There’s no denying the strong contribution the Peel region has made to Western Australia’s contemporary music scene. Fairbridge Festival celebrates its 28th year in 2020, Pinjarra’s John Butler’s multi-award winning career, and the Mandurah Estuary adorning the cover of The Triffid’s lauded album ‘Born Sandy Devotional’ provide a snapshot of the region’s special place in the landscape of West Australian music.

Following projects in The Wheatbelt and Kimberley, West Australian Music (WAM) kicked off the next Demos from regional recording project and compilation in early 2020, showcasing artists from the Peel region during 2020.

Applications for artists to be involved in the project were closed on 31 January 2020, with the high quality of applications received for the project is testament to the talent throughout the region. The successful acts were chosen to provide a snap-shot of the varying ages, musical genres and geographical locations of artists within the region, enabling the compilation to capture the multiplicity of stories, experiences and musical contributions the region has to offer.

The artists selected for the project include:

Applejack & Moonshine Mandurah
Chris Portlock and Kindred Spirits Dwellingup
Groves (Jason Pirrett) Boddington
Technicolor Dream Machine (Coodanup)
Liam Dawes (Waroona)
My Shadow and I (Mandurah)
The Skeleton Collective (Byford)
Imogen Morgan (Boddington)
Anika Louise (Falcon)
Violet Orange (Greenfields)

Find out more about the selection acts here.

The Artists headed to the historic Fairbridge Village (Shire of Murray) in March to record their original songs. Most recognisable as the home of the much-loved Fairbridge Festival now entering it’s 28th year, the heritage listed site was established in 1912 by Kingsley and Ruby Fairbridge as the world’s first – and only remaining – Fairbridge Farm School for emigrated youth. The Old Fairbridgians Clubhouse building, built in 1933, played home to WAM’s pop-up studio as the artists recorded their original songs with some of WA’s best engineers, including Matt Gio and Dan Carroll of Rada Studios, Debaser Studio’s Andy Lawson, with Timothy Nelson, Ryan Brennan and national hip-hop legend Dazastah dropping by as guest producers.. The recording process was interrupted by the emerging COVID-19 crisis, with recording completed in June at Rada Studios in Perth.

Demos from Binjareb (Peel Region*) will be launched at the Ravenswood Hotel on Friday 4 December, with live performances from the ten compilation acts. Built in 1982, Ravenswood Hotel has a strong history supporting live music as one of the premier stages in the Peel region. The ABC’s state-wide Regional Drive program will be helping share the festivities of the compilation launch across regional WA with a live outside broadcast from Ravenswood Hotel on the banks of the Murray River. The broadcast will take place from 4pm – 6pm, hosted by Andrew Collins.

Alongside the evening event is an exciting community activation thanks to our local partners Pinjarra Junction Shopping Centre. Community members can get their hands on the first copies of the limited-edition CD package, hidden in select stores around the shopping centre. They’ll also be treated to live, stripped back performances from the compilation acts at pop-up locations around the centre from 10am – 2pm.

Demos from Binjareb (Peel Region*) is now available to stream on Spotify, Soundcloud, and other streaming platforms. More information on WAM’s regional recording projects, including streaming links for previous compilations can be found HERE.

 

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

LISTEN ON SOUNDCLOUD

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR REGIONAL RECORDING PROGRAMS HERE

 

 

*The Peel region is named after colonial settler Thomas Peel who was actively involved with the infamous Pinjarra massacre in 1834, where men, women and children of the Binjareb Noongar nation were murdered en masse.

WAM delivers Demos from Binjareb (Peel Region*) with the support of the State Government Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries with strong local support from our community partners Pinjarra Junction Shopping Centre, Fairbridge Village and Ravenswood Hotel.