Credit: Chrissie Francis
In 2001, one of Australia’s coolest rock bands Spiderbait released their fifth studio Album The Flight Of Wally Funk.
While it met with mixed reviews, it was a step away from their usual garage distortion rock, with some tracks leaning towards techno-dance-rock. Arse Hugging Pants is a prime example:
During this experimental period, guitarist Whitt decided to throw together a remix of rock tracks called Too Hard Basket, before Wally Funk was released, just to muck around. He sent out 200 copies to friends and reviewers to get feedback. As Whitt explains:
This is a live electronic set recorded on 16th June 2001 on a Yamaha SU-700 Phrase Sampler. Only 200 copies were burnt and handed out to friends, for the last 10 years its been sitting on my hard drive so Im happy I can put it out there and share it will all of YOU. Please feel free to comment and let me know if you want to use it, re-use it, remix it or whatever.
Nothing was sequenced, each track was essentially just me jamming with the sampler and the result is a warts and all 78 minute set of 13 instrumental tracks beginning with break beat influences progressing through to house and techno and finishing with a couple of drum & bass tracks.
In the near future Ill be putting up the individual samples for anyone to re-use or remix..
If I had to pick a favourite track it would have to be track #12 “Better Call Saul!” which features samples of Kram playing Bass and Drums and myself on guitar.
Everything else is my original work.
Here it is, thanks to Whitt uploading it to SoundCloud for listening pleasure.
And a review:
Below is a review that appeared in Australian Rolling Stone Magazine by Chris Johnson
October 2001
WHITT
TOO HARD BASKET
Self -Released
“Spiderbait man gone techno”
Spiderbait always had a great affinity with techno and DJ-music. Kram, the drummer, barely stopped between songs; instead he’d shift the beat and on and on they’d go. Like DJ’s do. Change rhythms without appearing to, mixing on and on toward infinity. You could just tell somehow that they listened to a lot of Chemical Brothers. Spiderbait’s guitar player Whitt turns in a side project live set of techno here, recorded at home in Melbourne on a Sampler and computer. Techno, acid-techno and breaks, really. A set that would rock any decent bush rave. Low-fi, but very well structured, the album features a co-write with Kram, “Wally Funk”, a hint of the next Spiderbait album, already titled The Flight of Wally Funk.
Rating: 3/5 stars.
Chris Johnson – Rolling Stone
Now get cranking with the feedback to Spiderbait on Twitter and Facebook!
