Hi and welcome to the 2nd track from my new project "Then She Reaches For The Gun". Firstly I wanna say BIG BIG thanks to all the people around the world that have sent me files to be part of this ongoing fun… I am currently working on track 3 and all the recent recruits will feature in that.

 “All Roads Lead To the Carpark” was finished before the callout so it’s line up is the same bunch of crazy talent as track One except for Carolyn Wigston stepping down from vocals and the formidable Paolo D’Emilio taking her place with a little rant in Italian and English about speaking in Italian and English : ) Neska Wigston is also having a rest from barking duties : )

The project’s inspiration is two fold: Firstly its a homage to some of the stuff i grew up listening to like Mr. Bungle and other noisy bastards where anything goes, and often in quick fire succession and secondly it” a chance to work with an never ending stream of talented musicians that i have known for years either in real life Australia or via the Internet. Each track will no doubt change depending on who has sent me what. 

All Roads Lead To the Carpark features 

Paolo D’Emilio (Italy) - Vocals
Dane Renshaw ( Australia/Japan) - Drums
Primaloops (Australia) - Drums/Percussion
Frank Wilke (Germany) - Trumpet
Paul Miller(U.S.A) - Keyboards
Dani Kirby (Australia) - Piano
Juan A Miñana (Canary Islands) - Electronics
Phil Bywater - Tenor Sax
Glenn Ward - Guitar
Me - Bass Guitar/Noise/arrangement

If you would like to be part of this…….

The process is simple, I collect a bunch of random recordings from people and then see what i can arrange from it. Nothing subtle here, just huge noisy fun : ) I am open to anyone that thinks they might like to be part of this mess. Drop me a message and i will send you my email. The only criteria is that i wont be using samples from TV/film/other music etc, so just original stuff played on instruments, field recordings, stupid drunk conversations etc. Cheers!

All Roads Lead To The Carpark

Dani and Mat not quite being background music for a midday gig at Mona Wine Bar as people chatted, drank and nibbled before descending into the Museum that is MONA. Thanks to those there and MONA music staff for a wonderful sunny winters day in Tasmania

LIVE@MONA Wine Bar   Kirby/Ward

Occasional collaborators as a duo and as part of Aporia  - https://soundcloud.com/no-mates-ensemble/aporia-1
Softlands - Guitar/Ebow/Synth/Music Box
No Mates - Bass/Glicthy Noise/Piano

Late, Then Never - Softlands/No Mates Ensemble

Aporia is an ongoing Internet collab project based around the piano/bass duo 'KIrby/Ward'. Occasionally we capture something at rehearsal that we send to dummer Dane Renshaw (Japan) and guitarist Bruce Musser (U.S.A) to add their respective talents too. Its usually pretty spacious and dreamy : ) This time however the piece we sent out was really busy and instead of trying to pare it back we thought fuck it lets go full hog and make it super busy. So we asked Guitarist Axel Weiß (Germany)and Saxophonist Phil Bywater (Australia) to join the party. So The sextet was born. Of note is that none of the players heard any other parts of the work other than the original Piano/Bass recording, and in the  case of the Saxophones poor Phil didn't hear anything at all! I just used some work he had sent me. So all those nuanced interactions are complete sonic chance. as always Aporia may or may not record more music

Aporia #3 (Sextet)

Ambergris
Ambergris is a 30 minute live performance based upon a 3-minute composition commissioned for the exhibition Apologue Isle, shown at Contemporary Art Tasmania in October and November 2024. The performance combined an extrapolated version of the original composition ( built from field recordings) with improvised bass guitar. Big Thanks to Andy Hutson for commissioning my piece and for creating Apologue Isle
 
Live footage of Ambergris - https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1035385453
Apologue Isle Website - https://www.apologueisle.com/

Apologue Isle
An apologue is a moral fable, often using animals or non-human entities as the primary drivers of narrative.  The ‘apple isle’ was a nickname given to lutruwita/Tasmania to highlight the importance of the state’s apple export industry; with the first apple trees being planted by colonist William Bligh in 1788. These trees mark the beginning of industrial agriculture and extractive industry, and their subsequent impacts on the landscape and original inhabitants of lutruwita.   From these converging starting points, Apologue Isle aims to reframe the human perspective and create new stories that propose a world inhabited not by humans battling nature, but a complex, entwined system of objects, beings and space.  After many conceptual iterations, the project eventually began as an invitation. Five writers were asked to create a new story, with two simple requirements: it must refer to the natural world, and at least one character must be non-human. These stories were then transformed into sets, puppets were built, music composed and narration recorded.     The project unfolded like a surrealist exquisite corpse, each person building on the work of the one before, whilst retaining creative control over their own work. This aimed to enhance a sense of trust between collaborators through the giving over of ownership and acceptance of the other’s intent. 
The result is five unique stories, told through an unexpected array of characters, that reflect on what it means to live in our world at this moment in history. And alongside these stories is a burgeoning community of creative individuals, brought together through the shared ideas and ethics of the project.

Apologue Isle - Ambergris (Live Snippet)

Then She Reaches For The Gun was a one off project, bringing together more than 50 artists from across the globe, releasing an album in late 2022 nomatesensemble.bandcamp.com/album/the-…ely-future But it was so much fun we are back for more.

The following artists collaborated on All The Dogs You Have Ever Loved Will Be Waiting For You In The Afterlife 

Dogs

Boogie
Brophy
Buddy 
Hancho 
Jack
Momo
Neska
Poldo
Senna  
Shyamsundara
Star

Oily (a cat)

Humans

Carolyn Wigston - Voice
Dane Renshaw - Drums
Garbage Truck Disco - Joyous Power Punk Outro
Hverheij- Electric Guitar 
Loop(c)y - Electric Guitar 
Paolo D’Emilio - Electronica
Robert Jefferson - Yamaha PSRE403 Keyboard, Melodica, Percussion 
The Windscale Blues Experiment - Clarinet/Flute/Soprano Saxophone
Thomas Bergheim - Bass Guitar
Timothy Korstad - Demonic Intro Left Channel
Tuonela - Demonic Intro Right Channel 
W:I:L-o’ the -wisp - Electric Guitar
Mat Ward - Arrangement/Marimba/Noise

All The Dogs You Ever Loved Will Be Waiting For You In The Afterlife

Then She Reaches for the Gun was formed in 2021 by Mat Ward. At its essence is sound collage, experimentation and the desire to merge and defy genres. Ward invites musicians, sound artists, poets and anyone interested to send him files to be used, abused and showcased ‘as suggested by the work’. They are not always musical but field recordings, spoken word, engine noises and drunken rants. Animals participate a lot too! The raw material is arranged one phrase asks for the next in an alchemical and intuitive process that will most often feature dozens of tracks weaving in and out of each other, colliding, harmonising, arguing and laughing along the way.

Both the aesthetic and the compositional methods use what Frank Zappa called Xenochrony - the mixing together of separately recorded and rhythmically opposing musical phrases to create polyrhythmic and polytempi compositions.The work also features fragmented story telling with the human voice (in many languages) appearing unannounced throughout the tracks offering up snippets of thoughts, conversations, jokes and existential angst. The absurdity of humanities desperate claim to have any real understanding of its place in the universe is revealed through the recorded follies and genuine emotions of the participants in these works. The project is a celebration of experimentation, chance, diversity and community. It pays homage to all musical tastes and genres whilst maintaining a sense of humour and irreverence that is needed to stay sane in the climate of early 21st Century contemporary culture.

I Am Never Freer Than When I Am With You features the following artists

Humans

Adam Meredith - Ford XD with XF front mods/Voice
Ambient Annie - Electronica/Field Recording/Voice
Andrew Harper - Field Recordings
Angostura Elwar -  2 x Behringer CRAVE analog synths/Yamaha P200 electronic piano 
Antonella Eye Porcelluzzi - Text/Voice
Ariad Music - Clarinet/Percussion/Piano
Axel Weiß - Electric Guitar/Robot Voices
Banalytic - experimental Electronics
Belial Pelgrim - Digital Strings/Electronica
Brendan Corey Benson - Electric Guitar
Carolyn Wigston - Voice
Chicago Word Brigade - Electronica
Dan Hewins - Bass Guitar
Dane Renshaw - Drums/Voice
Dani Kirby - Keyboard/Piano/Voice
Dylan Banks - Intonarumori/Voice
Frank Wilke - French Horn/Trombone/Voice
Garbage Truck Disco - Drum programming/Electric Guitar/Joyous Pop Punk
Glenn Ward - Electric Guitar/Skyhooks
Hakan - Moog Voyager XL
Hverheij- Drums/Electric Guitar/Synth
Johnny Python- Bass Guitar/Drum Programming/Electric Guitar/Text/Voice
JZsuperstar - Electric Guitar/Field Recordings/Keyboards
Lady ElectroTrek - Organ
Libby Laksmi - Jazzy Loops/Synth Bass
Loop(c)y - Electric Guitar
Malo Bernard-O’Meara - Drums
Maxx Black - Guitar/Ukulele
Minimal Drone Girl - Cat Wrangling/Field Recordings
Oberlin - Eurorack/Piano
Paolo D’Emilio - Electronica
Paul Miller - Electronic Percussion/Keyboards/Phat Electro Bass
Phil Bywater - Saxophones/Voice
Raul Mainer - DAW Programming/Heavy Metal
Robert Jefferson - Akai Rhythm wolf/GakkenSX-150 ll/Korg Kaosilator/Percussion
Rosin Dust - Violin/Field Recordings
Sarah Megahertz - Speedway Noise
Scratch Kelly - Beats/Electronica
Stan Magendanz - Electronica
Ten Atmospheres - Field Recordings/Synths
Texmex Shaman - Electric Guitar
The Windscale Blues Experiment - Clarinet/Flute/Saxophones
Timothy Korstad - Demons/Electronica
Thomas Bergheim - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar
Tobias Schmitt - Electronica/Processed Organ/Text
Tuonela - Demons/Electronica
Vartch - Drones/Things/Trousers (not T-shirts)/Voice
Widar’s Spiritual Front - Electronica/Ms Pacman
W:I:L-o’ the-wisp - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar/Electronica
Wivresse - Electronica/Voice
Zanshin - Acoustic and Processed Drums

Mat Ward - Arrangements/Bass Guitar/Double Bass/Field Recordings/Intonarumori/Marimba/Noise/Percussion/Piano

Dogs
Boogie
Brophy
Buddy
Hancho
Jack
Momo
Neska
Poldo
Senna
Shyamsundara
Star

Oily (cat)
And many cows from Milis, Sardinia

I Am Never Freer Than When I Am With You

As part of the Ten Days On The Island Festival, Tasmania in April 2025 The Intonarumori Trio got asked to perfrom at The opening of "When The Fog Clears" ( in which I had a sound installation exhibited). This little snipper is from the warm up rehearsal, recorded in a vast open room  with concrete floor and ceiling the sound played and bounced around. We haven't played togather for a bit over a year so it great to shake off the dust here before hitting the festival - and that bang at the end is the sound of an Intonarumori snapping a string !! Some live recordings of Ten Days On The Island will be be uploaded in the coming weeks. VivA Russolo : )

Intonarumori Trio - Prelude To A Festival

A new track from the New album.... https://nomatesensemble.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-never-freer-than-when-i-am-with-you
Contemporary Eyebrows features the following artists 
Banalytic - Noise
Chicago Word Brigade - Electronica
Cowbells - The Cows of Milis, Sardinia
Dan Hewins - Bass Guitar
Dane Renshaw - Drums/Field Recordings
Dani Kirby - Counting/Piano
Dylan Banks - Outside with Beer
Fly Nightmares - Post Punk Prog
Hverheij- Modified DD
Lady ElectroTrek - Organ
Maxx Black - Ukulele
Oberlin - Eurorack
Paul Miller - Keyboards
Raul Mainer - Heavy Metal
Rosin Dust - Violins
Stan Magendanz - Electronica
Timothy Korstad - Electronica
Thomas Bergheim - Electric Guitar
Wivresse - Voice
Zanshin - Processed Drums

Mat Ward - Arrangement/Intonarumori/Not Counting or In Tune

Contemporary Eyebrows

Aporia is an ongoing Internet collab project based around the piano/bass duo 'Kirby/Ward'. Occasionally we capture something at rehearsal that we send to dummer Dane Renshaw (Japan) and guitarist Bruce Musser (U.S.A) to add their respective talents too. Its usually pretty spacious and dreamy : ) For this track we added the talents of Dylan Banks playing the Intonarumori as it seemed the least likely instrument ( and therefore most fun)  to suit this pseudo jazz jam extraction. As always Aporia may or may not record more music

Aporia #4

Another snippet from Califo Paean, this time featuring bass guitar fighting for its life amongst the reverb. 

Caligo Paean is a 1 hour long sound piece installed on river front property in the town of Franklin, Tasmania as part of the exhibition "When The Fog Clears". It formed part of the Ten Days on The Island Festival March 2025.
The work was installed in several locations across the property including a stack of subs under an old bus, in the main exhibition space and in an abandoned shed some 40 metres from the main area . The speakers were 'tuned' quite differently depending on their location and the sound was not delay corrected with the result of each mini-installation merging with each other in odd sonic ways - kind of calling the listener from one spot to another. The the work features field recordings, percussion, piano, bass guitar and Intonarumori as well as this special one off choir : )

Caligo is the Ancient goddess of Chaos. Born of the fog she controls the darkness, dwells in the void and is as old as the primordial matter that created the universe. This work is a tribute to the goddess as she continues to influence our lives and, in the case of this installation, the site and concept informing the show.

Official press release below for The Fog Clears

Every day, the mists of the Huon Valley perform a seductive dance, gently obscuring and revealing contours of the fertile land and waters. Situated in The Watershed Franklin, When The Fog Clears features six artists from lutruwita / Tasmania exploring the region’s iconic mists through a variety of mediums including installation, sculpture, illustration, sound, and video.

Developed exclusively for Franklin, this exhibit extends from the waterfront itself into the chambers, kilns, and rafters of the shed, inviting visitors to consider fog as an atmosphere that can cloak us in unexpected ways.


image credit: Rosie Hastie

Caligo Paean (Bass solo)

winter time festival fun in Tasmania- it was COLD and Dani and I thought we had been a bit pretty with our Live offerings lately so we decided to bring the noise for this little gig, so fair warning... there is some rude nosies ahead : ) Always a pleasure

Kirby/Ward LIVE @ Good Grief Studios/Dark Mofo festival

released in Jan 2025 - https://nomatesensemble.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-never-freer-than-when-i-am-with-you. 


Then She Reaches for the Gun was formed in 2021 by Mat Ward. At its essence is sound collage, Ward invites musicians, sound artists, poets and anyone interested to send him files to be used, abused and showcased ‘as suggested by the work’. They are not always musical but field recordings, spoken word, engine noises and drunken rants. Animals participate a lot too! The raw material is arranged with one phrase asking for the next in an alchemical and intuitive process that will most often feature dozens of tracks weaving in and out of each other, colliding, harmonising, arguing and laughing along the way.

Both the aesthetic and the compositional methods use what Frank Zappa called Xenochrony - the mixing together of separately recorded and rhythmically opposing musical phrases to create polyrhythmic and polytempi compositions.The work also features fragmented story telling with the human voice (in many languages) appearing unannounced throughout the tracks offering up snippets of thoughts, conversations, jokes and existential angst. The absurdity of humanities desperate claim to have any real understanding of its place in the universe is revealed through the recorded follies and genuine emotions of the artists. The project is a celebration of chance, diversity and community. It pays homage to all musical tastes and genres whilst maintaining a sense of humour and irreverence that is needed to stay sane in the climate of  21st Century contemporary culture.

Then She Reaches For The Gun is

Humans

Adam Meredith - Ford XD with XF front mods/Voice
Ambient Annie - Electronica/Field Recording/Voice
Andrew Harper - Field Recordings
Angostura Elwar -  2 x Behringer CRAVE analog synths/Yamaha P200 electronic piano 
Antonella Eye Porcelluzzi - Text/Voice
Ariad Music - Clarinet/Percussion/Piano
Axel Weiß - Electric Guitar/Robot Voices
Banalytic - Experimental Electronics
Belial Pelgrim - Digital Strings/Electronica
Brendan Corey Benson - Electric Guitar
Carolyn Wigston - Voice
Chicago Word Brigade - Electronica
Dan Hewins - Bass Guitar
Dane Renshaw - Drums/Voice
Dani Kirby - Keyboard/Piano/Voice
Dylan Banks - Intonarumori/Voice
Frank Wilke - French Horn/Trombone/Voice
Garbage Truck Disco - Drum programming/Electric Guitar/Joyous Pop Punk
Glenn Ward - Electric Guitar/Skyhooks
Hakan - Moog Voyager XL
Hverheij- Drums/Electric Guitar/Synth
Johnny Python- Bass Guitar/Drum Programming/Electric Guitar/Text/Voice
JZsuperstar - Electric Guitar/Field Recordings/Keyboards
Lady ElectroTrek - Organ
Libby Laksmi - Jazzy Loops/Synth Bass
Loop(c)y - Electric Guitar
Malo Bernard-O’Meara - Drums
Maxx Black - Guitar/Ukulele
Minimal Drone Girl - Cat Wrangling/Field Recordings
Oberlin - Eurorack/Piano
Paolo D’Emilio - Electronica
Paul Miller - Electronic Percussion/Keyboards/Phat Electro Bass
Phil Bywater - Saxophones/Voice
Raul Mainer - DAW Programming/Heavy Metal
Robert Jefferson - Akai Rhythm wolf/GakkenSX-150 ll/Korg Kaosilator/Percussion
Rosin Dust - Violin/Field Recordings
Sarah Megahertz - Speedway Noise
Scratch Kelly - Beats/Electronica
Stan Magendanz - Electronica
Ten Atmospheres - Field Recordings/Synths
Texmex Shaman - Electric Guitar
The Windscale Blues Experiment - Clarinet/Flute/Saxophones
Timothy Korstad - Demons/Electronica
Thomas Bergheim - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar
Tobias Schmitt - Electronica/Processed Organ/Text
Tuonela - Demons/Electronica
Vartch - Drones/Things/Trousers (not T-shirts)/Voice
Widar’s Spiritual Front - Electronica/Ms Pacman
W:I:L-o’ the-wisp - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar/Electronica
Wivresse - Electronica/Voice
Zanshin - Acoustic and Processed Drums

Mat Ward - Arrangements/Bass Guitar/Double Bass/Field Recordings/Intonarumori/Marimba/Noise/Percussion/Piano

Dogs
Boogie
Brophy
Buddy
Hancho
Jack
Momo
Neska
Poldo
Senna
Shyamsundara
Star
Oily (cat)
And many cows from Milis, Sardinia

Cooking Hard Boiled Eggs in a Cheap Motel In Adelaide part 3

Another snippet from Caligo Paean, darker in tone to evoke the power Of Caligo, who wasn't just in charge of mist but ruled the domain of chaos. 

Caligo Paean is a 1 hour long sound piece installed on river front property in the town of Franklin, Tasmania as part of the exhibition "When The Fog Clears". It formed part of the Ten Days on The Island Festival March 2025.
The work was installed in several locations across the property including a stack of subs under an old bus, in the main exhibition space and in an abandoned shed some 40 metres from the main area . The speakers were 'tuned' quite differently depending on their location and the sound was not delay corrected with the result of each mini-installation merging with each other in odd sonic ways - kind of calling the listener from one spot to another. The the work features field recordings, percussion, piano, bass guitar and Intonarumori as well as this special one off choir : )

Caligo is the Ancient goddess of Chaos. Born of the fog she controls the darkness, dwells in the void and is as old as the primordial matter that created the universe. This work is a tribute to the goddess as she continues to influence our lives and, in the case of this installation, the site and concept informing the show.

Official press release below for The Fog Clears

Every day, the mists of the Huon Valley perform a seductive dance, gently obscuring and revealing contours of the fertile land and waters. Situated in The Watershed Franklin, When The Fog Clears features six artists from lutruwita / Tasmania exploring the region’s iconic mists through a variety of mediums including installation, sculpture, illustration, sound, and video.

Developed exclusively for Franklin, this exhibit extends from the waterfront itself into the chambers, kilns, and rafters of the shed, inviting visitors to consider fog as an atmosphere that can cloak us in unexpected ways.

Caligo Paean (The Abyss Calls)

a little snippet from the other night. Somewhat contrasting the extreme noise of our last SC post : ) Still making use of this wonderful space and Grand Piano, no doubt we will get asked to leave at some stage, but until then happy days : )

Kirby/Ward  Organ Room Jam # 27

released in Jan 2025 - nomatesensemble.bandcamp.com/album/i-am…m-with-you.

Then She Reaches for the Gun was formed in 2021 by Mat Ward. At its essence is sound collage, Ward invites musicians, sound artists, poets and anyone interested to send him files to be used, abused and showcased ‘as suggested by the work’. They are not always musical but field recordings, spoken word, engine noises and drunken rants. Animals participate a lot too! The raw material is arranged with one phrase asking for the next in an alchemical and intuitive process that will most often feature dozens of tracks weaving in and out of each other, colliding, harmonising, arguing and laughing along the way.

Both the aesthetic and the compositional methods use what Frank Zappa called Xenochrony - the mixing together of separately recorded and rhythmically opposing musical phrases to create polyrhythmic and polytempi compositions.The work also features fragmented story telling with the human voice (in many languages) appearing unannounced throughout the tracks offering up snippets of thoughts, conversations, jokes and existential angst. The absurdity of humanities desperate claim to have any real understanding of its place in the universe is revealed through the recorded follies and genuine emotions of the artists. The project is a celebration of chance, diversity and community. It pays homage to all musical tastes and genres whilst maintaining a sense of humour and irreverence that is needed to stay sane in the climate of 21st Century contemporary culture.

Then She Reaches For The Gun is

Humans

Adam Meredith - Ford XD with XF front mods/Voice
Ambient Annie - Electronica/Field Recording/Voice
Andrew Harper - Field Recordings
Angostura Elwar - 2 x Behringer CRAVE analog synths/Yamaha P200 electronic piano
Antonella Eye Porcelluzzi - Text/Voice
Ariad Music - Clarinet/Percussion/Piano
Axel Weiß - Electric Guitar/Robot Voices
Banalytic - Experimental Electronics
Belial Pelgrim - Digital Strings/Electronica
Brendan Corey Benson - Electric Guitar
Carolyn Wigston - Voice
Chicago Word Brigade - Electronica
Dan Hewins - Bass Guitar
Dane Renshaw - Drums/Voice
Dani Kirby - Keyboard/Piano/Voice
Dylan Banks - Intonarumori/Voice
Frank Wilke - French Horn/Trombone/Voice
Garbage Truck Disco - Drum programming/Electric Guitar/Joyous Pop Punk
Glenn Ward - Electric Guitar/Skyhooks
Hakan - Moog Voyager XL
Hverheij- Drums/Electric Guitar/Synth
Johnny Python- Bass Guitar/Drum Programming/Electric Guitar/Text/Voice
JZsuperstar - Electric Guitar/Field Recordings/Keyboards
Lady ElectroTrek - Organ
Libby Laksmi - Jazzy Loops/Synth Bass
Loop(c)y - Electric Guitar
Malo Bernard-O’Meara - Drums
Maxx Black - Guitar/Ukulele
Minimal Drone Girl - Cat Wrangling/Field Recordings
Oberlin - Eurorack/Piano
Paolo D’Emilio - Electronica
Paul Miller - Electronic Percussion/Keyboards/Phat Electro Bass
Phil Bywater - Saxophones/Voice
Raul Mainer - DAW Programming/Heavy Metal
Robert Jefferson - Akai Rhythm wolf/GakkenSX-150 ll/Korg Kaosilator/Percussion
Rosin Dust - Violin/Field Recordings
Sarah Megahertz - Speedway Noise
Scratch Kelly - Beats/Electronica
Stan Magendanz - Electronica
Ten Atmospheres - Field Recordings/Synths
Texmex Shaman - Electric Guitar
The Windscale Blues Experiment - Clarinet/Flute/Saxophones
Timothy Korstad - Demons/Electronica
Thomas Bergheim - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar
Tobias Schmitt - Electronica/Processed Organ/Text
Tuonela - Demons/Electronica
Vartch - Drones/Things/Trousers (not T-shirts)/Voice
Widar’s Spiritual Front - Electronica/Ms Pacman
W:I:L-o’ the-wisp - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar/Electronica
Wivresse - Electronica/Voice
Zanshin - Acoustic and Processed Drums

Mat Ward - Arrangements/Bass Guitar/Double Bass/Field Recordings/Intonarumori/Marimba/Noise/Percussion/Piano

Dogs
Boogie
Brophy
Buddy
Hancho
Jack
Momo
Neska
Poldo
Senna
Shyamsundara
Star
Oily (cat)
And many cows from Milis, Sardinia

Cooking Hard Boiled Eggs in a Cheap Motel In Adelaide Part 1

August 2025 Currently on residency in Italy ! 
These are 3 short sketches using field recordings captured around Montegiovi, Tuscany. With these little works I am experimenting freely with what can be produced from each days sounds -  manipulating them and stiching them back together with the aim of producing a long format work at the end of the residency. 
I am truly thankful for this opportunity that has been provided for me by the Salamanca Arts Centre in Tasmania and Cultivate Projects/La Baldi residency in Italy and The USA. 
And of course the wonderful people of Montegiovi ! 

Tuscany Experiments 1 - 3

August 2025 Currently on residency in Italy !
These are the 2nd batch of 3 short sketches using field recordings captured around Montegiovi, Tuscany. With these little works I am experimenting freely with what can be produced from each days sounds - manipulating them and stitching them back together with the aim of producing a long format work at the end of the residency. I have done a dozen or so since arriving a fortnight ago but not sharing them all (some are pretty rubbish). The idea is to have them done by the end of the day (or night) then move on to something fresh the next day. 
I am truly thankful for this opportunity that has been provided for me by the Salamanca Arts Centre in Tasmania and Cultivate Projects/La Baldi residency in Italy and The USA.
And of course the wonderful people of Montegiovi !

Tuscany Experiments 4- 6

August 2025 Currently on residency in Italy !
All sounds here (melody, texture, harmony, percussive sounds etc) are made from a field recording of the dogs in the valley below my balcony... well except for my whistle : ) 
They have been my sonic companions
Residency is coming to end, its been a month of complete experimentation with more than 20 little sketches done, all using field recordings captured around Montegiovi, Tuscany. With these little works I am experimenting freely with what can be produced from each days sounds - manipulating them and stitching them back together with the aim of producing a long format work at the end of the residency. The idea is to have them done by the end of the day (or night) then move on to something fresh the next day.
I am truly thankful for this opportunity that has been provided for me by the Salamanca Arts Centre in Tasmania and Cultivate Projects/La Baldi residency in Italy and The USA.
And of course the wonderful people of Montegiovi !

Tuscany Experiments - Whistling with the Dogs of Mount Amiata : )

August 2025 . The residency has just finished, heading home soon to start work on developing a couple of long format works from all the sound captures. 
These are the 3rd batch of 3 short sketches using field recordings captured around Montegiovi, Tuscany. With these little works I am experimenting freely with what can be produced from each days sounds - manipulating them and stitching them back together with the aim of producing a long format work at the end of the residency. I have done maybe 20 or so  since the beginning of August. The idea is to have them done by the end of the day (or night) then move on to something fresh the next day.
I am truly thankful for this opportunity that has been provided for me by the Salamanca Arts Centre in Tasmania and Cultivate Projects/La Baldi residency in Italy and The USA.
And of course the wonderful people of Montegiovi !

Tuscany Experiments  8 - 10

Part 4 of the final track of Then She Reaches For The Gun's 2nd Album
released in Jan 2025 - nomatesensemble.bandcamp.com/album/i-am…m-with-you.

Then She Reaches for the Gun was formed in 2021 by Mat Ward. At its essence is sound collage, Ward invites musicians, sound artists, poets and anyone interested to send him files to be used, abused and showcased ‘as suggested by the work’. They are not always musical but field recordings, spoken word, engine noises and drunken rants. Animals participate a lot too! The raw material is arranged with one phrase asking for the next in an alchemical and intuitive process that will most often feature dozens of tracks weaving in and out of each other, colliding, harmonising, arguing and laughing along the way.

Both the aesthetic and the compositional methods use what Frank Zappa called Xenochrony - the mixing together of separately recorded and rhythmically opposing musical phrases to create polyrhythmic and polytempi compositions.The work also features fragmented story telling with the human voice (in many languages) appearing unannounced throughout the tracks offering up snippets of thoughts, conversations, jokes and existential angst. The absurdity of humanities desperate claim to have any real understanding of its place in the universe is revealed through the recorded follies and genuine emotions of the artists. The project is a celebration of chance, diversity and community. It pays homage to all musical tastes and genres whilst maintaining a sense of humour and irreverence that is needed to stay sane in the climate of 21st Century contemporary culture.

Then She Reaches For The Gun is

Humans

Adam Meredith - Ford XD with XF front mods/Voice
Ambient Annie - Electronica/Field Recording/Voice
Andrew Harper - Field Recordings
Angostura Elwar - 2 x Behringer CRAVE analog synths/Yamaha P200 electronic piano
Antonella Eye Porcelluzzi - Text/Voice
Ariad Music - Clarinet/Percussion/Piano
Axel Weiß - Electric Guitar/Robot Voices
Banalytic - Experimental Electronics
Belial Pelgrim - Digital Strings/Electronica
Brendan Corey Benson - Electric Guitar
Carolyn Wigston - Voice
Chicago Word Brigade - Electronica
Dan Hewins - Bass Guitar
Dane Renshaw - Drums/Voice
Dani Kirby - Keyboard/Piano/Voice
Dylan Banks - Intonarumori/Voice
Frank Wilke - French Horn/Trombone/Voice
Garbage Truck Disco - Drum programming/Electric Guitar/Joyous Pop Punk
Glenn Ward - Electric Guitar/Skyhooks
Hakan - Moog Voyager XL
Hverheij- Drums/Electric Guitar/Synth
Johnny Python- Bass Guitar/Drum Programming/Electric Guitar/Text/Voice
JZsuperstar - Electric Guitar/Field Recordings/Keyboards
Lady ElectroTrek - Organ
Libby Laksmi - Jazzy Loops/Synth Bass
Loop(c)y - Electric Guitar
Malo Bernard-O’Meara - Drums
Maxx Black - Guitar/Ukulele
Minimal Drone Girl - Cat Wrangling/Field Recordings
Oberlin - Eurorack/Piano
Paolo D’Emilio - Electronica
Paul Miller - Electronic Percussion/Keyboards/Phat Electro Bass
Phil Bywater - Saxophones/Voice
Raul Mainer - DAW Programming/Heavy Metal
Robert Jefferson - Akai Rhythm wolf/GakkenSX-150 ll/Korg Kaosilator/Percussion
Rosin Dust - Violin/Field Recordings
Sarah Megahertz - Speedway Noise
Scratch Kelly - Beats/Electronica
Stan Magendanz - Electronica
Ten Atmospheres - Field Recordings/Synths
Texmex Shaman - Electric Guitar
The Windscale Blues Experiment - Clarinet/Flute/Saxophones
Timothy Korstad - Demons/Electronica
Thomas Bergheim - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar
Tobias Schmitt - Electronica/Processed Organ/Text
Tuonela - Demons/Electronica
Vartch - Drones/Things/Trousers (not T-shirts)/Voice
Widar’s Spiritual Front - Electronica/Ms Pacman
W:I:L-o’ the-wisp - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar/Electronica
Wivresse - Electronica/Voice
Zanshin - Acoustic and Processed Drums

Mat Ward - Arrangements/Bass Guitar/Double Bass/Field Recordings/Intonarumori/Marimba/Noise/Percussion/Piano

Dogs
Boogie
Brophy
Buddy
Hancho
Jack
Momo
Neska
Poldo
Senna
Shyamsundara
Star
Oily (cat)
And many cows from Milis, Sardinia

Cooking Hard Boiled Eggs in a Cheap Motel In Adelaide Part 4

Another snippet from Caligo Paean - beware of gifts when chasing gods : ) 

Caligo Paean is a 1 hour long sound piece installed on river front property in the town of Franklin, Tasmania as part of the exhibition "When The Fog Clears". It formed part of the Ten Days on The Island Festival March 2025.
The work was installed in several locations across the property including a stack of subs under an old bus, in the main exhibition space and in an abandoned shed some 40 metres from the main area . The speakers were 'tuned' quite differently depending on their location and the sound was not delay corrected with the result of each mini-installation merging with each other in odd sonic ways - kind of calling the listener from one spot to another. The the work features field recordings, percussion, piano, bass guitar and Intonarumori as well as this special one off choir : )

Caligo is the Ancient goddess of Chaos. Born of the fog she controls the darkness, dwells in the void and is as old as the primordial matter that created the universe. This work is a tribute to the goddess as she continues to influence our lives and, in the case of this installation, the site and concept informing the show.

Official press release below for The Fog Clears

Every day, the mists of the Huon Valley perform a seductive dance, gently obscuring and revealing contours of the fertile land and waters. Situated in The Watershed Franklin, When The Fog Clears features six artists from lutruwita / Tasmania exploring the region’s iconic mists through a variety of mediums including installation, sculpture, illustration, sound, and video.

Developed exclusively for Franklin, this exhibit extends from the waterfront itself into the chambers, kilns, and rafters of the shed, inviting visitors to consider fog as an atmosphere that can cloak us in unexpected ways.



Caligo Paean (A gift, a choice)

a small snippet of a live performance by the Intonarumori Trio at the opening of When The Fog Clears as part of The Ten Days On The Island Festival. This was the exhibition where i got to exhibit Caligo Paean, so a big evening for me......more about the trio here

Formed in 2018, The Intonarumori Trio is Danielle Kirby, Mat Ward and Dylan Banks. All three are Hobart based artists whose individual professional practices all span 20 plus years. They have diverse artistic backgrounds that include painting, instrument and theatre design, installation, classical music, noise- art, graphic design and academic research. They have all exhibited, published and performed extensively across Australia as well as undertaken international art-based residencies.  

The trio explore the more occult-centric aspects of Russolo’s practice, approaching performances as a ritualistic space to play with the idea of connection and communication beyond the human realm. 

Russolo believed, and pursued the idea that noise could be used as a bridge to spiritual understanding. He sought to congure and transform energy through the Intonarumori’s ability to ‘spiritualise’ noise. 

Performances by the Trio are pure improvisation, allowing the space and the air to guide the players.

Intonarumori Trio LIVE @ Ten Days On The Island Festival

Another snippet from Caligo Paean -

Caligo Paean is a 1 hour long sound piece installed on river front property in the town of Franklin, Tasmania as part of the exhibition "When The Fog Clears". It formed part of the Ten Days on The Island Festival March 2025.
The work was installed in several locations across the property including a stack of subs under an old bus, in the main exhibition space and in an abandoned shed some 40 metres from the main area . The speakers were 'tuned' quite differently depending on their location and the sound was not delay corrected with the result of each mini-installation merging with each other in odd sonic ways - kind of calling the listener from one spot to another. The the work features field recordings, percussion, piano, bass guitar and Intonarumori as well as this special one off choir : )

Caligo is the Ancient goddess of Chaos. Born of the fog she controls the darkness, dwells in the void and is as old as the primordial matter that created the universe. This work is a tribute to the goddess as she continues to influence our lives and, in the case of this installation, the site and concept informing the show.

Official press release below for The Fog Clears

Every day, the mists of the Huon Valley perform a seductive dance, gently obscuring and revealing contours of the fertile land and waters. Situated in The Watershed Franklin, When The Fog Clears features six artists from lutruwita / Tasmania exploring the region’s iconic mists through a variety of mediums including installation, sculpture, illustration, sound, and video.

Developed exclusively for Franklin, this exhibit extends from the waterfront itself into the chambers, kilns, and rafters of the shed, inviting visitors to consider fog as an atmosphere that can cloak us in unexpected ways.

Caligo Paean (Isolation and Wonder)

As always, Dani and Mat making things up in front of people. Recording is off the desk so a bit better quality than normal zoom offerings - May post some more

Kirby/Ward LIVE @The Container Stage

Part 2 of the final track of Then She Reaches For The Gun's 2nd Album
released in Jan 2025 - nomatesensemble.bandcamp.com/album/i-am…m-with-you.

Then She Reaches for the Gun was formed in 2021 by Mat Ward. At its essence is sound collage, Ward invites musicians, sound artists, poets and anyone interested to send him files to be used, abused and showcased ‘as suggested by the work’. They are not always musical but field recordings, spoken word, engine noises and drunken rants. Animals participate a lot too! The raw material is arranged with one phrase asking for the next in an alchemical and intuitive process that will most often feature dozens of tracks weaving in and out of each other, colliding, harmonising, arguing and laughing along the way.

Both the aesthetic and the compositional methods use what Frank Zappa called Xenochrony - the mixing together of separately recorded and rhythmically opposing musical phrases to create polyrhythmic and polytempi compositions.The work also features fragmented story telling with the human voice (in many languages) appearing unannounced throughout the tracks offering up snippets of thoughts, conversations, jokes and existential angst. The absurdity of humanities desperate claim to have any real understanding of its place in the universe is revealed through the recorded follies and genuine emotions of the artists. The project is a celebration of chance, diversity and community. It pays homage to all musical tastes and genres whilst maintaining a sense of humour and irreverence that is needed to stay sane in the climate of 21st Century contemporary culture.

Then She Reaches For The Gun is

Humans

Adam Meredith - Ford XD with XF front mods/Voice
Ambient Annie - Electronica/Field Recording/Voice
Andrew Harper - Field Recordings
Angostura Elwar - 2 x Behringer CRAVE analog synths/Yamaha P200 electronic piano
Antonella Eye Porcelluzzi - Text/Voice
Ariad Music - Clarinet/Percussion/Piano
Axel Weiß - Electric Guitar/Robot Voices
Banalytic - Experimental Electronics
Belial Pelgrim - Digital Strings/Electronica
Brendan Corey Benson - Electric Guitar
Carolyn Wigston - Voice
Chicago Word Brigade - Electronica
Dan Hewins - Bass Guitar
Dane Renshaw - Drums/Voice
Dani Kirby - Keyboard/Piano/Voice
Dylan Banks - Intonarumori/Voice
Frank Wilke - French Horn/Trombone/Voice
Garbage Truck Disco - Drum programming/Electric Guitar/Joyous Pop Punk
Glenn Ward - Electric Guitar/Skyhooks
Hakan - Moog Voyager XL
Hverheij- Drums/Electric Guitar/Synth
Johnny Python- Bass Guitar/Drum Programming/Electric Guitar/Text/Voice
JZsuperstar - Electric Guitar/Field Recordings/Keyboards
Lady ElectroTrek - Organ
Libby Laksmi - Jazzy Loops/Synth Bass
Loop(c)y - Electric Guitar
Malo Bernard-O’Meara - Drums
Maxx Black - Guitar/Ukulele
Minimal Drone Girl - Cat Wrangling/Field Recordings
Oberlin - Eurorack/Piano
Paolo D’Emilio - Electronica
Paul Miller - Electronic Percussion/Keyboards/Phat Electro Bass
Phil Bywater - Saxophones/Voice
Raul Mainer - DAW Programming/Heavy Metal
Robert Jefferson - Akai Rhythm wolf/GakkenSX-150 ll/Korg Kaosilator/Percussion
Rosin Dust - Violin/Field Recordings
Sarah Megahertz - Speedway Noise
Scratch Kelly - Beats/Electronica
Stan Magendanz - Electronica
Ten Atmospheres - Field Recordings/Synths
Texmex Shaman - Electric Guitar
The Windscale Blues Experiment - Clarinet/Flute/Saxophones
Timothy Korstad - Demons/Electronica
Thomas Bergheim - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar
Tobias Schmitt - Electronica/Processed Organ/Text
Tuonela - Demons/Electronica
Vartch - Drones/Things/Trousers (not T-shirts)/Voice
Widar’s Spiritual Front - Electronica/Ms Pacman
W:I:L-o’ the-wisp - Bass Guitar/Electric Guitar/Electronica
Wivresse - Electronica/Voice
Zanshin - Acoustic and Processed Drums

Mat Ward - Arrangements/Bass Guitar/Double Bass/Field Recordings/Intonarumori/Marimba/Noise/Percussion/Piano

Dogs
Boogie
Brophy
Buddy
Hancho
Jack
Momo
Neska
Poldo
Senna
Shyamsundara
Star
Oily (cat)
And many cows from Milis, Sardinia

Cooking Hard Boiled Eggs in a Cheap Motel in Adelaide Part 2 (Yahtzee with Mackerel on the Bed Mix)

closing off 2025 with another snippet of our weekly jam in the Organ Room. Lots of cool shit coming up in 2026, thanks for all yr ears and thoughts : )  Music is the Best!

Kirby/Ward  Organ Room Jam #34

Aporia is an ongoing Internet collab project based around the piano/bass duo 'Kirby/Ward'. Occasionally we capture something at rehearsal that we send to dummer Dane Renshaw (Thailand) and guitarist Bruce Musser (U.S.A) to add their respective talents too.  As always Aporia may or may not record more music... guess we are halfway to an album. 

Aporia #5

Modena Storm - Intonarumori mix  (No Mates/Marco Lucchi)

My little bundle of joy Ms Neska was very keen on disrupting my studio time the other day. It was very important to her to continually bring me a rubber chicken and demand we fight over it. So I gave in and that's the way the rest of the day went... All sounds from a zoom recording of the wrestling match : ) https://www.instagram.com/neskagram/

I Spent The Entire Day Fighting Over A Rubber Chicken

Music and things that might sound like music by Mat Ward. Noise Art/A  Piano and Bass Duet with Dani Kirby/A 50 plus member Art Ensemble called Then She Reaches The Gun/Deep Research Into Luigi Russolo and his Intonarumori .. thats just the stuff I post regularly : ) Thanks to everyone thats ever stopped by. Music is The Best!

No Mates Ensemble

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