Sonic Allsorts (Review)

This remarkably distinctive and unique collection of tracks by 17 Australian artists from 7 states performing in over 20 languages, with code-switching a recombinant feature, was compiled by Brendan Palmer, Clan Analogue Founder, SBS Radio Alchemy producer, and prominent local and international DJ and electronica artist. Over 3,500 copies of the CD were distributed throughout Australia, mainly as a ‘giveaway’ in the important ‘underground’ music magazine Cyclic Defrost, which is edited and published by Sebastian Chan, and profiles and reviews a wide range of independent Australian and overseas exponents of hip hop, electronica and avant-garde music (available online at <cyclicdefrost.com>). Co-editor Dale Harrison has noted that both Sonic Allsorts and Cyclic Defrost were ‘borne out of a need to represent other less emphasised elements of Australian culture, and to reclaim from the rampant parochialism and jingoism the very idea of being “Australian”‘ - an objective which merits widespread support.

The result of a nationwide competition as part of the 2003 Noise Festival, Sonic Allsorts leads off with a track in Swahili by Sydney-based hip hop producer and MC Mr.Zux, following on with ‘Eh Mate’, in French and Punjabi, by Brisbane artist Prussia, and a Spanish rap by Adelaide based Joel Castell. The most popular track amongst the six judges by a wide margin was Curse Ov Dialect’s ‘Curse Ov The Vulk Macedonski’, which features traditional Macedonian music and MCing by Borsch from the multicultural Melbourne crew who are redefining Australian hip hop. Also scoring highly were ‘Nursery Chant’ by Sydney artist Tufa, who sings, chants and raps in Henghwa, and Latin American collective Ila Familia with their anthemic salsa dance track ‘Ven a Bailar’. Morganics’ ‘Multi Lingual MC’, which features snippets of 15 different languages, is also included, and Palmer attributes the predominance of hip hop on the album to the fact that it is ‘the most active lyrical modern music’ and ‘ a style that allows the un-represented to be represented’. Further examples include Creator, a Tasmanian-based MC from Sierra Leone who raps here in French, but also performs in Mende, Creole and English, Mandarin MC Horny Keung, whose name comes from an evil sauna bath owner featured in the cult movie Hong Kong X File, ‘Oiaue’, a part Tongan-language, part English track from Canberra-based hip hop duo Koolism, an R&B track in Samoan, English and Cook Island Maori by Soul-Jah On, a French track with some deft scratching by Darwin-based Vassy, gamelan jazz from Indonesian artists Anything But Roy, and drum ‘n’ bass with Punjabi and Urdu inflections from Vir Asan. Sonic Allsorts is much more than a curio - it represents a hidden face of Australian music, and some of these artists already have albums out (Mr. Zux has one in English, and is about to release another in Swahili), and I for one eagerly await further recordings by most of the artists on this compilation.