Under the Stars: Dive into the wiggy world of Australian post-punk

We are Under The Stars people. You know the drill, lovers of music and culture. This weekly column stays on message with strong-ass opinions, presenting new music releases and upcoming shows, hustling with the changes, and thinking outside the margins. Hop in. And thanks for spending some time with us. Let’s go…

First up, we just want to send some love and support to DJ and producer Rick Wade, who is recovering from a heart attack. The Detroit DJ confirmed the news via Instagram in early September. He was additionally diagnosed with pulmonary edema, atrial fibrillation, and a respiratory infection, though he confirmed that he is now home recovering. “I’m not going to pretend I know exactly what caused this,” the post read. “But I do know that I’ve treated sleep and recovery like they were optional for way too long.”

Wade has been active as a DJ and producer since the mid-80s, launching his label in 1993. With so many DJs, artists, and performers in nightlife succumbing to that work, we don’t need another one, especially Wade. Rest up, big Homie. 

Buy some music and support your Brother in needhere.

gyrofield, GREAT JOBS (FIELD RESEARCH)

gyrofield, is the moniker for 23-year-old Utrecht-via-Hong-Kong producer Kiana Li, whose EPs have passed through my inbox several times previously. She’s been dropping loosies and EPs since 2018, from self-released productions to projects on Metalheadz, XL Recordings, and FABRICLIVE and remains legit.

Now arrives her debut album, Great Jobs, on the “autonomy-first” label that gyrofield founded in May called Field Research. If you look at the bottom of her Bandcamp page, you’ll notice the tags electronic, post-punk, and sound system music as her genre identifiers.

As indicated by the first released track, “Great Jobs (Don’t Wanna),” this project still has its roots in the fabric of drum and bass, but Kiana is pulling from the industrial side of experimental electronic music, or, as she describes it, an “inner world sound clash.” It’s out on October 21; pre-order here.

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ALCHEMICAL SISTERS (ERIS DREW & OCTO OCTA), ALCHEMICAL SISTERS (INTERDIMENSIONAL TRANSMISSIONS)

Just off top. When I think of music by Eris Drew, immediately sweat-inducing, hotboxing, out-of-controlling, and running the music deep into the red comes to mind. And as for Octo Octa? It’s those curling synths and uptempo emo flexes in this specifically ’80s-style Chicago jacking house and breakbeat form expressing the optimistic prism of euphoric rave. 

That’s what flies through my brain.

Now let’s combine the two.

Announcing the worst-kept secret in electronic music this year, Eris Drew and Octo Octa have a debut record slated to drop on October 18. The self-titled double album from these Alchemical Sisters will be released by Interdimensional Transmissions. It was recorded in the forests of New Hampshire where they live, and the album focuses on “psychedelic chaos, acid rollers, and big beat,” according to the album announcement.

But the best indicator for what we may have on our hands comes from these very much “pause tape style”-sounding preview clips. The tracks sound exceptional, with that ying-yang, fire, and reflection style of production.

These frequent collaborators, a b2b duo and romantic partners, first met in 2017 and established party series and label T4T LUV NRG in 2019. The alchemical journey continues.

Pre-order this here and be sure to catch Octo Octa on October 4 for the Castro Street Fair afterparty. More info here.

SLUG BEAT

These are the types of projects that I look forward to discovering—when electronic music people (rave folks) pick up instruments and get spacey modal. A trio comprised of Kiernan Laveaux, Johnny Zoloft, and Sug take their love of Sun Ra and Archie Shepp, then blast up into the cosmos.

Just scrolling through the liner notes, you find out this project was also inspired by the late great Sonny Sharrock, specifically his final album, Ask The Ages (a fave of mine). You can hear that influence on “Pleasure Center” and also the project Anteloper, from another late great composer, jaime branch. With also a nod to Neil Young’s Crazy Horse project.

Listen, this may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you believe in the talent of your rave friends Kiernan Laveaux, Johnny Zoloft, and Sug…stick around. Open your ears and your heart, and you just may be surprised as you board the Mothership to the clouds.

Kudos to this project, which is also available in cassette tape and CD form.

CAN’T STOP IT! II: AUSTRALIAN POST PUNK 1979-84 (2026 DELUXE EDITION) (CHAPTER MUSIC)

So many times when you plunder through these retrospective deep digs, you find similar music ideas or a certain artistic aesthetic that happens to be moving through the creative zeitgeist, no matter if two different scenes are happening 7500 miles away from each other.

I first realized this going through a slew of Japanese ’80s city pop and funk records that just got released to the rest of the world over the past couple of years. But upon listening to those finds, which were, in fact, really funky, I figured out certain fusion jazz trends running through George Duke and other bands are not that far off from what these players from Japan were doing. Which only makes sense since their country was actually making these keyboards and instruments and putting that technology in the air.

The point is, long ago I heard this post-punk stompy gem, “Asphixiation” by The Crush, which was released in early 1981. Sounding like if Devo had a babysitter by the name of James Brown, that type of spiky, wiry funk. It’s a jam for sure, coming out of Australia. But then I thought about “High Pressure Days” by the SF band The Units, which came out in 1979, and has a similar punchy, boxy, stompy aesthetic to it.

No matter if it’s the original or the real smoothed-out Todd Terje rework that blew down dance floors. Obviously, it was something in the air, 7500 miles worth, that connected these post-punk ideas. 

With this second installment of Chapter Music’s acclaimed Australian post-punk compilation series Can’t Stop It!, the emphasis leans in on dance-y electronic rock and new wave, which assures us all it wasn’t just Max’s Kansas City in NYC that had this rock-driving revolution happening in real time.

Severed Heads’ “Lamborghini” gets into tones and textures you’d find in a Les Sins DJ set, just some heady, switchy, shifting walls of chillaxing. The Jetsonnes’ “Newspaper” seems to be working on some real-out-Talking Heads embers, with that wonky, nervous fonk feel. 

None of this should be surprising when you consider now how much focused music there is, just like everything, coming out of Melbourne. We just needed this reminder, here.

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