Cactus Child were an Australian folk, pop group formed in 1993 by mainstays, Gemma Deacon on lead vocals and Ian Housten-Shadwell on guitar. They issued two studio albums, ''Diaphones'' (February 1996) and ''Earthgirl'' (July 1998), before disbanding in November 1998.
History
Cactus Child were formed in 1993 in Sydney as a folk, pop band by Gemma Deacon on lead vocals, Angus Diggs on drums, Chris Miller on bass guitar and Ian Housten-Shadwell on guitar.
In January 1994 Deacon and Housten-Shadwell were joined by Joe Guiseppe-Accaria on drums, percussion and
marimba
The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...
; and Jan Sebastian on percussion.
This line-up recorded a six-track extended play, ''On'', for Regular Records, which was issued in September of that year.
During 1996 Cactus Child were the support act for Lisa Loeb, Ronnie Jordan, Jeff Buckley and Luka Bloom.
In February 1996 they released their debut album, ''Diaphones'', on Focus Records/
Shock Records
Shock Records (now part of Shock Entertainment) is an Australian independent record label.
History
The three founding members had all previously worked in music retail or distribution: Williams for a Melbourne distribution company called "Musi ...
with
Craig Porteils as producer.
By October of that year the line-up of Deacon, Housten-Shadwell, Miller, Accaria and Sebastian were periodically supplemented by Maria Pavela on backing vocals and Natasha Ramirez on violin.
The group were signed to Grudge/Universal/BMG, to reissue ''Diaphones'' in 1997.
Nathan of
Channel [V] described the title track, "a slow finger-picking ballad with no drums at all – instead a cello and piano providing ample backing to a beautiful song."
A track, "Fall", was re-recorded as "Fall '97", which was released as the album's lead single in March.
Nathan observed, "you can tell that they've put a bit of thought into production and added bits here and there to make it more accessible for radio; and in doing so I'd tip this one to be the next song for them to push. A beautiful ballad complete with strings, percussion and of course Gemma Deacon's remarkable voice."
By that time Carolyn Shine had joined on keyboards and vocals.
In June 1998 the group issued another single, "On the Money", ahead of their second album, ''Earthgirl'' (July 1998).
Australian musicologist,
Ian McFarlane
Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017.
As a journalist ...
, felt "
tfeatured pristine folksy pop, with lush arrangements, strings, piano, harmonies and acoustic guitar."
Christie Eliezer of ''
Australian Musician'' observed, "
thas some interesting guitar work, not just in its use of open tunings but the acoustic sounds in general. For example Ian spent hours on layering 'Juliette' which uses multi-tracks for an exciting effect."
They followed with another single, "Long Way" (September), but broke up in November 1998.
Shadwell published a novel, ''Slush Pile'', in June 2014.
In the following August, Australian Broadcasting Corporation's
Radio National
Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
History
1937: Predecessors an ...
aired, ''Ian Shadwell's Slush Pile: a satirical novel of literature, fame and trivia nights''.
The work was described by the program's Kate Evans and Michael Cathcart as, "he's taken that experience
ith Cactus Childof fame and its discontents to write a very funny story of a fictional Australian writer who won the Booker Prize and then had 14 years of writers' block."
Angela Meyer of ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' observed, "
t'sa rollicking black comedy with an entertainingly unlikable main character. As this selfish, pleasure-seeking, pompous and arrogant man digs a hole for himself, due to the conviction that he is entitled to everything he imagines he could have, the reader both cringes and eggs him on, to see just how far he will go."
Members
* Gemma Deacon – lead vocals
* Angus Diggs – drums
* Chris Miller – electric and double bass guitar, string arrangements
* Ian Housten-Shadwell – guitar
* Joe Guiseppe-Accaria – drums, percussion,
marimba
The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...
* Jan Sebastian – percussion
* Maria Pavela – backing vocals
* Natasha Ramirez – violin
* Carolyn Shine – keyboards, backing vocals
Discography
Albums
* ''Diaphones'' (29 February 1996) – Focus Records/
Shock Records
Shock Records (now part of Shock Entertainment) is an Australian independent record label.
History
The three founding members had all previously worked in music retail or distribution: Williams for a Melbourne distribution company called "Musi ...
(AJCDAUST007)
** ''Diaphones'' (reissue 1997) –
Grudge Records
Grudge Records was the Australian record label for Universal Music Australia that mostly promoted Australian rock artists, such as Grinspoon, Skunkhour, and Powderfinger. Other artists include H-Block 101 and Sean Ikin.
Grudgefest
Grudgefest wa ...
/
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
/BMG
(MCD73056)
* ''Earthgirl'' (July 1998) – Grudge Records
(UMD73099)
Extended plays
* ''On'' (6 September 1994)
(OTS 713)
Singles
* "Fall '97" (March 1997)
* "On the Money" (June 1998)
* "Long Way" (September 1998)
References
{{Authority control
Australian pop music groups
Musical groups established in 1993
Musical groups disestablished in 1998
Musical groups from Sydney