Zee Kraaszie Aorte Blog of Nicola Morton

TIME CAPSULE FROM 10 YEARS AGO

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 09:38:00 +0000

10 years ago -I'm fighting aliens, I'm fucking aliens, I'm a fucking alien

Matt Kennedy (Kitchen's Floor) did an experimental collab album with Magandjin's weirdest - Excess - Escape from Brisbane. I love that Mark Spinks (Gravel Samwidge) and I both immediately thought ALIEN ABDUCTION!!

Bandcamp

Live at Bearded Lady

Dusk and Beyond Compilation (Dog Park Records)

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 09:37:00 +0000

Track 2 - breathing Entropy - Nicola Morton

"Modular electronic music in Australia is surging, both in the number of artists and the diversity of their output. Dusk and beyond captures a moment of this expansion. This curated collection features a selection of artists from around Australia working with modular and semi-modular synthesizers, showcasing the gems that can be unearthed beyond the dance floor.
Techno dominates the Australian modular music-scape. The tracks here reveal some of what can be discovered when the dark underbelly of electronica is exposed to the light."

Greg Potter - Curator of compilation

Bandcamp

my setup for breathing Entropy

"It makes me see all kinds of geometric shapes; squares, pyramids, stars, circles. Sometimes they explode and form wet drops, slip into electric power glitches, blow up into bubbly bubble gum cheeks and other interesting miniature curiousities."

Kai's review in You Know It Sucks

Summer Soundcloud Playlists

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Sat, 09 Dec 2023 00:20:00 +0000

Listen to my sounds of summer podcasts this year its 'the last full moon'... last year was 'batch virus radio'...

www.repeater-radio.com · Nicola Morton presents The Last Full Moon

www.repeater-radio.com · Batch Virus Radio

New show on Repeater-Radio.com

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 00:05:00 +0000

#capitalistrealism

still lives on in THE LAST FULL MOON - I'm a bit detached from community at the moment, so instead of continuing with Batch Virus Radio - I'm doing a small series while I am death durga-ing with my mum.

sounds from a past apocalypse - what songs you want to hear when its the end of the world? or simply what songs were you listening to at the last full moon.. This is astrology that looks back to your recent sound ghosts.

First ep looks back on the blue moon on August 31.. - For me it signalled a change of plans - which is really what this whole radio series is about for me too - a purgatory from community and social media, but some introspective time with my mum and the moon.

https://on.soundcloud.com/MC6kX

You can also listen to old Batch Virus Radio shows here

https://repeater-radio.com/shows/batch-virus-radio/

Club Sound Witches NEW CASSETTE on Tropical Cancer Rort

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 00:02:00 +0000

New cassette entitled 'Hot Compost' is out on Meanjin/Brisbane based label 'Tropical Cancer Rort.'

There's 6 remaining on bandcamp (and/or digital) or buy it from us at one of our live shows in October..

October 21 - Atapos Rave

October 23 - Season 3 Instrumens with US legends Seymore Glass and People Person

New Release: We Were Made For Loving You

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 02:02:00 +0000

Spotify ::: Bandcamp

We Were Made For Loving You from Club Weld Studio is a stunning loose web of

conversational lyrics, drones, affirmations, ethereal howls and pop radio references.

Chris Stiles’ singular voice evokes John Lydon circa Metal Box/The Flowers of Romance, but

ultimately defies easy categorisation.

Anthony Talarico contributes radical, expressive drums, and slyly unpredictable singing.

The sounds of the collaboration can be chaotic, but We Were Made For Loving You is approachable

and inviting – the noise of life, discovery, connection.

Nicola Morton’s beautiful, naturalistic production gives the listener an unencumbered perspective

on Stiles and Talarico’s Parramatta jams… Dubbed at breakdancethedawn studio.

1. Talk To Me

The opening track establishes the album’s M.O; seemingly unrelated parts which fit together

perfectly. In this instance, Chris Stiles’ whimsical vocal interjections, Anthony Talarico’s free

associational whimsy ride on top of programmed drums, jazzy keys and guitar harmonics.

Talarico’s “I like to drink coffee, I like KISS also” gives a hint as to the origin of the album title.

2. Zoom Jam 1

Recorded over the internet in three different towns during the April 2020 lockdown, this skeletal

improv evokes the confusion of that period. Tied together insistent trumpet-sounds, this haunting

piece is a great introduction to the expressive beauty of Chris Stiles’ voice.

3. Sway

Sway brings a distinctly humid atmosphere, complete with jazzy rimshots, ominous synths,

whimsical vocals and half-heard conversations. Eugene Ward’s jazzy electric piano, Nicola Morton’s

insistent bass complete this unique sound world, and provide the ideal backdrop for Talarico &

Stiles…

4. Thunder

The opening synths briefly evoke an excessive era of southern hip hop, before ‘Thunder’ rattles off

into ominous, electric territory. Guest collaborator Samar Salameh contributes guest vocals and

guitar and adds to the heavy atmosphere.

5. Steven

Following on from Alice Cooper, Taylor Swift and The Grateful Dead’s ‘Steven’ songs, Talarico &

Stiles’ contribution to the tradition is full of free-associational joy. This duet references Richie Valens,

Bobby McFerrin and spring rolls, and it is again offset by Eugene Ward’s keys.

“Do not break a light…it’s dangerous.”

6. Zoom Jam 2

Another off-site jam, featuring clacking percussion from Anthony Talarico. Recorded in Epping,

Merrylands, Spencer and Cattai. Despite the desolate sonics, the recording is indicative of the Club

Weld studio’s love of music and will to overcome the considerable obstacles to collaboration

presented by the pandemic.

7. Dawn

Stiles’ flexible, siren-like vocals are the standout of this beautiful piece of exotica. Talarico’s freeform

drum explosions interrupt the droning, hypnotic mood.

8. LvM3Tndr

“Please don’t cry”. This lovely, telepathic improvisation ends the album as it started – sounding like

nothing and nobody else.

Club Weld Fundraising Campaign - 2 weeks to go

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 04:30:00 +0000

We are halfway to our $15k goal for Club Weld's program next year.

We are proudly independant of NDIS, and a free service for musicians on the autism spectrum in Western Sydney.

https://ice.org.au/donate-to-club-weld/

Batch Virus Radio on Repeater Radio

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Mon, 09 May 2022 07:01:00 +0000

The mind-heart exploding, Repeater Books has a Radio Station that I am so stoked to be a part of.

You can catch Batch Virus Radio here:

The format is where we start with requests from the Batch Virus community - think New Age Noise Collective, Western Sydney POC-X and then I get to play a few tunes and end up with a couple of live sets from myself and Del Lumanta.

BatchVirus 4 Release

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 00:02:00 +0000

For bleeding hearts, woke mother-fuckers and future punks who listen to more than HC – Batch Virus 4 is a small edition tape and digital download release of experimental sounds by female and non-binary, culturally diverse artists living on Darug country (Western Sydney). It will be released for one month only from13 January, 2022 on Bandcamp. This label is brought to you by Nicola Morton (Breakdance the Dawn, New Age Noise, Club Weld, Club Sound Witches).

Media Access is here.

1 minute Audio Preview Here

Break in 2022 by remembering how fucked 2021 was. Buy Batch Virus 4 and safely let it go 😊 Recorded in 2021 during Western Sydney’s ‘tougher restrictions.’ These releases contain no shouting - just 19 minutes of regret, distaste for government crackdowns on youth, sadness and attitude – sentiments we can all relate to in the last year.

Let’s listen to something that dared come out of the mould. These 4 artists breakdown stereotypes of their locality, cultures and genders.

· BV4.1 – Okuesha Kills – interspersing guitar licks with ambient sounds, chords and vox pops. She provides an aural snapshot of the opposing feelings of isolation and community. Okuesha Kills is also an emerging media artist and has a residency at PACT in 2022. Think Laurel Halo…

· BV 4.2 – Wytchings – An up and coming dark electronica artist. On this release she makes the simmering mind audible, putting to rest the subtle insults we push past each day. She has released tracks on Urban Cowboy, Lazy Thinking Records and New Weird Australia. Think Arca, Jlin…

· BV 4.3 – Tru’ – More than princesses believe in pop, and pop stars still have punk attitudes. The emotive pop experiment of Tru’ sits between these noise offerings, as a symbol of the supportive, multi-faceted community, New Age Noise Collective. When you take the Northern Beaches pop sound (Julia Stone et al) and place it in Parramatta.

· BV 4.4 – Sol Yoga – Sol takes us on a dystopian walk during lockdown featuring a recording made of a modular jam made in Blacktown Arts Centre and themselves cutting sick on Sol Show on Radio Skid Row. Attitude level = Peaches, 100 gecs.

Put these tapes on your dystopian future shopping list. With design by affordable minimalist fashion label, Chainmail (Gillian Kayrooz and Natalie Huifen) – you are buying in to a digital future throwback. Won’t digital and viruses look nostalgic when we are all ‘meta!’

Contact:

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com

Insta: @nicolaisgreat

Kid's You Tube Poop: Southern Cross News, Nickelodeon, Wiggles, Muppets

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Sat, 25 Sep 2021 03:28:00 +0000

Kate and I have been watching lots of TV during lockdown.

Mostly like the rest of you we have been watching lots of TV and for us in regional NSW that means Southern Cross 10 News Regional. Here is Kate's tribute..

We also made some YouTube Poop featuring Nickelodeon cartoons, Wiggles, Sponge Bob and Beaker the Muppet.

RUOK Karaoke by Club Weld 4pm Thursday September 9

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 03:32:00 +0000

In honour of the challenging circumstances for neurodiverse artists in lockdown in NSW. Our music studio, Club Weld is holding a Karaoke Afternoon for RUOK Day.

You're invited to RU OK KARAOKE!

Join the wonderful Club Weld musicians and their special guests The Motel Sisters for an afternoon karaoke party in your living room.

We’ll be singing Club Weld songs plus some classics. Lyrics on screen. Bad voice? Can't wait to hear it!

Get the Zoom link for RU OK KARAOKE! by registering through this Eventbrite page.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/ru-ok-karaoke-tickets-169196281633

Here is us having a go at 'Fall At Your Feet' by Crowded House.

You Tube Poop Update: Kate Field Collaborations

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 02:56:00 +0000

I've been working still with Kate Field on YTP and singing.

We have made an original 'Simpson Bay'

And a couple of music video mash ups of Kates favourite cartoons

And more..

Skinner Boys Sing Sometimes by Anthony Callea - https://youtu.be/q-WqDTduoA4

Teenage Fairy Tale Dropouts Sing La Da Dee by Cody Simpson - https://youtu.be/kkzfFOW95vw

And for more...

Check out her YouTube Frenchikins channel

Club Sound Witches Cassette on Knotwilg Records (Belgium)

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 02:53:00 +0000

For Physical Orders:

https://www.knotwilgrecords.be/product-page/club-sound-witches-i-speed-st-cass

For Digital

https://knotwilg.bandcamp.com/album/steep-st

Club Sound Witches are an Australian outfit bursting out music the last couple of years regular as a clock. The equivalent of Mosquitoes in a techno matter if you want. That is: if you take the deconstructivism into a techno level. It's like bubbling into a 16rpm Chain Reaction party. A haze of vocals buried deep in a wavering fields of electronics with a beat which is obliterated into a kind of ambient-drone but way to sharp to keep it safe for purists.

Up Close and Personal: Nicola Morton and Matt Earle

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 00:41:00 +0000

Thanks to Lucas Abela for organising 10 of Australia's most creative musicans for these 3 hour long shows!! It was very honouring to be in amongst such a diverse range of musicians I know and admire, such as Phantom Chips, Laura Altman, Papaphilia, Loosey Cruche, Monica Brooks and Shoeb Ahmad. I was also happy to become acquainted with Eric Avery and Graham King. Thanks to Nick Dan for this Live Pic of me, using the EEG and theremin and Push.

https://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/up-close-and-personal

Bad Internet Video Series

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 22:39:00 +0000

A blinking smile – a face frozen in time. That moment where you know you missed something or caught something that was not meant to be seen…

Our frustrations with the fallibility of the internet play out in Nicola Morton‘s Bad Internet. In this series of video and audio recordings, Morton uses Zoom to document performances by artists Kate Brown and Mark Brown. These disjointed records ask the viewer to find beauty in the degraded artefact.
Bad Internet furthers Morton’s process of modifying performance documentation based on the strength of the Wi-Fi connection at the scene of capture.

This series was commissioned by Our Neon Foe and presented as part of No Show.

STSTARI Opening Show

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 05:10:00 +0000

Club Sound Witches playing premiere show at STST.ARI, Katoomba, Blue Mountains.

Flyer by @cdandco

Soft Pedal II: #Electricpulses Workshop with Nicola Morton

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 03:44:00 +0000

Funded by Create NSW, and in partnership with I.C.E, Blacktown Council and The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.

SOFT PEDAL II – #ELECTRICPULSES

NICOLA MORTON Masterclass

Discover the nuts and bolts of experimental electronic music in this one-day intensive Masterclass, exploring the theremin, and using Ableton, keyboards, and sample packs.

Suitable for emerging sound artists and sound enthusiasts, this Masterclass offers experimental music makers in greater western Sydney the chance to expand their skills, connect with other like-minded music-makers and upgrade their production skills.

Electronic artist Nicola Morton (Equalizer 24K) and synth genius Faith Chaza explore how electric pulses affect the pitch and velocity of sound to create frequency rhythms, guiding participants through the process of creating their own piece of sound art that they can take home.

Cost: Free
Facilitators: Nicola Morton and Faith Chaza
Age: 15 and over
Materials: Equipment provided but participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops/computers/equipment
Dates and times:
Saturday 13 March
11 am to 5 pm
At the Leo Kelly Blacktown Art Centre

Book here:

'Bad Internet' Video Series @our_neon_foe IG FB SC

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 06:46:00 +0000

A blinking smile - a face frozen in time in our Zoom meeting. That moment where you know you missed something or caught something that was not meant to be caught...

PREMIERING ON:

16 February: @our_neon_foe Instagram

18 February: @ourneonfoe Soundcloud

19 February: @ourneonfoe Facebook

In "Bad Internet," a series of video and audio recordings, we see our frustrations with the fallibility of the Internet played out. The audience is asked to find beauty in the stillness and/or degraded artefact rather than FOMO. My previous work series "Wireless Psychics Experiments #1-10 " also arose out of bad internet frustration. For example, one of the performances was a challenge to pick the spot in the room with the strongest Wi-Fi signal. And within that performance, I found a love for the chance of glitch in performance documentation.

Nicola Morton. WPE (The Photos) (iii), 2015. Digital photo print, 12” x 8”. Photo by Alan Warren.

Nicola Morton. Wireless Psychics Experiment #5 (2015-10-13). hyper-Linked video, 1:29 (left), text (right). http://moonpsychics.com/content/pages-newmoon/20151013.html.

In 2020, video conferencing has entered the everyday and most of us have experienced a frozen face from time to time..

For examples of video glitching in Zoom see https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tDpuCJwkkldsFO5IzWAHtmhJ2sA1zPuX/view?usp=sharing
And examples of audio/music glitching in zoom https://breakdancethedawn.bandcamp.com/album/bdtd275-bogweed-tape-club-zombie-business and https://youtu.be/XI6ZgeCj1T8

The first two video and/or audio artefacts in the “Bad Internet” series will come from recordings of performances by Kate Brown and Mark Brown at Carriageworks for Our Neon Foe.

Curated Live Streams at G-u-m-m-i.net

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 06:46:00 +0000

I've curated a few nights for g-u-m-m-i.net

Video Archive available (click on live pic for link to video):

Club Sound Witches:

DJ Mutable Karat

Video archive available at (click on pic for link to video on g-u-m-m-i.net):

2020 Live Stream: Make It Up Club

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Sat, 23 Jan 2021 05:35:00 +0000

Club Sound Witches: Live Streamed improvised club/head music/video art for Make It Up Club, Melbourne

2020: YouTube Poop Collaboration with Kate Field

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 03:41:00 +0000

During 2020, I've been collaborating with Kate Field, a fantastic singer that I work with also in Club Weld (pictured below, photo by Lyndal Irons), but this time making YouTube Poop. Kate has an amazing sense of humour and I've had a complete blast making this YTP with her.

This is our first.

and then we did a special 2020 news broadcast of how it feels to be Kate in 2020!

And here are some other food -cartoon and song inspired YTPs

https://youtu.be/ckoP5g3J1vg - Spaghetti Bolognaise

https://youtu.be/tB6VEPJ7qio - On my pond - a song about litter bugs..

https://youtu.be/-UmAjrLbDLA Barefoot Bandits Cartoon takes over Pasta Song

2020 Music Physical Releases and Digital Recap

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 07:39:00 +0000

Breakdance The Dawn

BDTD 275 - Bogweed Tape Club - highlights of our weekly COVID ZOOM Jams
BDTD 269 - Club Sound Witches

(contact breakdancethedawn@hotmail.com for mail order)

Club Sound Witches

https://shamefilemusic.bandcamp.com/album/freakinmeout

Equalizer 24K

https://equalizer24k.bandcamp.com/ - Owned By Facebook

Compilation

https://icemusic.bandcamp.com/album/new-age-noise-constellation-2 - Nicola Morton

Youtubes

https://youtu.be/jjwwbQGkHio - Without Doors Live - January 2020, Matt Earle, James Heighway, Nicola Morton
https://youtu.be/7uCZBbwoQRQ - Club Sound Witches - Live at the Bowlo - April 18, 2020
https://youtu.be/Ez4ReODdflE - MIUC Online Concert - Club Sound Witches - November 24, 2020

Soundcloud

https://soundcloud.com/nicolaisgreat/sets/romantic-grasses
https://soundcloud.com/water_closet/club-sound-witches-live-wc-4

NEW AGE NOISE YouTube Interviews

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Wed, 01 Jul 2020 03:31:00 +0000

And Next up we have Aless, who is a big fan of Paramore, who I remember running online marketing campaigns for at Fox Digital.. (I often romanticise we first met via xml data)

And Alison.. who is a smartie who will go far.

MUSIC JOURNO: NEW AGE NOISE YOUTUBE INTERVIEWS Pt1

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 23:54:00 +0000

I have always been passionate about music, and it has been my delight to interview some of the under-represented young artists I've been working with in Western Sydney..

This is the first 2 of 6 interviews.. and its to help promote the new mixtape at https://icemusic.bandcamp.com/album/new-age-noise-constellation-2

Here's the first couple with a rapper that makes me laugh and inspires me all the time, Biggie Deez.. and experimental guitarist who I've performed with, Okuesha Kills.

1 WEEK TO GO: New Age Noise Compilation Launch

nicolaisgreat@gmail.com (Nicola Morton) — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 05:25:00 +0000

I've spent 4+ years working with amazing young artists from Western Sydney. We are releasing a compilation (I'm on it, too) on June 25, 2020. Please check out these interviews I did with some of the other fantastic producers on the compilation...