Art of Fighting are an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. They won the

ARIA Award for Best Adult Alternative Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Adult Alternative Album is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by the Australian Reco ...

in 2001 for their album '' Wires''.

History

1995-2000: Early years and EPs

The band formed in 1995 as a duo, with Ollie Browne playing guitar and

Peggy Frew Peggy Frew (born 1976) is an Australian novelist. Background Frew was born in 1976 and grew up in Melbourne, Australia and attended RMIT University. Works Frew's writing often explores relationships between women within an Australian set ...

on bass, with both taking turns on vocals. The couple were also in a romantic relationship at this time, though they were to split amicably later. They were joined six months later by drummer Cameron Grant, and over the following two years released two demo tapes, the first self-titled and the second named ''The Angry Man''. Two of the tracks from the latter, "The Chorus is Suffering" and "You and Me on Mars" were included on the ''Wonder from a Quarter Acre'' compilation put out by

Au Go Go Records Au Go Go Records is the name of a Melbourne, Australia based independent record label. It was founded by Bruce Milne and Philip Morland from a house in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in 1979 and was later operated by Greta Moon. The label start ...

in 1998. In 1997, the trio began recording ''The Very Strange Year''. During touring for this EP but before its release, Ollie Browne's brother, Miles Browne, joined the group playing guitar and trumpet. ''The Very Strange Year'' was released on Half a Cow Records at the end of 1998. In the middle of 1999 the foursome began recording another EP for Half a Cow, ''Empty Nights'', which was released in November of that year. Cameron Grant left the band in late 2000, being replaced on drums by Marty Brown (also of Sodastream).

2001-2005: Trifekta years

Following a move to

Trifekta Records Trifekta is the name of a now defunct Australia based independent record label, based in Fitzroy, Victoria. It was started in 1997 by Tom Larnach-Jones (Shock Records), Tim Everest and Paul 'Presser' Towner (Gerling). The first release for t ...

, in March 2001 the band released their debut full-length album, '' Wires''. The album did not chart, but at the

ARIA Music Awards of 2001 The 15th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards) were held on 30 October 2001 at the Capitol Theatre. Rock band Powderfinger won the most awards with six from eight nominations. Lea ...

, the album won

, beating the more high-profile

You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...

Something for Kate Something for Kate are an Australian alternative rock band, which formed in 1994 with Paul Dempsey on lead vocals and guitar, and Clint Hyndman on drums. They were joined in 1998 by Stephanie Ashworth on bass guitar and backing vocals. The grou ...

and

Magic Dirt Magic Dirt are an Australian rock band, which formed in 1991 in Geelong, Victoria, with Daniel Herring on guitar, Adam Robertson on drums, Adalita Srsen on vocals and guitar, and Dean Turner (musician), Dean Turner on bass guitar. Initially for ...

. Its release also gave rise to numerous international touring opportunities for the group. In 2021, it was named the 159th greatest Australian album of all time by

Rolling Stone Australia ''Rolling Stone'' Australia is the Australian edition of the United States' ''Rolling Stone'' magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture, published monthly. The Australian version of ''Rolling Stone'' was initially published in 197 ...

. Their second album, ''Second Storey'', was released in 2004, once again engendering a burst of touring both local and international. In a coup for the band,

Bella Union Bella Union is a British independent record label founded in 1997 by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is now run solely by Raymonde. History After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twin ...

released the album in the UK and Europe.

2006-present: Remote Control Records years

At the end of 2006, the release of first single "Eastbound" preceded a forthcoming album titled ''Runaways'' released on 10 March in Australia, on

Remote Control Records Remote Control Records was established in 2001 by Steve Cross and Harvey Saward. It provides publicity, label management, distribution and marketing services to international and local artists and labels. Remote Control's roster of internatio ...

. In April 2007 the band played at

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

(curated by

Dirty Three Dirty Three is an Australian instrumental rock band, consisting of Warren Ellis (violin and bass guitar), Mick Turner (electric and bass guitars) and Jim White (drums), which formed in 1992. Their 1996 album ''Horse Stories'' was voted by ''Ro ...

) in

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

UK, which was followed by two live shows in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In 2008 the band scored an original soundtrack for the Australian film Ten Empty and in 2010 saw Ollie create a new group called Parallel Lions. In 2019 the band released the single "Your Love", announced a new album and played concerts in Sydney and Melbourne. Their fourth album, ''Luna Low'', was released in June 2019.

Discography

Albums

EP

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, ''Wires'' ,

, ,

Australian Music Prize

The

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award was made by Australian Music Pri ...

(the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The commenced in 2005. , - , Australian Music Prize 2019 , ''Luna Low'' , Album of the Year ,

References

External links

*
Article on the production of Second StoreyArticle on the making of RunawaysArticle on the forthcoming release of Runaways
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Art of Fighting Victoria (Australia) musical groups Australian indie rock groups ARIA Award winners Bella Union artists