Creature
- 4:06Torn lungs
- 3:54Army of me [4.6MB]
- 4:53Sentient beings
- 4:42Release (a simple prayer) [5.7MB]
- 4:51The Message
- 11:08The Hidden Crime [12.6MB]
- 4:00The innocent beast
- 4:51Starving child
- 4:05Open your heart
- 3:44Coming to the party
- 8:46The source of peace
1:06:00Total playing time
Recorded in 1988, an exploratory tranquility permeates this Andrew Benthe debut. A soundtrack to a time of regeneration and transformation. Largely instrumental it contains two songs: ‘Be yourself now’ and ‘Controller’. The other works are sublime layered impressionistic compositions impacted to great effect by the work of Jon Hassel and Ken Nordine. The sound of multi-timbral synthesizers down to analog tape adds warmth and clarity. Suitable for deep relaxation. The opening track has two dueling but soothing spanish guitars and is the first incarnation of a track called ‘Love never dies’, of which another more produced and effulgent reprise version exists toward the end of the disc.
- 10:31Love never dies (acoustic) [13.2MB]
- 4:45Be yourself now
- 3:46Controller (love in freedom) [4.6MB]
- 2:57Field of tears
- 1:52Spirit of the mall
- 3:40Painted faced men
- 1:34Blue
- 8:14Nam yo ho ren gae kyo
- 3:17Horizons
- 1:34Loss
- 3:21Men with heads
- 2:37Temple rush
- 10:21Mind
- 5:02Love never dies (reprise)
- 2:34Vigilante
- 2:39Sadness
- 3:50Omegahedron [3.8 MB]
1:13:00Total playing time
A.B.’s first pop rock record. First released on cassette in 1991 independently. There are many rock influences of the day on this CD. INXS, Ratcat, Diesel, Gun’s ’n' Roses, Captain Beefheart, Sting and Pink Floyd’s final cut album. But at the end of the day this recording is a lot more unusual than the sum of those influences.
This is because the music is a backdrop to the albums running narrative, about the crime we don’t see. Contains a chilling track called ‘Destiny Ship’ about splitting the atom, and how (corporate) killers hold governments in grip with dollars for murder.
‘Creature’ and ‘The Hidden Crime’ were written on auto pilot and provided the momentum to create an album addressing the root of crime. ‘Phantasmagoria’ is a piece of deep philosophical mischief about a metaphysical view of existence and is a solid interesting piece with an Ennio Morricone spaghetti western chorus.
- 3:44Fathers of fortune
- 4:56Phantasmagoria [6.2MB]
- 5:45Destiny ship [7.3MB]
- 4:26Forget we are two
- 7:17Creature (original)
- 1:39God and science
- 6:01The Message
- 2:50Dreams
- 4:57The message (instrumental)
- 7:53Vinculum
- 4:10Silent secret partner street
- 4:07Jealousy [3.9MB]
- 8:15The Hidden Crime (original)
- 2:00A Second of brahma
- 0:52Space and time
- 4:21Fashion accessory
1:13:00Total playing time
This album has influences of Nick Cave and Steve Kilbey, especially the first four tracks. The title track is a semi-instrumental which has a definite science fiction sound. Guitar pedals and keyboards, bass, drums, sampled sitars and vocals all seem to be used in unorthodox ways here to evoke imagery of a passionate heartbeat running through a cold technological landscape.
‘Shadowman’ has a sampled western guitar riff and a memorable tune with dark imagery being forged by middle eastern wind instruments.
Apart from the first four and another two originals toward the end, The Science of Falling has some cover versions from a diverse range of songwriters including Tex Perkins, Tori Amos, Marty Wilson-Piper, Kate Bush and Carol King.
- 5:31Love Child [6.3MB]
- 6:52The science of falling [8.3MB]
- 2:21Shadowman [2.6MB]
- 3:49What I done to her
- 4:53How come they don’t touch the ground?
- 4:22Winter
- 4:03Wish
- 3:38Feel it
- 3:08Jewel box
- 3:58Woolgathering
- 2:36We will become
- 3:30The strength to change you
- 3:19Precious
- 6:24Leaving you up in the air
- 2:47It’s too late
1:01:00Total playing time
